Philosophy and Religion

The mysteries of the Black Madonna can be traced to pre-Christian times, to the ancient devotion to Isis, the Earth Goddess and the African Mother, to the era when God was not only female, but, also, black. Sacred sites of the Black Madonna are still revered in Italy and, as Alessandra Belloni reveals, the shamanic healing traditions of the Black Madonna are still alive today and just as powerful

The Womb is the seat of our primal power and intuition--our “wild knowing.” A Spirit Weaver is one who has heard this wild inner voice from within and has followed that call--embarking on a Grail Quest to follow the feminine path of magic, awaken to the depths of their Soul, and embody their true feminine essence. Inviting you onto the spiral path of the Spirit Weaver, Seren Bertrand shares wisdom

"The Platform Sutra" occupies a central place in Zen (Ch'an) Buddhist instruction for students and spiritual seekers worldwide. It is often linked with "The Heart Sutra" and "The Diamond Sutra" to form a trio of texts that have been revered and studied for centuries. However, unlike the other sutras, which transcribe the teachings of the Buddha himself, "The Platform Sutra" presents the life and w

The mainstream position of the Christian church on sexuality was perhaps best summed up by Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) when he stated that the sexual act is so shameful that it is intrinsically evil. Another Christian theologian maintained that the holy Ghost is absent from the room shared by a wedded couple. What Philip records in his gospel is that Christ said exactly the opposite: the nuptial

According to Zen masters, by adopting a belly-centered posture and correct breathing, one can cultivate inner tranquility and balance: the state called Hara. Karlfried Graf Durckheim shows the Western world how to overcome the physical and spiritual decay of modern life by adopting the age-old techniques of Japanese Zen masters.

The Mysteries of Mithraspresents a revival of the magical practices and initiatory system of Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion that was immensely popular in the Roman Legions from the late second century B.C. until A.D. 400 and was taken to every corner of the Roman Empire. As the last pagan state religion in Europe, it was the most important competitor to early Christianity and heavil

Gnosticism was contemporary to early Christianity and its demise can be traced to Christianity's efforts to silence its teachings. The Gnostic message however was not destroyed but simply went underground. Starting with the first emergence of Gnosticism the author shows how its influence extended from the teachings of neo-Platonists and the magical traditions of the Middle Ages to the beliefs and

One of the cache of codices and manuscripts discovered in Nag Hammadi, THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS, unlike the canonical gospels, does not contain a narrative recording Christ's life and prophecies. Instead it is a collection of his teachings: in fact what he actually said. These 114 logia or sayings were collected by Judas Didymus Thomas, whom some claim to be Jesus's closest disciple. No sooner was thi

The Spandakarika, the ""Tantric Song of the Divine Pulsation,"" is said to have been transmitted directly to the sage Vasugupta from the hands of Shiva on Mount Kailas. In his commentary on these fifty-two stanzas, the sage Ksemaraja described them as the heart of the Mahamudra. The oldest masters of Spandakarika viewed everything in the universe, including matter, as consciousness and created a y

An introduction to the ancient Taoist exercise system of Tao Yin • Includes 45 fully illustrated exercises that promote flexibility, strength, and balance in one´s physical, mental, and spiritual energy • Addresses the health needs of the musculoskeletal system and the unique physical stresses of a modern urban lifestyle In the Western world, exercise focuses mainly on physical fitnes

Bee shamanism may well be the most ancient and enigmatic branch of shamanism. It exists throughout the world--wherever in fact the honeybee exists. Its medicinal tools--such as honey, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly--are now in common usage, and even the origins of Chinese acupuncture can be traced back to the ancient practice of applying bee stings to the body’s meridians. In this authoritative

Thousands of years ago Taoist masters discovered that a healthy organ vibrates at a particular frequency. They found six sounds with the correct frequencies to keep each organ in optimal condition. To accompany these Six Healing Sounds, six postures were developed to activate the acupuncture meridians, or energy channels, of the corresponding organs.In THE SIX HEALING SOUNDS Master Mantak Chia exp

Freemasonry, as a fraternal order of scientists and philosophers, emerged in the 17th century and represented something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that allowed the creative genius of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries to flourish. In Isaac Newton’s Freemasonry, Alain Bauer presents the swirl of historical, sociological, and religious influences that sparked the spiritual ferment and t

"Snakes and Ladders", the popular children's game, is derived from the ancient Hindu game Leela, or Snakes and Arrows, which charts the ups and downs of the soul's path toward reunion with the Infinite. Snakes and Arrows was designed by the seers and saints of India as a tool for understanding the relationship of the individual self to the Absolute Self.

If a person does not learn the grammar of a language, the best dictionary in the world cannot help him truly understand that language, much less speak it. This book explores the grammar as well as the principles and structures of symbology, the science of symbols. In distinction to symbolism, which explores the use of symbols, symbology examines the primal force that creates symbols that are able

Banned after promising research in the 1940s, '50s and '60s, the use of psychedelics as therapeutic catalysts is now being rediscovered at prestigious medical schools, such as Harvard, Johns Hopkins, NYU and UCLA. Through clinical trials to assess their use, entheogens have been found to ease anxiety in the dying, interrupt the hold of addictive drugs, cure post-traumatic stress disorder and treat

For nearly 400 years, incredible myths and stories have been woven around the “invisible” Brothers of the Rose Cross, the Rosicrucians. It is said that they possessed the secret of man and God, that they could turn lead into gold, that they governed Europe in secret, that theirs was the true philosophy of Freemasonry, and that they could save--or destroy--the world. In The Invisible History of the

Atlantis has held a perennial place in the collective imagination of humanity from ancient Greece onward. Many of the great minds of the occult and esoteric world wrote at length on their theories of Atlantis - about its high culture, its possible location, its ultimate demise and their predictions of a return to Atlantean enlightenment or the downfall of modern society.Beginning with a review of

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