Social sciences

First published in French as Miroir du merveilleux in 1940, Mirror of the Marvelous has long been considered one of the most significant and original books to have come out of the surrealist movement and Anaïs Nin suggested it as a source of inspiration, far ahead of its time. Drawing on sacred and modern texts that share a quality of the marvellous, Pierre Mabille defines “the marvellous” as the

The Old Norse runes, known as the Elder Futhark, have long joined forces with the cycles of the seasons to offer powerful initiations, guidance and wisdom. Aligning the sacred festivals, plantings and harvests of ancient runic calendars with our modern 12-month calendar, Kelley Harrell reveals how the runes can once again offer initiations as well as instruct us on the holy days and creative rhyth

Just as the search for the philosopher's stone is the core symbol of the alchemical tradition, Ralph Metzner, psychotherapist and one of the respected elders of the psychedelic research community, sees it as the central metaphor of his life-long quest to find methods of healing and insight through heightened states of consciousness. Through captivating stories, Metzner shares his encounters from t

One of the oldest and most potent natural stimulants, the leaves of the coca plant is the organic source from which cocaine is synthesised. Fresh coca leaves and products made from them have verified medicinal and healing properties - and not the same addictive qualities or negative side effects as cocaine. In the late 19th century, coca products became hugely successful in Europe and the United S

Women have been shamans since time immemorial, not only because women have innate intuitive gifts, but, also, because the female body is wired to more easily experience altered states, such as during the process of birth. Whether female or male, the altered states produced by psychedelics and ecstatic trance expand our minds to tap into and enhance our feminine states of consciousness as well as r

Unbeknownst - or unacknowledged - by many, there is a long tradition of psychedelic magic and religion in Western civilisation. As Thomas Hatsis reveals, the discovery of the power of psychedelics and entheogens can be traced to the very first prehistoric expressions of human creativity, with a continuing lineage of psychedelic mystery traditions from antiquity through the Renaissance to the Victo

At the turn of the 20th century, a period known as the Silver Age, Russia was undergoing a powerful spiritual and cultural rebirth. It was a time of magic and mysticism that saw a vital resurgence of interest in the occult and a creative intensity not seen in the West since the Renaissance. This was the time of the God-Seekers, pilgrims of the soul and explorers of the spirit who sought the salvat

Drawing on both her Native American (Hopi) heritage and her Norwegian upbringing, renowned mystic and intuitive healer, Sonja Grace, shares original wisdom tales, received through her heart and soul, to take you on a journey into the magic of Raven and Bear and the healing power of Earth Medicine. Featuring Sonja's distinctive and beautiful artwork, each story is embedded with ancient teachings to

Just as we can write and install apps in our electronic devices, we can construct “mindapps” and install them in our brain-mind complex and, just as digital apps add capabilities to our devices, mindapps can expand our mental powers and creative abilities, allowing us intentionally to redesign our minds. Using psychedelics as the prime example, Thomas B. Roberts explores the many different kinds o

When was the last time you did something that scared you? The last time you really pushed your boundaries, took a risk and felt you not only bulldozed right through your fear, but, in fact, used it to propel you forward? If you've ever successfully confronted and overcome anything, even just for a short while, you'll undoubtedly relate to the profound and overwhelming sense of self-satisfaction th

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to adore food, while others find eating simply a need? Why some people just love to work out and others absolutely abhor anything to do with physical exercise? Why some love entertaining, while others would rather spend a quiet evening alone? In THE ENNEAGRAM OF EATING, Ann Gadd reveals how the well-known Enneagram system of personality types can explain

In the Huna tradition of Hawaii, there are seven elemental forces whose all-pervading energies flow around us in abundance. Each of us has the ability to easily tap into this rich source of energy to aid us in any situation, empower ourselves and our actions and manifest good things in our lives. In this full-colour, practical guide, Susanne Weikl details how to connect mentally and spiritually wi

Drawing on decades of experience, a psychotherapist and Zen practitioner makes the Abhidharma--the original psychological system of Buddhism--accessible to a general audience for the first time. The Abhidharma, one of the three major text collections of the original Buddhist canon, explores the critical juncture of Buddhist thought and the therapeutic aspects of the religion and meditation. It f

Mainstream SETI (Search For Extra-terrestrial Intelligence) scientists and ancient alien theorists don't agree on much, but one opinion they share is that the undisputed authority on the possibility of alien existence was the late Carl Sagan (1934—1996), whose voluminous writings on the subject have had a profound influence on ETI research. But how many Carl Sagan fans know that while the renowned

I didn't believe in time travel or teleportation until it happened to me. I'm Bruce Gernon, and I flew through the heart of the Bermuda Triangle before I'd even heard the term. Sceptics have dismissed the Triangle as a non-mystery, but they weren't in my airplane when the fog surrounded my craft and I leapt ahead 100 miles. I documented what happened and memorised every detail of that flight. Now

It's the dead of night; you are fast asleep. Suddenly, you are wide awake, but unable to move. Hunched over you in the shadows is an eight - or nine - foot tall gaunt entity with spider-thin limbs, dressed in an old-style black suit, its pale face missing eyes, nose, ears and mouth. You finally manage to cry out. The monstrous thing disappears as suddenly as it appeared. You just had a terrifying

ON THE TRAIL OF BIGFOOT is a firsthand account from paranormal researcher and skilled outdoorsman Mike Dupler on his many years of investigations into the Bigfoot phenomena. It features his own encounters with these enigmatic creatures, complete with photographs.This plainspoken guide explores a variety of fascinating aspects of the Bigfoot mystery:· Whether Bigfoot are interdimensional beings or

Exploring the mystery of why so many ancient cultures, separated by time and distance, share remarkably similar cosmological philosophies and religious symbolism, Laird Scranton reveals how this shared creation tradition upholds the idea that ancient instruction gave birth to the great civilizations, each of which preserves fragments of the original knowledge. Looking at the many manifestations of

In this practical guide, Jon G. Hughes shares ancient secret Druidic techniques of divination passed down to him across five generations in an unbroken lineage of influential Welsh Druids. Hughes explains the three forms of divination used by his tradition: interpretive divination, used by readers of the Sevens (small staves with engraved sigils); inductive divination, which includes instructions

Our ecological, social, and political issues all stem from the ideologies that drive our collective actions. In contrast to our innate humanity, which is rooted in unity, these ideologies have led us to believe that we are separate from each other, separate from nature and separate from the results of our actions. Such a worldview encourages individuals to maximize self-interest, which then causes