The Last Book You Read?

[whatsinaname]

The Major Mysteries: The Gnostic Jesus and the Path of Initiation. by Samael Aun Weor.



Publisher's comment:

"Christic Esotericism, the secret Jewish Kabbalah, and the Holy Alchemy united would have completely illuminated and transformed the entire world. Yes, the mysteries of Levi would have shone with the Light of Christ." Samael Aun Weor

Arranged in three parts, this unprecedented text answers the cries of centuries of pain and ignorance.

In the first part, Samael Aun Weor explains in practical terms how to return to Eden: through the door we exited so long ago.

In the second part, the reader will be amazed by a detailed revelation of the initatic life of Jesus of Nazareth.

And in the third part, the author discusses the Gnostic Movement, the terrors of the coming days, and many practical tools anyone can use to relieve their suffering and the suffering of others.

Originally published in Spanish as "Los Misterios Mayores" (1956).

Topics include:

The Esoteric Path; Eden; The Labarum of the Temple; The Swans of Paradise; The Sexual Act in Eden; Jehovah, Lucifer, Christ; The Tree of Life; Initiation; Astral Traveling; The Hill of Chapultepec; Clue for the Awakening of the Consciousness during Normal Sleep; The 22 Major Arcana and Astral Projections; Meditation; Initiatic Preparation; The Two Witnesses; GAIO; The Sexual Problem; The Seven Churches; Fearmongers; The Church of the Holy Spirit; The Seven Temples; The Seven Serpents; The Birth of Jesus; Origins of the Human "I"; The Guardian of the Threshold; Jesus in Egypt; The 33 Chambers of the Temple; The Ancient of Days; The First Divine Couple; The Seven Double Columns of the Temple; The Bat God; Jesus and the Angel Ehecatl, the God of the Wind; Shambhala; The Gnostic Movement; Gnostic Tradition; Practice and Not Theories; Jinn State; Imagination, Inspiration, Intuition; World Karma; How to Charge Talismans & Cleanse Our Sanctuaries; High Magic's Ceremonial Procedures; Invocations; Sexual Transmutation for Bachelors & Bachelorettes; and much more.

A couple of reviews:

"An enlightening read by the author that dives into the subject of the secret life of Jesus of Nazareth. Readers, rest assured that this is no Dan Brown novel, but rather a purely practical esoteric treatise. In the first part of the work, Samael Aun Weor unveils the mysteries of sexual magic and love and writes extensively on initiatic preparation so that anyone, anywhere can enter into their own direct experience of the long hidden mystical truths surrounding all the world's great religions. He also gives many practical, effective exercises for Astral Projection, Jinn Science, meditation, etc.

In the second part he gives a detailed narrative of the initiatic process and work of Jesus.

In the third part, the author writes about the Gnostic Movement.

I have so far found this book to be thought-provoking, insightful, and most of all...practical"



....................................


"This book is known by 2 titles `The Major mysteries' or `The Greater Mysteries' - 1956. This is not a book for those who are new to esoteric studies or even for those who are new to Gnostic studies. The books of Samael Aun Weor are written in relation to his real spiritual initiatic processes. This current book comes after Samael has written quite a number of books. I have found that by reading the books of Samael Aun Weor in order that he wrote his books, that this is a far better way to understand each book. For someone who is not in a Gnostic School, the issue of understanding this current book is further exasperated.

Samael tells us that to properly ascend spiritually, we need to go through initiation. There are 18 cosmic births that are needed in this process, 9 initiations of lesser mysteries and 9 initiations of Greater mysteries. Initiation is of the consciousness and of sex. Our consciousness is a spark detached from the Great Cosmic Consciousness. The intellect is a function of the animal soul, whereas consciousness is a function of God. Intellect cannot know God, consciousness can.

True spirituality addresses the question of sex and requires sanctity, chastity and virtue. Sex is of God and to waste or abuse the sexual energy is of lucifer or anti-christ; thus the temptations and fear mongering to spill the energy and warnings against astral projection and raising the kundalini by those who would not wish for you to find God. It is only by entering the maternal womb that we have the right to be born. Similarly, the spiritual bodies of etheric, astral, mental etc must also be born or fabricated and this is a question of sex. This process deals with the Greater Mysteries.

Up until this point, the books prior have mainly dealt with the 7 serpents of fire. We now ascend to a new octave and enter the Venustic Initiations or 7 serpents of light. For me, this current book deals with revisiting the past and extracting what is essential for the new octave. For this Samael brings our attention to Eden, which highlights where we have come from and how we shall return. The tools are revealed; alchemy, meditation, consciousness, astral and Jinas travel and karmic negotiation etc.

Samael spells out the dangers and pitfalls that can accompany the path of the razors edge and how we can avoid this. What is truly amazing are the insights into the higher realms and the further obstacles that await us. No longer are we tempted by Gold and the things of this materialism, but by spiritual titles and powers ("Unless you become as little children"); to rule worlds upon the spiral path or to go the way of the Christ and walk the direct path to God?

