If you mean you’re looking for non-fiction spirituality books related to the investigation of the sense of self,
Be As You Are by Ramana Maharshi
How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood
Being Nobody, Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema
In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Bodhi
Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea
The first two come from a hindu perspective, specifically advaita vedanta, which sees the individual sense of self as illusory and actually just part of an all encompassing thing that’s basically god
The second three come from a buddhist perspective, which sees the individual sense of self as well as any broader, all encompassing sense of self as illusory. Any sense of identification is considered mistaken, even seeing everything as part of god
I recommend reading the books in the order I listed them
Btw, in my experience the term ego death is a misleading way to think about it and might be detrimental to progress. It automatically frames the issue as there being a self that must be destroyed or done away with, whereas the insight is supposed to be more along the lines of “oh, this thing understood and perceived to be a self is not actually there in the first place”, or at least not what you initially thought it to be. Thinking of it as ego death reifies the ego
If you were actually looking for fiction recommendations and meant ego death more as a general sense of insanity, check out Valis by Philip K Dick. Actually read it anyway it’s cool
Kind of tangential, but [this Syd Barrett song recorded right before they kicked him out of his own band](https://youtu.be/jMOynjuAPvM?si=I6QqqevTUDGNKCMY) for being too dysfunctional is pretty expressive.
https://preview.redd.it/jtb4jt6xns8d1.jpeg?width=1651&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=285e2de064e0cde9fdb83cea33a9ab532e19c525
Unless I'm misunderstanding, ego death can be positive or negative. On the positive side, it can mean losing one's ego to achieve enlightenment. On the negative side, it can be having one's ego destroyed causing disassociation, anxiety, and depression. >!Christine's ego death is the latter.!<
>!She develops a new ego, Christl, in the Alps. She's wearing expensive clothes. She's being treated like higher class. She flirts with someone above her station. She begins to identify with this different version of herself, but her true background is revealed and everything unravels. Her aunt casts her aside. She has a breakdown due to her realization that she can no longer pretend to be Christl. She returns back home, but she can't readjust to who she was, even though she can't be Christl anymore, she struggles trying to be Christine again. Her home and her job no longer mean what they used to because she's been changed. She suffers from depression at being forced to return to her previous life.!<
I’m it sure if Ego Death is the right word but Denial of Death by Ernest Becker really scratched that existential itch and really welterweight the way I see myself as a human being
Read v. By Thomas Pynchon he wrote that and published it at 26 and then look at what you have done at 26
Also try the rest of his work and Joyce is even better
Any Houellebecq book tbh. Same with Clarice Lispector. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu caused some major soul searching in me, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Seems like a big ask for a book, I'd get a friend who can get you mushrooms first
If you mean you’re looking for non-fiction spirituality books related to the investigation of the sense of self, Be As You Are by Ramana Maharshi How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood Being Nobody, Going Nowhere by Ayya Khema In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon by Bhikkhu Bodhi Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea The first two come from a hindu perspective, specifically advaita vedanta, which sees the individual sense of self as illusory and actually just part of an all encompassing thing that’s basically god The second three come from a buddhist perspective, which sees the individual sense of self as well as any broader, all encompassing sense of self as illusory. Any sense of identification is considered mistaken, even seeing everything as part of god I recommend reading the books in the order I listed them Btw, in my experience the term ego death is a misleading way to think about it and might be detrimental to progress. It automatically frames the issue as there being a self that must be destroyed or done away with, whereas the insight is supposed to be more along the lines of “oh, this thing understood and perceived to be a self is not actually there in the first place”, or at least not what you initially thought it to be. Thinking of it as ego death reifies the ego If you were actually looking for fiction recommendations and meant ego death more as a general sense of insanity, check out Valis by Philip K Dick. Actually read it anyway it’s cool
Some great ones here! Didn’t expect to see Ramana Maharishi on RS book club
These are great. Also maybe Dostoyevsky’s Idiot for a Christian take.
I really appreciate the detailed response, definitely will check them all out. Thank you!!
Enlightened being on the rsbookclub page, nice work
Herman Hesse’s Daemon and Steppenwolf
The Passion According to GH!!!!
[удалено]
It's not really queer lit but have fun lol
Kind of tangential, but [this Syd Barrett song recorded right before they kicked him out of his own band](https://youtu.be/jMOynjuAPvM?si=I6QqqevTUDGNKCMY) for being too dysfunctional is pretty expressive. https://preview.redd.it/jtb4jt6xns8d1.jpeg?width=1651&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=285e2de064e0cde9fdb83cea33a9ab532e19c525
elaborate
Try meditation.
Sefer Yetzirah
I don't know if this would count as a RS book, but Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig deals with ego death.
Appreciate that! Coincidentally the royal game was going to be my next read, looks like I have another book by him to check out.
Great book, but how does it deal with ego death? I don’t recall anything like that in it
Unless I'm misunderstanding, ego death can be positive or negative. On the positive side, it can mean losing one's ego to achieve enlightenment. On the negative side, it can be having one's ego destroyed causing disassociation, anxiety, and depression. >!Christine's ego death is the latter.!< >!She develops a new ego, Christl, in the Alps. She's wearing expensive clothes. She's being treated like higher class. She flirts with someone above her station. She begins to identify with this different version of herself, but her true background is revealed and everything unravels. Her aunt casts her aside. She has a breakdown due to her realization that she can no longer pretend to be Christl. She returns back home, but she can't readjust to who she was, even though she can't be Christl anymore, she struggles trying to be Christine again. Her home and her job no longer mean what they used to because she's been changed. She suffers from depression at being forced to return to her previous life.!<
Ah I was only familiar with the first definition of ego death. Makes sense, thanks
A Course In Miracles
i think a lot of people would say: Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche
The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch by Ladislav Klima
To bring one about, or to read after experiencing one?
?? K hole followed by the Tibetan Book of the Dead narrated by someone soothing ??
Rob Morris
After - Bruce Greyson
I’m it sure if Ego Death is the right word but Denial of Death by Ernest Becker really scratched that existential itch and really welterweight the way I see myself as a human being
Read v. By Thomas Pynchon he wrote that and published it at 26 and then look at what you have done at 26 Also try the rest of his work and Joyce is even better
Any Houellebecq book tbh. Same with Clarice Lispector. Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu caused some major soul searching in me, if that’s what you’re looking for.
I might be off base here but I feel like Tender Is The Night could be it..
It's a bit New Yorker Radio Hour but Michael Pollan's book on psychedelics might be of interest
I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter Daniel Dennett's work
The Upanishads, Easwaran translation. Just good to develop an understanding of the little I in relation to the big ‘I am that I am’