Westcott, Kuntz - Sepher Yetzirah: The Book of Formation and the 32 Paths of Wisdom with Hebrew Text





57 pages, 1.71 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/213822519/5 ... etzir.html



Stephen Flowers - Hermetic Magic: The Postmodern Magical Papyrus of Abaris



Stephen Flowers presents a holistic view of the magic practiced in the eastern Mediterranean region in early A. D. - and brings those ideas and practices to life in a new and more relevant way. Hermetic Magic: The Postmodern Magical Papyrus of Abaris describes the roots of the Hermetic tradition in Greek, Egyptian and Hebrew cultures. Flowers provides keys to Hermetic magical theory, cosmology, and concept of the soul and outlines the complex Hermetic world of Divinities and Daimons, plus magical lore for the Greek alphabet, the Egyptian hieroglyphics and other alphabets. Readers will find the basis for experimentation in the conceptual world of the ancient Hermetic magicians and instructions for performance of 53 operations based on an authentic text from the Greek magical papyri of pagan Egypt. -- Midwest Book Review

The Egyptians worshiped their own gods with particular rituals. This translation of The Magical Papyrus of Abaris shows modern seekers how to perform their own ritual celebrations of life.

292 pages, 26.8 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/213856145/1 ... c_Mag.html



Moshe Halbertal - Concealment and Revelation: Esotericism in Jewish Thought and its Philosophical Implications



During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, great new trends of Jewish thought emerged whose widely varied representatives--Kabbalists, philosophers, and astrologers--each claimed that their particular understanding revealed the actual secret of the Torah. They presented their own readings in a coded fashion that has come to be regarded by many as the very essence of esotericism.Concealment and Revelationtakes us on a fascinating journey to the depths of the esoteric imagination. Carefully tracing the rise of esotericism and its function in medieval Jewish thought, Moshe Halbertal's richly detailed historical and cultural analysis gradually builds conceptual-philosophical force to culminate in a masterful phenomenological taxonomy of esotericism and its paradoxes. Among the questions addressed: What are the internal justifications that esoteric traditions provide for their own existence, especially in the Jewish world, in which the spread of knowledge was of great importance? How do esoteric teachings coexist with the revealed tradition, and what is the relationship between the various esoteric teachings that compete with that revealed tradition? Halbertal concludes that, through the medium of the concealed, Jewish thinkers integrated into the heart of the Jewish tradition diverse cultural influences such as Aristotelianism, Neoplatonism, and Hermeticisims. And the creation of an added concealed layer, unregulated and open-ended, became the source of the most daring and radical interpretations of the tradition.

275 pages, 575 KB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/213863232/b ... ment_.html



Andrei A. Orlov – Enoch-Metatron Tradition



Andrei Orlov examines the tradition about the seventh antediluvian patriarch Enoch, tracing its development from its roots in the Mesopotamian lore to the Second Temple apocalyptic texts and later rabbinic and Hekhalot materials where Enoch is often identified as the supreme angel Metatron. He explores the imagery of the celestial roles and titles of the seventh antediluvian hero in Mesopotamian, Enochic and Hekalot materials.

The analysis of the celestial roles and titles shows that the transition from the figure of angel Metatron occurred already in the Second Temple Enochic materials, namely, in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch, a Jewish work, traditionally dated to the first century CE. The author then demonstrates that mediatorial polemics with the traditions of the exalted patriarchs and prophets played an important role in facilitating the transition from Enoch to Metatron in the Second Temple period.

395 pages, 10 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/213874511/b ... atron.html



Darrell D. Hannah - Michael and Christ: Michael Traditions and Angel Christology in Early Christianity



This book engages the current debate over "angelomorphic Christology." The author shows that more than one form of angel or angelomorphic Christology was current in early Christianity and that Michael traditions in particular provided a conceptual framework in which Christ's heavenly significance was understood.

314 pages, 17.2 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/213885479/d ... rist_.html

Abram Herbert Lewis - Spiritual Sabbathism



Table of contents:

Preface

Editorial Note

I The Temporal and the Eternal

§1. Importance of the contrast
§2. The contrast in animism
§3. The contrast in mythology
§4. The contrast in astrology
§5. The contrast in religion
§6. The contrast in philosophy
§7. The intellectual dilemma

II Biblical Sabbathism

§8. The spiritual power of Hebraism
§9. The fourth commandment
§10. The work and the rest of God
§11. Creation and redemption
§12. The root of authority
§13. The Sabbathism of the Psalms
§14. The Pharisees
§15. The Christ

III No-Sabbathism and the Sunday

§16. The resurrection of the sun
§17. The Sunday of MIthra
§18. Mythology re-enters as Gnosticism
§19. Jehovah rejected as the Demiurge
§20. Justin, TertuUian, the Didache
§21. Sunday legislation begins

IV Sabbatarianism

§22. Roman Catholic
§23. Rejected by the Reformers
§24. Puritan

V The Present Situation

§25. The decay of Sunday
§26. How can we attain Spiritual
Sabbathism?
§27. Protestants must lead

Appendix: Notes and References

250 pages, 8.05 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/217058167/3 ... ritua.html



Patrick Ryan - The Culture of the Soul



THE TABLE OF CONTENTS:

THE FIRST TREATISE

MEDITATION

CHAPTER I
The Importance of Meditation
CHAPTER II
The Preparation for Meditation
CHAPTER III
The Meditation itself. How it is to be made
CHAPTER IV
How the Meditation is to be made, further explained
CHAPTER V
Of the method to be observed in meditation, and the advancement to be derived from
CHAPTER VI
How the Understanding is to be exercised in time of Meditation
CHAPTER VII
How it is possible for Everyone to Meditate
CHAPTER VIII
The Necessity of Meditation
CHAPTER IX
The Advantages of Meditation
CHAPTER X
The Advantages of Meditation, further explained
CHAPTER XI
Another Advantage of Meditation
CHAPTER XII
Some other means which help us to pray and meditate with profit to ourselves

THE SECOND TREATISE

PRAYER

CHAPTER I
The Nature of Prayer
CHAPTER II
The different kinds of Prayer
CHAPTER III
The Merit and Excellency of Prayer
CHAPTER IV
The Necessity of Prayer
CHAPTER V
The Necessity of Prayer
CHAPTER VI
The Necessity of Prayer
CHAPTER VII
The Dispositions necessary for good Prayer
CHAPTER VIII
The Conditions for good Prayer
CHAPTER IX
The Conditions for good Prayer
CHAPTER X
The Power of Prayer


THE THIRD TREATISE

THE PRESENCE OF GOD

CHAPTER I
How useful an exercise it is to think of God's Presence
CHAPTER II
How useful an exercise it is to think of God's Presence, further explained
CHAPTER III
In what the exercise of walking in God's Presence consists. The work of the understanding
CHAPTER IV
Of the acts of the Will, in which this exercise chiefly consists and after what manner they are to be produced
CHAPTER V
Various methods of devoutly and profitably cultivating the Presence of God
CHAPTER VI
The great advantages of keeping God's Presence ever before our minds
CHAPTER VII
Helps which enable us to keep God's Presence always before our minds

THE FOURTH TREATISE

EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE

CHAPTER I
The importance of Examination of Conscience
CHAPTER II
The necessity for the Examination of Conscience
CHAPTER III
Some Considerations on the Examination of Conscience
CHAPTER IV
The manner of making the Examination of Conscience
Explained
CHAPTER V
Sorrow and Repentance for Sin
CHAPTER VI
Sorrow and Repentance for Sin
CHAPTER VII
The Purpose of Amendment
CHAPTER VIII
Satisfaction for past Sin
CHAPTER IX
Satisfaction for Past Sin. Continued
CHAPTER X
The Predominant Passion
CHAPTER XI
The Predominant Passion. Continued
CHAPTER XII
The Examination of Conscience helps us to get rid of our vices and to advance in all virtues

THE FIFTH TREATISE

ON CONFORMITY TO THE WILL OF GOD

CHAPTER I
Conformity to the Will of God : What an excellent virtue it is
CHAPTER II
The Grounds of this Conformity
CHAPTER III
Motives of Conformity to the Divine Will. God has infinite claims upon our submission
CHAPTER IV
Motives of self-interest moving us to Conformity with the Will of God
CHAPTER V
Conformity to the Divine Will constitutes the happiness of our present life
CHAPTER VI
Advantages of Conformity to God s Will

242 pages, 15.9 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/218493470/c ... e_of_.html



Clara Erskine Clement - A Handbook of Christian Symbols and Stories of the Saints as Illustrated in Art



The title of the present work sufficiently indicates its general scope and purpose. It has been undertaken to satisfy a want often felt personally by the writer and often expressed to her by others. Those who go abroad and travel in Christian lands meet at every step, through town and country, in the broad light of day and in the mysterious gloom of sacred places, symbolic forms which are known in a general way to represent the mysteries and facts of the Christian faith, but which fail to recall them to the uninitiated beholder in anything like a distinct and accurate manner. Churches are dedicated to saints hitherto unheard of; and streets, sometimes large cities, bear their names. Pictures, even of saints best known, are seen, in churches and art galleries, coupled with incidents and surroundings that fairly bewilder the mind.

Though containing much that belongs to history proper, our book does not profess to be in all respects a true history of persons and facts. Its purpose is rather to show forth the conception of them which is embodied and illustrated in art. History and legend unite in this conception.

373 pages, 24.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/218620277/7 ... _Hand.html



Reginald T. Naish - Spiritual Arithmetic



It is indeed, as our Lord Himself declared, the"Judge" that shall judge the sinner "in the last day“.

In pursuing our study we shall find there are certain rules or laws governing it, which will prove themselves as we advance, and which it may be well to state here, in order to get a clear grasp of the subject at the outset.

1. All the simple numbers from i to 10 have a spiritual meaning attached to them.
2. Numbers compounded of these simple numbers, e.g., by doubling or trebling, generally carry the
same spiritual meaning, only intensified.
3. Numbers compounded by adding two simple numbers together, usually carry the two meanings, of such simple numbers, expressed together, bringing out a deeper spiritual truth.
4. Where a compound number is divisible by several factors, it will usually be found that its spiritual truth, if any, is hidden behind its simplest factors, that is, those which are incapable of further
division.
5. The first use of a number in Scripture almost invariably gives the clue to its spiritual meaning.
6. A spiritual truth does not appear to be evidenced in respect of every place where a number appears.
(There is an obvious reason for this.)
7. Numbers are used to convey spiritual truths in at least three ways : (a) By the actual use of a
number, (b) By the number of times a special word or phrase is used by the Holy Spirit, (c) By the
gematria or numerical value of a word or phrase.

With these guiding rules in mind, we can now proceed to our study. It should, however, be understood that the examples given of the use of numbers in this book are very far from exhaustive, and are only intended indeed, as examples, to help devout Bible students to pursue the subject further, and set them upon the track of what will prove a mine of spiritual wealth.

120 pages, 7.62 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/219990785/3 ... ual_A.html



Auguste Saudreau - The Degrees of the Spiritual Life



IT is no novelty to attempt to classify Christian souls according to the degree of perfection to which they have attained. Indeed, so ancient a writer as the author of the works which bear the name of Dionysius the Areopagite had already laid down the principle that we must distinguish three successive phases in the work of the formation of a soul by grace the states, namely, of purification, illumination, and perfection. And long before this, in the second century, Clement of Alexandria, describing in his Stromata the steps by which the faithful soul mounts towards the gnosis, or perfect knowledge, distinguished in like manner three degrees. The first is that in which the soul is dominated by fear, and abstains through fear from all that is unjust ; the second degree is ruled by hope, whereby the soul desires the Sovereign Good ; and the third is charity, which gives the perfection of knowledge (Stromata, iv. 7).

St. Basil repeats the same teaching (Proem, in Reg. fus.tract., No. 3) „St. Gregory of Nazianzen“ says Fnelon, „like nearly all the Fathers, has followed the division into slaves, hired servants, and children the first guided by fear, the second by interest, and the third by love.“

In the Middle Ages the same distinction became classical amongst theologians. In the terms of the pseudo-Dionysius, they recognized the purgative way, or that of beginners ; the illuminative way, or that of the more advanced ; and the unitive way, that of the perfect ; and the Church has confirmed this teaching in condemning a proposition of Molinos which rejected it. Mystical authors, also, have chosen to divide the just who live on the earth into distinct classes.

360 pages, 23.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/221862682/f ... grees.html

@ tehuti - jesi li primio PM?

Lyam Thomas Christopher - Kabbalah, Magic & the Great Work of Self Transformation: A Complete Course



Advancing to higher levels of ritual magic with purpose and power requires an exaltation of consciousness-a spiritual transformation that can serve as an antitode to the seeming banality of modern life.

Based on Kabbalistic techniques, the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and an Hermetic tradition spanning nearly two thousand years, this innovative new work introduces the history of the Golden Dawn and its mythology, the Tree of Life, Deities, demons, rules for practicing magic, and components of effective ritual.

A comprehensive course of self-initiation using Israel Regardie's seminal Golden Dawn as a key reference point, Kabbalah, Magic and the Great Work of Self-Transformation guides you through the levels of the Golden Dawn system of ritual magic. Each grade in this system corresponds with a sphere in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and includes daily rituals, required reading, written assignments, projects, and additional exercises.

Knowledgeable and true to tradition, author Lyam Thomas Christopher presents a well-grounded and modern step-by-step program toward spiritual attainment, providing a lucid gateway toward a more awakened state.

Lyam Thomas Christopher (Florida) has been a student of Hermeticism and the Golden Dawn for over fifteen years. After receiving his B.A. in Liberal Studies he went on to receive his Adeptus Minor from Ra Horkhty Temple. A former bookseller, the author is currently a learning specialist at a regional community college. This is his first book.

373 pages, 13.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/227387035/d ... _Kabb.html



Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh – Body, Mind, Soul



Table of Contents

Preface

PART ONE: HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

1. Soul and Body

In the Image of God
The Sefirot
The Four Letters of God’s Name
Powers of the Soul and Human Anatomy
Spiritual Holism
Building Blocks of Creation
In Summary

2. Mystical Anatomy

The Eye
Fingers—Tongue; Toes—Brit
The Principle of Balance
“Five Opposite Five”—from Mind to Toes
How the Sefirot divide into “Five opposite Five”
The Tablets of the Covenant
Procreation
The Sense of Touch and the Higher and Lower Unions
Two Levels of Da’at
Three Stages of Spiritual Growth
Higher and Lower Worlds
The Mouth

3. Mystical Physiology

The Vision of Ezekiel
The Physiological Systems of the Body

PART TWO: KABBALISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF DISEASE

4. Origins of Disease

Evil, Disease, and Fear
The Three Primal Fears
Fear of the Wolf
Fear of the Lion
Fear of the Snake
Gold, Silver, and Copper

5. Understanding Illness

Allostasis and Disease
The Transforming Power of Disease
Illness as Spiritual Lack
Illness as Spiritual Estrangement
Malfunctions of the Immune System

6. Lupus

The Dimensions of the Disease
Collagen Disease
Fatigue and Perseverance
Treatments of Lupus
An Ancient Remedy
Remission
Meditation, Positive Thinking, and Support

PART THREE: KABBALISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF HEALING

7. Methods of Healing

The Power of the Physician
The Physician’s Eyes
The Physician’s Hands
The Physician’s Mouth
Eyes, Hands, and Mouth
Contemporary Medical Practice
1. Homeopathy
2. Allopathy (conventional medicine)
3. Osteopathy
4. Naturopathy
Four Methods as One
Healing and the Soul
1. Healing at the level of Nefesh
2. Healing at the level of Ruach
3. Healing at the level of Neshamah
4. Healing at the level of Chayah
5. Healing at the level of Yechidah
6. Healing at the level of Etzem HaNeshamah

8. The Healing Power of Prayer

Drawing Down Healing Power
The Prayer of the Sick Person
The Prayer of a Wise Man
The Thought of a Tzadik
The Priestly Blessing
Infinite Patience
Forms of Prayer
The Healing Power of Teshuvah

Supplementary Essays

1. Right and Left
2. Three Planes
3. Six
4. Basic Colors
5. Sight and Shabbat
6. Implications of Nakedness
7. The Thirty-two Pathways
8. The Five Fingers
9. Partzufim and Contact Points
10. Contraction and Relaxation
11. Light, Water, Firmament
12. Spirituality and Reproduction
13. Regularity and Health
14. Six Permutations
15. Death and Life
16. Expert Healing
17. Healing and the Torah
18. The Indestructible Bone

Endnotes
Glossary
Index

352 pages, 1.42 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/227396681/6 ... -_Bod.html



R. J. Stewart - The Miracle Tree: Demystifying the Qabalah



The Miracle Tree offers a revolutionary new approach to the Tree of Life from a leading author who has practiced Western Qabalah for more than 30 years. The word "Qabalah" originally meant an oral tradition, and the voice of this book is that of a teacher talking with a group of students (the readers), without elitism, obscurity, or willful secrecy. Some hitherto "secret" techniques are described, including Withdrawal from Time, The Qabalah of the Three Suns, Walking Participation, and entering the Inner Temple traditions. These techniques produce powerful and rapid results when the student practices them regularly: They work directly within us, founded upon the truth that we are already the Miracle Tree. Another unique and groundbreaking feature of this book is that the author traces the sources of Tree of Life meditations and visions in medieval Europe.

240 pages, 24.4 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/227412134/5 ... _Tree.html



David Goddard - The Tower of Alchemy



The Tower of Alchemy is the first book published in the West to openly reveal the teachings and practice of the Hermetic Art in plain language. In this advanced manual, the alchemical symbols and motifs cease to be a bewildering maze and become helpful signposts on the Path of Liberation. David Goddard clearly explains the interior practices that are the essence of the Great Work itself. By assimilating the knowledge and practicing the exercises contained in this book, you will find that the once-confusing alchemical illustrations are now illuminated mandalas. Using classical Qabalah, and traditions as diverse as the Grail legend, Yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism, Goddard allows students access to the higher Mysteries. His specific teachings and guided practices will enable you to attain the secret to all spiritual works, which can culminate in the completion of the Great Work.

