Philosophy and Religion

In troubled times, there is an urgency to understand ourselves and our world. We have so many questions, and they tug at us night and day, consciously and unconsciously. In this important volume Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh----one of the most revered spiritual leaders in the world today----reveals an art of living in mindfulness that helps us answer life's deepest question

The how of Pooh? The Tao of who? The Tao of Pooh!?! In which it is revealed that one of the world's great Taoist masters isn't Chinese--or a venerable philosopher--but is in fact none other than that effortlessly calm, still, reflective bear. A. A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh! While Eeyore frets, and Piglet hesitates, and Rabbit calculates, and Owl pontificates, Pooh just is.

Ever since his childhood, Kyriacos C. Markides has heard mysterious rumors concerning the Magus of Strovolos, Cyprus´s “specialist of the netherworld.”   When he returns to Cyprus as an adult, Markides seeks out this master healer and spiritual teacher, to discover the old man for himself. Armed with the skepticism he learned as a sociologist, combined with his passion to explore the inne

In this wide-ranging anthology of Sufi writings, Idries Shah, who was one of Sufism´s leading exponents, offers a broad selection of poetry, contemplations, letters, lectures, and teaching stories that together form an illuminating introduction to this unique body of thought.  Sufism, the mystical aspect of Islam, has had a dynamic and lasting effect on the literature of that religion. Its t

Meetings with Remarkable Men, G. I. Gurdjieff’s autobiographical account of his youth and early travels, has become something of a legend since it was first published in 1963. A compulsive “read” in the tradition of adventure narratives, but suffused with Gurdjieff’s unique perspective on life, it is organized around portraits of remarkable men and women who aided Gurdjieff’s sea

Two thousand years ago, at a time when the Christian West was frantically repressing sexuality, the Chinese were enjoying an erotic life that fused the sensual and the spiritual, in which sexual guilt and sexual aberrations like sadism and masochism were all but absent. This bestselling book by a leading modern exponent of Taoism makes that erotic life available to all who seek it. With its emphas

This classic study in the evolution of the human mind is a pioneering work as valuable today as when it was first published in 1901. At that time, it was enthusiastically acclaimed by both William James and P. D. Ouspensky. It has long been accepted as a landmark in the field of mysticism. In reviewing the mental and spiritual activity of the human race, Dr. Bucke discovers that at intervals ce

Dervish tales are more than fable, legend, or folklore. For centuries dervish masters have instructed their disciples by means of these teaching stories, which are said to increase perception and knowledge and provide a better understanding of man and the world. In wit, construction, and piquancy, they compare with the finest tales of any culture. Idries Shah spent many years traveling through thr

The 1964 publication of Sir Richard Burton's translation marked the first wide appearance in English of the Kama Sutra and was celebrated as a literary event of highest importance. As vital to an understanding of ancient Indian civilization as the works of Plato and Aristotle are to the West, the Kama Sutra has endured for 1,700 years as an indisputable classic of world literature. Written with f

The Life of Milarepa is the most beloved story of the Tibetan people amd one of the greatest source books for the contemplative life in all world literature. This biography, a true folk tale from a culture now in crisis, can be read on several levels: a personal and moving introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, it is also a profoundly detailed guidebook in the search for consciousness. It presents the

A useful source book for Pagan spiritualists. Elisabeth Goldsmith examines symbols found in the art and artefacts from across cultures and throughout history. Explanations reveal the symbolism of the Elements, the Lotus, the Tree of Life, the Cross, the Swastika, and many more.Elisabeth Goldsmith begins Ancient Pagan Symbols with a poetic description of the creative forces of life and the metaphys

Hazrat Inayat Khan's books were among the first to bring Sufism to the West. They remain among the most important introductions Westerners have to the concepts of the ancient religious tradition. In Rassa Shastra, Khan shares his teachings on Sufi ideas about the spiritual and sacred purpose of sex and relationships and stresses 'true union', one of the Sufi keys to perfection.

First published in 1912, William Gemmell's translation of The Diamond Sutra was one of the first books to introduce general readers in the West to Buddhism. It still stands as a refreshing, easy-to-understand look at an ancient and enduring tradition. The Diamond Sutra, a sacred Buddhist text, recounts the Buddha's discourse to one of his disciples. It discusses fundamental Buddhist practices,

Important Symbols presents an extensive compilation of the symbols of ancient cultures, describing the context and usage of each symbol around the world and throughout time. Adelaide Hall groups the symbols into categories, each comprising a chapter of the book. Chapters including "The Halo and the Crown," "Fabulous Creatures," "Architectural Forms," "Military Emblems," "Plants and Blossoms," "A

WABA is J. Marvin Spiegelman's mnemonic for the various manifestations of the experience of the divine: Within, Among, Between, and Around. He details how Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and the Kabbalah exemplify the divine within/ the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca clearly illustrates the divine among/ the Alchemical model exemplifies the divine between/ and the numinous experiences we find in nature, ar

William Greene was unique among his fellow Christian writers on the Kabbalah in that he saw clearly both its significance for Freemasonry and its application to radical thought. He prefaced his study, first published in 1872, with a stirring account of the significant Masonic symbol of the Blazing Star - a symbol also of liberty of conscience and political freedom, goals that must still be sought

This is the first of the authors' four books dealing with the mid-life crisis. At mid-life, each of us is faced with crucial questions: Will I or will I not hold fast to the security of the familiar? Will I or will I not go on living the second half of life out of the same meanings, values, and goals as I did in the first half of life? Will I petrify? Will I regress? Using Jungian personality theo

In The House of the Hidden Places, first published in 1895, Adams clearly lays out evidence that the Great Pyramid at Giza corresponds architecturally to the initiation ritual detailed in the Egyptian Book of the Dead (which Adams preferred to call what he felt was its rightful title, The Book of the Maste). The House of the Hidden Places was the first book to go beyond the current speculations

The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology were written by a theologian who professed to be St. Paul's Athenian convert, Dionysius. Rolt, however, places him in the time of Proclus, in the 5th century a.d. These works of Neo-Platonic Christian mysticism had an important influence on the early church and other Western esoteric orders and continue to be essential in the serious study of theology.

This book is a milestone in Western magical practice. Often erroneously called a forgery, it is in fact six separate books in one, the first two being by Agrippa (1486-1535). One of them, Of Magical Ceremonies, is Agrippa's clearest step-by-step formulation of how to perform an evocation, much more openly expressed than in his Three Books of Occult Philosophy. In addition there is the key grimoire