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If You Are Interested In A Clean And Sober Way of
Life........
CMTA, Inc., a
Florida non profit corporation, was formed in 1993 to provide a structured peer
based study of comparative religions and humanistic philosophies for persons who
express a commitment to complete abstinence from substance abuse and recovery
from addiction. The acronym stands
for Christ Manifests The All. The word Christ, while coming from the
Greek word Christos, meaning anointed, may be chosen to mean the truth
that is found in a divine manifestation of God or simply the process of finding
truth and clarity. CMTA is a school
without walls that provides a structure for the search for spirituality, for the
truth of who we are inside and what we may choose to do to stay connected to
each other.
Through the offering by
CMTA of regular, progressive, and continuing peer based group discussions,
learners are able to study a history of comparative religions and philosophies,
and to find in them their own truth upon which to base their choices and pattern
behavior. It is designed to allow those who have made a commitment to recovery
to build on the twelve step program, to become more aware of their behavior
through observations of self and others negative behaviors, to understand the
destructive power of subconscious negative emotions and through transformational
psychology to convert those feelings into positive emotions and in turn acquire
a sense of peace and purpose in their lives.
The curriculum of
study includes but is not limited to:
Alcoholics
Anonymous World Service, Inc. ( 2001) 4th Ed. Alcoholics Anonymous: The story
of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism. AAWS
New York
Referred
to as the Big Book, it was first published in 1939 as the basic text describing
the A.A. recovery program. Through subsequent editions additional stories,
appendices, and concepts for world service have been added to reflect the wider
age range and different life experiences of alcoholics over the years since 1935
when Bill W. met Dr. Bob and the message of A.A. was born. The basic text
covered in pages 1-164, which has been the foundation of recovery for so many
alcoholics, remains unchanged from the first edition. The personal experiences
contained in the book demonstrate that the A.A. program works, and provides the
hope that many more will be led toward recovery.
Mandino,
O ( 1975 ) The greatest miracle in the world. Bantam Books. New York
Og
Mandino is the most widely read inspirational and self help author in the world
today with some 40 million books sold. He
tells his greatest story here in a truly inspirational story for readers of all
ages. In a moving narrative message of hope and inspiration, the reader is
introduced to Simon Potter, a mysterious man who befriends Mandino and reveals
ageless wisdom and knowledge to those searching for a higher
meaning in life, including the
inspiring God Memorandum. Many who read this book find it
a life changing experience and seem
universally not only to understand the gift that God has given to each of us but
also the challenge given by the book to apply those gifts!
Fox, E. ( 1934)
The Sermon on the mount: The key to success in life. Harper Collins, New
York, N.Y.
Emmet Fox ( 1886-1951)
was a scientist , philosopher and spiritual teacher who lectured widely on
tapping the realm of the infinite power that surrounds us. His continued
popularity, four decades after his last appearance at Carnegie Hall, speaks to
the success of his philosophy in helping hundreds of thousands of people gain
control of their lives. This book is the distilled essence of years of his Bible
and metaphysical study, presenting a practical manual of spiritual development.
Jesus Christ is easily the most important figure that has ever appeared in the
history of mankind. It makes no difference how you may regard him, whether you
choose to call him God or man; and if man, whether you choose to consider him as
the world’s greatest prophet and teacher. There can hardly, therefore, be a
more important undertaking than to inquire into the question of what Jesus stood
for, what he taught and what he really wished us to believe.
Three Initiates
(1912) Kybalion: A study of the Hermetic philosophy of ancient Egypt and
Greece. Yogi Publication Society. Chicago, Illinois
There
is no portion of the occult teachings possessed by the world which have been so
closely guarded as the fragments of the Hermetic Teachings which have come down
to us over the tens of centuries that have elapsed since the lifetime of its
great founder, Hermes Trismegistus, the "scribe of the gods," who
dwelt in old Egypt in the days when civilization was in its infancy.
Contemporary with Abraham, and, if the legends be true, an instructor of that
venerable sage, Hermes was, and is, referred to as the Great Central Sun of
Occultism. Ocultism being simply
those sciences of the Middle Ages which related to the supposed action or
influence of occult qualities, or supernatural powers. The rays of his sun have
served to illumine the countless teachings of universal principles which have
been promulgated since his time. All the fundamental and basic teachings
embedded in the esoteric teachings of every race may be traced back to Hermes.
Even the most ancient teachings of India undoubtedly have their roots in the
original Hermetic Teachings.