Yes, this book deals with the Christ and the Bodhisattva. Could it be that we need to look at what is within the Christmas Message that Samael gave us in this year, especially when it comes to any questions regarding Jesus and the Bodhisattva? Still one should not take things on first appearances and use the information to understand the deeper mysteries. Thus, once again, this is not a book for those starting upon the path of Gnosis or for those not attending a Gnostic school of Samael Aun Weor. "Those who are prepared for Gnosis as are those who can be counted with the fingers" Samael Aun Weor.

Christmas Message 1956
(See `Gnosis in the 20th Century'- Spanish edition, `The Christmas Messages' Pg 43 & also `Encounters with Samael' Pg 189 by Rafael Vargas & Javier Casan)
"If a mystic in a state of ecstasy abandons all seven vehicles and studies the `I am', the life of Jesus Christ, he would suffer a terrible surprise. He would himself become Jesus of Nazareth. He would be preaching the Sermon on the Mount and performing miracles and wonders in the Holy Land. He would himself become Jesus Christ. This is due to the fact that in the world of Christ there is no individuality, no personality. In him we are all one."

"There are Seven Avatars and Seven Truths; each one teaches a terrible truth. Jesus Christ is not an avatar; he is more than everyone; he is the Savior of the world, the Lord of all souls. He confirms the teachings of the avatars and amplifies them" Pg 247, Chapter `World Karma' - `The Major Mysteries' By Samael Aun Weor.

Magnus Opus 1958
There is another book that is attributed to being around the same period as `The Greater Mysteries'; this book is `Magnus Opus'. This has been published in English by `Gnostic Editions' but appears to be difficult to obtain. This is more accessible in digital format.

" The Magnus Opus has twenty-two fundamental keys (The 22 Major Arcanum of the Tarot). The sexual force comes from the Third Logos. The Third Logos is the Holy Spirit. The animal-man makes the energy of the Third Logos flow downwards and outwards. The angel-man, by means of the Magnus Opus, makes the energy of the Third Logos return inwards and upwards. In this way the angel-man becomes a creator in other superior levels of consciousness."

Following the unfoldment of the 22 Major Arcanum in relation to the Alchemical transmutation, Samael also provides esoteric insight into the corresponding 7 churches (Chakra's) from the book of Revelations. He also explains the wisdom of the Arcanum 13 (Death), upon which the Magnus Opus is totally realised.

The next section of this book goes into the unfoldment of the `Golden book of Abraham the Jew'. This book was discovered by Nicholas Flamel. Legend states that Nicholas Flamel was able to transmute lead into Gold with the knowledge from this book. From my perspective, the greater unfoldment and utilisation of this book is had by Samael Aun Weor in showing us the true esoteric knowledge relating to the Arcanum A.Z.F. Samael unfolds the 13 images of this book and tells us "In this book we have given the 13 secrets of the resurrection. With this mysterious science you will have the power to conquer death."

The last part of this book goes into the understanding of the Divine Feminine or Cosmic Mother. "God has no figure. God is coessential with the Absolute Abstract Space. God is That... That... That... God has two aspects: Wisdom and Love. God, as Wisdom, is the Father. God, as Love, is the Mother. Christ is the Son of God. Christ is not an individual, Christ is an Army. Christ the Army of the Voice, the Verb. Before the dawning of the aurora of the new cosmic day, the Father, the Mother, and the Son, were One. That... That... That..."

In this new octave of Samael, we see the unfoldment of the greater mysteries. This obviously deals with the higher realms and those who inhabit these realms, inclusive of how we can also ascend the ladder of Jacob. The questions of God, the divine mother, the trinity and Jesus Christ are all laid out before us. We are deeply affected by the act of God personally visiting us in Jesus Christ; not an avatar, but 'The Savoir' of mankind; Christ as the `word' and as sacrifice - "As above, so below"."

Personally? I'll be looking out for more of his material.

[whatsinaname]

The Screwtape Letters. by C.S Lewis.



First published in 1942, The Screwtape Letters has sold millions of copies world-wide and is recognized as a milestone in the history of popular theology. A masterpiece of satire, it entertains readers with its sly and ironic portrayal of human life and foibles from the vantage point of Screwtape, a highly placed assistant to "Our Father Below." At once wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original, The Screwtape Letters is the most engaging account of temptation—and triumph over it—ever written. With beautiful color illustrations by the artist Papas throughout, this new edition also includes C. S. Lewis's own drawing of Screwtape, as well as a retrospective essay written twenty years after the original publication.

Genius!

The Venus Blueprint: Uncovering the Ancient Science of Sacred Places. by Richard Merrick.



In 2010, Richard Merrick took a family trip to Scotland's Rosslyn chapel—the enigmatic fifteenth-century temple made famous by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Little did he know he was about to embark upon an intellectual and personal journey that would lead to the discovery of a real-life lost symbol—one that reveals the connection between the world's most sacred temples and opens up a treasure trove of lost science and ancient secrets.

