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New Book!

10 October, 201710 October, 2017 ~ poorbjorn

New Book – New Topic.

Reading up on some light theory that might help me in my work as an Environment Artist in the games industry. Let there be light (and shadow, terminator, fill, translucency, caustics etc….)!

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

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Reading List 2018
Reading List 2017
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Favorite Books of 2017
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This old has inspired people for millennia and is the fundamental text of Taoism. —— I don’t exaggerate if I tell you that Tao de Ching is referred to and quoted in 50% of the books I’ve read in recent years - but maybe says more about the books I enjoy than the importance of this text? 🤔 . Who knows?! —— “The further one goes, the less one knows” Lao Tsu, Tao Te Ching —— Review coming soon! —— What dusty old book are you aiming to read this year? 🤔😀

The story revolves around young Sinclair and the difficult task of finding ones self. Growing up in a protected and pious middle class home he eventually has to face the real world. Sinclair gets a new mysterious classmates, Demian, who guides him to detach and revolt from the superficial world of form and awaken to his true self. —— 📝 Abraxas: A deity combining the godlike and the devilish. —— 📝 “All I really wanted was to try and live the life that was spontaneously welling up within me. Why was that so very difficult?” —— 📝 “When we hate a person, what we hate in his image is something inside ourselves. Whatever isn’t inside us can’t excite us.” ——- ⭐️ Takeaway: About the previous quote: If that’s the case - and by observing this phenomenon for a while I believe there is some truth to it - then even when someone irritates us, we can use that as an opportunity to learn more I out ourselves. I kinda like that quote for that reason. —— 📊 My Amateur Jungian Analysis: Sinclair is the “Ego”, Kromer his “Shadow” and Demian the “Self”. Lady Eve is the “Anima” (the unconscious feminine side of a man). One of Jungs anima levels is even named “Eve”. By opening up to Lady Eve, Sinclair becomes complete. He and Damien become one. —- ⚖️ Verdict: This a mysterious and short (100 pages!) coming of age story for philosophically minded reader. Pauses for contemplation are needed between each chapters. The best 3$ spent this year! —— For those who read already: What do you think Demian did to get Kromer of Sinclair’s back? —— What short book blew your mind recently? —— 4/5

I picked up Hermann Hesse’s “Demian” and believed it could act as a pallet cleanser after my binge-reading of books revolving around jungian psychology. —— Haha, bad call! Already in the introduction I read that before writing the book in 1920 “Hesse began to explore the writings of Freud and Jung on dreams and archetypes”. Something that apparently influenced his writing to a large extent! 😂 —— Was this synchronicity (or a meaningful coincidence) at play, to use a concept introduced by Carl Jung? 🤔 —— I failed in my mission to move away from Jung, but the book started off so strong that I couldn’t put it aside. Now it is finished and a review is on it’s way! 👌🏻 —— “When we hate a person, what we hate in his image is something inside ourselves. Whatever isn’t inside us can’t excite us.” - Hermann Hesse - Demian

I’m very excited about the books I received today! Have you read any of them? 😀🤔 ——————————— In the stack: - 📖 “Trust me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator” - 📖 “Demian” by Hermann Hesse - 📖 “Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just show up” - 📖 “The Human Magnet Syndrome: Why We Love People Who Hurt Us” - 📖 “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell - ——————————— On the headphones: - 🎧 “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela ——————————— Thanks to everyone for showering me with book recommendations in the comments and DM:s! I write them all down. You are the reason I’ve discovered so many fascinating books that I might otherwise have been unaware of. Thanks! 🙏

Rosenberg teaches you practical skills for getting your needs met in a peaceful way. “Non violent communication helps us create a more peaceful state of mind by encouraging us to focus on what we truly wanting rather than what is wrong with ourself and others.” —— Mediocre writing and terrible narration aside (for the audio version that is), this gem of a book is likely to change the way speak to yourself and others in a profound way. ——- 📝 “When my consciousness is forcused on another persons feelings and needs, I see the universality of our experience”. —— 📝 In cultures that judge, violence is more prevalent. —— 📝 It’s important that we take responsibility for our feelings, and that we in no way imply that what others say and do makes us feel the way we do. —— 📝 J. Krishnamurti: “Observing without evaluating is the highest form of human intelligence”. —— 📝 It might be worth trying to pull out of people what they really mean with what they are saying to find out what needs aren’t met. Your initial interpretation might be wrong! And It’s not our fault, society has not conditioned us to express ourself properly. —— 📝 When you find you inner critic getting on your case about something you did, then ask yourself - What unmet need of mine is being expressed through these statements? —— ⭐️ TAKEAWAY: We need to be precise in our speech. —— “Non-Violent Communication” is the perfect compliment “Crucial Conversations”. Read them both and master the principles (easier said than done!) and you will have saved yourself and the people around you from a ton of unnecessary suffering. ——- If you could add one more book to create the holy trinity of communication books, which one would that be? 🤔 —— 4/5 —— Photo credit: @monica.bitar