281 pages, 8.88 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/227424139/4 ... _of_A.html


Još knjiga iz KABBALAH 4shared foldera:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507292/2a1 ... bala_.html

Joseph Weed - A Rosicrucian Speaks



Table of Contents:

Preface iii
So Shall Ye Reap
The End of an Age
The Power of Thought
Prayer
The Significance of Beauty
Coming Changes
Reason, the King
The Rosicrucian Cross
Birth and Death
The Lords of the Material World
Creative Meditation
Meditation Technique I
Meditation II
Mother of the World
Woman of Tomorrow
The Birth of Christ
Baptism
Fiery World I
Fiery World II
Telepathy
Illusion
Service
Sacred Places
Today's Problems
Simplicity
About the Author
Other Books By Joseph J. Weed
Additional Resources

179 pages, 607 KB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231462190/b ... an_Sp.html



Aryeh Kaplan - Meditation and the Bible





A highly radical interpretation of the Bible demonstrating the methods of meditation used by the Prophets to attain their unique states of consciousness.

171 pages, 4.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231469270/f ... _and_.html



Martha Himmelfarb - Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses



This is a study of the ancient Jewish and Christian apocalypses involving ascent into heaven, which have received little scholarly attention in comparison to apocalypses concerned primarily with the end of the world. Recent developments like the publication of the Aramaic Enoch fragments from Qumran and interest in questions of genre in the study of the apocalypses make this a particularly appropriate time to undertake this study. Martha Himmelfarb places the apocalypses in relation to both their biblical antecedents and their context in the Greco-Roman world. Her analysis emphasizes the emergence of the understanding of heaven as temple in the Book of the Watchers, the earliest of these apocalypses, and the way in which this understanding affects the depiction of the culmination of ascent, the hero's achievement of a place among the angels, in the ascent apocalypses generally. It also considers the place of secrets of nature and primeval history in these works. Finally, it offers an interpretation of the pseudepigraphy of the apocalypses and their function.

184 pages, 11.7 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231475330/e ... t_to_.html



April D. DeConick - Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature



Mysticism in John's Gospel as a result of the dialogue on soteriology between Johannine and Thomasine Christians. The Gospel of John has always been perceived as a more mystical Gospel than the Synoptics. This book explores the mysticism of John in its historical context and puts forward evidence that the mysticism developed in this text is the result of the textualization of a dialogue between the Johannine and Thomasine Christians on the subject of soteriology. In contradiction to the Christians who revered the Gospel of Thomas and taught salvation through ascent and vision mysticism, the Johannine Gospel argues for a mysticism based on the faith experience. Evidence from the Preachings of John, the Gospel of the Savior (P. Berolinensis 22220), the Apocryphon of James, the Ascension of lsaiah, and the Dialogue of the Savior is examined to show that this soteriological controversy did not end with the composition of the Gospel of John but continued well into the second century. This book not only sheds new light on the development of Johannine ideology, but also forges a new path in New Testament socio-rhetorical criticism, particularly by developing the field of tradition intertexture.

195 pages, 29.2 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231489009/7 ... _of_t.html



James M. Pryse - The Apocalypse Unsealed



1910. Being an esoteric interpretation of the initiation of Ioannes. the purpose of this book is to show that the Apocalypse is a manual of spiritual development and not, as conventionally interpreted, a cryptic history or prophecy.

Contents:

Preface
Introduction
Chapter I – The key of the Gnosis
Chapter II – The path of power
Chapter III – The riddles of „Revelation“
Chapter IV – The drama of self-conquest

244 pages, 4.08MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231494978/8 ... lypse.html



James Morgan Pryse - Magical Message According to Ioannes (St. John)



1909. Commonly called the Gospel according to St. John. Are you ready for the esoteric message of the Gospel never before so clearly revealed? Contents: The Seen and the Unseen; The Four Evangels; The Drama of the Soul; Explanatory Note; The Magical Message according to Ioannes; The Prodigal Son; The Birth from Above; Index. St. John the mystic, calls to you. Listen to this inspiring message of faith, hope, love, and mystical achievement. Are you ready for it?

248 pages, 4.94 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231500912/7 ... al_Me.html



James M. Pryse - The Restored New Testament





848 pages, 19.2 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/231512588/d ... red_N.html

James Morgan Pryse - The Sermon On The Mount And Other Extracts From The New Testament



1904. A verbatim translation from the Greek, with notes on the mystical or arcane sense. Contents: The Sermon on the Mount; The Coming of Christos; The True Path of Power; A Letter of Iakobos; A Letter of Ioudas; and The Service of Right Conduct. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

100 pages, 5.49 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/234812690/2 ... Sermo.html



James Morgan Pryse - Reincarnation in the New Testament



1911. Here is the best source of reincarnation references, philosophy, and meanings contained in the New Testament. Discover for yourself the clear citations of reincarnation and how it applies in your life. Contents: Elijah's return to Earth; The Philosophy of Reincarnation; Searching the Scriptures; Old Wine in New Bottles.

108 pages, 7.89 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/234815314/7 ... carna.html



Abiel Silver - Lectures on the Symbolic Character of the Sacred Scriptures



1863. A collection of sixteen lectures characterizing the various symbols found within scriptures. The author revised and reprinted his original work to make changes in order to prevent any misunderstanding of the mission of Swedenborg or his doctrines. Each lecture notates the scripture passage in which it discusses. A sample of the topics found in the lectures includes the origin of language, symbolic meaning and use of horses, analogy between material universe and the human mind, and the correspondence of water and the divine teachings thereby.

300 pages, 19.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/234824307/5 ... n_the.html



Giovanni Bona - A Treatise of Spiritual Life



This is not an exhaustive treatise on the spiritual life, but rather an outline which may serve as the basis for deeper study. However, in order to avoid the dryness of a mere outline it was deemed necessary to develop the most important points of the spiritual life/such as, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the soul, our incorporation into Christ, the role of the Blessed Virgin in our sanctification, the nature of Christian perfection and the duty of striving after it. For the same reason the essential characteristics of the Three Ways are stressed in the Second Part of this treatise.

It is the writer's conviction that Dogma is the foundation of Ascetical Theology and that an exposition of what God has done and still does for us is the most efficacious motive of true devotion. Hence, care has been taken to recall briefly the truths of faith on which the spiritual life rests. This treatise then is first of all doctrinal in character and aims at bringing out the fact that Christian perfection is the logical outcome of dogma, especially of the central dogma of the Incarnation. The work however is also practical, for a vivid realization of the truths of faith is the strongest,incentive to earnest and steady efforts towards the correction of faults and the practice of virtues. Consequently in the first part of this treatise the practical conclusions that naturally flow from revealed truths and the general means of perfection are developed. The second part contains a more detailed exposition of the special means of advancing along the Three Ways towards the heights of perfection (The Purgative Way, The Illuminative Way, The Unitive Way).

520 pages, 33.7 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/236114907/f ... e_of_.html



Dionysius the Areopagite - On the Divine Names and Mystical Theology



First published in 1920, this book is a translation - the only known work of British scholar Clarence Edwin Rolt (1880-1917) of On the Divine Names and The Mystical Theology, by Dionysius the Areopagite, a first-century bishop of Athens. The author is often also referred to as "pseudo-Dionysius" because a variety of anachronisms suggest that the manuscript was actually written much later by an unknown writer. Despite the book's unclear origins, the writings are still greatly valued for their theological insight. Saint Thomas Aquinas often quoted from pseudo-Dionysius, as did many other famous and influential theologians and philosophers. Pseudo-Dionysius deals, here, with the Supra-Personality of God. Personality, by definition, is a quality limited to an individual. God, on the other hand, is the opposite of an individual. God is in all things, so one cannot speak of a personality for the divine. Rather, pseudo-Dionysius proposes a Supra-Personality, which describes aspects and qualities of the universal being. Religious scholars and Christians wanting a different understanding of the relationship between God and the universe will find this a challenging but ultimately thought-provoking study.

Chapters: About Dionysius; His Leading Ideas; The Nature of the Godhead in Itself; Its Relation to Creation; The Problem of Evil; Contemplation; Dionysius and Modern Philosophy; The Psychology of Contemplation; The Scriptural Basis of His Doctrines; Conclusion; Bibliography.

244 pages, 11.8 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/236096990/e ... -_On_.html



Jan Van Ruysbroeck - The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, The Sparkling Stone, The Book of Supreme Truth



This volume contains three of Jan van Ruysbroeck's best works: The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, The Sparkling Stone, and The Book of Truth. These works are remarkable for their combination of lofty spiritual philosophy and robust common sense. As we read them, we feel that we are in touch with a man who, in his ecstatic ascents to God, never loses hold of the actualities of human life. In the Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, he traces the gradual development of the soul through the active life of Christian virtue, the interior life of contemplation, and the superessential life of union with God. The Sparkling Stone further elaborates on some of the more difficult passages in The Adornment, and The Book of Truth was written as a refutation of the accusation that van Ruysbroeck's work supported a pantheistic and heretical view of the union of the soul with God. Primarily influenced by St. Paul and St. Augustine, van Ruysbroeck was driven to speak out on the mystical life in reaction to the rising of heretical sects in the lowlands of Belgium that were preaching quietism of "the most soul-destroying kind" early in the 14th century. The singular feature of his teaching is achieving a balanced career of action and contemplation as the ideal of the Christian soul.

Jan Van Ruysbroeck (1293-1381) - three of whose most important works are here for the first time presented to English readers is the greatest of the Flemish mystics, and must take high rank in any list of Christian contemplatives and saints. A truly beautiful example of what Christianity was and should be. Highly recommended.

298 pages, 14 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/236127896/d ... Adorn.html


Još iz GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared foldera:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

W. Major Scott - Aspects of Christian Mysticism



Contents

I. Concerning mystics and mysticism
II. St. Paul And St. John
III. Clement Of Alexandria
IV. Dionysius The Areopagite
V. Master Eckhart
VI. Ruysbroeck
VII. Suso
VIII. Tauler
IX. St. Teresa
X. St. John Of The Cross
XI. Jacob Behmen
XII. Peter Sterry

Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA – „Clement Of Alexandria, it has been said by Dr. Bigg, was the father of all the Christian mystics, but no mystic himself; that the enchanted garden which he opened for others he did not himself enter; in a word, that Clement shrank from his own conclusions. But this is only true if we agree with Dr. Bigg in regarding mysticism as coextensive with ecstasy, a view which is surely both arbitrary and unnecessary. "O truly sacred mysteries!" cries Clement, "O stainless light! My way is lighted with torches, and I survey the heavens and God ! I am become holy while I am being initiated. The Lord is my hiero- phant." The man who could write thus must certainly have advanced some way along the mystic path. Clement's writings cover so wide a field of thought, and embrace so great an area of THE "CHILD" AND THE "MAN" Christian doctrine and experience, that it is easy to overlook his distinctively mystical teaching. His aim was to construct a knowledge of God by which the Christian believer should be initiated into the holy mysteries of his faith—a knowledge of God including the divine secrets, the secret Word, and the mysteries of the Word. The following sentences will show how Clement regarded the process of initiation into fuller knowledge of the Christian mysteries. As the word 'child' implies one who is learning, so the word ' man' implies one who is teaching, and in Scripture the word ' man' is employed to express that which is perfect. Our Lord is called a 'man' on account of His being perfect in righteousness; and we shall be perfected when we become the Church and receive Christ as the Head. Perfection as regards the performance of law is to be but a child in Christ. When St. Paul became a man he put away childish thing.“

196 pages, 8.55 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/242290239/f ... f_Chr.html



William Ralph Inge - Christian Mysticism



Contents: General Characteristics of Mysticism; Mystical element in the Bible; Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism; Practical and Devotional Mysticism; Nature Mysticism and Symbolism; Mystical Theology; Greek Mysteries and Christian Mysticism; Doctrine of Deification; Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Solomon.

404 pages, 16 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/242298681/d ... stian.html



Arthur Devine - A Manual of Mystical Theology



Contents

PART I

MYSTICAL THEOLOGY AND CONTEMPLATION IN GENERAL

I. Mystical theology: its meaning, object and division
II. The three kinds or states of the spiritual life
III. On contemplation in general
IV. Various species of contemplation
V. The objects of contemplation
VI. The objects of contemplation (continued)
VII. The objects of contemplation (continued)
VIII. The causes and principles of contemplation
IX. The superior faculties of the soul as the causes or principles of contemplation
X. The principles and causes of contemplation on the part of God
XI. The principles and causes of contemplation on the part of God (continued)
XII. The effects and fruits of contemplation
XIII. The duration of contemplation and its cessation

PART II

ON PREPARATION FOR CONTEMPLATION

I. The dispositions of soul required for contemplation, solitude required for contemplation
II. Prayer considered as a preparation for contemplation
III. Vocal prayer a preparation for contemplation
IV. Meditation or mental prayer as a preparation for contemplation
V. Internal affective prayer (father Baker)
VI. On mortification in general
VII. Bodily mortification or corporal austerities
VIII. Purifications active and passive
IX. Active purifications (continued)
X. Passive purifications
XI. Passive purification of the senses (continued)
XII. Passive purifications of the senses caused by secondary agents
XIII. The purification of the senses by trials from natural causes
XIV. The passive purification of the spirit
XV. The passive purification of the spirit (continued)

PART III

THE DEGREES OF CONTEMPLATION

Introduction
I. The first three degrees of contemplation
II. Errors of false mystics in regard to the prayer of quiet
III. The fourth, fifth, and sixth degrees of contemplation
IV. The seventh degree of contemplation
V. The eighth and ninth degrees of contemplation
VI. The tenth degree of contemplation
VII. The graces and effects of the spiritual marriage

PART IV

MYSTICAL PHENOMENA DISTINCT FROM CONTEMPLATION

Introduction
I. On visions and apparitions
II. Corporeal apparitions or visions
III. The apparitions of the blessed virgin and the spirits
IV. Imaginative and intellectual visions
V. Divine locutions or supernatural words
VI. On revelations
VII. Revelation of the secrets of souls
VIII. On prophecies
IX. On the gift of miracles
Conclusion: summary of admonitions and directions
Index

688 pages, 50.3 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/242343932/4 ... of_My.html



Savinien Louismet - Divine Contemplation For All



„The notion of Divine Contemplation is not less in need of being elucidated and brought back to its legitimate, traditional, Catholic meaning than was that of the Mystical Life. It has suffered just as much at the hands of modern writers, by a host of whom it has been misunderstood, distorted, narrowed down and all but made a bug-bear whilst in its true self Divine Contemplation is the grandest, noblest, sweetest, easiest thing in the world in some measure, and under some form or other, obligatory on all and as necessary to the Chris tian at every stage of his spiritual life as is the act of breathing to the physical well-being of every animal, wherever situated in the scale of life, and at whatever stage of its development. In this new treatise I take Divine Contem plation in its widest meaning, as understood by St. Thomas in his Summa Theologica, Secunda Secundce, qucest. 179-182, and by St. Francis of Sales in his treatise on The Love of God, Book vi, ch. vi, last paragraph, where he says order to attain to contemplation it is usually necessary to hear the divine word, hold spiritual conferences with others like the anchorites of old, read devout books, pray, meditate, sing devout canticles, and entertain good thoughts. Holy contemplation being the end and purpose of all these exercises, they are comprised under the same heading, and such persons as practise these are called contemplatives, as also this sort of occupation is called the contemplative life...“

218 pages, 13.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/242383375/7 ... e_Con.html


John Wright Buckham - Mysticism and Modern Life





264 pages, 15.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/242402654/a ... ticis.html


More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

Jan Van Ruysbroeck - The Kingdom of the Lovers of God



In the book "Regnum Deum Amantium" we have what is declared to be the most characteristic and deeply mystical of all these writings. It will be perceived how easily and quickly from subjects often obvious, sometimes quaint and even childish, he soars into regions of abstruse speculation, where we can no longer follow him.

There "pinnacled dim in the intense inane," he discourses freely and easily of divine secrets, of the Absolute, of the Ultimate Reality, which is God Himself. He stands in line, it is true, with the great mystics of antiquity: Plato, Porphyry, Plotinus; with the few who, long ages apart, have possessed the sublime gift of Intuition in full measure, but with this difference: that where they proceed with faltering steps, assisted also by the light of Reason, he by the light of pure Intuition, securely and boldly scales the ascent to the secret shrine of Illumination.

Few and far between are they who have succeeded in penetrating this rarely trodden sanctuary of the mind, but there is a dread experience, familiar to some, who, whether consciously or not, have ventured upon that lonely promontory, which, jutting forth from the uttermost verge of human thought, conducts to the light beyond. Sooner or later they have met with that which has been variously termed the Dweller on the Threshold, the Keeper of the Secret, the Wall, and the Destroyer, but the encounter has determined only in affrighted recoil from that contact : baffled, bewildered and half blinded, they have regained with difficulty the way back to peace and contentment of mind amid the familiar things of life.

The busy world of men does not realize that there is any experience of this nature, and appears unable even to entertain the idea that it exists, but there are those who know it well and fear it exceedingly. It may visit them in the course of reading or of profound reflection, at moments of meditation or of prayer. They are well aware at ordinary times of its situation in the mind, so to speak, and strenuously endeavour to avoid entering into it. To have left the human pathway far behind ; to have forfeited awhile the mental grasp of common things in the attempt to press forward to the Temple of Knowledge, and to stand alone before the great abyss, peering into the deeps of an infinite darkness and desolation, not yet having fared through to the light this experience it is which seems to threaten at such times not only the foundations of the mind, but even life itself with instant dissolution.

