Inner Traditions

Shri Mahant Swami Ganeshanand Saraswati Giri (ca. 1895–1988) was known to all who loved and studied with him simply as Ganesh Baba. At the age of four, he was brought back from death through an initiation by Lahiri Mahasaya and through this initiation descends from the same Kriya Yoga lineage as Paramahansa Yogananda. He became a swami under his guru Sivananda and later went on to run the Anandama

Shrouded in mystery for centuries, the Sphinx of Giza has frustrated many who have attempted to discover its original purpose. Accounts exist of the Sphinx as an oracle, as a king’s burial chamber and as a temple for initiation into the Hermetic Mysteries. Egyptologists have argued for decades about whether there are secret chambers underneath the Sphinx, why the head-to-body ratio is out of propo

The underground realm of Agarttha was first introduced to the Western world in 1886 by the French esoteric philosopher Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre with his book Mission de l'Inde, translated here for the first time into English. Saint-Yves's book maintained that deep below the Himalayas were enormous underground cities, which were under the rule of a sovereign pontiff known as the Brahâtma. Th

THE FUTURE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD sheds new light on the evolution of consciousness from antiquity to modern times. The twelve essays in this book examine developments in human consciousness over the past five thousand years that most history books do not touch. In ancient times, human beings were finely attuned to the invisible world of the gods, spirits and ancestors. Today, by contrast, our moder

This book presents the spiritual teachings of Edward Salim Michaël and the struggles that led to his enlightenment. Due to the circumstances of his birth, Michaël had no education, no mother tongue and no formal education when he was drafted, at the age of 19, into the Royal Air Force during World War II. Unable to think in words, Michaël already sensed the “empty mind” sought after by meditation

Galileo described the universe as a large book written in the language of mathematics, which can only be read by those with knowledge of its characters--triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures. The laws of geometry are not human inventions. They are found ready-made in nature and hold a truth that is the same in all times and all places and is older than the world itself. In How the Worl

After travelling at age 18 from his native California to India in 1969, Rampuri was drawn to the Naga Babas, an ancient and wild order of naked yogis whom he calls the “Hell's Angels of Indian Spirituality.” Organized into a sect by Adi Shankara in the 5th century BC, the Naga Babas see themselves as the ultimate protectors of the Sanatan Dharma, or what we call the Hindu religion. Rampuri became

· Provides step-by-step illustrated instructions for a complete yet easy daily Chi Kung routine· Perfect for beginners and ideal as a warm-up to more advanced practices· Clears physical and mental stress, stimulates healing and disease prevention, detoxifies the body, releases tensions, improves circulation and works to develop flexibility, strength, resiliency, and supplenessWithin every person t

Of all forms taken by the undead, the vampire wields the most powerful pull on the modern imagination. But the countless movies and books inspired by this child of the night who has a predilection for human blood are based on incidents recorded as fact in newspapers and judicial archives in the centuries preceding the works of Bram Stoker and other writers. Digging through these forgotten records,

· Organised by level and chi kung system for quick reference during practice or teaching· Includes 220 exercises from more than 20 of Master Chia's practice systems, including the Inner Smile, the Six Healing Sounds, the Microcosmic orbit, Chi Self-Massage, Cosmic Detox and Iron Shirt Chi kung· Covers all of the basic exercises in the Universal Tao's first 6 levels of instructionOrganised progress

Recognised as one of the world's great visionary artists, Pablo Amaringo was renowned for his intricate, colourful paintings inspired by his shamanic visions. A master communicator of the ayahuasca experience - where snakes, jaguars, subterranean beings, celestial palaces, aliens and spacecraft all converge - Amaringo's art presents a doorway to the transcendent worlds of ayahuasca intended for co

The Qabbalah - the Jewish esoteric tradition - is richly woven with magical practices, from amulets and magic bowls to invocations and magical use of psalms. In this comprehensive and practical guide to Qabbalistic magic, Salomo Baal-Shem explains how to authentically perform rituals from the Qabbalistic tradition.The spells and rituals included range from basic “everyday” magic for health, prospe

Predating all organised religion, the belief in an afterlife is fundamental to the human experience and dates back at least to the Neanderthals. By the mid-19th century, however, spurred by the progress of science, many people began to question the existence of an afterlife and the doctrine of materialism - which believes that consciousness is a creation of the brain - began to spread. Now, armed

Originally considered a vital part of inspirational literature used by the early church, the Book of Enoch never made it into the cannon or accepted books of the Old Testament because of its strange and mysterious content about Enoch's experiences in the higher realms or heavens. The real Book of Enoch, which is a set of almost 100 mystical tables, was given again to humankind in the 1580s, when i

Thousands of years ago the immortals, known as the Shining Ones, shipwrecked on the Chinese coast. Passing their shamanic practices - such as ecstatic flight and how to find power animals and spirit guides - on to the indigenous people, they, also, taught them the wisdom of the Medicine Wheel. From the Taoist Medicine Wheel came the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, the Eight Forces,

In 1973, in Mawangdui, China, a large number of silk manuscripts were discovered at an early Han burial place. Among these were two versions of the Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu. Dated to around 200 BCE, these manuscripts were much older than all existing versions and included, quite surprisingly yet deliberately, the Four Canons of the Yellow Emperor - a long-lost treatise never-before seen in modern t

Many synagogues and churches, including the First and Second Temples of the Hebrews, follow an archetypal design first used in the Ohel Moed, or Tent of Meeting, and its sacred Tabernacle, which housed the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments. Drawing from a wealth of sources including the Hebrew Bible, the oral Mishnaic tradition of Judaism and 16th-century Judaic texts, Zohara Hieronimus

Great thinkers and researchers such as Carl Jung have acknowledged the many broad similarities that exist between the myths and symbols of ancient cultures. One largely unexplored explanation for these similarities lies in the possibility that these systems of myth all descended from one common cosmological plan. Outlining the most significant aspects of cosmology found among the Dogon, ancient Eg

While fast, hot, orgasm-driven sex can bring momentary satisfaction, in the long run it can become boring and mechanical, causing many couples to lose interest and stop making time for physical intimacy. The first step to revive a waning sex life or make a healthy one more fulfilling, says author Diana Richardson, is to make sex a conscious decision rather than an accidental encounter. Focusing on

Translated by the eminent Taoist Master Alfred Huang, THE COMPLETE I CHING has been praised by scholars and new students of the I Ching since its first edition. A native Chinese speaker, Master Huang first translated the original ideograms of the I Ching into contemporary Chinese and then into English, bringing forth the intuitive meanings embodied in the images of the I Ching and imbuing his tran