The symbol he discovers—the Venus Blueprint—is based on that planet's orbital pattern, which takes the shape of a five-pointed star when seen from Earth. As Merrick digs deeper, he realizes the Venus Blueprint was an integral part of the design template of some of the most significant religious architecture around the world--including St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Roman Pantheon, the Greek Parthenon, the Temple of Jerusalem, and the Great Pyramid of Giza, as well as many buildings designed by the secretive Freemason society.

Upon further examination, Merrick is astounded to discover that temples designed using the Venus Blueprint are endowed with extraordinary acoustics that, when supplied with the right tones and frequencies, are capable of harmonizing with Earth's resonant frequencies and evoking altered states of consciousness. He then proposes a fascinating idea: Could it be that the ancients used these harmonics to enhance entheogenically induced visions—to commune with the divine and liberate the gods within?

Supported by an impressive array of historical research and scientific analysis, The Venus Blueprint offers compelling evidence of an ancient lost culture that was both spiritually and scientifically advanced.

A couple of reviews:

"I have never written a review before but this book has broken boundaries and I want others to cross it and enter new realms of knowledge. Richard Merrick writes beautifully, but what he has to say is what is really important. His subject is enormously complex and I wondered whether I would be up to absorbing his material. I needn't have worried; he masterfully explains his theories, and takes you from stage to stage in his thrilling discoveries.

This is what life is all about; mystery, knowledge and exposure to new concepts. He has taken me onto the next stage of my journey through life. Buy this book and enjoy the revelations. "

.................................................. .


"I literally can't remember the last book I've read that has had me this excited. There are so many discoveries in it that left me giggling to myself. It really does a good job of arguing the true purpose of the ancient temple, while displaying the advanced knowledge that their designers must have had--knowledge that even today is not commonly understood. It also sows together a number of religious themes throughout history, going all the way back to the Vedas, to show their common lineage. Really, if you're already thinking about reading this but are on the fence, just do it. I'm quite confident you won't regret it."

Reads like a real life Celestine Prophecy. Well written, well researched and well presented.

Here's an interview with the author.

Red Ice Radio - Richard Merrick - Hour 1 - The Venus Blueprint - YouTube

Red Ice Radio - Richard Merrick - Hour 1 - The Venus Blueprint - YouTube

I'm only half way through this one at the moment, but feel it needs sharing as soon as possible.

My Big TOE:Trilogy. by Thomas Campbell.



I've noticed this book on the shelves for years, but have always passed it by. What a fool.

A quick Amazon review:


"With humor and high spirits, Tom Campbell informally shares with you in his Trilogy, who he is, and how he started on the journey that led to his Big TOE. Campbell's Big TOE, which refers to nothing less than a Theory of Everything, stands on firm ground.

In a bigger picture of our existence than has ever been presented, My Big TOE weaves Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics together to create a model of reality through which you can begin your journey towards a higher quality of consciousness.

Campbell's books are derived from his own experiences with altered states of consciousness, his work and experiments with respected people in this field, and the objective verification of the results. The author shows how previously, Philosophy, Physics, and Metaphysics clashed in their isolated quests for answers to the nature of reality, and that by setting the camera of our conscious mind to a wide-angle lens, we can better understand reality in the larger sense.

This is not necessarily an easy read,the book is designed to unfold his model of reality slowly.You cannot expect to breeze through concepts involving the larger reality as you would a novel.The results and the rewards are worth a slow read. The personal asides that the author provides enrich the reading process, and the Trilogy format allows the complex subject matter to be more accessible to everyone.

From those mildly curious to the potentially eternally grateful, please note: from whatever level you personally begin, you cannot go back to exactly the way you previously viewed reality - this Trilogy will reach the core of your being, and you will certainly glean from it something of lasting value.

The true value, however, will lie in your own experiences and explorations, the author cautions, as the Trilogy provides only a framework for your personal quest in search of a higher quality of consciousness and awareness.

While personal effort is expected to achieve results, I appreciate the lengths the author has gone to in order to relate the processes, and the why, of how he arrived at his Big TOE.

I like the why of things, and there is plenty offered here:

* Why you are here and the "point and meaning of both physical and non-physical existence"
* Why our culture and beliefs may inhibit our ability to see the Bigger Picture of reality
* Why improving ourselves is the best way to solve our collective problems, and possibly the best road to Peace
* Why time travel into the future and past is accessible to us
* Why meditation is a good beginning towards all of this; showing you how to create your own mantra based on which of your five senses works best for you
* Why "Spirituality, Consciousness, Love, and Paranormal Phenomena are interconnected"

These are but a few of the answers and profound insights the author presents in this Trilogy.

The noble goals of evolving our consciousness toward the positive side, exploring alternate realities, improving the quality of our being, our life, and our planet, are a challenge the author inspires us to take on.

For all of these reasons and many more besides, I cannot recommend this Trilogy highly enough! "


Like I said, i'm only half way through, but am seriously inpressed so far.
I've always wondered why there aren't so many books trying to tie together everything; well, here is one! With a title like My Big Theory of Everything, it couldn't really leave anything out.