238 pages, 14.1 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/251394705/6 ... Kingd.html



Jan Van Ruysbroeck - Love's Gradatory



The form and name of the book is by no means new in mystical literature. The mysterious ladder which appeared to Jacob, flying from the anger of his brother Esau, has often served to illustrate the way to be travelled by the soul from earth to Heaven. This illustration is found in use from times of primitive Christianity witness the Acts of St. Perpetua and St. Felicity. St. Benedict makes use of it in his Rule where he speaks of twelve degrees of Humility, and St. John Climacus at a later date develops the same thought in his book entitled the Ladder of Holiness. But it was, perhaps, principally from St. Bonaventura that Blessed John Ruysbroeck borrowed the idea of spiritual steps. His object, like that of the Seraphic Doctor, is to raise a ladder of Sanctity, of which the seven rungs, or degrees, lead up to God, and to a love so elevated as to be called transformation and quietude. At such a height Divine Love resembles Eternity, and it is sometimes difficult to decide if Blessed John Ruysbroeck is speaking of Eternity, or if he is still among things of time. The different halting – places from which the soul climbs to these extreme heights are those of Goodwill, Voluntary Poverty,Purity, Humility, and Nobility of Virtue. At this Fifth step Blessed John Ruysbroeck stops, and in the next seven chapters studies the different ways of exercising this love, with the aid of the Angelic Hierarchy, attentively lending their help thereto. He explains two ways that lead to God, adding warnings against the illusions of a false Mysticism, and finally describes the Four Modes of Celestial Song.

176 pages, 8.6 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/251402044/4 ... s_Gra.html



Ramon Lull - The Book of the Lover and the Beloved



The average man has seldom understood the Mystic. He conceives the Mystic Life, with its ceaseless spiritual activity, and its restlessness which knows no stay till it reaches its goal, as a life of tranquillity, if not of indolence and ease. He has no conception of what it really is, and for that, perhaps, he should not be blamed. But not content with misinterpreting the mystic's life, he presently becomes more daring; he asserts that mysticism is essentially „unpractical“, and that one whose aim is to reach the state of Union with God must necessarily be as a fool in his relations with the world. Here the average man is grossly, inexcusably mistaken. His error has again and again been exposed, confuted, disproved by example after example to the contrary. Yet, for all that, it seems to thrive in the average mind. Now, if the story of one man's career could suffice to destroy the mistaken idea that the mystic is an unpractical dreamer, that man would surely be the Majorcan Ramon Lull, the 'Apostle of Africa.'

Lull lived far back in the thirteenth century, not long after the days of St. Francis of Assisi, whose disciple he was. He gives us, as it were, a prevision of the splendours of that Golden Age of Mysticism which dawned for Spain three hundred years after his birth. His mystic writings and especially his BOOK OF THE LOVER AND THE BELOVED are full of the purest and noblest spirituality, compounded with the quintessence of love. „If ye will have fire“, he cries, „O ye that love, come light your lanterns at my heart.“ His famous phrase, „He who loves not lives not,“ sums up his inspiration. Yet Lull was no cloistered visionary. His life is full of romance and adventure: so crowded with incident is it that many pages will not suffice even to summarise its principal happenings. His capacities showed the rare combination of scholar and man of affairs: he was both these, and he was also the man of God. To the service of his Master, for Whom alone he lived, and for Whom he died, Lull was able to bring the full and complete tribute of an efficient and active body, a superb mind, and an ardent, unconquerable spirit.

So, between meditation and prayer, he wrote this masterpiece in little, signed it with his Beloved's Sign, and sent it out to a world which he longed to save. It has been potent in the past, and we may believe that it will be so again. For it is as eternal and universal in its appeal as the Ideal Life which it extols. Nurtured by experience, watered by faith, it is rooted and grounded in love.

122 pages, 3.57 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/251416697/d ... the_L.html


Jacob Boehme - Personal Christianity a Science



CONTENTS:

I. - THE LIFE OF JACOB BOEHME.

Account or flis life and Labors, and of the Influence
of his Writings upon this Outside World

II. - THE DOCTRINES OF JACOB BOEHME.

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION

The only reality—External reasoning is inadequate to comprehend internal truth—Historical aspect of the Bible—Man created in the image of God—The universal and the perverted self-will of man—Atonement—The Yoga practice
Illuminated seers—Jacob Boehme's spiritual knowledge and his terrestrial conditions—How his writings can be understood

CHAPTER II - UNITY

God in his aspect as the Father—The unity of the All—Eternity and time—The will—Eternal wisdom—The Son and the Holy Spirit—Trinity—The will the positive energy—Wisdom is merely passive—Three-personality of God—God revealed in being—The magic principle—The antithesis or duality—Fire and Light


CHAPTER III - THE SEVEN QUALITIES

Seven states of eternal nature referring to the Trinity—Each quality existing within the others—Seven in one—Matter, darkness, corporification, motion, consciousness, salt, sulphur and mercury—The lightning flash, illumination, light, substantiality, the water spirit, sound—The seventh form—Essential wisdom, the body of God, transcendental magnificence, the eternal virgin, glorification

CHAPTER IV - CREATION

God the All and nevertheless not the All—Pantheism and Theism—Personality of God—Perfection—The subjective becoming objective—Divine love—The world not divine—Eternal nature, wisdom—Differentiation of divine powers—Necessity of the dark fire—Eternal chaos—Beginning, unfolding—The seven divine spirits—Co-operation of Spirit

CHAPTER V - THE ANGELS

Three types of God relatively to the Trinity—Sub-divisions of divine intelligences—Harmony—The seven accords in each body—The celestial world objective to the angels—Its products corresponding to their terrestrial types—Realms of Lucifer—Michael and Uriel, dominions, guardian angels, fidelity, freedom of will—Lucifer, his pride and fall—Hell produced by the ignition of the lower principles—Hell not yet complete—Evil spirits—Lucifer's knowledge merely scientific, but not divine—An end of hell inconceivable, unless creation were destroyed ill

CHAPTER VI - THE RESTORATION OF NATURE

Mosaic account of the restoration of Nature—The outcast spirits—The allegory of the Flood—The appearance of the light---The seventh day—The separation of the material from the immaterial element of water—Their separation not referring to locality—The conjunction of the fiery and watery essence life—Generation of gold and precious stones—Relative good and evil—The light that shines into the darkness—The sun and the planets—Manifestation of divine wisdom—The sun the life of the stars—The objective planets—Sidereal life —The spirit of the stars—The superiority—The third principle—Man a compendium of Nature and all terrestrial qualities—The soul

CHAPTER VI - MAN

Man an image of God—His celestial body—His powers—Eden—The paradise—Man not the equal of God—His free will—Object of the third principle—Object of man's existence—The heart of God and its antithesis the devil and the terrestrial world—Adam's fall—The tree of temptation—The protection offered by the terrestrial form against the powers of evil—The weakening of the divine image—How Adam fell asleep—The terrestrial woman the saviour of man—Creation of Eve—Eating the forbidden fruit—The serpent—Adam caused Eve to sin and Eve seduced him—The rise of the desire for the knowledge of good and evil

CHAPTER VIII - NATURE, OR THE THIRD PRINCIPLE

The origin of Nature—Duality—The powers of light and darkness—Lucifer's influence in the world—The power of God in the inner world—The external sun an image of the divine heart of love—The sun omnipresent—Ruling of the planets—Their good and evil influences—Their living power—Individual life of the earth—Why the earth turns around her axis and around the sun—The four elements and the fifth—Origin of the terrestrial elements—Their attractions and repulsions—Latent qualities in the products of the earth—The vegetable and animal kingdoms—Their relation to paradise—The imperishable inner principle—The spiritual quality—The external form

CHAPTER IX – GENERATION

The Logos—The soul in the light of God—Self-will destructive to the perception of the divine idea—The growth of the manifestation of the evil principle—Man creates his own hell—His natural protection by means of external life—The rise of his natural qualities—Primordial man—How he became dense and material—Death—Man's animal nature—His senses Will and mind—Temperaments—Origin of his terrestrial desires—Present method of reproduction caused by man's degradation—The male and the female in one individuality—Primitive generation—Division of sex—Sexual attraction—Its necessity—Generation of soul—Sexual intercourse and its delight—Interaction of divine elements during the same—The nature of the child dependent on the qualities of the parents—Each soul an individual being

CHAPTER X - THE CHRIST

Necessity of divine aid—Mercy—The entering of the spiritual light into the body of humanity—Preparation for redemption was made before the world was created—The Redeemer in man not perceptible until after the fall—The power of the Redeemer preeminently manifested in womanhood—The celestial virgin—Her influence over humanity—When redemption became possible—Cain and Abel—Genesis—The descendants of Abraham has no terrestrial meaning—It is the antitype of Christ—The sons of Isaac representing the first and the second Adam and the final conquest of the first by the second—The false gods of the sons of Japhet—Their oracles, symbols of celestial things—The power of the Redeemer present in all mankind—Sacrifices—External ceremonies and internal faith—The sacrificial fire not of a terrestrial but of a celestial wood—The light of the Christ represented within the fire—The children of light receiving the substance of Christ

CHAPTER XI – INCARNATION

The configuration of the person of the Redeemer—The Son of God; the celestial and the terrestrial man—Christ's terrestrial nature—The necessity of his suffering in the flesh—The terrestrial virgin overshadowed by the virgin of wisdom—The immaculate conception—The restoration of the divine image in man by the power of the Holy Spirit—The glorification of the virgin—The three principles uniting but not mingling with the body and not even with the soul—The soul being penetrated and illuminated by the Word, Christ not a limited human being—This celestial corporeity likened to the sun—The Godhead

CHAPTER XII – REDEMPTION

Means of redemption—The absolute will becoming relative—Necessity of incarnation ; the conquest of death—The three
temptations—The victory—Christ's corporeal death—Sacrifice of the self-will and also of the holy love-will—Its entering into the divine will—The transmutation of the body—The resurrection and glorification—The approaching destruction of the whole terrestrial world—The paradisical body—The heaven of the Redeemer

CHAPTER XIII – REGENERATION

Spirituality—The living Christ—Christ in man—How to effect regeneration—The nature of true prayer—What is faith? Spiritual substantiality—The new body—Dangers—The new life—The terrestrial man realizing the celestial ideal—The three temptations—Battle between the high and the low—Relation between the outer and inner man—Self-sacrifice—Conquest of evil—Uselessness of external desires—Changes in the physical body of man—Inner perception of Christ—Its realization after the death of the body—Trials, trouble, and suffering—The mystical death—External and eternal possessions—The finding of salvation

CHAPTER XIV - DEATH AND ETERNAL LIFE

Man's existence in three worlds—Death of the physical body—The soul in her twofold aspect after the death of the body—The law of spiritual gravitation—The power of self-control lost through death—Heaven and hell—Animal elementaries—Tortured souls—Objectivity and corporeity of mental images after death—Conscience and remorse—No salvation for devils—Suffering, fear, and despair—The redeemed souls in the light of God—Intercourse between spirits and mortals—Sanctified souls—Orthodox superstitions—Miracles—The"Thread-souls" (Sutratma)—Kama loca (Purgatory)—Dead souls—Astral forms of the dead—Prayers and ceremonies for the dead

CHAPTER XV - CHRIST AND ANTICHRIST

What to believe—Babel—Christ—The true light—The unknown Church—Humanity—"Practical occultism"—Divinity in Humanity

APPENDIX.

Apparition—Asceticism—Astral spirit—Atonement—The Cross—Death—Doubt— God—Humility—Jesus Christ—Man Nature—Path—Planets—Principle—Sex—Sophia—Substantiality—Sulphur, salt, and mercury—Word

350 pages, 18.4 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/251369911/1 ... hrist.html



Jan Van Ruysbroeck - The Book of the Twelve Béguines



THE student of mystical literature has, to-day, no greater or more pressing need than an accurate and careful translation of the works of Jan van Ruysbroeck, himself one of the most arresting figures of mediaeval Mysticism.

And, at the threshold, we must needs ask ourselves what it is that we mean by this word "Mysticism"; for upon the answer which we make to that question will depend the whole meaning of this book and indeed of all other books for us.
"Mysticism“, then, as we speak of it to-day, is no phantasy of mystery and legend, no foolish tale of useless occult adeptship, no farrago of ancient and discredited heresies. It imports a deep and earnest striving of the soul, to live, first, the life enjoined by all the authorised teachers, and then and not till then to pass, if she be called, beyond, into the Life of Love in God, and into intimate
communion with Himself.

It is not a science or a philosophy,exploring, by the light of the intellect, the secret places of the soul. It is, in the deepest and truest sense, the living of a Life a Life of continual realisation, in which every deed and word and thought is for ever governed and made holy by the Love that rules in all.

This "humble Flemish priest", as M. Maeterlinck calls him, had, in truth, at his service, one of the most primitive of modern tongues, adapted only to the simplest expression of the thoughts of daily life. He writes, in this medium, of things that pass beyond all expression, of abstract ideas just caught upon the uttermost limits of that territory in which alone the human intellect can live, and he employs, at times, the boldest and most amazing imagery, the subtlest analogies, and the utmost refinements of abstract thought, in seeking to tell of the ineffable in the terms of human speech.

CONTENTS:

CHAPTER I.
Showeth twelve different notions of the Love of Jesus, on the part of the Twelve Beguines.
CHAPTER II
Showeth the manner of the True Lovers of God.
CHAPTER III
Showeth the preparation required of him who willeth to receive the Holy Sacrament.
CHAPTER IV
Showeth God's answer to the Soul that is hungry for His Sacrament.
CHAPTER V
Showeth in what manner the Soul maketh answer to her God.
CHAPTER VI
Showeth a diversity of hindrances from true Contemplation.
CHAPTER VII
Showeth the means of coming unto the Same.
CHAPTER VIII
Showeth the Nature of true Contemplation.
CHAPTER IX. Part 1
Showeth how one cometh to see the Light and to hear the Truth of God That speaketh to the Soul.
CHAPTER IX. Part 2
Showeth in what manner one cometh, thereafter, to hear the Voice of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
CHAPTER X. Part 1
Showeth the answer of the loving Soul unto her Lord.
CHAPTER X. Part 2
Showeth forth the First Mode of true Contemplation.
CHAPTER XL
Showeth forth the Second Mode of true Contemplation.
CHAPTER XII
Showeth forth the Third Mode of true Contemplation.
CHAPTER XIII
Showeth forth the Fourth Mode of true Contemplation.
CHAPTER XIV. Part 1
Telleth of the Four Modes of Loving, and showeth forth the first Three Modes thereof.
CHAPTER XIV. Part 2
Showeth forth the Fourth Mode of Loving.
CHAPTER XV
Showeth forth the operation of the Spirit of God within us.
CHAPTER XVI. Part 1
Further telleth of the six Points wherein is the highest communion between God and man, and showeth forth the first four Points.
CHAPTER XVI. Part 2
Showeth forth the fifth and sixth Points.

136 pages, 12.6 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/251389525/9 ... Book_.html


More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

The Divine Cloud (The Cloud of Unknowing)



Author: Anonymous (14th century. English)

Edited by Augustin Baker and Henry Collins

Description: Some things never change, including the human need to connect with our creator. Prayer and meditation on the divine are techniques that have been used for millennia to grow in the knowledge of God. Cloud of Unknowing documents techniques used by the medieval monastic community to build and maintain that contemplative knowledge of God. Scholars date the anonymous authorship of Cloud of Unknowing to 1375, during the height of European monasticism. Written as a primer for the young monastic, the work is instructional, but does not have an austere didactic tone. Rather, the work embraces the reader with a maternal call to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer.

320 pages, 19 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/256960315/1 ... _Divi.html



Franz Hartmann - The Life of Jehoshua, the Prophet of Nazareth



An Occult Study and a Key to the Bible Containing the History of an Initiate. "The only object of the following pages is to aid in dispelling the mists which for many centuries have been gathering around the person of the supposed founder of Christianity, and which have prevented mankind from obtaining a clear view of the true Redeemer, who is not to be found in history nor in external forms, but who can only be found within the interior temple of the soul by him in whom his presence becomes manifest."

Contents: True History of Christ (An Allegory); Jehovah; Nazareth; Egypt; The Mysterious Brotherhood; The Higher Degrees; The Wisdom Religion; The Temptation; The Sermon Upon the Mount; Doctrines of the Christ Spirit; Herodias; Jerusalem; The Great Renunciation; The Temple; The Hero; the Final Initiation; The Church.

http://www.4shared.com/file/256968789/8 ... _of_J.html



Hargrave Jennings - Live Lights Or Dead Lights, Altar Or Table





This book has for its object to make religion real and consistent; that is, to supply real reasons for it. For otherwise religion is vain, cumbersome, and vexatious only.

The following chapters strive towards the literary exposition of the harmony — in a new view — of mystic and of realistic dogmatic teaching, relative to the Personality of the Saviour in the Holy Sacrament.

The book offers its illustrations: — firstly, in deductions from the intentions of the ancient builders as proven in the mystic meaning of every part of a Christian Cross Church. And these are presented as in conformity with the mysterious theistic speculations of the early Christian Fathers. They farther borrow their elucidation in certain respects, and evoke examples from Jacob Behmen's mystical sacred teaching; and from his profound, though singular views.

These speculations are therefore very curious and very interesting; at the same time that they are extremely novel. They require deep search of himself and candour on the part of the reader.

The object secondarily sought to be achieved in this book, is the real mysterious harmony of the old Jewish-theosophical and theogonic views as expressed in the architectural arrangements of die Temple or Tabernacle, with those hidden lights characteristic of the Second, or the Christian Dispensation. This latter scope, and this latter elaborate, learned body of disquisition, is deduced from the celebrated William Whiston; and from other trained exponents of the Old and of the New Testament

There will also be found in some of the chapters of the volume much interesting matter of a familiar kind — dealing with ordinary life.