The purpose of
this work is not the enunciation of any special philosophy or doctrine, but
rather is to give to the learner a statement of the truth that will serve to
reconcile the many bits of occult knowledge that they may have acquired, but
which are apparently opposed to each other and which often serve to discourage
and disgust the beginner in the study.
Tam Gibbs (
1981) Lao-tzu: My words are very easy to understand . North Atlantic
Books. Berkley, California
Tam Gibbs
translated from the Chinese the words of Lao-tzu who was one of the earliest
writers in Chinese history. His work describes the merest traces and
indescribable marvels of the Tao and promotes non-action, concepts which are
central to these unique teachings of thousands of years ago . Such concepts as
through non action, there is nothing left undone; and through non desire, there
is nothing left to undesired. Lao Tzu principles of Taoism. or Daoism include
both philosophy and religion.
Taoism can also be
called "the other way," for during its entire history, it has
coexisted alongside the Confucian tradition, which served as the ethical and
religious basis of the institutions and arrangements of the Chinese empire.
Taoism, while not radically subversive, offered a range of alternatives to the
Confucian way of life and point of view. These alternatives, however, were not
mutually exclusive. For the vast majority of Chinese, there was no question of
choosing between Confucianism and Taoism. Except for a few straightlaced
Confucians and a few pious Taoists, the Chinese man or woman practiced both --
either at different phases of life or as different sides of personality and
taste. They saw in Dao and nature the basis of a spiritual approach to living.
This, they believed, was the answer to the burning issue of the day: what is the
basis of a stable, unified, and enduring social order? The order and harmony of
nature, they said, was far more stable and enduring than either the power of the
state or the civilized institutions constructed by human learning. Healthy human
life could flourish only in accord with Dao -- nature, simplicity, a
free-and-easy approach to life.
Ouspensky, P.D.
(1957) The Fourth way. Random House. New York
P. D. Ouspensky
(1878-1947) was a major contributor to Twentieth century ideas. He
anticipated many of the key questions in philosophy, psychology and religion
that have driven and informed us throughout the century. Born in Moscow and
raised by an artistic and intellectual family, Ouspensky refused to follow
conventional academic training.. He studied intensively with G. I. Gurdjieff
between 1915 and 1918. Throughout the rest of his life, Ouspensky continued to
promote Gurdjieff’s system as the practical study of methods for developing
consciousness.
George Ivanovitch
Gurdijeff (1872–1949) was a
seminal spiritual figure, who introduced to the West an ancient yet unknown
esoteric teaching of development and awakening, one that taught how to
creatively use the diverse impressions of ordinary life to come to real life.
Humanity, Gurdjieff realized, had entered a precarious new period in its
evolution. The world would be destroyed, Gurdjieff warned, unless the 'wisdom'
of the East and the 'energy' of the West were harnessed and used harmoniously.
To effect this Harnelmiatznel, Gurdjieff gave the necessary shock: he
introduced to the West a unique and powerful esoteric teaching of
self-transformation. Gurdjieff called it the Fourth Way.
An original teaching,
the Fourth Way is neither a mixture of spiritual lines nor a modern eclectic
concoction. It is, as Gurdjieff declared, "completely self-supporting and
independent of other lines.
This current book
is an arrangement by subject of verbatim extracts from the records of
Ouspenky’s meeting in London during the period 1921-1946
The transcripts of the meetings serve to teach us how we react
subconsciously, and how we may teach ourselves to become more aware of our self
and in turn function at a higher level of self an consciousness.
Merton, Thomas
(1998) The seven storey mountain: An autobiography of faith. Harcourt
Brace. Orlando
A modern-day Confessions
of Saint Augustine, The Seven Storey Mountain is one of the most
influential religious works of the twentieth century. This edition contains an
introduction by Merton's editor, Robert Giroux, and a note to the reader by
biographer William H. Shannon. It tells of the growing restlessness of a
brilliant and passionate young man whose search for peace and faith leads him,
in 1941 at the age of twenty-six, to give up a promising literary career and to
take vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders-the Trappist monks. At
the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas
Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully
immersed himself in it. The Seven Storey Mountain has been a favorite of readers
ranging from Graham Greene to Claire Booth Luce, Eldridge Cleaver, and Frank
McCourt. And, in the half-century since its original publication, this timeless
spiritual tome has been published in over twenty languages and has touched
millions of lives. The best reason to read The Seven Storey Mountain,
however, may be the one Merton provided in his introduction to its Japanese
translation: "I seek to speak to you, in some way, as your own self. Who
can tell what this may mean? I myself do not know, but if you listen, things
will be said that are perhaps not written in this book. And this will be due not
to me but to the One who lives and speaks in both.
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