KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT by RUDOLF STEINER

KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER WORLDS AND ITS ATTAINMENT

 by

 RUDOLF STEINER

This inspiring book by Rudolf Steiner offers a wealth of knowledge on the path of esoteric initiation. Included is much information on the higher body, higher planes of existence, and the spiritual encounter with the 'Guardians of the Threshold, as well as basic information on the mystical belief system. This book would be an excellent addition to the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in the subject. Contents Include : How is Knowledge of the Higher World Attained?; The Stages of Initiation; Some Practical Aspects; The Conditions of Esoteric Training; Some Results of Initiation; The Transformation of Dream Life; The Continuity of Consciousness; The Partition of Human Personality During Spiritual Training; The Guardian of the Threshold; The Great or Second Guardian of the Threshold.

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THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES by Manly P. Hall

THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES 

by 

Manly P. Hall

It is a masterful compendium of esoteric teachings of all time. It is a summation of hidden wisdom from the arcane and mystical teachings of Druidic, Mithraic, Christian, Gnostic, Odinic, Gothic, Eleusinian, Orphic, Bacchic, Dionysian, Platonic, Atlantean, Cabric, Hermetic, Zodiacal, Astrological, Chaldean, Delphic, Orphic, Dodonean, Pythagorean, Numerological, Hiramic, Paracelsian, Mosaic, Qabbalistic, Sephirothic, Rosicrucian, Alchemical, Masonic, Islamic, Native American, Mayan and Neo-Platonic traditions. I learned much from reading this massive work (over 2.5 pounds). But there were four main ideas that I drew from it. First, no philosophy, mythos or religion can stand alone. None came into existence on its own. The later ones evolved from the earlier ones. They all borrowed from or were influenced by the others. Second, none can lay a valid claim to either exclusivity or primacy. Any attempt to do so can only lead to contradiction and confusion. Wisdom is a fabric and all the threads are inseparably woven together. Third, I found there to be a validation of Hamlet's oft quoted observation from Act I, Scene V, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." It is folly to lay claim to a completeness of understanding. There is always much more beyond the cloud of unknowing. Finally, I came away with a greater understanding of the adage, "Those who say, don't know; and those who know, don't say." Understanding has as much to do with the heart as with the head. Much of wisdom has traditionally been hidden, awaiting to be passed on to those who have grown in spiritual preparedness. It seems to be more experiential than cerebral. In the words of Reikichi Kita and Kiichi Nagaya, "To one who has had the experience, there is no need to explain it. To one who has not, there is no way to explain it. What to do but exclaim."

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The Power of Now: A Guide to SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT By Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now:

A Guide to SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT

 By

 Eckhart Tolle

Much more than simple principles and platitudes, The Power of Now takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, "the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death." Only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.

This is not just another candy-ass elementary level celestine prophetic conversation supposedly with God clone. It is fresh, revealing, current, new inspiration. Power of Now is written from a depth of a person who has considered suicide, gone through his dark night of the soul and has come out the other side into his very personal and ecstatic enlightenment. If you are considering getting back in touch with your soul this book is a great companion.

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The Structure of Intelligence by Ben Goertzel

The Structure of Intelligence 

by 

Ben Goertzel

Over the last century, psychology has become much less of an art and much more of a science. Philosophical speculation is out; data collection is in. In many ways this has been a very positive trend. Cognitive science (Mandler, 1985) has given us scientific analyses of a variety of intelligent behaviors: short-term memory, language processing, vision processing, etc. And thanks to molecular psychology (Franklin, 1985), we now have a rudimentary understanding of the chemical processes underlying personality and mental illness. However, there is a growing feeling -- particularly among non-psychologists (see e.g. Sommerhoff, 1990) -- that, with the new emphasis on data collection, something important has been lost. Very little attention is paid to the question of how it all fits together. The early psychologists, and the classical philosophers of mind, were concerned with the general nature of mentality as much as with the mechanisms underlying specific phenomena. But the new, scientific psychology has made disappointingly little progress toward the resolution of these more general questions

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Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

The Tai Chi Chuan Ching (Cannon) 

Tai Chi (the Supreme Ultimate), 

It was born from Wu Chi (No Ultimate).