243 pages, 3.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/256983763/1 ... Light.html



King James I - A Meditation upon the Lord's Prayer (1619)



171 pages, 4,55 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/256991062/f ... on_up.html


More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

Cicero's - Experiencing the Kabbalah: A Simple Guide to Spiritual Wholeness



Kabbalah, a spiritual system grounded in symmetry and logic, is rarely addressed in a format that is suitable for beginners. Experiencing the Kabbalah goes against the trend, however, by presenting both historical and practical information on the Kabbalah that focuses on experiencing this ancient spiritual system rather than just reading about it. Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero accomplish this through a sort of ritual drama that they call "Walking the Tree of Life." It characterizes each Sephiroth (different aspects of the divine) of the Kabbalah as a person, from the stable Malkuth to the enigmatic Kether, granting readers a fuller understanding of the Sephiroth and the paths between them. Experiencing the Kabbalah is an innovative guide for beginners as well as informative reading for adept practitioners.

249 pages, 73.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/258989544/8 ... e_Kab.html



Will Parfitt - Kabbalah for Life: How to Use the Power and Wisdom of this Ancient Tradition



You will be amazed at the ways in which the Kabbalah can work as a powerful tool for self-realization, exploring important ideas about life, and discovering profound truths at the heart of existence. In Kabbalah for Life, teacher Will Parfitt takes you on a fascinating journey, explaining: the Tree of Life and how it relates to you; how to use the Kabbalah to explore your spirituality and express your personality; the Kabbalistic approach to the Tarot and pathworking; ways in which the Kabbalah can promote health and healing; angels and demons and how they relate to the Tree of Life; the Kabbalistic secrets of sexuality and self-fulfillment; and more. Discover how, with study and practice, the Kabbalah can deepen your connection to the universe and guide you throughout your life.

256 pages, 80.4 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/259068337/d ... or_Li.html



Will Parfitt - The New Living Qabalah: A Practical Guide to Understanding the Tree of Life



Based on a diagram known as the Tree of Life, the cabbala is a system of self-exploration and can be used to analyze thoughts, feelings and sensations. The ten spheres and the 22 paths joining them show the stages and levels of consciousness. This revised edition includes correspondence tables which show connections between various universal symbols and aim to help readers to understand that, in reality, everything is related.

261 pages, 31.2 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/259082152/2 ... ving_.html



Sefer Devekut (the Book of Attachment)



A Selection from the book, “Walking In The Fire” by HaRav Ariel Bar Tzadok

Devekut, Hebrew "cleaving," the communion with God, is derived from the Hebrew word davak, meaning being devoted to God. The Talmud asks how can a man cleave to God as he is commanded (Deuteronomy 4:24)? The response is given, by helping scholars (B.Ket. 111b) or emulating God's attributes (B.Sotah. 14b). The concept is much used in Kabbalistic literature where devekut is perceived as the highest step on the spiritual ladder by which the mystics embrace the lower sephiroth (emanations) in his search for communion with the Divine. It is generally agreed that devekut in the world is fleeting and incomplete; since it is thought that only after death can true devekut be achieved. In Hasidism, the concept and attainment of devekut is very important.

34 pages, 965 KB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/259087659/8 ... _Atta.html



Maureen Bloom - Jewish Mysticism and Magic, an Anthropological Perspective



'Maureen Bloom's book sets out with two main aims: to show that rabbinic Judaism was not as straightforwardly monotheistic as has sometimes been assumed, and to extend the insights of anthropologists such as Robertson Smith, Durkheim and Douglas from the Tanakh into the areas of Jewish mysticism and magic. She assembles some fascinating material: a talmudic remedy for fever involving a rotting black hen, poetic visions of the celestial realms, a magic bowl describing the issuing of a get against a lileth. - Ann Conway-Jones, University of Manchester, Journal of Jewish Studies, Autumn 2008

Providing a unique anthropological perspective on Jewish mysticism and magic, this book is a study of Jewish rites and rituals and how the analysis of early literature provides the roots for understanding religious practices. It includes analysis on the importance of sacrifice, amulets, and names, and their underlying cultural constructs and the persistence of their symbolic significance.

252 pages, 1.36 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/file/259107862/c ... stici.html



Rabbi Michael ben Pesach Portnaar - Kabbalah for Complete Life Management



CONTENTS:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 MY FIRST THOUGHTS
1.2 THE CHANGEABLE AND THE UNCHANGEABLE
1.3 THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE
1.4 TO OBTAIN THE BEST OF YOURSELF
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 WHAT KIND OF MEDICINE DO WE NEED?
1.2 THE INNER AND THE OUTER
1.3 DON’T STRUGGLE. DISCONNECT YOUR RATIONALITY
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 WHO AM I?
2.2 THE INNER STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BEING ON EARTH
2.3 WHERE AM I?
2.4 WERE DO I FIND MY TRUE ME? WHERE IS MY FREE CHOICE?
2.5 FROM WHERE DO MY WISHES COME?
2.6 THE AMBITION FOR WHOLENESS IS WITHIN THE GOAL OF THE UNIVERSE
2.7 FOUR CATEGORIES OF HUMAN BEINGS
2.8 FOUR PHASES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN BEING
2.9 FOUR FORMS OF COMMUNICATION
2.10 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN BEING
2.11 WHAT DOES IT MEAN ‘PURIFY YOURSELF?’
2.12 EVERYTHING CONSISTS OF TEN FLAVOURS
2.13 WHERE IS MY TRUE OBSERVATION?
2.14 THE METHOD TO STRENGTHEN OUR WISHES
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 WHAT IS THE TRUE KABBALAH TEACHING?
3.2 ABOUT REINCARNATION
3.3 THERE ARE NO RITUALS IN THE KABBALAH
3.4 KABBALAH BEGINS WERE ALL OTHER – LOGIC- ENDS
3.5 KABBALAH AND FORTUNETELLING
3.6 EVERYONE HAS HIS OWN LIBERATOR.
3.7 KABBALAH IS NO SCIENCE NOR RELIGION
3.8 KABBALAH AND THE LAWS OF THE UNIVERSE
3.9 THE KABBALAH AND THIS WORLD
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 THE SIXTH SENSE: THE FEELING FOR THE INNER
4.2 THE SENSE OF LIVING
4.3 THE FOUR COMMANDMENTS
4.4 TURN YOUR ENEMY INTO YOUR FRIEND
4.5 THE ONLY FREE CHOICE YOU HAVE IS CHOOSING YOUR SURROUNDINGS
4.6 FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE IN YOUR SURROUNDING
4.7 OUTSIDE MYSELF EVERYTHING IS PERFECT
4.8 THE FOUR LAYERS IN YOUR INNER
4.9 SHOW YOUR WEAKNESS
4.10 THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO COME TO WHOLENESS THAN THROUGH THE INNER BEING
4.11 THE LEFT HAND PUSHES AWAY, THE RIGHT HAND PULLS
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 THE ATTITUDE OF SELF LOVE
5.2 COLLECTING YOUR WISHES
5.3 LIFE IS HERE AND NOW
5.4 THE AREA OF THE GOOD AND THE EVIL IS NAMED ‘HUMAN BEING’
CHAPTER SIX
6.1 KABBALAH THERAPY: THE THERAPY OF RECEIVING IN THE RIGHT WAY
6.2 PLACE OF DISEASES IN THE HUMAN BEING
6.3 THE ATTITUDE WITH THE KABBALAH MASTER
6.4 BEAUTY CAN’T SAVE THE WORLD
6.5 RESISTING SEDUCTIONS
6.6 RECEIVING IN THE RIGHT WAY
6.7 THREE TYPES OF PERSONS WITH QUALITIES YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR INNER WORK
6.8 WHAT IS HAPPINESS?
6.9 TO RECEIVE THE LIGHT BY WAY OF A SCREEN
CHAPTER SEVEN
7.1 THE FIVE W’S AND A’S IN EVERY SITUATION
7.2 THE GREATEST PLEASURE COMES AFTER THE DEEPEST DISAPPOINTMENT
CHAPTER EIGHT
8.1 LIGHT WILL AROUSE IN US THE WISH TO RECEIVE
8.2 EVERYTHING HAS A MEANING
8.3 THE LAST GENERATION WILL HAVE THE MOST LIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
9.1 WHOLENESS IS IN YOUR HEART
9.2 WHO IS SPEAKING INSIDE OF ME: MY SELF-LOVE OR MY TRUE ‘I’
9.3 HE WHO MAKES HIMSELF SMALL WILL SEE THE LIGHT
9.4 DON'T LET YOURSELF BE DAZZLED
9.5 BEING DEIGN IN SCARCITY AND BEING HUMBLE IN ABUNDANCE
9.6 WHAT IS GUILT
CHAPTER TEN
10.1 WHAT CAN I DO WITH THE CYNICAL PEOPLE AROUND ME?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
11.1 LET MONEY GO AND IT WILL COME BACK TO YOU
11.2 TRUST BEYOND REASONING
11.3 EVEN MISERY IS USEFUL
11.4 RULES FOR ASKING QUESTIONS AT YOURSELF AND TO OTHERS
CHAPTER TWELVE
12.1 TO SEE A PERSON FROM HIS INNER INSPIRATION AND GOAL
12.2 A SHORT STORY ABOUT A VAGRANT AND AN ADDICT
12.3 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TAKE OVER YOU SOMEONE ELSE’S PAIN
12.4 YOUR OWN TERRITORY, TWO BY TWO
12.5 HE WHO GOES WITH THE FLOW
12.6 WE ARE ALWAYS SPEAKING OVER ONE BEING IN THE KABBALAH
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
13.1 ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND YOUR GOAL
13.2 INTERACTION BETWEEN THE INNER AND THE OUTER
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
14.1 LANGUAGE AND THE MEANING OF WORDS
14.2 YOUR FIRST NAME
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
15.1 THE EVOLUTION OF YOUR MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM INNER POINTS
15.2 ABOUT A TRUE REQUEST AND TRUE SHORTCOMINGS
15.3 BE CONFIDENT IN THE LIGHT AND IN YOURSELF

177 pages, 914 KB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/file/259119558/d ... Portn.html


More from KABBALAH-QABALAH 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507292/2a1 ... bala_.html

A.E. Waite - The Mysteries of Magic, a Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi



Contents: Life of Alphonse Louis Constant; Notes on the Mysteries of Magic as expounded in the Occult Philosophy of Eliphas Levi; Threshold of Magical Science; Doctrines of Occult Force; Written Tradition of Magic; Doctrine of Spiritual Essences, or Kabbalistic Pneumatics; Ceremonial Magic; Science of the Prophets; Science of Hermes; Key of Magical Phenomena; Key of Modern Phenomena; Religion of Magic; Great Practical Secrets; Thaumaturgical experiences of Eliphas Levi; Embodying the Spirit of the Author's Philosophy; Three Credos of Eliphas Levi: Creed of the Magus; Catholic and Magical Symbol; Philosophical Credo.

444 pages, 8.57 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/2gu5B0c ... of_Ma.html



Aryeh Kaplan - Jewish Meditation, a Practical Guide



Kaplan, Orthodox rabbi and author of Meditation and the Bible (Weiser, 1978) and Meditation and Kabbalah (Weiser, 1981), shows that meditation is consistent with traditional Jewish thought and practice. He then presents a guide to a variety of meditative techniques: mantra meditation (with suggested phrases and Bible verses to use as mantras); contemplation; visualization; experiencing nothingness (which he does not recommend for beginners); conversing with God; and prayer. His instructions are clear and explicit, and his advice is informed and sound, advocating that a simple 20-minute-a-day program can indeed help make the practitioner a better person and a better Jew, and develop a closer relationship to God and things spiritual.

173 pages, 1.10 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/jbyWhLa ... itati.html



Federico Gonzalez - The Wheel, Symbolic Image of the Cosmos



150 pages, 701 KB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/A8bDIZ7 ... heel_.html



Dion Fortune and Gareth Knight - Introduction to Ritual Magic



This is one of the best new books on ritual magic for a long time, and is a collaboration between two very highly respected ritual magicians. Dion Fortune actually died in 1946, but this collection of her unpublished papers has been expanded and updated by Gareth Knight, who also adds the practical information which Dion Fortune omitted for reasons of secrecy. The book is aimed at the serious student of the esoteric rather than the curious dabbler, but it is still very readable and contains much thought-provoking material plus a couple of full-blown rituals.

In short, in this unique collaboration of two magical practitioners and teachers we are presented with a valuable and up-to-date text on the practice of ritual magic "as it is". That is to say, as a practical, spiritual, and psychic discipline, far from the lurid superstition and speculation that are the hallmark of its treatment in sensational journalism.

222 pages, 41.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/G0oHVTm ... night.html



Gardner and Lieu - Manichaean Texts from the Roman Empire



„This long-awaited volume from Australia-based scholars Iain Gardner and Samuel N. C. Lieu constitutes the first anthology of non-Central Asian Manichaean texts in English, thereby filling a great need in the ever-expanding field of Manichaean Studies. … a rich selection of texts … supplemented by a wide variety of fragments and testimonies … Gardner and Lieu have met a great need by providing English-speaking readers and class-rooms with a readable and teachable anthology that will hopefully facilitate the inclusion of this important late antique religious movement in the curricula of Religious Studies and Ancient History departments from which Manichaeism has all too often been ignored or excluded.“ Laval théologique et philosophique

Manichaeism was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (c. 216–276 AD) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived. Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came.

Manichaeism was long treated as a Christian heresy, but it is more clearly understood as an independent religion, drawing on the diverse resources of Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism.

Founded by Mani (c. AD 216–276), a Syrian visionary of Judaeo-Christian background who lived in Persian Mesopotamia, Manichaeism spread rapidly into the Roman Empire in the third and fourth centuries AD and became one of the most persecuted heresies under Christian Roman emperors. The religion established missionary cells in Syria, Egypt, North Africa and Rome and has in Augustine of Hippo the most famous of its converts. The study of the religion in the Roman Empire has benefited from discoveries of genuine Manichaean texts from Medinet Madi and from the Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt, as well as successful decipherment of the Cologne Mani-Codex which gives an autobiography of the founder in Greek. This first ever single-volume collection of sources for this religion, which draws from material mostly unknown to English-speaking scholars and students, offers in translation genuine Manichaean texts from Greek, Latin and Coptic.

328 pages, 3.89 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/-T6OtOo ... aean_.html



Elkaisy-Friemuth and Dillon - The Afterlife of the Platonic Soul



Scholars of philosophy, religion, and classics explore the treatment of the human soul by selected medieval Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers after Philo of Alexandria incorporated Greek philosophy into his interpretation of the Bible and so fused the two schools of thought for a thousand years. The topics include the perishability axiom and its impact on Christian views about the origin and nature of the soul, an annotated translation of al-Kindi's That There are Separate Substances, the Jewish neoplatonism of Abraham ibn Ezra and Judah Halevi, and intellect as intrinsic formal cause in the soul according to Aquinas and Averroes. The 11 essays are from a series of seminars over the past few years at Trinity College, Dublin, and here presented in a fine and durable volume.

CONTENTS

Preface
List of Contributors
Introduction

A. EARLY PERIOD

Philo of Alexandria and Platonist Psychology
John Dillon

St Paul on Soul, Spirit and the Inner Man
George H. van Kooten

B. CHRISTIAN TRADITION

Faith and Reason in Late Antiquity: The Perishability Axiom and Its Impact on Christian Views about the Origin and Nature of the Soul
Dirk Krausmüller

The Nature of the Soul According to Eriugena
Catherine Kavanagh

C. ISLAMIC TRADITION

Aristotle’s Categories and the Soul: An Annotated Translation of al-Kindī’s „That There are Separate Substances“ Peter Adamson and Peter E. Pormann

Private Caves and Public Islands: Islam, Plato and the Ikhwān al-Ṣafā
Ian Richard Netton

Tradition and Innovation in the Psychology of Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī
Maha Elkaisy-Friemuth

D. JUDAIC TRADITION

The Soul in Jewish Neoplatonism: A Case Study of Abraham Ibn Ezra and Judah Halevi
Aaron W. Hughes

Maimonides, the Soul and the Classical Tradition
Oliver Leaman

E. LATER MEDIEVAL PERIOD

St. Thomas Aquinas’s Concept of the Human Soul and the Influence of Platonism
Patrick Quinn

Intellect as Intrinsic Formal Cause in the Soul according to Aquinas and Averroes
Richard C. Taylor

Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Concepts and Places

248 pages, 1 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/VZIhyqw ... on_-_.html

Reuben Swinburne Clymer - Mastership The Divine Law



238 pages, 2.73 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/igI--tV ... _Mast.html



Reuben Swinburne Clymer - Soul Consciousness



224 pages, 819 KB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/GgcpYBJ ... _Soul.html



Reuben Swinburne Clymer - The Philosophy of Fire



"The underlying principles in all true religions is the Philosophy of Fire. The very foundation of the Secret Doctrine and the Ancient Mysteries is this same Philosophy of Fire — Symbol of God — Life of Love, In the work before the reader, quotaticms have been made from the Secret Science of the Greater Fraternities which were instrumental in shaping the religious beliefs of the people. The only one not thus considered is Zoroaster and his doctrine.

Before the time of Zoroaster, the Persians, like the early Egyptians, worshiped in the open air, long after other nations had constructed temples, as they considered the broad expanse of the heavens as a sublime covering for their devotion of the Deity. Their places of sacrifice were much like those of the northern nations of Europe, composed of circles of upright stones. They abominated images, and worshiped the Sun and Fire, as representative of the Omnipresent Deity."