It's a huge book, so for those wimps not up to the job, here's the first of a series of videos based on the book.

Tom Campbell My Big TOE Toronto 2009 1/9 - YouTube

Tom Campbell My Big TOE Toronto 2009 1/9 - YouTube

Here's a fascinating video with Tom Campbell and Bruce Lipton:

Bruce Lipton and Tom Campbell Summit Part 1/2 - YouTube

Bruce Lipton and Tom Campbell Summit Part 1/2 - YouTube

[whatsinaname]

I've now finished the My Big TOE trilogy...and all I can say is: Beg, borrow, or steal a copy for yourself!

I'm aware of all the concepts individually, but to grasp everything in a "big picture" view is a pretty unique feature.

The book is written in good humour from the start; all concepts are viewed and explained from the author's personal experiences in non-physical reality, then tied together with his scientific "physical reality" background as a physicist.

Marvelous stuff.

[grandmasterp]

Arthur Ransome: Master Storyteller: Writing the Swallows and Amazons Books: Amazon.co.uk: Roger Wardale: Books

 

Arthur Ransome: Master Storyteller: Writing the Swallows and Amazons Books: Amazon.co.uk: Roger Wardale: Books

A cracking bio with some new insights. excellent photos plus some of Ransome's sketches.
One can never read enough Ransome, be it by him or about him.
Anyone who likes small boats likes Ransome.
Three weeks next Friday and we'll be on our beloved Norfolk Broads again.

[whatsinaname]

Double post.

[whatsinaname]

The Big Questions. by Lama Surya Das.



Book Description

There are certain ‘big questions’ that arise again and again as we each move through life. Questions like ‘Is there a God?’, ‘What is the key to real happiness?’ and ‘Is violence ever justified?’. In this engaging, thought-provoking book, sought-after Buddhist teacher and author Lama Surya Das explores 30 such questions. His exploration draws on his own experience as a teacher of Tibetan Buddhism as well as other approaches to life and spirituality, including different schools of Buddhism, other religions, spirituality in general and pragmatism. The Big Questions encourages each of us to take a broad view when examining these and other important questions. It will inspire you to rediscover your own innate questioning spirit and encourage you to engage more fully with life so you can find your own authentic response to the big questions that we all face.

About the Author

Lama Surya Das has been praised by the Dalai Lama as ‘a leader of Western Buddhists’. He is the most highly trained American Lama in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and has been studying and practising for over 30 years. He is a sought-after teacher, conducting seminars and retreats all over the world and is a frequent spokesperson for Buddhism in the media. He is the author of five previous books including the bestselling Awakening the Buddha Within and also writes the ‘Ask a Lama’ column on beliefnet.com.

Gnostic Anthropology. Samael Aun Weor.



Amazon Review:

"First I'd like to express my deepest gratitudes for what Samael Aun Weor and his organzation has done for humanity. In this book SAW unveils anthropology as it should be taught everywhere, including colleges and universities.
He writes in a very clear and direct manner. He doesn't sugar-coat anything, he seems to be very sincere all the time. One has much to learn from this book. His anger towards false science is definitely shown throughout the book and I understand that. I only wish he would have elaborated more on some topics, though I do appreciate his recommendations of other books and authors.
All the topics here are of great interest and of great importance to many people. Also, sometimes he tends to repeat himself a bit too much though I understand that some repetition is good. Other than that, the message here is indispensable and is the point of the matter to me.
It is something beyond academia which is merely learning and memorizing what other people have said and written. No, this is pure experiencial stuff, something than can be learned from within oneself and from experience. If one has believed in academia for so long without actually experiencing anything, then why not open up to this form of anthropology which sounds far more convincing an something that one can see for oneself?
I still gave this book 5 stars only because of the profundities explained here that are rarely found elsewhere. Also because of the bold and sincere manner in which SAW explains things. Overall, even thought it might not be the most informative and well written book out there, the eye-opening and convincing arguments revealed in this book gives it much value. It can also be of great importance for truth seekers on the path towards self-realization. "

The Forbidden Universe. by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince.



Book Description
Publication Date: 24 Mar 2011

Were the first scientists hermetic philosophers? What do these occult origins of modern science tell us about the universe today? "The Forbidden Universe" reveals the secret brotherhood that defined the world, and perhaps discovered the mind of God.
All the pioneers of science, from Copernicus to Newton via Galileo, were inspired by Hermeticism. Men such as Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Leibniz, Bacon, Kepler, Tycho Brahe - even Shakespeare - owed much of their achievements to basically occult beliefs - the hermetica.
In this fascinating study, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince go in search of the Hermetic origins of modern science and prove that not everything is as it seems and that over the past 400 years there has been a secret agenda behind our search for truth. From the age of Leonardo da Vinci, the influence of hermetic thinking upon the greatest minds in history has been hidden, a secret held by a forbidden brotherhood in search of the mind of God. Yet this search does not end in history but can be found in the present day - in the contemporary debates of leading evolutionists and thinkers. The significance of this hidden school can hardly be over-emphasised. Not only did it provide a spiritual and philosophical background to the rise of modern science, but its worldview is also relevant to those hungry for all sorts of knowledge even in the twenty-first century. And it may even show the way to reconciling the apparently irreconcilable divide between the scientific and the spiritual. Picknett and Prince go in search of this true foundation of modern rational thought and reveal a story that overturns 400 years of received wisdom. Praise for Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince: Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince...specialise in topics that challenge established and cultural history' - "Fortean Times". 'Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince...hold as good a claim as any to be the model for Robert Langdon, for their book stands at the heart of "The Da Vinci Code's" ideas' - "The Rough Guide to "The Da Vinci Code"". 'One of the most fascinating books I have read since "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"' - Colin Wilson.

Amazon Review:

"This book is in two parts which add up to a single theme: modern scientists are clawing their way back to insights that were intuitively obvious to medieval thinkers, and before them the ancient Egyptians.

The book's first part describes how the great thinkers who developed the modern scientific worldview, such as Copernicus, Galileo and Newton, took seriously and were inspired by esoteric ideas, especially the Hermetica, a collection of religio-philosophical writings compiled in the early centuries AD.

It argues further that the Hermetic writings draw on and express much older concepts taken from ancient Egyptian thought. Finally, it suggests that esoteric concerns became suppressed largely for political reasons, not because scientists saw them as intrinsically without merit, but that this then led to the modern mindset in which spiritual speculations--about the meaning and purpose of the cosmos, its creator and humanity's place within it--are seen as almost diametrically opposed to the mechanistic and materialist scientific method. Of course, many people will know that Newton devoted as much energy to mystical issues like biblical prophecy and the dimensions of Solomon's temple as he did to his theories of optics and gravitation. However, what this part of the book does is show that the influence of esoterica was much more fundamental and far-reaching than we are generally led to believe. It suggests that we have been treated to a sanitised version of scientific history according to which scientists heroically threw off the befuddlement of esoteric thinking, whereas the truth is that early modern scientists could not have done what they did without the groundwork laid by esoteric texts such as the Hermetica. [The statement of one reviewer here that Newton succeeded in spite of not because of his occult influences is precisely what the authors attempt to show is a distorted modern myth.] A key aspect of the argument is that early scientists' problems with the Catholic church stemmed not from the 'scientific' content of their work but from its esoteric underpinnings, which conflicted with Christian orthodoxy and more importantly undermined the church's authority. Thus, Copernicus cited the Hermetica as a source of his heliocentric theory. In his lifetime, the church was not hostile to the specific claim that the earth went round the sun. The pope even listened with interest to a lecture on the subject and it was a Roman cardinal who encouraged Copernicus to go public. The church only became hostile later on because of the close association of the heliocentric theory with the Hermetic world-view and its claims that humans were or could become divine in their own right. That the Catholic church was fighting the Lutheran reformation at this time made it especially touchy about independent theological speculations occurring outside its purview.

The second part of the book describes how modern scientists are increasingly finding that the universe seems to have been contrived (or designed) to support the existence of life. There appear to be numerous quirks in the laws of physics without which anything like the universe we know could not exist. For instance, the triple alpha process that leads to the creation of carbon in stars relies on an apparent coincidence in the energy levels of certain atomic nuclei, and if this were not the case the universe would consist of nothing but hydrogen and helium. Meanwhile, in biology, some crucial events in the history of life, such as the origins of the genetic code or the eukaryotic cell, are very difficult to explain in evolutionary terms and look more not less mysterious as time goes on, with theoreticians having no better explanation than a lucky turn of events. We then move on to quantum mechanics and the 'observer effect' whereby a quantum system's behaviour (specifically whether it acts like a particle or a wave) depends on the way in which it is observed. It seems the observer effect can even work backwards in time: the way a system must have acted in the past depends on how we choose to observe it in the here and now, and, although this has only been demonstrated over very tiny intervals, in principle it might apply on cosmological timescales. This suggests that the universe needs conscious minds to observe it in order to come into existence: not only does our observation of it cause the universe to be one thing or another, rather than a diffuse combination of all possibilities, but this applies back through time to the universe's very beginning even though we weren't ourselves around at that time. These ideas are not the personal ravings of the authors but represent the trains of thought of some very eminent scientists, most notably John Archibald Wheeler. And what is remarkable is how they echo the Hermetica's occult ideas such as that humans have a unique place in creation and are themselves part of the divine creative force.

The neat aspect of this book is that the notions described in the second part as growing out of consideration of modern scientific problems are seen to be very close to the notions of the Hermetic esoterica out of which modern science grew in the first place as described in the first part. I believe very little of this is the authors' own original work, and I would suggest going back to the sources they cite to get a fairer view of how far it is supported by evidence, but what they have done is create an accessible synthesis of a diverse but ultimately connected range of scholarly discoveries and speculations from the last fifty or so years. The proposal that, by being conscious, we are the creators of our own cosmos seems hugely important as a way of unlocking the fundamental conundrum of why the universe should exist at all. That said, such a proposal could be considered philosophically old hat, but this is largely the authors' point: the insights of ancient esoterica get at deep scientific truths and we should not assume that when brilliant minds like Newton took them seriously it was because they did not know what they were doing. The book's implication, that spiritual and materialist ways of understanding reality are not inimical to each other but intimately related, should be welcome to all those who are dissatisfied with the jejune vision of modern militant secularism.

The book has a readable style, good notes, an extensive bibliography and a useful index. "

[screamingeagle]

Nikola Tesla
“Of all things, I liked books best.”

whatsinaname are you a Nikola Tesla maybe

[saty]

Originally Posted by screamingeagle

Nikola Tesla
“Of all things, I liked books best.”

whatsinaname are you a Nikola Tesla maybe

Nikola Tesla = Greatest mind of all time and it's not even close.

p.s. whatsinaname is a walking library.He reads books as fast as Busta rhymes raps.

[whatsinaname]

Originally Posted by screamingeagle

Nikola Tesla
“Of all things, I liked books best.”

whatsinaname are you a Nikola Tesla maybe

Ha!

I doubt it...I have trouble changing a plug!

[whatsinaname]

Originally Posted by saty

Nikola Tesla = Greatest mind of all time and it's not even close.

p.s. whatsinaname is a walking library.He reads books as fast as Busta rhymes raps.

I must admit, I am partial to the odd book.

Speaking of which...

Onward and upward....

The Book Of English Magic. by Richard Heygate and Philip Carr- Gomm.



Book Description
Publication Date: 1 April 2010
Of all the countries in the world, England has the richest history of magical lore and practice.

English authors such as J.R.R.Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, and J.K.Rowling, dominate the world of magic in fiction, but from the earliest times, England has also acted as home to generations of eccentrics and scholars who have researched and explored every conceivable kind of occult art.

Most people are torn between a fascination with magic and an almost instinctive fear of the occult, of a world redolent with superstition and illusion. And yet more people now practice magic in England than at any time in her history.

The Book of English Magic explores this hidden story, from its first stirrings to our present-day fascination with all things magical. Along the way readers are offered a rich menu of magical things to do and places to visit.


I'll borrow this review to give a good overview:

"Philip Carr-Gomm an expert on Druidry has written a book that is a tour de force. Covering the magical history of Britain all the way from it's prehistoric Shamanistic beginning all the way up to the present. The book is comprehensive, informative and very interesting. if you are new to magic I advise you pick up a copy of this book and read it. The over view will help you get to where you want to go in the realm of magic.

Not only does the book offer a rich textured history of magic but it also comes with exercises the novice can do so they can get their feet wet. If you are a long term practitioner then this is your chance to dabble in something a bit outside of your field. For further exploration the book offers a treasure trove of web links and books for further exploration. Awesome.

Right now there are more magical practitioners in Britain then every before. The early prehistoric people began doing their Shamanistic practices in caves often times using chants, altered states of mind and visualization in order to control the world around them. Such concerns were for hunting, crops and warding off sickness.

The state of magic moved on as the landscape of Britain is filled with landmarks that at first modern Brits took no notice of. This changed with the likes of John Aubrey and William Stukely who recognized them as Pagan holy sites and worthy of attention. later on other people would find our they were connected by Ley lines. Originally they were straight line paths from one place to the next. Trade caravans and pilgrims followed these routes. in around 1925 it was theorized that these land lines were like energy routes and could be harness for magical practice. To tap into these Ley lines one could use a variety of methods but one stood out and that was dowsing.

By use of tools inclusive of pendulums and dowsing rods Ley lines could be discovered. Dowsing is also an effective means for finding water and oil. many dowsers will tell you never to use dowsing for personal gain or unearned wealth. Druids who were the philosophers among the Celts rose to prominence. Their writing was using the Ogham alphabet. Now not much is known about the Druids so we have what is called an imaginative reconstruction. The Romans obliterated any traces of Druidic culture. The reconstructions come from scratch. Druidism or neo-druidism developed in Britain growing through three stages. First group mimicking the Freemason was more like a workers club offering fraternity, friendship and union style benefits. it was a means of support. The second phase was more of a cultural celebration where in the Brits who joined still retained their Christian affiliation while practicing Celtic/druidic rites as a cultural thing. Finally the druids became a spiritual magical movement. They modeled themselves after the Mason with initiations and ceremonies and casting circles. Symbolic use if herbs, animal totems and vision quests are made use of.

No magic book on England would be complete without mentioning Merlin. Some call him Mardyn the wild one. No one knows who he really is. They know he existed; of course King Arthur is something else entirely. Merlin was an adviser to the king. In reality he may have been a chieftain who came from Ireland and Scotland. Geoffrey Monmouth spoke of him in his works. Many feel that Merlin's prophecies came to pass. Others still say they are yet to pass. The chapter continues with further talk on the legends of the Grail and their internal spiritual uses.

As the Romans were forced to flee the Anglo Saxons and the Jutes entered the scene. A system of magic and sorcery was built upon the foundation of what was left behind of the Romans and celts added to the Germanic tribes brought with them. The Anglo Saxon brought with them beliefs in elves, dwarves, gnomes and faeries. They also brought the Runic alphabet with them. The Runes branched off and took different courses in Britain then they did in Germany. The Anglo Saxon had a belief that sickness was caused by mischievous elves. The Anglo Saxon sorcerer has verbal charms and herbs that were meant to counteract such things. The Herbs were often imbued with powers bestowed up them by certain astral bodies. The Runes were used for fortune telling and Binding runes could be used for magical spells. Binding is when runes were worn as a talisman or amulet. Two runes would be combined for certain desired result.

High magic came to play with the importation of Alchemy. Alchemists in the west have always sought two things: how to turn metals into gold and how to perfect the soul. Alchemists in the East also wanted to perfect the soul but they were also searching for immortality. Eventually Alchemy would lead to chemistry but the idea of certain herbs being associated with planetary influence and perfecting the soul would find their way into High Magic. High Magic is all about Theurgist magic which is geared for perfecting the soul. The book has a few real interesting activities associated with alchemy that can be performed at home.

John Dee was very interested in both Astrology and alchemy. A gifted magician he plunged into magic whole heartedly. His interest in magic would lead to an interest in angels. He was a favorite of the Elizabethan court. He would get together with a cohort who is clairvoyant who was able to decipher the Enochian language. They would later go off treasure hunting with his cohort Edward Kelley. Their treasure hunting exploits were not as successful as hoped. Edward Kelley ended up getting arrested. John Dee retired.

Low magic is using magic to procure things like love, money and even fighting of sickness. It had much in common with Anglo Saxon sorcery. The people that come to mind are Witches, Wiccans and Cunning folk. Wicca was introduced in 1954 by Gerald Gardner. Without going into his life details Wicca has been controversial. It made the term witch a positive connotation. Their focus was on positive magic. The controversy is the actual age of whatr is called Wicca. Witch craft is not the same as Wicca in al cases.

The original witches were actually cunning folk who lived in the countryside villages. They would perform magick to protect people from the evil work of witches. They would also say their incantation invoking Jesus. The second group of witches were those accused of witch craft and burned at the stake. Many were innocent. Finally there is Wicca.

Wicca took many things of ceremonial magic including invocations from the Key of Solomon. They also took the initiation from the Masons. Combining theories from India and the far east, Gerald Gardner formulated his own brand of magic.
The history of magic continues with descriptions of Alesister Crowley, Freemason The Golden Dawn all the way through Chaos Magick. The book is too exhaustive to give a thorough summarization unless you are writing a term paper. It has interviews, places to visit, activities, book you name it. This book gets five stars out of five stars if you are any way into magic then buy the book ASAP."

Next I went for a re-read of a classic..


Journeys out of the Body. by Robert A. Monroe.



Everybody should have read this book, but if you haven't, here's some info:

Book Description
Publication Date: 29 Jun 1989
When, unpredictably and against his will, Robert Monroe began
to have out-of-the-body experiences he was frightened and disbelieving. He
found that he could leave his physical body and travel to places far
removed from the material and spiritual relaities of life on earth. He
inhabited a world unbounded by death or time. Robert Monroe began to meet
other people who had experienced out-of-body journeys and reading the
literature of the East he found that the phenomenon had a long history. His
journeys began to be more frequent and began to change his life. Robert
Monroe challenges the reader to revise their ideas about life and death,
while giving a step-by-step guide to how to initiate out-of-body
experiences.

"Bob was bewildered the first time an out of the body experience happened to him. He thought he was going crazy.

After he developed the skill to the point where he could do it at will, he eventually met Dr Charles Tart, in the early 1960's, then at the University of Virginia, Parapsychology Dept. Tart would have a computer generate a random 6 digit number, display it on a display ten feet up in the air (that no one could see). Monroe would leave his body, go up read the number, come back and tell Charlie Tart what the number was!
A real controlled experiment. Over and over. (

This is documented in Tart's groundbreaking classic book on parapsychology, "Altered States of Consciousness".

Later, Bob, with various guidance and a lot of experimentation on himself and various gifted others, discovered a technology, Hemisync, to allow people to experience this themselves. Even scoffers and skeptics.

Yes, there is the The Monroe Institute hidden in the hills of Virginia. Yes, the best way to learn this stuff is to ante up and go there. Beyond that, buying each of the Gateway series, starting with "Discovery", from TMI and a great deal of practice is the best way to learn. You get out of it what you put in. Frankly, most people are idly curious but also too fearful, superstitious or lazy to get anywhere. But for those few who persevere, it is life-altering. Practice, practice, practice.

I don't think this is his best book, he changed his mind as he went along, but you need to read this to have a clue about the later ones. I would also recommend Far Journeys and Ultimate Journey.

Bob... died in 1995, in a world of phonies, he remains an OOBE authentic, a friend and a pathfinder. "

[bard]

[whatsinaname]

The System in Which We Live. by Arthur Oram.