 It produces both movement and stillness,

 It is the mother of Yin and Yang

Tai Chi Chuan is a Chinese form of exercise derived from Taoism, one of China's oldest belief systems. The practice of Tai Chi Chuan is beneficial to health and it is also a subtle, sophisticated and scientific method of self-defence. Since this system of exercise is suitable for people of all ages and requires little or no special equipment, it has gained an enthusiastic reception all over the world.

Tai Chi Chuan evolved to help people improve their physical health, equip them to defend themselves against wild beasts and bandits, and also improve their powers of meditation. In other words, Tai Chi Chuan enables people to survive through fitness and self-defence.

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Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps by Barbara Pease, Allan Pease

Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps: How We're Different and What to Do About It

by 

Barbara Pease, Allan Pease

Have you ever wished your partner came with an instruction booklet? This international bestseller is the answer to all the things you've ever wondered about the opposite sex.

For their controversial new book on the differences between the way men and women think and communicate, Barbara and Allan Pease spent three years traveling around the world, collecting the dramatic findings of new research on the brain, investigating evolutionary biology, analyzing psychologists, studying social changes, and annoying the locals.

The result is a sometimes shocking, always illuminating, and frequently hilarious look at where the battle line is drawn between the sexes, why it was drawn, and how to cross it. Read this book and understand--at last!--why men never listen, why women can't read maps, and why learning each other's secrets means you'll never have to say sorry again.

To get a man to listen, give him advance notice and provide an agenda,"" write the husband and wife Peases in this pithy, attention-grabbing guidebook to the differences between men and women. Originally self-published in Australia to wide acclaim, the book weaves together facts from the latest brain research, theories from evolutionary biology and a treasure trove of anecdotal events and conversations collected by the authors during a three-year research trip around the world. Sociobiology has rarely been so entertaining. The Peases say that a woman's brain is wired to be able to speak and listen simultaneously, for example, and they are geared to talk through problems. Men, by contrast, need to clam up. ""He uses his right brain to try to solve his problems or find solutions, and he stops using his left brain to listen or speak."" These brain differences took shape in cave days, according to the authors. Men were hunters and defenders who evolved tunnel vision (as compared to women's vision), while, as nurturers, women not only had broad peripheral vision but sensitive relationship skills. Channel surfing and newspaper skimming are modern ways for a man to cut off from others to privately mull problems, advise the authors. ""Remember, his forefathers spent more than a million years sitting expressionless on a rock surveying the horizon, so this comes naturally to him.... "" Feisty and crystal clear, this controversial work will appeal to readers of both sexes.

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The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by TIMOTHY FERRISS

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich 

by TIMOTHY FERRISS

Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan - there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.

This step-by step guide to luxury lifestyle design teaches:

* How Tim went from $40,000 dollars per year and 80 hours per week to $40,000 per MONTH and 4 hours per week * How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want * How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs * How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist * How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent 'mini-retirements'.

This new updated and expanded edition includes:

More than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers (including families) who have doubled their income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a starting point * Real-world templates you can copy for eliminating email, negotiating with bosses and clients, or getting a private chef for less than £5 a meal * How lifestyle design principles can be suited to unpredictable economic times * The latest tools and tricks, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either

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The Conquest of Illusion - J.J. van der Leeu

The Conquest of Illusion
 by
 J.J. van der Leeu

In 1710, George Berkeley, Bishop of Cloyne, argued that there is no such thing as matter. What we take as matter, what we take to be "the world" are but our perceptions of some unknown reality. This line of thought became known as "idea-lism" and has been a thread in the history of Western philosophy since then. But this line of thought is very ancient. Plato expressed it in his well-known allegory of the cave, in which the world we perceive is but a shadow of something else, something of which we are generally completely unaware. Such a line of thought is extremely well developed in Eastern thought in such philosophies as Sankhya, Vedanta, and in the practical works of Raja yoga.

This general line of thought has fallen out of favor over the past several centuries in the West, due in large part to the rise of science, and the underlying philosophy of materialism, that has since morphed into the philosophy of physicalism, the dominant, if generally implicit paradigm of the modern world.

In spite of being eclipsed by the dazzling successes of the physical sciences in the West, it is a completely undeniable fact that our conscious awareness forever serves as an intermediary to what ever it is that is being represented as "the world" in our awareness. However, particularly in modern times, this general fact of our experience is neglected in our considerations of the world.

In Conquest of Illusion, van der Leeuw begins from this premise. But he does not construct philosophical arguments. No. This book is about his first-hand experiences from his advanced practice of yoga, exploring both the nature of consciousness and the nature of this thing we call "the world" that appears in our consciousness. van der Leeuw describes the >>result<< of successfully achieving the main goal of yoga, which is direct awareness of the eternal that underlies this "thing" we call existence.

The book is profound in every conceivable respect. In spite of the exponential growth of our current understanding of the material world, including the brain and the cosmos, this book is still apropos. It describes the eternal veritas underlying time, space, the mind, and our relative existence.

Perhaps the single most important quote of this book is:

"The mystery of life in not a problem to be solved, it is a reality to be experienced."

It is clear to one informed in such matters that van der Leeuw is describing in a lucid and (relatively) easy to understand fashion what has been described for centuries in Eastern, and specifically Indian philosophy, and in particular in the Kashmiri Shavism school of Indian thought.

The relevance of this book will only continue to grow over time as thinkers again begin to recognize in ever greater measure the implications that the "world" that exists, and this "world" as it appears in our conscious awareness are by no means identical.

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Mind Beyond Death - Dzogchen Ponlop

Mind Beyond Death
by
 Dzogchen Ponlop

Mind Beyond Death is an indispensable guidebook through the journey of life and death. Using humorous analogies and his profound understanding of the Western mind, Rinpoche makes the mysterious Tibetan teachings on the bardos--the intervals of life, death, and beyond-- completely available to the modern reader. Drawing on a breathtaking range of material, Mind Beyond Death shows us how the bardos can be used to conquer death. But the bardos also apply to taking control of life, and learning how to live with fearless abandon. Walking skillfully through the bardos of dream, meditation, and daily life, we then travel deep into the mysterious death intervals and become familiar with their dazzling mindscape. This tour de force gives us the knowledge to transform the greatest obstacle of death into the most powerful opportunity for enlightenment. With nuts-and-bolts meditations and brilliant illumination, Mind Beyond Death offers a clear map that will safely transport the reader through the challenging transitions of life and death

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The Art of Dreaming by Carlos Castaneda

The Art of Dreaming
by
 Carlos Castaneda

Carlos Castaneda tells how, under don Juan's tutelage, he gained control over his dreams and used dreaming as a launching pad to a pervasive but unseen realm of ancestral spiritual forces, good and evil. He goes through tunnels, enters into the consciousness of trees, meets scouts, emissaries and form-changing blobs of energy. Aided by don Juan's companions and fellow apprentices, Castaneda penetrates a realm of "inorganic beings" who set traps for him and attack him, as if to illustrate don Juan's teaching that consciousness is compelled to grow through life-or-death confrontations. For believers, Castaneda's quest offers a tantalizing glimpse of alternate worlds beyond the rational parameters of our mundane reality. 

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The Book of Splendours: The Inner Mysteries of Qabalism: Its Relationship to Freemasonry, Numerology and Tarot - Eliphas Levi

The Book of Splendours: The Inner Mysteries of Qabalism:
 Its Relationship to Freemasonry, Numerology and Tarot
by
Eliphas Levi

This is the first part of Eliphas Levis's last great discourse on the mysteries of occultism that was continued and concluded in `The Great Secret'. In it, Levi examines with great precision and insight the inner meanings of Qabalism and their relationship to the occult sciences.

Part One is a commentary on the Siphra Dzeniuta by Simeon Ben-Jechal, which includes an examination of the affinities between Qabalism and Freemasonry. Part Two pursues the correspondences between Qabalism, Numerology and the Tarot.

This edition includes an appendix by Papus (Dr. Gerard Encausse) summarizing Levi's doctrines and teachings and supplying some fascinating information on some of the master's many disciples"

This is not an easy book to review, perhaps because there are so many topics discussed. However, if your looking for practical exercises or a how to, you wont find it here. The book has a lovely section comparing the story of Krishna to Jesus. Also, the Masonic legends of Solomon, Hiram and the building of the temple are also truly wonderful. I'd recommend the book on these points alone.

The first part of the book deals with Judaism struggling to come to grips with a God of wrath. The conclusion is that the God of love slept while God's shadow did not. This does not work for me. From reading this book you discover that Levi's belief is that masonry is a truer Catholic Church. I wonder what he would think of masonry in its present form?

Personally, I don't recall reading much on the Tarot as stated in the review on the back cover of this book. This book is 191 pages long. The appendix by Papus starts at page 143. However, I did find this next quote in the appendix, which is a true diamond, "As long as love is only desire and pleasure, it is mortal. To become eternal it must become a sacrifice,"

Pages 127-142 contain `The elements of the Qabalah in ten lessons'. These are letters of Eliphas Levi to one of his students. I don't really remember much of what I read in these letters. I could say that the Qabalah is really deep and that I need to further digest these pages. I'd rather say that I got a lot more out of reading Mystical Qabalah -- by Dion Fortune.

On the whole I did not mind reading this book, as it gave me further insight into Eliphas Levi's work, while also discovering some nice gems.

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The Paradoxes Of The Highest Science - Eliphas Levi

The Paradoxes Of The Highest Science by Eliphas Levi

By the time of his death in 1875, Eliphas Levi was recognized in both Europe and America as the greatest occultist of the 19th century. In life, his work was the inspiration for Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma, the most influential American Masonic book of its day, and in death, it proved to be a seminal influence on figures as diverse as Madame Blavatsky, A.E. Waite, and Aleister Crowley but during his lifetime none of his writings appeared in English. The Paradoxes of the Highest Science first appeared in 1883 in Calcutta as a pamphlet in the Theosophical Miscellanies series. In it, Levi makes an appeal for a balance between science and religion by addressing seven paradoxical statements including Religion is magic sanctioned by authority, liberty is obedience to the Law, and reason is God. Included in this edition are the extensive and illuminating footnotes that were added to Levi's text. Some of these are by the anonymous translator, and some by the 'Eminent Occultist' who seems to have been Madame Blavatsky herself. Levi could have asked for no better commentator upon his work.

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Eat, Pray, Love: By Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love: 

One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

By

Elizabeth Gilbert

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

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Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas by David R. Kinsley

Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas

by 

David R. Kinsley

The Hindu pantheon is rich in images of the divine feminine—deities representing a wide range of symbolic, social, and meditative meanings. David Kinsley's new book documents a highly unusual group of ten Hindu tantric goddesses, the Mahavidyas, many of whom are strongly associated with sexuality and violence. What is one to make of a goddess who cuts her own head off, or one who prefers sex with a corpse? The Mahavidyas embody habits, attributes, or identities usually considered repulsive or socially subversive and can be viewed as "antimodels" for women. Yet it is within the context of tantric worship that devotees seek to identify themselves with these forbidding goddesses. The Mahavidyas seem to function as "awakeners"—symbols which help to project one's consciousness beyond the socially acceptable or predictable.

Drawing on a broad range of Sanskrit and vernacular texts as well as extensive research in India, including written and oral interpretations of contemporary Hindu practitioners, Kinsley describes the unusual qualities of each of the Mahavidyas and traces the parallels between their underlying themes. Especially valuable are the many rare and fascinating images he presents—each important to grasping the significance of the goddesses. Written in an accessible, engaging style, Kinsley's book provides a comprehensive understanding of the Mahavidyas and is also an overview of Hindu tantric practice.

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Do_OBE How to lucid dream, astral project and have out-of-body experiences By Donald J. DeGracia

Do_OBE How to lucid dream, astral project and have out-of-body experiences

By

 Donald J. DeGracia

DO_OBE teaches how to LEAVE YOUR BODY! Using straight forward, common sense language, DO_OBE is a guide to the inner realms of which our visible world is just the surface. Intelligent, fun and unpresumptuous, this book has been time tested and proven to be effective at teaching beginners the essential techniques to achieve the eluisive "out of body experience".

SEE FOR YOURSELF FIRST HAND:

Can you really leave your body? What can one expect to find in the inner realms of the mind? How do I do it??? It's all here!!!. This book is for all curious seekers who sense that there is more to reality than meets the eye, or the senses, or the world of our everyday life.

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Beyond The Physical - A Synthesis of Science and Occultism By Donald J. DeGracia

Beyond The Physical - A Synthesis of Science and Occultism

By 

Donald J. DeGracia

Beyond the Physical, A synthesis of science and occultism in light of fractals, Chaos and Quantum theory. The Western mind is enamoured -nay - hypnotized with what it perceives outside of itself. But for all its knowledge of the outer world, the inner world of consciousness is but a hazy, half-felt realization in the life of the so-called "modern" person. Beyond the Physical seeks to go inside, and shed light on the relation between the inner and outer worlds of our human experience. "Beyond the Physical reveals our insatiable curiosity with those profound questions of our existence: It's about our morality, our psychic nature and power, our science and art and literature and psychology. Beyond the Physical guides us in most illuminating ways along highly creative paths of interior and exterior discovery. This book is an excellent inquiry."

