The Book

Addled: the blog of the book

24/10/201525/03/2017 Jessica DavidsonAsideLeave a comment

Welcome to the home of Addled: Adventures of a Reluctant Mystic – a novel about spiritual emergency and how a crisis can become an awakening.

Using the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the book follows Zoe Popper on her quest for inner peace and self-knowledge. She thinks she’s going crazy, but she’s about to discover that reality is stranger than she thinks.

Follow the links to read free chapters and loads of extras and behind the scenes material.

Find out more about Addled: THE BOOK

To read the book, start here: CHAPTERS

Explore behind the scenes here: EXTRAS

Or just ramble through the blog posts below…

If you enjoy the free stuff, please consider buying a copy of the book to support the author. It’s available in paperback and ebook:

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Others

Addled Glossary

Glossary: Satori

27/06/201719/06/2017 Jessica Davidson2 Comments

Satori is the Japanese term used in Zen Buddhism to refer to awakening and the realisation of the true nature of the self, or Buddha nature. It’s also sometimes called Kensho, where ken means ‘seeing’ and sho means ‘nature’ or ‘essence.’ Kensho is generally understood to be your first experience of realisation and is often… Continue reading Glossary: Satori

Addled Glossary

Glossary: What’s in a Word?

20/06/201719/06/2017 Jessica Davidson2 Comments

Words are powerful. With words we can create worlds, bring joy and laughter, share our dreams and innermost thoughts, pass on our knowledge, educate and learn. We can also destroy, confuse and mislead. Words are notoriously slippery. Many creation myths say the world was born from a vibration – a sound or a word. In… Continue reading Glossary: What’s in a Word?

Wisdom Quotes

You are the universe dancing…

13/06/2017 Jessica DavidsonImageLeave a comment

“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” – Rumi

Wisdom Quotes

Why are you unhappy?

06/06/2017 Jessica DavidsonQuoteLeave a comment

Why are you unhappy?
Because 99.9 percent
Of everything you think,
And of everything you do,
Is for yourself –
And there isn’t one.

– from Ask the Awakened, Wei Wu Wei

Mysticism · Zoe's Reading List

Review: Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill

30/05/201725/05/2017 Jessica Davidson1 Comment

The week Zoe is reading Mysticism: A Study of the Nature and Development of Man’s Spiritual Consciousness by Evelyn Underhill. This is the classic text on mysticism. It explores the subject in depth, and although Underhill focuses mostly on mystical Christianity, she also looks at Sufism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and others too. Part 1 explains how… Continue reading Review: Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill

Wisdom Quotes

We are all human beings

23/05/201721/05/2017 Jessica DavidsonGalleryLeave a comment

This is a great little cartoon from Zen Pencils to illustrate a quote by the Dalai Lama: “When I meet people in different parts of the world I am always reminded that we are all basically alike. We are all human beings. Maybe we have different clothes, our skin is of a different colour, or… Continue reading We are all human beings

Mysticism

Alan Watts on the Values of Mysticism

16/05/201706/05/2017 Jessica DavidsonLeave a comment

There are many people who don’t take mysticism seriously and tend to view mystics with suspicion. In these extracts, Alan Watts talks about this in terms of the use of psychedelics, but the objections to the use of these drugs can also be applied to the experience of the mystic. This is mainly because these… Continue reading Alan Watts on the Values of Mysticism