Dr. Gabors is specialized in the study and treatment of addiction. His book offers portraits of his patient lives, stories about his own addictive behaviors, it examines the causes behind addiction and it breaks down the path to recovery. —— He opposes the weight that’s been put on the genetic component of addiction and points at stresses in early childhood (even pre-natal stresses) as the main risk factor. He is a big proponent of more compassion in society’s view of addicts and explains the futility of the “war on drugs”. ——- An excellent introduction to the complex problem of addiction! ——- 📝 “As a rule, whatever we don’t deal with in our lives we pass on to our children” -Our unfinished emotional business becomes theirs. —— 📝 Addiction = Fear of emptiness. —— 📝 Proximal separation: Physically there but mentally absent when parenting. Children experiencing this look to use external couping mechanisms like thumb sucking or tuning out. These kids have great chances of seeking refuge in drugs later on in life. —— 📝 Gabors recommends the teachings of Eckhart Tolle and the book Rosenberg’s book “Non-violent Communication” (I just got it!) —— 📝 Circumstances for brain development differs. Some have had positive experiences that others have been deprived of. Think about this before you judge. —— 📝 Parents, and mothers in particular, are getting less and less of the suppport they need during their children’s early years. This is a cultural breakdown of cataclysmical scale. —— 📝 “All problems are psychological, but all solutions are spiritual” —— 📝 “Only healthy nurturing relationships with adults will prevent kids from getting lost in the peer world. A loss of orientation that leads rapidly to drug use.” —— ⭐️ TAKEAWAY: Regardless of your degree of addiction or whether your drug of choice is heroin, TV, food or shopping - reading the stories and research presented in this book will help to shine a light on your own addictive tendencies. —— My struggles have been with nicotine and refined carbohydrates. What’s your addictions? 🤔😀 —— PS: The audiobook version of this book is excellent! —— 5/5 - Photo credit: @darcy_renea_lalimo

According to Jung, dreams carry an important role, and by interpreting their symbols we can get hints from our unconscious when the time has come to change attitudes and value systems in order to move to the next level of psychic maturity. —— Dreams are a bridge between the conscious and unconscious. —— This is my first encounter with Jungs work and certain parts of this book were some of the most intense and fascinating pages I’ve ever read. —— Each chapter is written by different authors, each with their own angle on Jungian psychology. Unfortunately all of them don’t live up to the high standards of the introductory chapter by Jung himself. —— 📝 “It takes a lot of courage to take the unconscious seriously and to tackle the problems it raises.” —— 📝 Archaic remnants: (Freud’s term) mental forms whose presence can’t be explained by anything in the individuals own life and which seem aboriginal, innate, and inherited shapes of the human mind. —— 📝 “A sense of a wider meaning to ones existence is what raises a man beyond mere getting and spending. If he lacks this sense, he is lost and miserable” —— 📝 Civilized Man: He can do what he sets out to do without chanting and drumming. Even daily prayer and divine aid is unnecessary. “His gods and demons have not disappeared at all; they have merely got new names. They keep him on the run with relentless, vague apprehension, psychological complications, an insatiable need for pills, alcohol, tobacco, food -and, above all, a large array of neuroses. —— 📝 “If a man devoted himself to the instructions of his own unconscious, it can bestow this gift, so that suddenly life, which has been stale and full, turns into a rich, unending inner adventure, full of creative possibilities.” —— ⭐️ TAKEAWAY: I especially enjoyed reading about the individuation process and civilized vs. primitive man, and the archaic symbols of the original psyche. Initiation rites and the origin of rituals also had my full attention! —— Complex, uneven but a all-in-all fantastic book! —— 4/5

No book review this week due to stomach flue. 🤮 ———— But I thought I could share an update on what’s going into my mind these days! ———— 📖 “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” - Gabor Maté, M.D. ———— Absolutely brilliant book about addition. Dr. Maté is sharing his experience working with addicts in Vancouver worst drug districts. His book provides us with a more sympathetic and informed view in addition. I can’t put it down! ———— 📖 “Man and his Symbols” - Jung & Co. ———— Less than 100 pages left. A truly great book, even though the part I’m at now, about modern art and symbolism has been quite a snooze. ———— 📖 “Transurfing” - Vadim Zeland ———— My antidote to the depressing feelings induced by Sebastian Jungers “Tribe”. Law of attraction and reality creation extravaganza. It’s “out there”, it kinda works, and it’s fun! 👌🏻 ———— 📖 “The Long Walk to Freedom” - Nelson Mandela ———— I have a hard time getting into this one for some reason. I just seem to choose Gabor Maté’s book over it every single time. ———— Enough about me - What I’m really interested to hear is what you guys and gals are reading? 😀🤔

Recent Posts

Thoughts on: “Demian” by Hermann Hesse 13 June, 2018
Demian, Synchronicity & Carl Jung 11 June, 2018
What’s brewing? New book Arrivals! 5 June, 2018
Thoughts on: “Nonviolent Communication” by Marshall Rosenberg 28 May, 2018
Thoughts on: “In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” by Gabor Maté 20 May, 2018

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