259 pages, 5.92 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/1IMGKWh ... _The_.html


More from ROSICRUCIANISM AND MARTINISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12502358/506 ... ism__.html

Richard Smoley - Conscious Love: Insights from Mystical Christianity



"Smoley, former editor of the journal Gnosis and author of Inner Christianity and Forbidden Faith, is adept at unknotting the paradoxes of spiritual traditions and making new connections across centuries and languages. In his newest book, he tackles the vexed question of love, which he avers has a unique place at the center of Christian spirituality yet eludes precise classification-as most know, there are at least four words translated as "love" in New Testament Greek alone. Smoley has written that rare book that should exert a strong appeal for Christian and non-Christian readers alike. Highly recommended." - (Library Journal,July 2008)

Though love is a perennial topic for writers of all kinds, much of what is written aboutlove is simplistic and unsatisfying. In Conscious Love, Richard Smoley—an expert on the esoteric traditions of mystical Christianity—incorporates insights and wisdom about love from noted thinkers in literature, art, philosophy, sociology, cultural criticism, and even neurology. This remarkable book offers a blueprint for infusing conscious love into human relationships.

230 pages, 1.73 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/5TVplHX ... s_Lov.html



Fred Gettings - Secret Symbolism in Occult Art



"Occult arts and sciences (alchemy, astrology, numerology, the tarot, spirit forces, witchcraft. magic and others) were practiced openly in ancient society. Occult wisdom was a part of everyday existence until the Middle Ages when Christianity renounced it as anti-Christ. Erudite scientists and enlightened practitioners were forced into hiding and their teachings were perpetuated by local artists and visionaries.

The accoutrements of the spiritual sciences, the unusual mythological symbolism - a mystery unto itself - conceal the seminal principles. But it must be remembered that these circuitous images were not part of the original doctrine.

Hiding the secret teachings behind painted veils became the best way to prevent a repetition of the disaster that befell the Knights Templar, who were falsely accused of hideous crimes, tortured and murdered by those who opposed their beliefs.

In Secret Symbolism in Occult Art, Fred Gettings leads a tour of occult art and its symbolism from prehistoric times, through the turbulence of the Inquisition and up to the present, where it has once again become a part of everyday life. Many of our words, letters and sounds are occult in origin and contain hidden energies in their symbolism.

The Egyptian ankh, which protects its wearer from harm, the six-rayed star known as the seal of Solomon and the evil eye are well known and part of many occult teachings - perhaps part of the collective unconscious as well. Other more esoteric symbols such as the bell ringer and the salamander in the flame will be recognized by initiates. These symbols preserve the records of numerous enlightened persons, living in different times and places.

In Secret Symbolism in Occult Art, artists include Piero della Vecchia, Albrecht Dürer, William Blake and Arthur Rackham, clairvoyant C.W. Leadbeater, Rosicrucian Jacob Boehme and many other convey the secrets of the hidden realm. Fred Gettings, in turn studies their fascinating symbols, putting each work of art in its historic and spiritual context for a full appreciation of its meaning."

Contents includes:

Introduction: The Occult Veil
1. The Star Wisdom of the Occultists
2. The Astral World: The Invisible Sea
3. The World of Man
4. Earth Magic and Earth Spirits
5. Black Magic: The Use of Unseen Powers
6. Amulets and Charms: The Invisible Power of the Evil Eye
7. Demon: The Unseen Works of Evil
8. Alchemy: The Secrets of Inner Rebirth
Index

158 pages, 66.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/Nhg2lk7 ... mboli.html



George Winslow Plummer - The Master's Word





It is with the hope that this book will meet a long felt want on the part of some, and stimulate others to independent thought and research that it is sent forth to do it's work among the Brethren. By the orthodox and the slaves of creed it will be strongly condemned as heretical and atheistic.

125 pages, 1.69 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/A5Y26vR ... The_M.html



E.R. Goodenough - By Light, Light, The Mystic Gospel of Hellenistic Judaism





448 pages, 46.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/JMqpZBX ... Light.html



Florentino Garcia Martinez - Qumran and Apocalyptic: Studies on the Aramaic Text from Qumran



The present volume contains a selection of studies on the Aramaic texts from Qumran, originally published in Spanish but thoroughly revised here, which investigate the contributions made by the Qumran manuscripts to the study of the Apocalyptic Tradition. The first three papers collected here are concerned with apocalyptic texts belonging to the Enochic Tradition (Book of Noah, Books of Enoch, Book of Giants) and show how the fragmentary copies found at Qumran have radically altered the way in which we understand them. The next two studies deal with two texts which were previously unknown and which stem from the Danielic Tradition (4QPrNab, 4QpsDan Ar); they both notably enrich our knowledge of the traditions of Daniel. The last two studies discuss two Qumranic apocalypses (4Q246, 11QNJ) which reveal the richness and the diversity of the theological conceptions circulating within the Apocalyptic Tradition. The book offers a most up-to-date survey of research on these manuscripts and makes a fresh contribution to the understanding of Qumran and of the Apocalyptic Tradition.

252 pages, 10.1 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/DFtLf5w ... z_-_Q.html



Newman, van der Horst - Early Jewish Prayers in Greek



In this book, a series of 12 Jewish prayers, composed by Greek speaking communities, have been collected, translated, and provided with a historical and philological commentary. These prayers, ranging in time from the second century BCE to the fourth century CE, offer unique insights into a wide variety of forms of Jewish spirituality, both in the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora. They have been preserved on papyrus, on stone, and as part of Christian church orders into which some of them have been incorporated in a christianized from. These prayers are therefore of great interest to scholars of both early Judaism and ancient Christianity.

317 pages, 1.56 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/PpiZyAk ... rly_J.html

Jonathan Garb - The Chosen Will Become Herds: Studies in Twentieth-Century Kabbalah



Review

"Garb shows how 20th-century Kabbalah impacted multiple political, religious, and cultural arenas in Israel and beyond. Simply put, this is the best available map of modern Kabbalah."-William Parsons, Rice University (William Parsons )

"Garb''s monograph is the grounding study of twentieth-century Kabbalah. The volume offers a profound appreciation of the social and political forces in play amongst the schools that study and produce Kabbalistic literature in our day."-Daniel Abrams, Bar Ilan University, Editor of Kabbalah: Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts (Daniel Abrams )

"Jonathan Garb presents a fascinating picture of the latest phase of development in Jewish Mysticism, in particular its complete break with esoteric restrictions and traditions."-Moshe Halbertal, New York University School of Law (Moshe Halbertal )

"Jonathan Garb traces the astonishing transformation of the Kabbalah from an obscure, initially devalued scholarly domain to a bold, generative movement of twentieth-century mystical speculation. His approach is at once critical, skeptical, and empathic in the finest sense of the word, and the story he tells is illumined by a broad comparative vision and by his immense erudition in the classical Jewish sources. This essay is an exemplary instance of modern, historically informed comparative religion."-David Shulman, Hebrew University (David Shulman )

"The best book I''ve read on modern Jewish mysticism. Jonathan Garb gives us an insightful overview of contemporary Kabbalah and Hasidism, including the impact of Zionism, postmodernism, New Age, and the internet."-David R. Loy, author of Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy (David R. Loy )

"The first comprehensive survey of the major developments in the history of Kabbalah as well as the spiritual life in Israel in the twentieth-century.This is an original piece of scholarship, written by a first-rank scholar."-Moshe Idel (Moshe Idel )

Product Description

The popularity of Kabbalah, a Jewish mystical movement at least 900 years old, has grown astonishingly within the context of the vast and ever-expanding social movement commonly referred to as the New Age. This book is the first to provide a broad overview of the major trends in contemporary Kabbalah together with in-depth discussions of major figures and schools.

A noted expert on Kabbalah, Jonathan Garb places the “kabbalistic Renaissance” within the global context of the rise of other forms of spirituality, including Sufism and Tibetan Buddhism. He shows how Kabbalah has been transformed by the events of the Holocaust and, following the establishment of Israel, by aliyah. The Chosen Will Become Herds is an original piece of scholarship and, in its own right, a new chapter in the history of Kabbalah.

231 pages, 4.93 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/MQn9Nl2 ... n_Wil.html



D.H.S. Nicholson - The mysticism of St. Francis of Assisi



PARTIAL CONTENTS:

CHAPTER I: Universality of the doctrine of self-annihilation - An apparent contraction, and its possible causes - The self in modern psychology: the self as known and the self as knower – The repertory of selves and the necessity for choice - The division into selves is arbitrary: its purpose is to gain clearness of comprehension - The two selves in mysticism - Body, Soul, and Spirit – The interaction of the „I“ and the selected self – Views of the mystics - Theologia Germanica – Molinos - Lady Julian - St . Paul - Lopukhin – Conclusions – Christ as the Higher Self Annihilation of the lower self

CHAPTER II: Self-annihilation the negative side of St. Francis' life - His view of it in general – His method of attributing nothing to the lower self - His avoidance of unnecessary eccentricity – And fearlessness where eccentricity was demanded - His struggle against shyness as a tendency of the lower self - His avoidance of praise - And acceptance of blame - His condemnation of spiritual envy as proceeding from the lower self - His conception of self-annihilation making for an interior largeness - His fight against spiritual complacency - The new birth and the virtues – True independence is dependence on God

CHAPTER III: The monastic vows subdivisions of the doctrine of self-annihilation - Obedience the subjugation of the will to separateness – Two methods of universalizing the will, by intensification and denial - The second that of mysticism - The substitution of the will of another for the personal will - The Church as an already constituted authority for the Catholic - The mystic's need for actual experience not inconsistent with the attempt to suppress the personal will – His access to a higher court than that of the Church - This occurs only at certain stages - The office of the Church until they have been reached – The mystic's desire for universality as against the exclusiveness of the Churches - His resulting disregard for them at certain times - But he is an individual as well as a mystic - Examples of obedience to the divine will rather than that of the Church from the life of St. Teresa - As to her method of prayer - And the monastery of St.Joseph - Her own belief as to her obedience - Her assertions of certainty - Treatment of mysticism by the Church – Contempt – Suppression - Assimilation - The Church's limitation of mysticism - Its value and danger

CHAPTER IV: The three monastic vows the foundation of St. Francis' life and Order – Obedience and chivalry - True obedience and the simile of the corpse - This is on the negative side of progress - Obedience and the gratification of the personal will - St. Francis' distinctions in this connection - His realization of the danger of appropriation - The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - His view of the sense of personal achievement - God the Doer - Obedience to unspoken commands St. Francis' subjection of his own will and his renunciation of the leadership of the Order - His request for the appointment of someone whom he should obey - His recognition of an authority above the Church Examples of his independence in details - His submission to the Church not unbroken - The approval of the First Rule The Indulgence of the Portiuncula - St. Francis not always successful in the struggle against the Church's formalism The Hugoline Rule for the Poor Ladies, and the Second Rule - His committal of the Order to the Church – His view of the use of authority as compared with humility - Apparently conflicting views of obedience due to his conception of it as a means only - His reverence for the First Rule - Its observance higher than obedience as such St. Francis' unorthodox view of penance - His attitude towards the priesthood - His respect for the priests as administrators of the Sacrament – His desire to keep the peace with them - His respect for the Church - St. Francis concerned with life rather than dogma - His conformity as evidenced by the Rules - Submission and freedom

CHAPTER V: The importance of attention as directing desire - The power of whole-hearted desire - The secret of the saints - Poverty a means of avoiding division of desire - Literal poverty and detachment - Willingness essential to poverty - Poverty without it of no avail - Poverty a fight against all tendencies to appropriation - It stands for a redirection of attention and rests on a revaluation - Detachment superior to literal poverty - Detachment neither indifference nor insensibility - Two aspects of detachment, negative and positive -The greater difficulty of detachment
Summing up

CHAPTER VI : General Franciscan view of poverty - The sources of St. Francis' conception of poverty - The imitation of Christ - The personification of poverty - Its effect on the world - The growth of the conception - The declaration – Rome - San Damiano - The Disinheritance - Rivo Torto and absolute non-ownership - Destruction of the houses at the Portiuncula and Bologna – All things belong to God and are therefore to be held in common – The novice and the psalter – The gift of property the return of a loan – Ownership and theft - Property as a hindrance to love – As unduly occupying the attention - As promoting disunion - Willing poverty and union - Man as a pilgrim and an exile - The profession of poverty necessitates begging - All things an alms – A limit to begging - The modern disapproval of begging - The brethren earned their livelihood and made a return for what they begged

CHAPTER VII: The larger concern of poverty - It stands for the subjugation of the intellect to the spirit - Two lines of defence for this position - The argument from the nature of the intellect and its inherent limitations - The argument from experience - Contemplation a state into which the working of the intellect does not enter - Contemplation preceded by meditation – Philosophical support of this position - M. Bergson's view of the original purpose of the intellect - Its dissection of matter - Its difficulty when dealing with ideas - It cannot think becoming, or comprehend life - Comparison with Ruysbroeck and the Cloud of Unknowing - A faculty superseding intellect - M. Bergson on instinct and intelligence – Intuition in man - Comparison with mysticism - Individual and universal consciousness - The step beyond reason - The awakening of the potentialities of intuition by going within - The difficulty of describing spiritual experience in terms of reason - Intuition as revealing the unity of spiritual life - The one life behind manifestation - Eckartshausen and intuition - Conclusion

CHAPTER VIII: St. Francis as poet and the avoidance of intellectualism - His contempt for learning not overemphasized - Learning and pride - Intellectual appreciation and vital understanding - The school at Bologna and the Chapter of Mats - The knowledge of the mind and the knowledge of the heart according to St. Francis - The perfect - Minister General and learning - Appointment of St. Anthony of Padua as reader of theology – The schools and simplicity - Extremes of simplicity - St. Francis and the limitations of the intellect - Learning and tribulation - The intellect and prayer - Learning and the tendency to appropriation - The intuitive faculty in St. Francis

CHAPTER IX: Freedom and subjection in the monastic vows - The body and the emotions - The body as symbolizing division and so the lower self - The inability of the senses to cognize God - This inferiority necessitates control -Asceticism based on this need for control – The suggestion of transmutation - Certain points in common with asceticism - Both concerned with desire rather than with action - Different methods of arriving at a common end Temporary suppression and fulfilment - The demand for abstinence from sexual activity rests on a fear of exaggeration and over-attention - The difficulty of dedication - The normal selfishness of sexual desire

CHAPTER X: St. Francis and monasticism - His recognition of the need for asceticism - It produces peace - His first realization of the need for physical control - St. Francis and the lepers - His restraint ofthe bodily appetites - Doubt of its continuing necessity - St. Francis' dislike of too strict legislation - His avoidance of the extremes of traditional asceticism - His teaching as to the danger of exaggeration – His admission of his own too great severity – His recognition of the sanctity and value of the body - The body as symbolizing the lower self for St. Francis - Examples of his use of body in this sense - His willing acceptance of physical hardships - His teaching and practice as regards the acceptance of pain St.Francis and chastity - Jacqueline of Settesoli - St. Clare St. Francis' struggle with desire - Woman as the spouse of Christ

CHAPTER XI : Love as motive the positive side of the method of mysticism - The love of God for man and of man for God - The universality of love - Its selflessness - Its source the spirit - Continual opportunities for its exercise in the world - Human and spiritual love - Rarity of complete selflessness in human love - Its exclusiveness - Universality The dependence of human love on sympathy - Its points in common with spiritual love - A preparation therefor, as meditation for contemplation - The mystic's humility grounded in love - Spiritual experience his particular domain - Variety of such experiences – They cause no pride in the mystic - Mystical phenomena not essential - St. John of the Cross – Lady Julian - The mystic's desire to avoid the way of psychic phenomena - Evidence of writers on mystical theology - This desire an implication of love

CHAPTER XII: Love the motive of St. Francis' life - The incident of the leper - The gifts to the poor - Love as the source of joy - The glad acceptance of life and the need for reform – Such acceptance founded on a love for God - St. Francis and the welcome of temptation – His rejoicing at hardships and his continual joy – His veneration for the love of God - His prayer for love - His insistence on joy among his companions - Joy founded on love as a protection against sin - Gladness and asceticism - Prayer a source of spiritual joy - The selflessness of St. Francis' attitude towards mystical experience - His reticence concerning it exemplified in the case of the Stigmata - His fear of personal adulation and of an exaggerated belief in an external sign - His teaching as to the folly of mentioning mystical experiences - His appreciation and enjoyment of them - His feeling of his own unworthiness to receive them – His teaching that they should be offered to God - The avoidance of self-glorification in preaching and all works St. Francis' conquest of pride by love

420 pages, 8.24 MB, PDF. Scan.





St. Macarius - Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian



George A. Maloney, S.J., provides a great service by bringing to the public the first modern English translation of the spiritual homilies and Great Letter of Pseudo- Macarius, a Syrian monk of the fourth century whose identity is still the subject of scholarly investigation.

The Fifty Homilies, in the form of a practical, monastic pedagogy, reveal the typical traits of Eastern Christian asceticism, with particular emphasis on the spiritual combat, the action of the Holy Spirit, and the importance of interior prayer. The Great Letter discusses the purging of the passions to bring the Christian into a state of tranquility and integration, and addresses the monastic community with instructions regarding organization, humility, and prayer.

392 pages, 30.5 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/oGKMe2p ... tual_.html



Jeanette Agnes - The Seventh Seal





190 pages, 7.31 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/88jjfFy ... nth_S.html



Lizzete A. Fisher - The Mystic Vision in the Grail Legend and in the Divine Comedy





183 pages, 3.86 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/RCY1yKd ... stic_.html


More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

William Kingsland - The Gnosis Or Ancient Wisdom In The Christian Sculptures



This book is the last work of William Kingsland and was completed shortly before his death. "In this work Kingsland shows how the fundamental teachings given to the world at the beginning of the Christian ere were derived from the Gnosis or Ancient Wisdom, but in time have become so perverted that the modern interpretation of Christianity represents merely their debased survival."