We have here a unique account as to how this world and the next appear to exist together as a single system, free from the mysteries of dualism, with simple explanations to show how experiements can be arranged to provide the evidence we need in support of such a system.

Survival of death, the influence of visiting minds, problems relating to reincarnation, precognition, the nature of time and many other aspects of the system in which we live are bought together here with illustrations from personal experiences of the author and of others.

It is shown that this single approach helps us to see how all the components can come together, from the physical world, through the mind and inspiration to God, but a vast amount of research is needed to fill in the detail and many of the areas where this research is important are described as we follow the system through.

This is a book for us all, on a subject of the greatest importance to everyone, through life and death.


Arthur Oram was a long time honorary secretary of the Society for Psychical Research.

[whatsinaname]

Low Magick: It's all in your head...you just have no idea how big your head is. by Lon Milo Duquette.




A few reviews:

"I'm not a Ceremonial Magician, and don't have much interest in conjuring spirits, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of this book. This is the first time I've read a book about Ceremonial Magic or "Western Magick" that I felt emotionally drawn in by, even touched by, which in my view is a comment on the quality of Lon's character, his ability to reveal something of his heart, and that of others, in his writing. He comes across as the most humble of any writer on Occult, Magical or Pagan matters, that I have encountered in writing. He helps show how Magick can be creative, fun, authentic, effective, and why it should be a part of more of our lives. "


.........................................

"Lon Duquette has written a book so clear in its exposition and so engaging and conversational in style as to make a frightfully obtuse subject clear even to the reader for whom the concepts are entirely new, even strange. While "Low Magic: It's All in Your Head" is by no means a technical manual, better than any other work I have read it answers clearly and effectively the question "What is low magick really all about?"

There are probably as many answers to that question as there are magicians, but the best I've encountered - as this work makes clear - is that it is an exploration of the darker corners of the subconscious mind, undertaken with a view toward transforming the personal demons of doubt, fear, lust and anger (among others) that assail the individual and keep him from living up to his potential - through the force of the trained and disciplined will - into promoters of growth and wholeness. The means of this transformation is the work of magick. No one ever said it better than Eliphas Levi, an adept if ever there was one, in his poem "The Magician:"

"Their faces and their shapes are terrible and strange,
These devils by my might to Angels I will change.
These nameless horrors I address without affright,
On them will I impose my will, the law of light."

This is the aim of low magick. Are the demonic creatures who populate its world real? Yes, says the author: they are, because they can be experienced. Do these thought forms have or are they capable of assuming an independent, semi-sentient existence? Opinion is divided but that really doesn't matter: they may fail the "lamp test" (i.e., they cannot knock over a table lamp) but they can certainly make the soul they bedevil knock over a lamp. As no less a personage than Aleister Crowley points out clearly in "The Spirits of the Goetia of Solomon the King" (1904, p. 3, "The Initiated Interpretation of Ceremonial Magic"), "The spirits [of the Goetia] are portions of the human brain." Enough said. Low magick is the attempt to make those wild, maddened wraiths run in harness. Its tools are autosuggestion and the willed direction of the imagination.

This is not a book that explicitly lays out the formal theory underlying low magick nor is it a book of techniques and applications (although there is enough exposition of theory and technique in it to interest the more experienced practitioner). Rather, it is a book of stories - and the stories are wittily, absorbingly and expertly told, such as (inter alia) his exorcism of a particularly nasty critter wreaking murderous havoc in a Catholic Girls' School (an aptly named "Our Lady of Sorrows"), his obtaining of a date with the beauty of his first grade class, pacifying the troublesome shade of a deceased relative and a good many others that serve as examples of what magick can - and cannot - accomplish.

Mr. Duquette has done it again: a superlatively gifted storyteller, the author illustrates what can be accomplished with magick, good intentions and a generous bit of elbow grease. This book is simply a "must have" for the serious magician or student of magick."

This book had me laughing out loud in places.

[amberleaf]

Complete Indian Housekeeper

[grandmasterp]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Law-Tr...8565110&sr=1-1

Just finishing off the last book in this excellent trilogy.
It's maybe a bit violent for some tastes in parts but cracking good storyline across each book and really well written characters .

[getagrip]

By Marcus Chown

Trying to get to grips with Quantum physics. Think I will have to read it at least two more times for it to sink in

[fairyprincess]

I've just read puckoon by comedy ledgend spike milligan......

Now I half way through steppenwolf

[torus]

"...considered to be one the profoundest expressions of Zen wisdom ever put on paper, and also the most outstanding literary and philosophical work of Japan. It is a collection of essays by Eihei Dogen (1200-1253) founder of Zen's Soto school."

____________________________________

"Mayu, Zen Master Baoche, was fanning himself. A monk approached and said, "Master, the nature of wind is permanent and there is no place it does not reach. Why, then, do you fan yourself?"
'Although you understand the nature of wind is permanent' Mayu replied, 'you do not understand the meaning of its reaching everywhere'
"What is the meaning of it reaching everywhere?" asked the monk,
Mayu just kept fanning himself.
The monk bowed deeply."