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The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

The War of the Worlds 

by 

H. G. Wells

This is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories, first published by H.G. Wells in 1898. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator tells readers that "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's..."

Things then progress from a series of seemingly mundane reports about odd atmospheric disturbances taking place on Mars to the arrival of Martians just outside of London. At first the Martians seem laughable, hardly able to move in Earth's comparatively heavy gravity even enough to raise themselves out of the pit created when their spaceship landed. But soon the Martians reveal their true nature as death machines 100-feet tall rise up from the pit and begin laying waste to the surrounding land. Wells quickly moves the story from the countryside to the evacuation of London itself and the loss of all hope as England's military suffers defeat after defeat. With horror his narrator describes how the Martians suck the blood from living humans for sustenance, and how it's clear that man is not being conquered so much a corralled

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The Island of Doctor Moreau By H.G. Wells

The Island of Doctor Moreau

By

H.G. Wells

Although it is less often read than such Wells novels as THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, the basic story of THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is very well known through several extremely loose film adaptations. Pendrick, a British scientist, is shipwrecked--and by chance finds himself on an isolated island where Dr. Moreau and his assistant Montgomery are engaged in a series of experiments. They are attempting to transform animals into manlike beings.

Wells, a social reformer, was a very didactic writer, and his novels reflect his thoughts and theories about humanity. Much of Wells writing concerns (either directly or covertly) social class, but while this exists in MOREAU it is less the basic theme than an undercurrent. At core, the novel concerns the then-newly advanced theory of natural selection--and then works to relate how that theory impacts man's concept of God. Wells often touched upon this, and in several novels he broaches the thought that if mankind evolved "up" it might just as easily evolve "down," but nowhere in his work is this line of thought more clearly and specifically seen than here.

At times Wells' determination to teach his reader can overwhelm; at times it can become so subtle that it is nothing short of absolutely obscure. But in THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU, Wells achieves a perfect balance of the two extremes, even going so far as to balance the characters in such a way that not even the narrator emerges as entirely sympathetic. It is a remarkable achievement, and in this sense I consider MOREAU possibly the best of Wells work: the novel is as interesting for the story it tells as it is for still very relevant themes it considers.It is also something of an oddity among Wells work, for while Wells often included elements of horror and savagery in his novels, MOREAU is not so much horrific as it is disturbingly gruesome and occasionally deliberately distasteful. This is not really a book than you can read and then put away: it lingers in your mind in a most unsettling way. Strongly recommended.

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Notes from the Underground By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Notes from the Underground

By

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

`Notes From The Underground' is a formidable work of philosophy and of psychology, not to mention its worth as a novel. In the space of around one hundred pages, Dostoyevsky manages to expound theories on reason, alienation, suffering, and human inaction. The book's importance and influence on generations of writers cannot be over-emphasised; Sartre and Camus are only two examples of people who have been directly influenced by this book.

The book is presented in two parts. Part one `Underground' is written in the form of the nameless narrator's rambling thoughts on reason and his claim that throughout history, human actions have been anything but influenced by reason. Underground Man's charge is that man values most the freedom to choose to act in opposition to reason's dictates. Dostoyevsky's critique of reason then, although it demands attention and is somewhat difficult to follow, sets the philosophical foundations for the rest of the book.

Part two `A Propos of the Wet Snow' is much easier to read, as the narrator recounts three episodes which happened when he was fifteen years younger and working as a civil servant in St. Petersburg. The first considers an incident in which an army officer insults him and goes on to detail Underground Man's subsequent internal anguish at his inability to commit an act of retribution. The second episode takes place at a farewell dinner for an acquaintance named Zverkov. The narrator is utterly disgusted with the company in which he finds himself but despite this, he is unable - even though he desires it - to make them realise this. The third episode details Underground Man's brief, painful and emotional relationship with a prostitute.

Dostoyevsky is refreshing in this book thanks not only to his incredibly powerful prose, but also for the intense but subtle way in which the stories reflect and indeed embody his philosophical theories. This dark and pessimistic portrayal of the nature of man may not sit very comfortably with many readers, however the ideas expressed in `Notes From The Underground' are as relevant and worthy of deliberation now as I am sure they were in 1864.

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Crime and Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment

By

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemptio

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