Contents: Religion and Religions; The Bible; The Ancient Wisdom or Gnosis; The Genesis Narrative; The New Testament Scriptures, The Gospels; The New Testament Scriptures, Paul's Epistles; Practical Religion; Bibliography.

230 pages, 5.49 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/XNukYzM ... nosis.html



Emile Gebhart - Mystics and Heretics in Italy at the End of the Middle Ages



1922. The religious and moral condition of Italy before the time of Joachim of Flora; Joachim of Flora; Francis of Assisi; The Emperor Frederic II and the Rationalistic Spirit in Southern Italy; Exaltation of the Franciscan Mysticism; The Eternal Gospel; John of Parma; Fra Salimbene; The Holy See and the Spiritual Franciscans; Popular art and Poetry; The Mysticism, the Moral Philosophy and the Faith of Dante; Notes, List of works by Gebhart; Index.

302 pages, 17 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/3edS6WU ... nd_He.html



John Wright Buckham - Christ and the Eternal Order



CONTENTS

Part I - THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRIST

Chapter

I. The Christology of To-day
II. Revelation : Progressive and Final
III. The Christocentric View-point
IV. Christ Interpreting God
V. Christ Interpreting Nature
VI. Christ Interpreting Man
VII. The Worship of Christ

Part II - ASPECTS OF CHRIST

VIII. The Human Christ
IX. The Historic Christ
X. The Eternal Christ
XI. The Living Christ
XII. The Cosmic Christ

Part III - THE POTENCIES OF CHRIST

Chapter

XIII. Christ Pre-present and Pre-potent
XIV. Christ Indwelling
XV. Christ in Conscience
XVI. Christ Regenerating
XVII. Christ Atoning
XVIII. Christ Risen
XIX. Christ Returning
XX. Christ and Social Redemption
XXI. The Kingdom of Christ

APPENDIX
I. Historical Sketch of the Christocentric Theology
II. Vital Issues of the Harnack Controversy

212 pages, 8.58 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/HZh-IrJ ... ist_a.html



Henry C. Sheldon - The Mystery Religions and the New Testament



Contents: A Glance at the Characteristic Features of the Mystery Religions; Some Special Phases in the Content or History of the Mystery Religions; Distinctive Points in Which the Mystery Religions Show Agreement or Contrast with Christianity; Question of Paul's Indebtedness to the Mystery Religions for Characteristic Terms and Ideas; Question of Paul's Indebtedness to the Mystery Religions for His Conceptions of Baptism and the Eucharist; Question of Indebtedness of the Johannine Writings, and of Other Positions of the New Testament.

This book is of great value to every student and lover of wisdom.

166 pages, 5.43 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/X5nWYYV ... tery_.html



Curtiss - The Mystic Life



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.
The Mystic Life, when first published in 1934, was a distillation of the teachings of the American Order of Mystics. In this new edition the theme has not been changed; the message is age-old and points the reader towards at-one-ment with the Christ Light within. Devoid of the finer points of theological discussion and brash intellectualism, it suggests we live patiently, with simplicity and kindness; in exactly the way humanity has been taught throughout its history, by all of the world's Masters.

An introduction to mysticism and a clear exposition of its meaning, its scope and its importance in the daily life. Just the thing to place in the hands of one who is beginning to aspire and think for himself.

CONTENTS

Foreword vii

I The Mystic Life
II The Path of Discipleship
III Illumination
IV The Mystic Christ
V The Daily Life

69 pages, 447 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/9qHaH7t ... _Life.html



Curtiss - The Pattern Life



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.

Every seeker and initiate is destined to walk the same well trodden path of those that have come before. There is but one universal story of the initiate. The One Pattern Life we are all in the process of unfolding. Based on the Life of the Master Jesus.

The most astonishing yet revealing interpretation of the Gospel story. Gives it a new spiritual yet logical and scientific appeal.

The result of Dr. Curtiss' 20 years of painstaking and scholarly research in the fields of comparative religion, philosophy, psychology and symbolism.
The results are astonishing if not sensational in the religious field. Not dry scholastic argument, but applied to the daily experiences of our lives.
Gives the only satisfactory explanation of the many inaccuracies and flat contradictions in the Gospels.

Accepts the historical facts recently discovered, but definitely refutes the materialistic conclusions of the "higher critics" and mythologists. A great reconciler of conflicting opinions and theories.

Contents

• Introduction. The Universal Solar Myth. The basis of all world religions.
• The Annunciations. To Elizabeth and Zacharias. To Mary and Joseph. Why made by Gabriel?
• The Immaculate Conception. Why disputed for ages? Was Joseph the real father of Jesus?
• The Birth of the Christ. Actual date unknown. Why Dec. 25th was chosen. Its meaning in our daily lives.
• The Wise Men and the Star. How could a star stand still over a certain spot and then turn South? What it really was. Who were the Wise Men?
• The Shepherds and the Sheep. Why the revelation was made to humble shepherds and not to the high priests.
• The Manger and the Swaddling Clothes. Why was Christ born in a stable? Meaning of swaddling clothes.
• Gifts of the Wise Men. Symbology of gold, frankincense and myrrh, their meaning.
• Herod and the Wise Men. Gives the key to many otherwise unexplained experiences in our lives.
• The Flight and Massacre. Were any children actually slain? How many? Why denied by St. Luke?
• Twelve Years of Age. Where was Jesus during His early years? Why 12 is an important age.
• The Baptism. John. Why did Jesus need to be baptized by John? Its meaning.
• The Baptism. The Christ. Why did Jesus wait until He was 30 before baptism?
• The Baptism. The Jordan. The physical features of the Jordan. Their significance.
• The Temptation. The Fast. Why did Jesus need to fast 40 days? Its significance.
• The Temptation. The Tempter. Why did Jesus submit to temptation by the devil when He knew who it was?
• The Marriage in Cana. How and why was the water turned into wine? Its symbology and application.
• The Betrayal. Why did Jesus permit Judas to betray Him when He knew of the intention long in advance?
• The Crucifixion. Why was this tragedy permitted? Why between thieves? Its significance.
• Three Days in the Tomb. What took place during that interval? Its meaning.
• The Resurrection. How could Jesus survive, appear and disappear through closed doors at will?
• The Ascension. How was Jesus' body changed so that "flesh and blood" could inherit the kingdom of heaven?
• Elaborate Appendix. Star map of the heavens. The actual astronomical events of the Sun Cycle. Various birth dates. Why Dec. 25th was chosen. Inaccuracies and flat contradictions explained.
• Will cause as many happily changed lives as any other of "The Curtiss Books."
• Illustrated with a hitherto unpublished picture of the Master Jesus.

323 pages, 6.10 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/nARwFz5 ... _Life.html



Curtiss – The Temple of Silence



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.

The most inspiring treatise on Meditation and Entering the Silence. There is no problem that cannot be solved, no question that cannot be answered if we truly enter this Temple of Silence and ask for guidance. For here, before the altar of this Inner Temple, the All-Father will send His Light direct into the heart of every true worshipper at this inner shrine.

Some may see the glorious company of the Saints. Some may hear the Psalms of Life like a mighty chorus of many voices of surpassing sweetness. This choir is made up of the songs of thanksgiving and praise that each heart sings as it finds itself a worshipper in the Temple of Silence.

Others may hear the Music of the Spheres, the stately rhythmic cadence of the stars and planets as they follow their appointed ways through space. Others may but feel the presence and receive the comfort of the perfect harmony and oneness of all. Still others may seem to be clasping hands with a band of fellow Disciples which reaches around the world. But all will feel the waves of spiritual life-force bathing and filling them. Here will spiritual realisation illuminate our consciousness, for we have become one with the Knower and can drink at the fountain-head of wisdom.

Practical working directions given.

Contents

• The Temple of Silence
• The Great Silence
• Entering the Silence.
• The Scientific Method
• The Noon Silence Service.

84 pages, 1.02 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/g0rteNi ... ilenc.html



Curtiss - Potent Prayers



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.

A long felt want finally filled. A collection of inspired and inspiring prayers for all occasions and for every need and mood. Published in small, handy form convenient for the pocket or hand-bag, and accessible at all times.

By its regular use all aspirants may experience the manifold blesssings and joys, the protection and comfort of the spiritual forces which these mystical prayers actually invoke. Divine Invocation at its most potent.

Contents

• The Lord’s Prayer
• Prayer for Light
• Sunrise Prayer
• Morning Prayer
• Sunset Prayer
• Evening Prayer
• Midnight Prayer
• Prayer to the Divine Indweller
• Prayer to the Divine Mother
• For Realisation
• Healing Prayer
• How to Use the Healing Prayer
• Prayer of Protection
• How to Use the Prayer of Protection
• Prayer of Devotion
• Prayer of Demonstration
• Prayer for World Harmony
• Prayer for the Christ Power
• Prayer for Christ’s Coming
• Prayer My Christ is Here
• Prayer of the Three Doors
• Grace before Meals
• To Conquer Fear
• To Challenge Psychic Manifestations
• Prayer for Coming Conditions
• Prayer to the Source
• Prayer for the Atoms
• Prayer to the White Warriors
• Prayer for Understanding
• Prayer to Purify the Flesh
• Prayer for Power to Conquer
• Prayer for Freedom
• Prayer for the Awakening
• I Will Arise
• Prayer for Things Needed
• Invocation to the Flame
• Prayer to the Chariot of Fire
• Teach Me To Learn My Lesson
• For What to Say
• Prayer for the Indian
• Prayer for a Spiritual Wall
• He Walks with Me
• I Lay Me Down
• Prayer to the Lord of Light
• Prayer for Consecrating the Hands
• Prayer for the Golden Fruits
• Prayer to the Soul
• Prayer of the Sanctuary
• Prayer of Consecration
• To be Efficient
• Gratitude
• Tests of Teachings
• Prayer to the Forth-Coming
• Addition to Grace at Meals or after any Gift
• Prayer of Thanksgiving
• A Prayer for World Peace

68 pages, 2.19 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/Ir7huTf ... ayers.html



Curtiss - Gems of Mysticism



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.

Inspiring passages selected from the writings of Dr. Frank Homer and Mrs. Harriette Augusta Curtiss.

Gives best simple insight into Mysticism.

One might wade through the religious philosophising of every people and place and not receive the inspiration one will get out of a ten minute perusal of this little book.

Golden in their wisdom and luminous with love, the treasured thoughts grouped herein have been to me as life itself. Meditate on them in gratitude and they shall give you Light in the hour of darkness, Courage in defeat, Faith in time of trial, Patience in adversity, Love when beset by hate, Wisdom in the midst of error, and the Key to find the Master whom you seek. Where your secret thought is, there are you. Let this little book guide you into the Gates of Wisdom, aye, to the Heart of Love itself. Compiled by a pupil of the Order, Forest K. Davis

Contents

• Spiritual Growth.
• Duty.
• Karma.
• Reincarnation.
• The Christ.
• Masters of Wisdom.
• Miscellaneous.

106 pages, 2.3 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/mX5kUCM ... icism.html



Curtiss - The Divine Mother



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.

The most beautiful gem of the series.

Today, as never before, a cry of heart-hunger goes up from a humanity which has waited so long for a real understanding of all that, age after age, it has accepted, has striven to live for, has died for, yet has not fully understood or received. This great hunger-cry is not a cry for physical things but is the fulfilment of the days so long foretold of old: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.”

To all such the Divine Mother comes holding in her outstretched arms the radiant form of Her Son, the Lord of Glory, the fruit of Her bringing forth. With the birth of Her Son in this New Age She brings to our remembrance all that has been told us, all that has been whispered to our hearts during the dark watches of the long night, all that the Light has revealed in the mystical depths of our consciousness. And in Her loving voice, soft as the whisper of a gentle air from heaven, She says: “Children, behold My Son!” And She beckons to the heart-hungry and says: “Welcome to my feast. It is spread for all who will come and partake and live. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the world.”

Contents

• The Divine Mother.
• The Bringer Forth.
• The Midnight Prayer.
• The Waters of Life.
• The Comforter.

88 pages, 2.09 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/RXaKuYm ... other.html



Curtiss - The Inner Radiance



The Teachings of the Order of Christian Mystics Awaken the Inner Life.
Forty splendid chapters covering almost every phase of the mystic life, occultism and spiritual philosophy, from the stock market collapse and the depression, and the remedy, to the zodiac, the elementals, divine fire, redemption, King Arthur and his knights, King Desire, and the Christ Star.

Contents

• The Inner Radiance: that mysterious power which pushes all things on to perfection.
• The God Man: God in the process of manifestation in man.
• As in the Days of Noah: planets returning to similar relations and producing similar conditions today. How to master them.
• Spiritual Co-operation: a law of the universe.
• Man and the Zodiac: how the 12 signs are represented in man.
• The Lord from Heaven: how the spiritual man descends into the human.
• The Soul Language: the inner language of spiritual consciousness.
• Transmigration: the doctrine, the atoms. Not reincarnation.
• Cosmic Causes of World Conditions and the Remedy: Cosmic and Karmic factors, Dr. Curtiss' lecture before the Chamber of Commerce.
• The Mystic Rose: why a symbol of Divine Love.
• The Great and the Small: all things are relative.
• The Lords of Karma: the events of life neither fate nor punishment, but opportunities.
• Redemption: the esoteric doctrine. Why necessary.
• Reliance: of the outer upon the inner.
• The Great Work: the mystery of Spiritual Alchemy.
• King Desire: his meaning and mastery.
• The Mystery of the Elements: the conscious forces back of Nature. Hymn to the Elements.
• Man and the Elementals: role of the Gnomes, Undines, Sylphs and Salamanders.
• The Realm of Be-ness: the mystery of Being from non-being.
• Saturn and Cyclic Law: role of Saturn as tester and Initiator.
• God, Man and the Planet: their relation. The Book of Remembrance.
• The Third Eye: functions of the pineal gland.
• The Mount of Attainment: the end of the Path.
• The Round Table: symbology of King Arthur and his knights.
• Divine Fire: fire of life, of mind. Cosmic fire.
• The Glory of the Lord: how recognized and contacted.
• Lessons by the Way: The ancient continents.
• Lesson of the sage-brush. Nature's symbology.
• The King of Glory: where and how he reigns.
• The Christ Star: the shepherds and the Wise Men. The five points.
• Preparation: for the Second Coming

395 pages, 7.65 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/EfhJTJC ... iance.html


More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

http://www.4shared.com/dir/12507284/da6 ... Mysti.html

Aldous Huxley - The Perennial Philosophy



An inspired gathering of religious writings that reveals the "divine reality" common to all faiths, collected by Aldous Huxley

"The Perennial Philosophy," Aldous Huxley writes, "may be found among the traditional lore of peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions."

With great wit and stunning intellect—drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam—Huxley examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine. The Perennial Philosophy includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.

Contents
Introduction page
I That Art Thou
II The Nature of the Ground
III Personality, Sanctity, Divine Incarnation
IV God in the World
V Charity
VI Mortification, Non-Attachment, Right Livelihood
VII Truth
VIII Religion and Temperament
IX Self-Knowledge
X Grace and Free Will
XI Good and Evil
XII Time and Eternity
XIII Salvation, Deliverance, Enlightenment
XIV Immortality and Survival
XV Silence
XVI Prayer
XVII Suffering
XVIII Faith
XIX God is not mocked
XX Tantum religiopotuit suadere malorum page
XXI Idolatry
XXII Emotionalism
XXIII The Miraculous
XXIV Ritual, Symbol, Sacrament
XXV Spiritual Exercises
XXVII Perseverance and Regularity
XXVIII Contemplation, Action and Social Utility
Bibliography

377 pages, 13.8 MB, PDF. Scan.

http://www.4shared.com/document/NtnkJnZ ... nial_.html



Teresa A. Blythe - 50 Ways To Pray



A spiritual director, writer and commentator on popular culture, Blythe can say her prayers in many different ways. This helpful and friendly book is jammed with prayer practices from a variety of Christian traditions. Organized by chapters that group prayers by type (body prayers, prayers of imagination, discernment, etc.), each prayer practice is clearly explained step-by-step. The result is a textbook not only of techniques but also a generous understanding of the many modalities of prayer. The author goes through 9 different prayer styles - contemplative prayer, praying with scripture, praying with the imagination, praying with media, to name a few - and within each style gives several different ways to pray in that particular style. She gives a very brief history of each style, and clear, step-by-step directions on the specific prayers. Also included is a leader's guide for use with groups. Blythe finds that prayer can be walked, talked, breathed, drawn or even inferred from television and movies. The breadth of the book provides an imaginative jump start for anyone with a narrow conception of how to pray or a limited repertoire of rote prayers. A leader's guide at the back of the book provides instructions for anyone working with prayer groups. However, this leader's guide section could be more clearly integrated into the text by including page numbers in each chapter that would take the reader clearly back to the relevant pages in the leader's guide. Overall, this book is an excellent resource with breadth and depth for religious educators, spiritual group leaders and anyone wishing to deepen his or her own prayer life.

232 pages, 11.9 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/jb8LZl6 ... _To_P.html



Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism (Merkava, Hasidism,...) related works and articles:


Raymond Jacques Tournay - Seeing and Hearing God With the Psalms



This investigation into the prophetic dimension of the Psalms shows how the postexilic period and especially the world of the Chronicler around 300 BCE provide the main setting for the Psalms, even royal psalms. The Levitical singers of the Second Temple 'made up for the silence of the classical prophets': an idealized David, musician and prophet, is depicted as leader of the cultic prophets and of the entire inspired community. In this way theophanic descriptions and oracular material in the style of the classical prophets were developed and preserved through the Psalms.

312 pages, 13 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/BikNguQ ... _Seei.html



Liturgical Perspectives: Prayer and Poetry in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah, 48)



The papers published in this volume were presented at the Fifth Orion International Symposium (Jerusalem, 2000), which focused on prayer and poetry in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The volume examines the recently published poetical and liturgical texts from Qumran against the background of Second Temple Judaism, its biblical antecedents, and later rabbinic developments.

The essays treat a variety of prayers and religious practices, as well as major issues in the history of Jewish liturgy. Topics range from magic, mysticism and thanksgiving to lamentation, fast day rituals, communal worship, and the relationship between the prayers from Qumran and the traditional Jewish prayers. The application of new Scrolls material to this breadth of topics constitutes an important contribution to the study of religious poetry, religious practice, and liturgy.

295 pages, 11.1 MB, PDF.

http://www.4shared.com/document/GiRzh82 ... rayer.html



Kabbalah articles, both academic with esoteric and exoteric approach to study, and some esoteric and practical articles:

Adam Afterman - Letter Permutation Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism
Daniel Abrams - A Critical Return to Moshe Idel's Kabbalah
Elliot R. Wolfson - The Use of Models to Study Continuity and Discontinuity in Kabbalistic Tradition
Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa - Gnosis and Judaism in Nineteenth Century Christian Thought
John F. Nash - Abraham Abulafia and the Ecstatic Kabbalah
Jonathan Garb - Moshe Idel's Contribution to the Study of Religion
Lessons in Prayer and Meditation, an Intro to Kavanot System of Meditation Used by the Ari'zal, Rashash Schools of Kabbalah
Michael Fishbane - Spiritual Transformations of Torah in Biblical and Rabbinic Tradition
Moshe Idel's Reading of the Talmudic Legend of the Four Sages Who Entered the Pardes
Philip Wexler - Mystical Jewish Sociology
Prayer Guide - Darche Tefillah of Congregation Avodat Yisrael
Ron Margolin - Moshe Idel's Phenomenology and its Sources
Ronit Meroz - Between Sefer Yezirah and Wisdom Literature
Ronit Meroz - The Middle Eastern Origins of Kabbalah
Seven Branches of the Menorah, Kabbalistic Meditation on Psalm 67
The Mystical Significance of the Hebrew Alphabet
The Role of Kabbalah in Founding of the USA
Warren Zev Harvey - Idel on Spinoza
Yehuda Liebes - Zohar and Iamblichus
Isaiah Wassilevsky - Chassidism, a Resumé of Modern Hebrew Mysticism
Jacques Derrida and the Kabbalah

G. Granger Fleming - The Dynamic of All-Prayer



Contents

Foreword
Introduction - Back to the Trenches

I. The Desire for Prayer
II. The Final Incentive
III. The Functional Character of Prayer
IV. Staying and Waiting
V. Prayer; a World Factor
VI. Prayer: a Process
VII. Kings and Priests
VIII. Finding Expression
IX. The Transmutation of the Visible
X. The Unveiling of the Invisible
XI. The Godward Side of Prayer
XII. The Enlargement of God's Sphere
XIII. The Spirit of Prayer
XIV. Prayer Cumulative
XV. In the School of Prayer
XVI. Corporate Expression
XVII. Full Assurance
XVIII. Expenditure and Recoupment
XIX. Mystical Prayer
XX. Reasons for Non-Prayer
XXL In the Workshop of Prayer
XXII. The Burning Heart
XXIIL The Practice of Prayer
XXIV. Prayer and Faith
XXV. All-Prayer

222 pages, 2.77 MB, PDF. Scan.




R.H. Coats - The Realm of Prayer



Man's noblest art is the art of holding fellowship with God. In no other activity of the spirit do we exercise so many of our highest faculties, or direct them towards an object so sublime. For prayer is the converse of the soul with God, and the shaping of our entire inward and outward life according to His will, as the result of that converse. This is an artistry the materials for which we must find within ourselves. It is the function of prayer, as the highest of all the arts, to make the soul of man a habitation of God in the Spirit a temple not made with hands, whose foundation shall be faith; whose soaring columns, hope; whose over-arching dome, the wide expanse of love.

Contents

Chapter I - The Dignity Of Prayer

Chapter II - The Nature Of Prayer
Chapter III - The Development Of Prayer
Chapter IV - The Theology Of Prayer
Chapter V - The Psychology Of Prayer
Chapter VI - The Laws Of Prayer
Chapter VII - The School Of Prayer
Chapter VIII - The Prayer Of Petition
Chapter IX - The Prayer Of Intercession
Chapter X - Prayer And The Natural Order
Chapter XI - Prayer And Healing
Chapter XII - The Prayers Of The Old Testament
Chapter XIII - The Prayers Of The New Testament
Chapter XIV - The Prayers Of Jesus
Chapter XV - The Prayers Of The Sanctuary
Chapter XVI - The Prayers Of The Secret Place
Chapter XVII - The Prayer Of Mystic Union

Appendix Of Quotations
A. The Nature Of Prayer
B. The Necessity Of Prayer
C. The Value Of Prayer
D. The Efficacy Of Prayer
E. Great Souls At Prayer
F. The Practice Of Prayer
G. Methods Of Prayer
H. Difficulty And Distraction In Prayer
J. Dryness And Fatigue In Prayer
K. Prayer Without Ceasing
L. Intercessory And Eucharistic Prayer
M. Liturgical And Free Prayer
N. The Prayer Of Mystic Union
Index

356 pages, 21.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





W.H. Hutchings - The Life of Prayer





278 pages, 12.1 MB, PDF. Scan.





E. Herman - Creative Prayer





In this heartfelt work of enlightenment and faith, Brigid Herman attempts to find meaning and value in prayer as a creative process. True prayer, she claims, is "man's loving response to the love of God." And since divine love is the supreme act, then man's only worthy response can be one of unreserved self-giving. Herman's inspired and compassionate views, first published nearly a century ago, make essential reading for anyone embarking on the path to salvation and inner peace. The wife of a Presbyterian minister, writer BRIGID EMILY HERMAN (1876-1923) was born in Prague and eventually settled in London. Known for her works on theology and the devotional life, she also wrote The Meaning and Value of Mysticism, The Secret Garden of the Soul, and The Finding of the Cross.

248 pages, 13.8 MB, PDF. Scan.




Evelyn Underhill - The Spiral Way



Evelyn Underhill was a prolific writer, with dozens of books and hundreds of articles to her credit. Underhill wrote about mysticism in the beginning of her career, but later focused more on the spiritual life as lived by ordinary people. Written by Underhill under the pseudonym John Cordelier, The Spiral Way is a Christian look at the journey of the spirit. With chapters structured to parallel the Roman Catholic tradition of the Mysteries of the Rosary, Underhill relates the spiritual journey to the life of Jesus Christ. This book, subtitled Mediations Upon the Fifteen Mysteries of the Souls Ascent, examines those mysteries in three phases. The Joyful Mysteries (the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation in the Temple, and the Child amongst the Doctors) examines the ascent of the soul. The Sorrowful Mysteries (the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging, the Crown of Thorns, the Bearing of the Cross, and the Crucifixion) expands upon the trials and the agony experienced along an often difficult path. The third phase, the Triumphant Mysteries (the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Coming of the Holy Spirit, the Assumption, and the Coronation) fulfills the promise of the souls glorious ascension of ultimate redemption.

188 pages, 8.19 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - Concerning the Inner Life



1926. This little manual for the guidance of clergymen carries with it a quiet assurance and inward strength which will make it extremely helpful to the general reader. Miss Underhill is universally recognized as an authority on mysticism and has the depth and expansiveness of spiritual experience which she enjoins on all leaders. This work contains three lectures originally delivered at the Liverpool Diocese.

Evelyn Underhill, a novelist and poet, published her first book in 1902 but her growing interest in mysticism led in 1911 to her greatest work, 'Mysticism'. This classic text immeditately established Underhill as the leading writer in the field, and she continued her work by writing many more significant and acclaimed books and essays. In 1921 she became Upton Lecturer in the Philosophy of Religion at Manchester College, and was the first woman to give a series of lectures on theology at Oxford.

167 pages, 5.73 MB, PDF. Scan.




Evelyn Underhill - House of the Soul



This little book is in no sense a literary work. It merely consists of the notes of a series of informal addresses which were given to a small group of like-minded people; and is intended rather to stimulate meditation than to give information. Its readers are asked of their charity to judge it from this point of view.

131 pages, 3.22 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - The Golden Sequence



This is a personal little book. Its aim is not the establishment of some new thesis. It merely represents the precipitation of my own thoughts, as they have moved to and fro during the last few years, along a line which has the spiritual doctrine of St. John of the Cross at one end, and the philosophy of Professor Whitehead at the other: though I fear that few traces of the influence of these august god-parents appear in the finished result. The book, then, does not pretend to completeness; and is not to be regarded as a treatise, still less as a manual of the spiritual life. It consists of what ancient writers on these themes were accustomed to call considerations; offered to those who share the writer's passion for the exploration of the realities, and interpretation of the experiences, which are signified by the familiar words and symbols of dogmatic religion.

CONTENTS

Spirit

I What Is Spirit ?
II God Is Spirit
III Spirit As Power
IV Spirit As Person
V The Revelation Of Spirit

Spiritual Life

I Created Spirit
II Man Natural And Supernatural
III Creative Spirit
IV Life Finite And Infinite
V The Gifts Of The Spirit
VI The Twofold Life

Purification

I The Essence Of Purgation
II The Cleansing Of The Senses
III The Cleansing Of The Intellect
IV Memory And Imagination
V Will And Love

Prayer

I The Span Of Prayer
II Adoration
III Communion
IV Action
V Conclusion

213 pages, 3.79 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - The Mystic Way, a Psychological Study in Christian Origins



It is the object of this book to trace out that type of life, that peculiar quality of consciousness, which is called "mystical," from its earliest appearance within Christianity; to estimate, so far as is possible, the true character and origin of the Christian mystic, and define the qualities which differentiate him from those other mystics who have been evolved along other lines of spiritual development, Oriental, Neoplatonic, or Mahomedan. It is now acknowledged by many psychologists—amongst whom Leuba and Delacroix are of special importance, since their conclusions are entirely free from theological bias—that the Christian mystic does possess such differentiating characters; and represents, so far as the psychical nature of man is concerned, a genuine species apart. Leuba, indeed, does not hesitate to call him one of the most amazing and profound variations of which the human race has yet been witness. This being so, his origin and real significance have surely a special importance for those interested in the spiritual evolution of humanity.

We are still too often told that Christian mysticism is no integral part of Christianity: sometimes, even, that it represents an opposition to the primitive Christian ideal. Sometimes we are asked to believe that it originated from Neoplatonic influence; that Pagan blood runs in its veins, and that its genealogy goes back to Plotinus. Far from this being the case, all the doctrines and all the experiences characteristic of genuine Christian mysticism can be found in the New Testament; and I believe that its emergence as a definite type of spiritual life coincides with the emergence of Christianity itself, in the person of its Founder.

CONTENTS

Preface

I MYSTICISM AND HUMAN LIFE

I The Instinct for Transcendence
II The Quest of a Thoroughfare
III The Finding of the Thoroughfare
IV The Mystic Way
V The Christian Mystic

II MYSTICISM AND CHRISTOLOGY

I The Synoptic Record
II The Baptism and Temptation
III The Illuminated Life
IV The Way of Sorrow
V The Deified Life

III ST. PAUL AND THE MYSTIC WAY

I The Growth of the New Man
II The Laws of the New Life

IV THE JOHANNINE MYSTIC

I A Gospel of Experience
II The Logos-life in Voice and Vision

III THE MYSTIC WAY IN THE FOURTH GOSPEL

V The Mystic Life in the Early Church
I The Age of Enthusiasm
II Alexandria and the Art of Contemplation
III The Monastic Ideal
IV A Mystic of the Desert

VI THE WITNESS OF THE LITURGY

I The Outer Mystery
II The Inner Mystery

422 pages, 12.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - Life of the Spirit and the Life of Today



Contents: Characters of the Spiritual Life; History and the Life of the Spirit; Psychology; Contemplation and Suggestion; Institutional Religion; The Individual; Education and the Spiritual Life; Social Order; List of Works Cited; Index.

336 pages, 12.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - Ruysbroeck



"Ruysbroeck is Evelyn Underhills biography of 14th-century Flemish mystic John of Ruysbroeck. An ordained priest, Ruysbroeck was active for many years in Brussels before retiring to the Sonian Forest, where many of his surviving works were written. He is perhaps best remembered for conceiving of the spiritual ladder of Christian attainment and its three stages of progress: the active life, the inward life, and the contemplative life. Unlike many mystics, he believed that the soul in its journey was capable of finding God but would never unify with God, maintaining always its own identity. And yet, though remembered for his mysticism, Ruysbroeck at times could be a traditionalist, forcefully writing in favor of historic Church customs. A highly readable and thorough examination of both his life and works, Rusybroeck is a classic profile of the man considered by some to be the greatest of all medieval Catholic mystics. British writer of prose and poetry EVELYN UNDERHILL (18751941) was a fellow of Kings College for Women and Kings College, and was the first woman to lecture to the clergy in the Church of England. Through her radio appearances and her stint as editor of the political magazine The Spectator, she was a familiar voice in British public life between the wars. She authored more than 30 books (some under the pseudonym John Cordelier), including Concerning the Inner Life and Radiance: A Spiritual Memoir."

220 pages, 16.1 MB, PDF. Scan.





Evelyn Underhill - Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness



This book falls naturally into two parts; each of which is really complete in itself, though they are in a sense complementary to one another. Whilst the second and longest part contains a somewhat detailed study of the nature and development of man's spiritual or mystical consciousness, the first is intended rather to provide an introduction to the general subject of mysticism.

Exhibiting it by turns from the point of view of metaphysics, psychology, and symbolism, it is an attempt to gather between the covers of one volume information at present scattered amongst many monographs and text-books written in divers tongues, and to give the student in a compact form at least the elementary facts in regard to each of those subjects which are most closely connected with the study of the mystics.

First published in 1911, Mysticism remains the classic in its field and was lauded by The Princeton Theological Review as 'brilliantly written [and] illuminated with numerous well-chosen extracts . . . used with exquisite skill.' Mysticism makes an in-depth and comprehensive exploration of its subject. Part One examines The Mystic Fact, explaining the relation of mysticism to vitalism, to psychology, to theology, to symbolism, and to magic. Part Two, The Mystic Way, explores the awakening, purification, and illumination of the self; discusses voices and visions; and delves into manifestations from ecstasy and rapture to the dark night of the soul.

CONTENTS

PART I - THE MYSTIC FACT

PREFACE

CHAPTER I - THE POINT OF DEPARTURE
CHAPTER II - MYSTICISM AND VITALISM
CHAPTER III - MYSTICISM AND PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER IV - THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MYSTICISM
CHAPTER V - MYSTICISM AND THEOLOGY
CHAPTER VI - MYSTICISM AND SYMBOLISM
CHAPTER VI I - MYSTICISM AND MAGIC

PART II - THE MYSTIC WAY

CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTORY
CHAPTER II - THE AWAKENING OF THE SELF
CHAPTER III - THE PURIFICATION OF THE SELF
CHAPTER IV - THE ILLUMINATION OF THE SELF
CHAPTER V - VOICES AND VISIONS
CHAPTER VI - INTROVERSION. PART I. RECOLLECTION AND QUIET
CHAPTER VII – INTROVERSION PART II. CONTEMPLATION
CHAPTER VIII - ECSTASY AND RAPTURE
CHAPTER IX - THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL
CHAPTER X - THE UNITIVE LIFE
APPENDIX - A HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EUROPEAN MYSTICISM FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA TO THE DEATH OF BLAKE.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX

626 pages, 65.6 MB, PDF. Scan.




More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

Emanuel Swedenborg - Heaven and Hell



The Swedenborg Foundation has done handsomely by its eponymous visionary with this first volume in a new 25 part set of translations for his of his work. They have begun with a fine new translation of Emmanuel Swedenborg's most famous work, a description of the many heavens and hells that make up the great 18th-century thinker's cosmology, at once perfectly logical and perfectly eccentric. Swedenborg's afterworld is a kind of reflection and amplification of our own, and his vision of moving and active collective of heavens, occupied by the very real blessed dead, has been a tremendous influence on Goethe, Emerson, and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others. Dole's translation has the clarity and simplicity of Swedenborg's Latin, and the notes and supplementary material are wonderfully balanced and informative. Highly recommended.

516 pages, 26.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - On the White Horse Mentioned in Apocalypse



The White Horse Mentioned in the Apocalypse Chapter 19 With Particulars Respecting The Word and Its Spiritual or Internal Sense Extracted from the Arcana Coelestia

(First published, in Latin, 1758)

CONTENTS

The Word and its spiritual or internal sense (1-5)
The necessity and excellence of the Word (6)
The Word cannot be understood except by those who are enlightened (7)
The Word cannot be understood but by means of doctrine from the Word (8)
In the Word there is a spiritual sense, which is called the internal sense (9)
The internal sense of the Word is principally intended for the use of angels, and it is also for men (10)
In the internal or spiritual sense of the Word there are innumerable arcana (11)
The Word is written by correspondences, and thus by representatives (12)
The literal or external sense of the Word (13)
The Lord is the Word (14)
Those who are against the Word (15)
The books of the Word (16)
Further particulars respecting the Word (17)





Emanuel Swedenborg - The Soul or Rational Psychology



From the author's statement in his preface to the treatise on the Soul, as well as from the tenor of his scientific and philosophical writings throughout, it is unmistakably clear that the search for the soul was the real end and inspiring motive of all his labours. The ardour with which he sought this precious knowledge is evinced by the frequent tentative and preliminary essays scattered through his writings, in which he records his fragmentary glimpses of his subject, and pursues as it were the fleeting vision of a sublime figure forever eluding his grasp.

Thus in his prologue to the work entitled The Animal Kingdom, the author publishes a "Summary of his intended work;" in the course of which, after a series of anatomical studies, is placed an Introducton to Rational Psychology,
"consisting of new doctrines through the assistance of which," he remarks, "we may be condueled from the material organism of the body to a knowledge of the soul which is immaterial ; these are, the doctrine of Forms, the doctrine of Order and Degrees, also, the doctrine of Series and Society, the doctrine of Influx, the doctrine of Correspondence and Representation, lastly, the doctrine of Modification."

This Introduction to Rational Psychology the author had actually furnished already in the First Part (chapter viii.) of the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, published some years previously. In the projected Summary the Introduction was to be followed immediately by the Rational Psychology itself, which should comprise "the subjects of Action, of External and Internal Sense, of Imagination and Memory; also of the Affections of the Animus, of the Intellect, that is, of the Thought and of the Will, and of the Affections of the Rational Mind, also of Instinct ; lastly of the Soul, and of its State in the Body, its Intercourse, Affections, and Immortality, and of its State when the Body dies. The work to conclude with a Concordance of Systems."

436 pages, 23.8 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - The Last Judgement and Babylon Destroyed



CONTENTS

I. The destruction of the world is not meant by the Day of the Last Judgment (1-5)
II. The procreations of the human race on the earths will never cease (6-13)
III. Heaven and Hell are from the human race (14-22)
IV. All who have ever been born men from the beginning of creation, and are deceased, are either in Heaven or in Hell (23-27)
V. The Last Judgment must be where all are together, thus in the spiritual world, and not on earth (28-32)
VI. The Last Judgment exists when the end of the church is; and the end of the church is when there is no faith because there is no charity (33-39)
VII. All things which are predicted in the Apocalypse are at this day fulfilled (40-44)
VIII. The Last Judgment has been accomplished (45-52)
IX. Babylon and its destruction (53-64)
X. The former heaven and its abolishment (65-72)
XI. The state of the world and of the church hereafter (73-74)
119 pages, 6.43 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - The Four Doctrines With The Nine Questions



417 pages, 30.9 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - The Nature of Intercourse Between Soul and Body



Contents:

I. That there are two Worlds, a Spiritual World inhabited by Spirits and Angels, and a Natural World inhabited by Men.
II. That the Spiritual World first existed and continually subsists from its own sun; and that the Natural World first existed and continually subsists from its own sun
III. That the sun of the Spiritual World is pure Love, from Jehovah God, who is in the midst of it
IV. That from that Sun proceed Heat and Light; and that the Heat proceeding from it in its essence is Love, and the Light thence in its essence is Wisdom
V. That both that Heat and that Light flow into Man, the Heat into his Will, where it produces the good of love, and the Light into his Understanding, where it produces the truth of wisdom
VI. That those two elements, viz. Heat and Light, or Love and Wisdom, flow conjointly from God into the soul of man, and by this into the mind, its affections and thoughts, and from these into the senses, speech, and actions of the body
VII. That the sun of the Natural World is pure fire; and that the world of nature first existed and continually subsists by means or this sun
VIII. That therefore every thing which proceeds from this sun, regarded in itself, is dead
IX. That what is Spiritual clothes itself with what is Natural, as a man clothes himself with a garment
X. That Spiritual Existences so clothed in man, are what enable him to live as a Rational and Moral Man, thus a Spiritually Natural Man.
XI. That the reception of that Influx is according to the state of Love and Wisdom with man
XII. That the Understanding in man is capable of being elevated into the Light, that is, into the Wisdom, in which are the angels of heaven, according to the improvement of his reason; and that, in like manner, his Will is capable of being elevated into the Heat of heaven, that is, into the Love of heaven, according to the deeds of his Life: but that the Love of the Will is not elevated, except so far as the man wi is and does those things which the Wisdom of the Understanding teaches
XIII. That it is altogether otherwise with beasts
XIV. That there are three Degrees in the Spiritual World, and three Degrees in the Natural World, hitherto unknown, according to which all influx takes place
XV. That Ends are in the first degree, Causes in the second, and Effects in the third
VI. That hence is evident what is the nature of Spiritual Influx, from its origin to its effects

38 pages, 4.98 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - On the Worship and Love of God



In 1744, Swedenborg he had a vision of Christ, and another in 1745. He then abandoned his scientific writings to concentrate on theological writings and research. He began in this venue with a brief work entitled The Worship and Love of God, an imaginative re-telling of the Genesis creation story, somewhat in the tradition of the Renaissance hexameron. Emanuel Swedenborg, the noted Swedish scientist, philosopher and theologian, who is best known for his later writings in which he presents ideas both Christian and ecumenical, for a new spiritual era or new church to be known as the New Jerusalem. "On the Worship and Love of God" is a tale in poetic prose that blends spiritual insight with natural philosophy. Although often overshadowed by other works of Swedenborg's, this work is a force in its own right and demonstrates that our love is the finest worship we can offer God.

236 pages, 11.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - Psychological Transactions







312 pages, 4.41 MB, PDF. Scan.





Emanuel Swedenborg - The True Christian Religion, Containing the Universal Theology of the New Church



Foretold by the Lord in Daniel VII. 13, 14; and in Revelation XXI. 1, 2. Swedenborg, a noted Swedish scientist, philosopher and theologian, best known for his later writings, in which he presents ideas both Christian and ecumenical, for a new spiritual era or new church to be known as the New Jerusalem. In The True Christian Religion, his last published work, Swedenborg details the universal theology of the new church, and informs mankind that with the advent of the New Church, now it is permitted to enter with understanding into the mysteries of faith. The publication of The True Christian Religion marked the culmination of Swedenborg's dual mission-to serve as an instrument for the establishment of a new heaven, and a new church on earth. These, he believed, would be established by the Lord alone among those who freely acknowledged His sovereignty and led a good life.

641 pages, 48.5 MB, PDF.





Emanuel Swedenborg - Commentary on the Psalms



Originally published in 1910. PREFACE: THIS COMMENTARY, the third of the series, is like the pre vious volumes ( Commentary on Matthew and Com mentary on John, by the same author) drawn entirely from the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. For every passage of the Psalms which is therein quoted or referred to, all that he has written is given, except in isolated cases where abridgments have been necessary to avoid making the COMMENTARY too bulky for ready reference, or for topical reading. Reiterations of the same statements have been avoided by a reference to preceding chapters and verses. This work throws new light upon many portions of the Book of Psalms. In the Doctrine concerning the Lord, No. 37, Swedenborg writes about it: It maybe well to mention that it has been granted to me to go through all the Prophets and the Psalms of David, and to examine each verse singly and to see what is there treated of. It has been seen that nothing else is treated of but the church established and to be established by the Lord, the Lord's advent, His combats, glorification, redemption and salvation, and heaven from Him; and at the same time their opposites.

Meditation is often used for religious purposes. Some people feel blessed while meditating on prayers, while others feel a Divine connection when they meditate on the Bible. Psalms are popular for meditation because, for the most part, they are quite joyous and offer praise to God.

How to Meditate on Psalms

Psalms are poems that are meant to be accompanied by music. In the Bible it speaks of how David, (who wrote many of the Psalms,) puts Levites in charge of the service of song. If possible, it can be helpful to put on some instrumental music that plays quietly in the background. Stringed instruments are preferred for this meditation.

When ready to begin meditating, read a Psalm and then meditate on it. Think about the theme the Psalm is trying to convey. Think about all of God's attributes and the importance of God in life. Imagine a bright, gold light coming down from Heaven and surrounding you. At the end of the meditation, be sure to give thanks for everything that was experienced.

Psalms Meditation Exercise

All too often, a person is confused about something and needs some help in making a decision. Many people find Psalms to be comforting and a way to find answers to questions.

After reading a Psalm, begin meditating to clear the mind. Focus on the breathing and nothing else. Once the mind is cleared, ask God a question about what is troubling you, then see what answers enter the mind.

542 pages, 25.1 MB, PDF. Scan.




More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

Some very rare articles on perennial philosophy of Christian esoterism and mysticism:


Anthropology of Prayer



Rene Guenon - Saint Bernard



Do Not Resent, Do Not React, Keep Inner Stillness



Dimensions of Prayer



Christian Esotericism and Primordial Tradition



Controversy over the Divine Body and Vision of Glory in Some Late Fourth, Early Fifth Century Monastic Literature



Diversity of Revelation



From Seer to Saint, Psychotherapeutic Program od the Book of Revelation



Greek Orthodox Christian Mysticism



Hesychasm and the Origins of Christian Meditative Discipline



Hesychia, An Orthodox Opening to Esoteric Ecumenism



Hidden Manna and the Holy Grail, the Psychedelic Sacrament in Arthurian Romance



Hidden Manna, Psychedelic Sacrament in Medieval Roman Catholicism



Hierarchy Versus Anarchy, Dionysius Areopagita, Symeon the New Theologian, Nicetas Stethatos, and Their Common Roots in Ascetical Tradition



Praise, An Esoteric Practice



Liturgy and Mysticism, The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part I



Liturgy and Mysticism, The Experience of God in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Part II



Modes of Prayer



On Earth as It Is in Heaven



Outline of the Christic Message



Prayer Fashions Man



Roots of Christian Mysticism - The Eastern Orthodox Tradition



Selections from Christian Spirit



The Contribution Of Saint Gregory Palamas To Hesychasm



The Essence of the Prayer of the Heart



The First Millenium of Christianity



The Mysterious Darkness of Unknowing, Paradise Lost and the God Beyond Names



The Particular Nature and Universality of the Christian Tradition



The Pierced Heart of the Virgin



The Question of Protestantism, the Mystical Doctrine



The Spiritual Virtues



The Spirituality Of Andrei Rublev's Icon Of Holy Trinity



The Torn Veil



The Virgin in the Thought of Frithjof Schuon



The Visible Christ and the Invisible Trinity



The Yoga of Hesychasm



Veni Creator Spiritus - Early Doctrine of the Holy Spirit



Weaving the Symbolism of Light



William Stoddart – Mysticism

Leonard Lessius - The Names of God and Meditative Summaries of the Divine Perfections



„Hence following the example of St.Denis the Areopagite whose works have for 50 years exercised on me a most marvellous charm, I have resolved to explain very briefly the divine perfections or attributes ascribed to God by the Holy Books. In this short exposition I omitted designedly the testimony of the Scriptures and the Fathers and also theological proofs in order that the reader may more readily form a clear idea of these divine attributes, excite in his heart affections worthy of such sublime considerations and by this exercise, as St. Denis says, make his soul „deiform“ or like unto God.“

271 pages, 2.18 MB, PDF. Scan.





Katharine Francis Pedrick - The Practical Mystic



In the history of thought, the truly religious Mystics of all times have been idealists, but of a distinct type. It has been of Interest to define this type again, that we may be quite sure of the modern mystic's place in the spiritual development of mankind. The experiences of the spiritually intuitive are of interest; but the laws underlying such experiences are of the utmost moment to us, and should be formulated. Especially at this time do these laws merit our attention, and for very practical reasons we are urged to their investigation.

230 pages, 9.17 MB, PDF. Scan.





W.K. Fleming - Mysticism in Christianity



The object of the following pages is to provide an introduction to the study of mystical thought as it has developed itself within the confines of the Christian Faith. Interest in Mysticism has in recent times become so pronounced and wide-spread that it is hoped that, even amongst the various and excellent works which have appeared in response to that interest, room may perhaps be found for an attempt to present the subject in its historical sequence, and in such a form as may best meet the wants of the general reader.

My grateful thanks are due to the Dean of St. Paul's, by whose kind permission I am enabled to quote, amongst the definitions of Mysticism given, several of those which he has collected in Appendix A of his "Christian Mysticism", as well as to avail myself generally of the help afforded by his invaluable works on the subject; and, amongst other works consulted, I wish to express my special indebtedness to Baron von Hugel's "Mystical Elements inReligion", Professor Rufus Jones' "Studies in Mystical Religion", Miss Underhill's "Mysticism", and Fr. Sharpe's recent book, "Mysticism: Its True Nature and Value".

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I - What is Mysticism ?
CHAPTER II - The Mystical Element in the Gospels and Epistles
CHAPTER III - The Montanists, the Gnostics, and the Alexandrines
CHAPTER IV - Neo-Platonism
CHAPTER V - The Influence of Neo-Platonism in Christianity
CHAPTER VI - Three Types of Medieval Mysticism
CHAPTER VII - The German Mystics of the Middle Ages
CHAPTER VIII - English and Italian Mystics
CHAPTER IX - Spanish and French Mystics
CHAPTER X - Post-Reformation Mysticism in England—Browne and Traherne
CHAPTER XI - Post-Reformation Mysticism in England—The Caroline Poets and the Cambridge Platonists
CHAPTER XII - Puritan Mystics—Bunyan and Fox
CHAPTER XIII - Behmen and Law
CHAPTER XIV - Modern Mysticism
Bibliography
Indices

316 pages, 17.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





E.I. Watkin - The Philosophy of Mysticism



„At a time when so many volumes issue from the press on the subject of mysticism, Western or Oriental, Christian or non-Christian, Universal or the mysticism of an individual or School, it will be well to indicate the aspect under which mysticism is viewed in this Work. Many modern writers confine their treatment of mysticism to its psychological aspect, for they regard mystical experience as a wholly subjective state, devoid of objective validity or intellectual significance. To me, however, it is as impossible to divorce cognition from experience as it would be impossible with Mr. Bertrand Russell to banish value from ontology.“

Contents

I. Introductory

II. The Divine Immanence

III. Unity Of God

Appendix To Chapter III

IV. The Transcendence Of God

Introduction To Chapter V

V. The Relation Between The Soul And God

VI. Views Of The Mystic Way

VII. The Negative Way

VIII. The Active Night

IX. Mystical Experience Previous To The Night Of Spirit

X. The Passive Night Of Spirit

XI. Purgatory And The Passive Night Of Spirit

XII. The Transforming Union: Or Mystical Marriage

Appendix To Chapter XII

XIII. On The Mystical Interpretation Of Scripture

XIV. The Witness Of Nature Mysticism To The Teaching Of Catholic Mysticism Studied In The Mysticism Of Richard Jefferies

XV. St John The Poet

Epilogue

420 pages, 37.5 MB, PDF. Scan.





Richard De Bary - Mystical Fellowship



Herein is the whole heart of the Catholic Mysticism of Fellowship. It is the purpose of this book to bear witness to its chief and central realities. When these things are apprehended, it will be time enough to show how their apprehension will be the forerunning of a Mystical Parousia of Christ.

The Mystical Gospel of Fellowship taught in these pages in the written words of the Saints of Christ, although they were written long ago, yet bring us instinctively not into any past world, but into the good world of the future which is descending out of Heaven from God.

The purpose, however, of this book is not to preach the Mystical Gospel, but rather to bring readers in contact with some of its treasures, and to show these treasures in an order and interpretation in which the value to the present and to the future can be well ascertained.

The note of the Mysticism of Fellowship, that is, of genuine Catholic Mysticism, is its apprehension of the living, and, so to speak, corporeal, reality of every dogma of the Church of God. The treasure and precious coin in any bank are not correct or incorrect opinions or theories about money; but they are realities, which, as all the world knows, must be preserved intact, and which will never come back again of themselves once they are dissipated or lost.

This work is a call to see what precious realities have been kept by the bankers or custodians of dogma; in order that eventually they may be distributed among the people; that is, interpreted in their real value; and from thence desired asprecious coin.

328 pages, 16.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - Studies in Mystical Religion



No one doubts to-day that one of the main approaches to the meaning of religion is through the nature of the soul of man. It would no doubt be a mistake to push the method of the inner way to the exclusion of all other methods of studying religion, but it is certain that nobody can tell us what religion is until he has sounded the deeps within man, and has dealt with the testimony of personal consciousness.

The mystics have in all ages and in all lands - semper et ubique - been intent on finding a direct way to God. They have been voices, often crying in the wilderness, announcing the nearness of God, and calling men from the folly of seeking Him where, from the nature of the case, he could not be found. Their message strikes a note which appeals profoundly to our generation, and for obvious reasons there has been a revival of interest in them. I hope these studies of mine will contribute to this interest, and will throw positive light on the problems of mystical religion.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Nature and Value of First-hand Experience in Religion

CHAPTER I - The Mystical Element in Primitive Christianity
CHAPTER II - Ministry and Organization in the Early Church
CHAPTER III - Montanism: A Return to Prophecy
CHAPTER IV - Roots of Mysticism in Classical Literature
CHAPTER V - Mysticism in the Church Fathers
CHAPTER VI – Dionysius The Areopagite
CHAPTER VII - A Great Light in the Dark Ages—John the Scot, called Erigena
CHAPTER VIII - The Waldenses, an Anti-Sacerdotal Sect
CHAPTER IX - St. Francis and the "Spiritual Franciscans"
CHAPTER X - A Group of Pantheistical Mystics
CHAPTER XI - Brotherhood Groups in the Thirteenth Century
CHAPTER XII - Meister Eckhart
CHAPTER XIII - The Friends of God
CHAPTER XIV - The Brethren of the Common Life
CHAPTER XV - The Pre-Reformation in England—Wyclif and the Lollards
CHAPTER XVI - The Anabaptists
CHAPTER XVII - Anabaptism in England
CHAPTER XVIII - The Family of Love
CHAPTER XIX - The Seekers and the Ranters
CHAPTER XX - Individual Mystics in the Period of the English Commonwealth
APPENDIX
INDEX

560 pages, 32.2 MB, PDF. Scan.




From GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder: