Abiel Silver - The Holy Word in Its Own Defence



Regarding the Sacred Scriptures as the Holy Word of the Great Jehovah, and believing that the Words which God speaks unto us, "they are Spirit and they are Life" to human souls, given for their regeneration and salvation; and that they are the Foundation and Embodiment of all true Laws and Rules of Life, for the establishment and preservation of order, peace, and happiness, in heaven and on earth; that they were dictated to the writers by Infinite "Wisdom, and designed to be understood, loved and practised by men, and are therefore free from all contradictions and discrepancies, and expressed in the best possible form for meeting the vast variety of wants, states, and conditions of human beings, for all time and for eternity ; religiously believing this, we feel it to be the highest privilege and duty of man to acknowledge them, revere them, study them, love them, and obey them; to defend and sustain them, under every circumstance or event, whereby the opinions or writings of men may tend to throw doubts into the public mind, as to their entire truthfulness and perspicuity when their real meaning is seen; and to ever strive, as we value the salvation of men, to bring before the world their pure and heavenly light, until every doubt of their Divine Excellence and Perfection shall pass away before the increasing glory of that Spiritual Light which gradually reveals, to the opening intellect and obedient heart, their perfect symmetry and beauty; that thereby, the promised day may be hastened, when the "Watchmen shall see eye to eye," and when "there shall be no more saying, every man to his neighbor, Know ye the LORD; for all shall know Him from the least unto the greatest."

„In this work we lay no claim to originality, either in the harmony of the System, the Doctrines we present, or in the Science of Correspondences. The diction and manner of treating the subject, only are ours. All the principles and views rest in, and can be rationally sustained by, the Word and Works of the Most High God. Our entire argument, therefore, is, Thus saith God's Word, and, Thus say God 's Works.“

CONTENTS

Preface
I. Introduction
II. Substance, Form and Quality of the Divine Being
III. Nature of Man, and the Origin of Evil
IV. Action and Reaction : Good and its Rewards: Evil and its Consequences
V. The Divine Influx
VI. God and Creation; or, Cause and Effect
VII. The Science of Correspondences the Key to the Human Mind
VIII. The Necessity of a Divine Revelation
IX. The Real and the Apparent
X. The Spiritual and the Natural Senses of the Word: The Spiritual and the Natural Mind of Man: The Advents of the Lord into the Human Mind
XI. The Universal Language
XII. The Microcosm and the Macrocosm
XIII. The Correspondence of Numbers
XIV. Heat and Light: Love and Wisdom
XV. New Bottles for new Wine
XVI. The Correspondence of Salt, and of Lot's Wife
XVII. A Word to Biblical Skeptics; from the case of Jonah swallowed by a great fish
XVIII. The Lost and the Found; the Science of Correspondences lost at the building of the Tower of Babel; found in loosing the Seven Seals
XIX. The Books of the Bible, with or without the Spiritual Sense
XX. The Church
XXI. Heaven and Hell
XXII. The New Birth

320 pages, 32.4 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - Spiritual Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries



1914. What is Spiritual Religion; The Main Current of the Reformation; Hans Denck and the Inward Word; Two Prophets of the Inward Word: Bunderlin and Entfelder; Sebastian Franck: An Apostle of Inward Religion; Caspar Schwenckfeld and the Reformation of the Middle Way; Sebastian Castellio: A Forgotten Prophet; Coornhert and the Collegiants; Valentine Weigel and Nature Mysticism; Jacob Boehme: His Life and Spirit; Boehme's Universe, His Way of Salvation and His Influence in England; Early English Interpreters of Spiritual Religion, John Everard, Giles Randall and others; John Smith, Patonist; Thomas Traheren and the Spiritual Poets of the Seventeenth Century.

428 pages, 28.6 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - The Inner Life



„There is no inner life that is not also an outer life. To withdraw from the stress and strain of practical action and from the complication of problems into the quiet call of the inner life in order to build its domain undisturbed is the sure way to lose the inner life. The finest of all the mystical writers of the fourteenth century — the author of Theologia Germanica — knew this as fully as we of this psychologically trained generation know it. He intensely desired a rich inner life, but he saw that to be beautiful within he must live a radiant and effective life in the world of men and events. "I would fain be," he says, "to the eternal God what a man's hand is to a man" — i.e. he seeks, with all the eagerness of his glowing nature, to be an efficient instrument of God in the world. In the practice of the presence of God, the presence itself becomes more sure and indubitable. Religion does not consist of inward thrills
and private enjoyment of God; it does not terminate in beatific vision. It is rather the joyous business of carrying the Life of God into the lives of men — of being to the eternal God what a man's hand is to a man.

This little book on the "Inner Life" does not assume to deal with the whole of the religious life. It recognizes that the outer in the long run is just as essential as the inner. This one inner aspect is selected for emphasis, without any intention of slighting the importance of the other side of the shining shield. Men to-day are so overwhelmingly occupied with objective tasks; they are so busy with the field of outer action, that it is a peculiarly opportune time to speak of the interior world where the issues of life are settled and the tissues of destiny are woven. There will certainly be some readers who will be glad to turn from accounts of trenches lost or won to spend a little time with the less noisy but no less mysterious battle line inside the soul, and from problems of foreign diplomacy to the drama of the inner life.“

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter I. The Inner Way

Sec. 1. The Momentous Choice
Sec. 2. Making a Life
Sec. 3. The Spirit of the Beatitudes
Sec. 4. The Way of Contagion
Sec. 5. The Second Mile

Chapter II. The Kingdom within the Soul

Sec. 1 . Bags that Wax not Old
Sec. 2. Otherism
Sec. 3. Scavengers and the Kingdom
Sec. 4. "The Beyond is Within"
Sec. 5. The Attitude toward the Unseen

Chapter III. Some Prophets of the Inner Way

Sec. 1. The Psalmisfs Way
Sec. 2. The New and Living Way
Sec. 3. An Apostle of the Inner Way
Sec. 4. The Ephesian Gospel

Chapter IV. The Way of Experience

Sec. 1. Waiting on God
Sec. 2. In the Spirit
Sec. 3. The Power of Prayer
Sec. 4. The Mystery of Goodness
Sec. 5. "As One Having Authority"
Sec. 6. Seeing Him Who is Invisible

Chapter V. A Fundamental Spiritual Outlook

Chapter VI. What Does Spiritual Experience Tell Us About God

222 pages, 7.14 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - The World Within



„We are just now so absorbed with external tasks and so occupied with the solution of problems in our outside world that most of us hardly have time to consider whether we have any souls or not. We allow that question to await its turn for an answer. But there are some questions— and this is precisely one of them — which cannot be postponed while outer issues are being settled. In fact all outer issues are intricately tied up with just this inner one. It turns out to be forever true that the inner aspect which we call morale is the main factor even in contests which are supposed to be only external. Those impalpable things which we name faith and vision and spirit and nerve are greater elements in the determination even of outside victories than are miraculous long-distance guns.

We cannot build this new world of ours out of material stuff alone. It will not be a matter solely of iron and coal and foodstuffs. It will, as always, be a matter of creative faith, of spiritual vision — in a word, the ultimate issue will turn upon the quality and character of the soul of those of us who are to do the building.“

CONTENTS

Introduction

CHAPTER I - The Deeper Universe

I. Where Love Breaks Through
II. Unseen and Intangible Realities
III. The World We Form Within

CHAPTER II - The Way of Faith and Love

I. The Central Act of Religion
II. Faith as a Way of Life
III. A Religion Which Does Things
IV. The Gospel of God With Us

CHAPTER III - The Way of Dedication

I. Inner Compulsion
II. The All for the All
III. Habakkukeans
IV. Consecration to Service
V. Poured Out

CHAPTER IV - The Things By Which We Live

I. The Plumb-Line
II. The Fact of Must
III. Where Arguments Fail
IV. The Meaning of Obligation

CHAPTER V - The Great Venture

I. Concerning Immortality
II. The Miracle Again

CHAPTER VI - The Soul's Converse

I. Prayer as an Energy of Life
II. Prayer and Reflection

CHAPTER VII - Christ's Inner Way to the Kingdom

I. "From Above"
II. Like Little Children
III. The Inner Issue in Gethsemane

CHAPTER VIII - Jesus Christ and the Inner Life

I. In the Synoptic Gospels
II. In the Writings of St. Paul
III. In the Writings of St. John

200 pages, 8.44 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - The Nature and Authority of Conscience



Synopsis of Contents

I. Introductory Considerations
II. The Moral Universe - and the Individual
III. The Nature and Scope of Conscience

„The sublime requires the unknown as an element. A cathedral should never be finished. A mountain should be partially hidden by others or enveloped in clouds, wrote Horace Bushnell many years ago. In other words, a sense of the infinite and eternal must be aroused in us before we call the object which moves us sublime. It was precisely that aspect which made Kant couple„ the moral nature within us“ with „ the stars in the infinite sky above us“ as the two most sublime things in the universe. Both are incapable of boundary; both are enveloped in mystery; both emerge from and forever suggest a deeper world of reality; both are full of hints and prophecies of more than appears.“

84 pages, 3.51 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - Spiritual Energies in Daily Life



Religion is an experience which no definition exhausts. One writer with expert knowledge of anthropology tells us what it is, and we know as we read his account that, however true it may be as far as it goes, it yet leaves untouched much undiscovered territory. We turn next to the trained psychologist, who leads us "down the labyrinthine ways of our own mind" and tells us why the human race has always been seeking God and worshiping Him. We are thankful for his Ariadne thread which guides us within the maze, but we feel convinced that there are doors which he has not opened— "doors to which he had no key." The theologian, with great assurance and without "ifs and buts," offers us the answer to all mysteries and the solution of all problems, but when we have gone "up the hill all the way to the very top" with him, we find it a "homesick peak"—Heimwehfluh — and we still wonder over the real meaning of religion.

We are evidently dealing here with something like that drinking horn which the Norse God Thor tried to drain. He failed to do it because the horn which he assayed to empty debouched into the endless ocean, and therefore to drain the horn meant drinking the ocean dry. To probe religion down to the bottom means knowing "what God and man is."

Each one of us, in his own tongue and in terms of his own field of knowledge, gives his partial word, his tiny glimpse of insight. But the returns are never all in. There is always more to say. "Man is incurably religious," that fine scholar, Auguste Sabatier, said. Yes, he is. It is often wild and erratic religion which we find, no doubt, but the hunger and thirst of the human soul are an indubitable fact. In different forms of speech we can all say with St. Augustine of Hippo: "Thou hast touched me and I am on fire for thy peace."

CONTENTS

Introduction: Religion as Energy

CHAPTER I - THE CENTRAL PEACE

I. Peace That Passes Understanding
II. The Search for a Refuge
III. What We Want Most

CHAPTER II - THE GREAT ENERGIES THAT WORK

I. Trying the Better Way
II. He Came to Himself
III. Some New Reasons for "Loving Enemies"

CHAPTER III - THE POWER THAT WORKETH IN US

I. Where the Beyond Breaks Through
II. Conquering by an Inner Force
III. Living in the Presence of the Eternal

CHAPTER IV - THE WAY OF VISION

I. Days of Greater Visibility
II. The Prophet and His Tragedies
III. A Long Distance Call

CHAPTER V - THE WAY OF PERSONALITY

I. Another Kind of Hero
II. The Better Possession
III. The Greatest Rivalries of Life

CHAPTER VI - AGENCIES OF CONSTRUCTION

I. The Church of the Living God
II. The Nursery of Spiritual Life
III. The Democracy We Aim At
IV. The Essential Truth of Christianity

CHAPTER VII - THE NEAR AND THE FAR

I. Things Present and Things to Come
II. Two Types of Ministry
III. We Have Seen His Star

CHAPTER VIII - THE LIGHT-FRINGED MYSTERY

I. The Religious Significance of Death
II. The New Born out of the Old

CHAPTER IX - THE MYSTIC'S EXPERIENCE OF GOD

CHAPTER X - PSYCHOLOGY AND THE SPIRITUAL LIFE

208 pages, 9.55 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rufus Matthew Jones - Quakerism, a Religion of Life



„Religion has always been one of the supreme concerns of the race, and, so far as one may prophesy from the nature of the soul of man, it always will be a supreme concern of the race, though it will undoubtedly wax and wane as the central point of view shifts. There are vast bends and eddies in the onward current of progress. Some times one, and sometimes another, commanding interest sweeps into the foreground, and religion may seem, for the moment, to be a losing power.

Carlyle has happily put the great Quaker s message to the Protector: He had "much discourse with him concerning Life and concerning Death; concerning the Unfathomable Universe in general, and the Light in it from Above, and the Darkness in it from Below; to all of which the Protector carried himself with much moderation." "Yes, George," adds Carlyle; "this Protector has a sympathy with the Perennial, and feels it across the Temporary." That is what the great Quakers of all generations have, in one way or another, been trying to do; to discourse concerning Life and Death, concerning the Unfathomable Universe, with its Light from Above and its Darkness from Below; concerning the Perennial, which is revealed in the Temporal, the Abiding in the shifting aspects of Life.“

56 pages, 1.93 MB, PDF. Scan.




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W.Robertson Nicoll - The Garden of Nuts, Mystical Expositions with an Essay on Christian Mysticism



Of the two parts of this little volume, the first was delivered as a lecture at the Glasgow Summer School of Theology in 1905. The expositions which follow are reprinted from the British Weekly.

Throughout I am constantly indebted to the works of Dr. Neale and Mr. Spurgeon, and especially to the writings of Mr. Arthur Edward Waite. Mr. Waite has been good enough to help me with many valuable suggestions.

The original translation of the poem by St. John of the Cross has been contributed by my friend and colleague, Miss Jane T. Stoddart.

I have in preparation a history of Behmenism in England. In this I hope to supply a bibliography as full as I can make it of English works on Mysticism.

Contents

The Song Of The Obscure Night
An Essay On Christian Mysticism
The Stages Of The Inward Way
Mysticism In Theology And Practice
The Doctrine Of The Holy Assembly
The Garden Of Nuts
The Face Of Death In The Sun Of Life.
Christ In The First Psalm
The Opened Scriptures And The Burning Heart
„What Are These Wounds In Thine Hands?“
„They Came Unto The Iron Gate“
The Lighting Of The Lamps
By The Fire On The Beach
„I Thought“
The Animation Of Our Lord's Surrender
The Prophecy Of The Bruisings

250 pages, 15.1 MB, PDF. Scan.




Manly P.Hall - The Occult Anatomy Of Man


An enlightening interpretation of the symbolism of the mysteries of the human body.

„In Scripture we are told that God made man in his own image. It is so stated not only in the Christian Bible, but also in the holy writings of nearly all enlightened people. The Jewish patriarchs thought that human body was the microcosm, or the little cosmos, made in the image of the macrocosm, or the great cosmos. The analogy between the finite and the infinite is said to be one of the keys by aid of which the secrets of Holy Writ are unlocked.“

36 pages, 21.5 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rabbi David A. Cooper - The Beginner's Guide to the Kabbalah



"Kabbalah": the word itself suggests secret wisdom and ancient mystery. Now a leading voice in the Jewish renewal movement explores the wonders and riches of the Kabbalah, with the contemporary seeker in mind. Presented in the oral tradition, just as the Kabbalah was taught for centuries, here is Rabbi Cooper's easy-to-follow exploration of this esoteric wisdom body. Covers the history of Kabbalah, the Light of Creation, structures of the universe, the 32 Paths of Wisdom, the Tree of Life, the sefrot, meditation practices, and much more.

The Beginner's Guide to the Kabbalah is part of Sounds True's Beginner's Guides Series: Practical Wisdom for Busy People, in-depth audio courses on popular topics, distilled into one information-packed CD.





Joel S. Goldsmith - A Parenthesis in Eternity: Living the Mystical Life



CONTENTS

Introduction

PART ONE

THE CIRCLE OF ETERNIlY
The Basis of Mysticism

I The Two Worlds
II Release God
III The Spiritual Adventure
IV The JourneyW ithin
V Sowing and Reaping
VI God, the Consciousness of the Individual
VII The Sacred Word
VIII The Mystical I
IX An Interval in Eternity
X Reality and Illusion
XI The Nature of Spiritual Power
XII The Discovery of the Self

PART TWO

RISING OUT OF THE PARENTHESIS
Attaining the Mystical Consciousness

XIII The Unillumined and the Illumined
XIV "And They Shall All Be Taught of God"
XV Self-Surrender
XVI The Secret of the Word Made Flesh
XVII The Mystical Life Through the Two Great Commandments
XVIII The Function of the Mind
XIX Attaining Divine Sonship
XX The Meaning of Initiation
XXI "The Spirit of the Lord God . . . Hath Anointed Me"
XXII The Mystical Marriage

PART THREE

LIVING IN THE CIRCLE
Living the Mystical Life

XXIII Living In, Through, and By the Spirit
XXIV The Master Alchemist
XXV Losing "I"-ness in I
XXVI "My Kingdom Is Not of This World"
XXVII Living Above the Pairs of Opposites
XXVIII The Tree of Life
XXIX ' Beyond Time and Space
XXX God Made This World for Men and Women
XXXI "There Remaineth a Rest"
XXXII Address the World Silently with Peace
XXXIII The Inner Universe

356 pages, 46.6 MB, PDF. Scan.





Joel S. Goldsmith - The Mystical I



Goldsmith's enduring guide to finding truth, freedom, and interpersonal harmony by discovering God--the divine I--within one's own consciousness

In The Mystical I, Joel Goldsmith, reveals in contemporary language that which Jesus showed to the world, that there is a human “I” and a son of God I . Jesus said “I can of myself do nothing” and that is the truth about our human I; but in his son of God I the Master announced, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

In The Mystical I, Joel Goldsmith brings to readers the fullness of this Christ message that is relevant and timely. He shows us that this son of God I is the I that “stands at the door and knocks” within each and every one of us, but we have lost touch with this true I and that is the source of all our problems. How we attain this oneness with the I that we truly are is the age-old question that The Mystical I answers so forcefully. This book will provide a deep experience for those searching for their true Self.

87 pages, 414 KB, PDF.

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Edward and Dom Cuthbert Butler - Western Mysticism



A renewed interest in the spiritual, with an increasing number of people today wishing to incorporate the contemplative in their active lives, prompts the reissue of this classic work, a doctrine that is at once elevated and practical. The writings are meant to be studied from three distinct points of view: religious philosophy, material for the study of those states between mind and body such as ecstasy and trance, and for the sake of their mysticism. Drawn from the writings and teachings of Saint Augustine, Saint Gregory and Saint Bernard, the writings form a coordinated body of doctrine with what three great teachers of mystical theology in the Western Church have written concerning their own religious experience and the theories they based on it. In addition, the book discusses such important topics as speculative contemplation, what mysticism is, the characteristics of Western mysticism, the practical, and the contrasts between the contemplative and active lives. No student of mysticism can possibly afford to neglect a volume so full of valuable suggestions and real insight into spiritual conditions.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

AFTERTHOUGHTS - Current controversies on mystical theology - Prayer of Faith – Acquired contemplation –St.Teresa and St John of the Cross - Bishop Hedley on contemplation - Intellect and will in contemplation - Points of mystical theology - Mixed contemplation - Practical agreements - General call to mystic union - The mystic experience and theology - The mystic experience and psychology - The vision of God – Summary of results.

PART I: SPECULATIVE CONTEMPLATION

PROLOGUE: WHAT MYSTICISM IS - Three aspects of the writings of the mystics - Mysticism and Contemplation - The mystics' claim - Pseudo-Dionysius - Richard of St Victor - St Thomas Aquinas - 'Cloud of Unknowing' – Ruysbroeck - Blosius - St John of the Cross – St Francis of Sales – Fr. Baker - Pascal - Mother Isabel - The great problem of mysticism: the truth of the claim.

1. ST. AUGUSTINE

INTRODUCTORY GENERAL SKETCH - St Augustine, the prince of mystics - Himself the refutation of popular misconceptions.

'ENARRATION' ON PSALM XLI - A statement of mystical theology Formulation of doctrine.

(A) PRELIMINARY PHASES - Remote preparation: purgation - Proximate preparation: recollection, introversion.

(B) AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PASSAGES - Confessions, vii. 16, 23; ix. 23, 24, 25 A search for the Unchangeable.

(C) THE ACT OF CONTEMPLATION - The Object contemplated - Ultimate Reality - The Unchangeable Truth - Light.

EXCURSUS ON ST. AUGUSTINE'S IDEOLOGY - Theory of vision: corporal, imaginary, intellectual - Objects of intellectual vision the Platonic Ideas Seen in the Light of God - Truth perceived in the Truth which is God - Theory of Divine illumination.

(D) MYSTICISM OR PLATONISM - Which is it? Answer: it is full religious mysticism - God the Object of the contemplation - The mystic union - Rapturous joy – Transiency of the experience - Effects.

(E) PSYCHO-PHYSICAL PHENOMENA: ECSTASY - Physical side of ecstasy - Religious side - What takes place during it - Intellectual ecstasy - In it is seen the Light which is God.

(F) THE VISION OF GOD - Moses' vision of God - He saw God's Essence - So did St. Paul – St. Thomas follows St. Augustine - Did St. Augustine believe he had himself enjoyed this vision? The mystic experience not usually such as this.

2. ST. GREGORY THE GREAT

INTRODUCTORY GENERAL SKETCH

HOMILY ON EZECHIEL II. ii. - Exposition of St Gregory's mind on whole subject.

(A) PRELIMINARY PHASES - Purgation - Recollection - Introversion - Contemplation.

(B) AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PASSAGES - Descriptions of contemplations.

(C, D) THE ACT OF CONTEMPLATION - Truth and Light - 'Chink of contemplation' - God the Object – Fervour and joy - Transiency Effects.

(E) PSYCHO-PHYSICAL PHENOMENA: ECSTASY St. Gregory's language examined - No reference to phenomena of rapture and trance - St Benedicts vision.

(F) THE VISION OF GOD - God's Essence not seen in this life - God seen as through a mist - Moses' vision - Nature of St. Benedict's vision.

3. ST BERNARD

INTRODUCTORY GENERAL SKETCH - St. Bernard's imagery - The Bride and Bridegroom.

(A) PRELIMINARY PHASES - Purgation - Recollection - Introversion - Devotion.

(B) AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PASSAGE - Bernard's description of his mystic experience.

(C) THE ACT OF CONTEMPLATION - Contemplation of the heart - Contemplation of the intellect – Transiency - Effects – 'Transformation' – 'Deification' - 'Nuptials.'

(D) SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE: UNION - Early Christian symbolism - Bernard's portrayal of the spiritual marriage - Safeguard against Pantheism.

(E) PSYCHO-PHYSICAL CONCOMITANTS - St. Bernard's language examined- Evidence in regard to ecstasy, rapture, and bodily phenomena: little such – Evidence in regard to visions, locutions, revelations: none such.

(F) THE VISION OF GOD - God not seen as He is in this life – St. Benedict's vision.

4. SUMMARY

CHARACTERISTICS OF WESTERN MYSTICISM - It is (1) pre-Dionysian (2) Pre-scholastic (3) Without visions and revelations (4) Without physical rapture (5) Without psychophysical concomitants (6) Without haunting fear of diabolical delusion - It is a mysticism purely and solely religious, objective, empirical - Mysticism independent of philosophy - Not the privilege of the intellectual – St. Gregory's mysticism held sway through Middle Ages till 1150 – Though cultivated in Benedictine circles, not specifically 'Benedictine Mysticism', but 'Western' - Dangers of mysticism - This type safe - Formerly contemplation regarded as natural issue of a spiritual life - This idea obscured in modern times, but reasserting itself.

EPILOGUE

THE VALIDITY OF THE MYSTICS' CLAIM - The outstanding problem of mysticism: Is the claim of the mystics valid? Claims of union with divinity a very common religious phenomenon - Nearly always illusion - Mystics in bad company – Is their witness such as to impose itself? Writer holds it is – Attitude of modern psychologist - Certain preliminary considerations (1) - Claim of the mystics in light of theology -(2) In light of psychology - The apex or 'ground' of the soul - (3) Supernatural character of mystical experience - Is it miraculous - (4) Character of the great mystics as witnesses - (5) Quality of the content of the experience - (6) Its effect on life and character St John of the Cross taken as the spokesman of the mystics in setting forth the claim - Catena of passages from his writings - Final question: Is this the language of illusion?

PART II: PRACTICAL

THE CONTEMPLATIVE AND ACTIVE LIVES

1. ST AUGUSTINE

(G) THE TWO LIVES? - Passages contrasting them - Typified by Lia and Rachel - Doctrine on Two Lives.

(H) THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE THE BETTER - Martha and Mary - Wisdom (contemplation) and knowledge (action).

(J) CLAIMS OF THE TWO LIVES - Those of active life imperative - Three Lives: the leisured or contemplative, the busied or active, and the mixed – The last to be adopted in practice - Warning against idleness in contemplative life.

(K) CONTEMPLATION OPEN TO ALL - Promised to all who faithfully pursue course God commands - Not for 'intellectuals' but 'little ones'.

2. ST GREGORY THE GREAT

INTRODUCTORY SKETCH OF THEORY - Definition of the Two Lives Exposition of theory from Horn, in Ezech. II. ii. - Martha and Mary - Lia and Rachel.

(G) THE TWO LIVES - The active life necessary, the contemplative optional - Only by exercising active life can one come to contemplative.

(H) THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE THE BETTER - Martha and Mary.

(J) CLAIMS OF THE TWO LIVES - His conciliation of the mutual claims of the Two Lives on the individual is St Gregory's great contribution to the theory and practice of the spiritual life (1) The union of the Two Lives should be aimed at (2) Pastors of souls must exercise both lives (3) Why pastors may not neglect either life (4) External works should be undertaken by contemplatives with reluctance (5) Contemplatives should accept office when called upon to do so (6) In dearth of workers contemplatives should undertake active work (7) Periods of retirement are necessary for those employed in active works (8) Contemplative life aided by admixture of active (9) For contemplation tranquillity of mind is necessary (10) Conciliation of contemplative life with external works (11) A true 'mixed life' the best (12) The contemplative life as actually lived (13) Reminder to contemplatives of their indebtedness to active livers.

(K) CONTEMPLATION OPEN TO ALL - Homilies on contemplation preached in Lateran Basilica to all comers - 'Pastoral Rule' expects all pastors to exercise contemplation - Dangers in contemplation for restless minds - But the active life alone unsatisfying.

3. ST BERNARD

(G) and (H): nothing.

(J) CLAIMS OF THE TWO LIVES - Treatment substantially same as St Gregory's Purely contemplative life impracticable - Mixed life best - Contemplation generates active zeal - Spiritual marriage leads to spiritual fecundity in winning souls for God - Alternations of both Lives.

(K.) CONTEMPLATION OPEN TO ALL - Certainly to all monks probably to all devout souls.

4. SUMMARY

THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE - History of thought on contemplative life not yet written - Outline sketched here - Plato and Aristotle - Philo - Clement and Origen – Cassian - St Augustine - Julianus Pomerius - St Gregory – Cluny - St Bernard and Richard of St Victor – St. Thomas – Ruysbroeck – St. Teresa - St. John of the Cross - Bp Hedley - Modern conception of contemplative life different from traditional - Western conception formulated by St Gregory and maintained until sixteenth century - Question depends on meaning attached to following terms: (1) 'Contemplation' - St John of the Cross thereon - Two grades of contemplation (2) 'Contemplative prayer' (3) 'A contemplative' (4) 'Contemplative state' (5) 'Contemplative life' The sum of the matter: contemplation not a thing out of reach - The four elements of a wellbalanced personal religion.

APPENDIX

(1) NATURE ECSTASY - William James' experiences under nitrous oxide - Tennyson - Bucke - Richard Jefferies' Story of My Heart.

(2) INTELLECTUAL ECSTASY OF PLOTINUS - Extracts from passages translated by Montgomery and Inge St. Augustine's estimate,

ADDITION TO APPENDIX - Further consideration of natural contemplation - Plotinus - Mahommedan
mystics.

316 pages, 24.6 MB, PDF. Scan.





William P. O'Connor - The Concept of the Human Soul According to Saint Augustine



The aim of this dissertation is to present and explain the concept of the human soul as it is found in the writings of Saint Augustine. The soul of man was for Saint Augustine an object of life-long study and investigation. He was not particularly concerned about the soul as such, the plant soul, or the irrational soul of the brute, except insofar as a study of these might serve to throw some light on the nature and activities of the human soul. His interest in the soul of man was not actuated by mere curiosity to know for the sake of knowing, but he sought to know the human soul as a means whereby he might arrive at a clearer and better understanding of the Supreme Being.

CONTENTS

Introduction, The Life of Saint Augustine
I. Sources
II. His Notion of Philosophy
III. The Existence and Nature of the Human Soul
IV. The Human Soul is Incorporeal
V. The Immortality of the Human Soul
VI. The Origin of the Human Soul

98 pages, 15.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Mary W. Tileson - Prayers Ancient and Modern



1897. A collection of prayers for daily use that were gathered from many sources, ancient and modern. It has historical interest, and the literary quality has been carefully considered, but the primary object is to nourish the spiritual life. As the design is to provide a brief selection for every day, in many cases a portion only of a long prayer is given, or it is condensed by omission, but alterations have been made as sparingly as possible.

396 pages, 14.1 MB, PDF. Scan.





Paradise Now, Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism



A substantial introduction to the study of early Jewish and Christian mysticism, this volume examines major aspects of the mystical tradition within early Judaism and Christianity. This tradition was centered on the belief that a person directly, immediately, and before death can experience the divine, either as a rapture experience or one solicited by a particular praxis. The essays define and analyze the nature and practices of mysticism as it emerges within early Judaism and Christianity, recognizing this emergence within a variety of communal environments. Larger questions about the relationship between hermeneutics and experience, as well as the relationship between mysticism and apocalypticism are also discussed, and a substantial bibliography of the field is provided. The book is the result of ten years of work of the Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism unit of the Society of Biblical Literature.

479 pages, 2.94 MB, PDF. Scan.





Richard Rolle - The Fire of Love and Mending of Life



"Here in one volume are two classic books by English religious writer, hermit, and mystic RICHARD ROLLE DE HAMPOLE (1300-1349). In The Mending of Life, Rolle tells the story of his life and his miracles, from the pain of his conversion as a young man to his settling after a period of wandering with the Cistercian nuns in the tiny hamlet of Hampole, near Doncaster in England. In The Fire of Love, Rolle extols an exquisite love of God through poetry and prose, discussing the importance of the love of God in a life of faith, and also relates his disagreements with the Church of his time. Those interested in the medieval literature, the history of mysticism, and in unique perspectives on the faith should take a look at these important works by the writer generally considered the father of English mysticism."

354 pages, 27.4 MB, PDF. Scan.





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David Edwards - Golden Dawn Tradition Qabalah, Dare to Make Magic



Dare to Make Magic was originally made available as an Order of the Cubic Stone publication. The publication of David Edwards' Dare to Make Magic provides a pathway for serious students of the occult arts. This Glastonbury Books edition includes an expansion of the original book with additions consisting of an extract from personal magical diaries , examples of short ceremonies and meditational rituals. The latter are generally in line with the magical paradigm know to initiates as the Annals of Time and Space. David Edwards was a founder member and Warden of the Order of the Cubic Stone (1960), an esoteric study group pursuing the evolved tradition of the Golden Dawn tradition of Western Hermetics & Qabalah. The teachings contained within Dare to Make Magic are illustrative of the highly qualitative and practical approach which characterised the OCS as the teaching group 'par excellance' of the Western Estoeric tradition during the late 20th Century.

122 pages, 65.8 MB, PDF. Scan.




Kocku von Stuckrad - Western Esotericism, A Brief History of Secret Knowledge



A controversial issue of public debate during the recent years, esotericism can be described as the search for an absolute but hidden knowledge that people claim to access through mystical vision, the mediation of higher beings, or personal experience. In Western cultural history these claims often led to conflicts with more established forms of scriptural religions and with reductionist interpretations in science and philosophy.

In this highly readable book Kocku von Stuckrad describes the impact of esoteric currents from antiquity to the present and pursues the continuities and breaks in a tradition that significantly influenced the formation of modernity. When Hermes Trismegistos reveals wisdom of an absolute quality, the unveiling of hidden knowledge in Jewish Kabbalah is transformed by Christians, Renaissance thinkers speak of an 'eternal philosophy,' or when in the 'New Age' people try to get in contact with a source of superior understanding-in every case the dynamic of concealment and revelation is at stake and the ways this hidden knowledge can be made accessible for human curiosity.

Kocku von Stuckrad teaches at the Institute for the History of Hermetic Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. Previously he was a professor of religious studies at the University of Bayreuth. His most recent work includes History of Western Astrology (published by C.H. Beck in German, 2003, and by Equinox in English, 2005) and Einfuhrung in die Religionswissenschaft (Introduction to the Science of Religion) with Hans G. Kippenberg published in 2003 in German by C.H. Beck.

177 pages, 7.55 MB, PDF. Scan.





Aryeh Wineman – Mystic Tales from the Zohar



The 13th-century Zohar, consisting of theosophical theories concerning the Godhead and the Torah, is the central text of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism. Woven through it are several narrative passages or stories. Rabbi Wineman, a specialist in Jewish mystical studies, presents eight of these stories in his own translation, with notes and commentary. The tales deal with the themes of sin and repentance, death, exile, redemption, and resurrection. Wineman's commentary expertly elucidates these esoteric stories. He includes excellent essays on the Zohar and Kabbalistic theory, especially an explanation of the ten Sefirot, or aspects of the deity. There has been a recent upsurge of interest in Jewish mysticism, and the material in this book, while scholarly, can be readily understood by interested lay readers.

190 pages, 5.43 MB, PDF.




F.W. Boyd – Regeneration



The kindly reception accorded by many earnest souls to "The Temple of the Rosy Cross," has impelled me to press to further conclusions certain points only suggested in that book. Reincarnation is generally accepted by Rosicrucians as a truth. This acceptance is, of course, based on ample reasons for belief in the continuous life, on which the doctrine depends. The origin and purpose of human life has been from time immemorial a theme for philosophic speculation and religious discussion, while the masses contend that the purpose of it is wisely concealed in the mind of the God who rules, or gods who rule mundane affairs; partially revealed, perhaps, to a select few, who in turn trade on this assumption of superior knowledge.

CONTENTS

Chapter I. - Creation
Chapter II. - The Self is God
Chapter III. - Polarity
Chapter IV. - Christian Regeneration
Chapter V. - The World of Chance
Chapter VI. - Love, Beauty, and Wisdom
Chapter VII. - Sexuality
Chapter VIII. - Sexuality (Continued)
Chapter IX. - Mediumship
Chapter X. - Souls
Chapter XI.- Angelic Love
Chapter XII. - Conclusion

170 pages, 7.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rose Cross Order - Fundamental Laws





245 pages, 7.53 MB, PDF. Scan.





James O. Hannay - The Spirit and Origin of Christian Monasticism



1903. This work is based upon the Donnellan lectures delivered before the University of Dublin in the chapel of Trinity College in 1901-2. The spirit and origin of monasticism is a subject which has received very little attention from English writers, thus this book to deepen the English reader's knowledge on monasticism.

321 pages, 4.49 MB, PDF. Scan.





Tau Malachi - Living Gnosis, a Practical Guide to Gnostic Christianity



Gnostic revival is growing in the United States and Europe as people are discovering the mystical roots of their own Western Tradition. This easy-to-read, deeply spiritual introduction to Gnostic Christianity helps beginners down the Gnostic path to esoteric insights and wisdom.

Focusing primarily on Sophian Gnosticism, Tau Malachi explains the origins, teachings, and nature of this living tradition. Readers also learn how to apply Gnostic practices, such as affirmation, positive thought, and creative visualization, in daily life. More than a practical guide, this text invites everyone to embark on a spiritual quest toward Spirit-connection and self-realization by way of Gnostic wisdom.

Malachi eben Ha-Elijah's spiritual journey began when he met the acquaintance of a Tau of the Sophian Tradition of Gnostic Christianity, Tau Elijah ben Miriam. He received the oral tradition of Sophian Gnosticism from Tau Elijah, and has been a student and practitioner of Gnostic Christianity for over thirty-five years. In 1983 he founded Sophia Fellowship as an expression of the tradition, and has been teaching and initiating others into Christian Gnosticism, Rosicrucian Philosophy and Christian Kabbalah since that time. He is an initiate of Ordo Sanctus Gnosis and serves as an Elder and Tau within the Sophian lineage.

Tau Malachi is also a Chevalier (a dubbed Knight) in the International Order of Chivalric Companions, a Martinist, and is an ordained and consecrated Independent Bishop. He is co-founder of The Gnostic Apostolic Church of Sophia and is among the leading exponents of Christian Gnosticism and Kabbalah in our times.

Along with his exploration of the Western Mystery Tradition, he has studied extensively in several Eastern Traditions, such as Vajrayana Buddhism and Vedanta, and he also studied within a Middle Eastern Tradition of Sufism, as well as becoming involved in Native American Shamanism.

215 pages, 146 MB, PDF. Scan.





Joscelyn Godwin - Robert Fludd, Hermetic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two Worlds





Robert Fludd was one of the last of the true Renaissance men who tool all learning as their preserve and tried to encompass the whole of human knowledge. Born in Elizabethan England, he became a convinced occultist while traveling on the Continent. His voluminous writings were devoted to defending the philosophy of the alchemists and Rosicrucians and applying their doctrines to a vast description of man and the universe. All of Fludd's important plates are collected here for the first time, annotated and explained together with an introduction to his life and thought.

98 pages, 28.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Joscelyn Godwin - Athanasius Kircher, a Renaissance Man and The Quest For Lost Knowledge





98 pages, 121 MB, PDF. Scan.





Hans Lassen Martensen - Jacob Boehme; His Life and Teaching or Studies in Theosophy



CONTENTS

Jacob Bohme, His Life And Teaching
Boehme And Theosophy
Postulates For Bohme's Theosophy
The Problem

I. GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEAVEN.

The Still Mystery. The Abyss and the Uncreated Wil. The Imagination and the Eternal Idea. The Potential Trinity. The Manifestation through the Eternal Nature. The Seven Natural Properties. The Actual Trinity. The Glory of God. The Uncreated Heaven.

CRITICAL RETROSPECT

The Relation to the Ethical Conception of God. The Relation between the Eternal Nature and the Eternal Spirit. The Dark Nature-Principle in God. The Illicit Anthropomorphism.The Glory of God. The Uncreated Heaven.

II. GOD AND THE CREATED WORLD

The Creation. The Wherefore and the Means of Creation. Creation and Cosmogony. The Unfathomable Mystery. Creation and Emanation. The Seven Natural Properties and the Seven Spirits in the Apocalypse. The Angels. Derivative Eternity and Time. The Fall of Lucifer and the Appalling "Turba". Tohu Vabohu. The Mosaic History of Creation. Adam and the Fall of Adam. The Creation of Woman. Androgyny. The Present World. The Atonement. Redemption in Christ. The New-Adam. The Incarnation. The Process of Christ. The Exalted Christ. The Appropriation of Grace. Regeneration. The Last Things. Heaven and Hell. The Unchangeable Will after Death. The Magical State after Death. The Regions Beyond. Is it true of all souls after death, that they cannot change their will? The Multiplicity of the Future World. The Consummation.

359 pages, 14.2 MB, PDF. Scan.




Margaret Lewis Bailey - Milton and Jakob Boehme, a Study of German Mysticism in 17th Century England



Contents

Editor's Introduction
Preface

I. Introduction
II. English Mysticism Before Boehme
III. Boehme In England
IV. Milton And Boehme
V. Similarity Between Milton And Boehme In Religious, Philosophical, And Political Ideas
VI. Romanticism
Bibliography
Index

210 pages, 10.3 MB, PDF. Scan.





William Perkes Swainson - Jacob Boehme, the Teutonic Philosopher



Search where we will through the whole range of mysticism, it is hard to find a deeper or more interior mystic than the poor, unlettered shoemaker of Goerlitz, Jacob Boehme. Unlearned, as this world understands learning, he yet penetrated to the core of things, touching depths that the profoundest philosophers and the keenest thinkers have essayed in vain to reach. Where the most subtle metaphysicians have failed in their search for truth, this poor shoemaker, through his humble childlike faith, succeeded in discovering the ground of all things. Not only was he a great mystic, but he was also a spiritual occultist.

64 pages, 2.10 MB, PDF. Scan.





Moshe Idel - Messianic Mystics



This relatively compact book covers the spectrum of Jewish mystic tradition, from pre-Kabbalistic messianism to some of its modern reverberations. After Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (Schocken, 1995. reprint), this is the next all-embracing critical compendium. The author does not repeat Scholem's work but rather gives his own approach to every period and teaching. The book is highly innovative, reworking the structure of Jewish mysticism in its relations to history and philosophy. Idel (Jewish thought, Hebrew Univ.; Kabbalah: New Perspectives, LJ 3/1/88) shows the steps in the development of mystic traditions, sometimes completely overturning Scholem's ideas. Though writing at a high academic level, Idel uses clear and popular language; he doesn't overload the book with technicalities in describing the essence and meaning of the teachings. Highly recommended for both general and specialized collections; suitable for beginners in Jewish studies as well as readers already familiar with Jewish mysticism. AHayim Y. Sheynin, Gratz Coll. Lib., Melrose Park, PA


A running controversy with fellow Judaic scholar Gershom Scholem drives Idel's wide-ranging argument about the relationship between messianism and mysticism. Scholem sees the two as incompatible, but Idel offers substantial evidence that they can coexist and, for a number of important thinkers, have coexisted. Idel is particularly interested in opening investigation of cabala (esoteric Judaism) to a rainbow of messianic models. One effect of that interest is the shifting of messianic ideas from a distant, apocalyptic future to a transformative present. Moreover, discussion of tikkun (cosmic repair) as completion of the deity is relevant not only to Jewish messianism, Idel notes, but also to a range of mystical traditions in Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism. The conception of every moment as a gate that may admit messianic transformation of the world imparts a seriousness to everyday action that belies popular perception of mysticism as otherworldly. Idel's treatment of a most intriguing subject will stretch nonspecialist readers but richly reward them, and his thorough documentation points out excellent avenues for further exploration. Steven Schroeder

458 pages, 58.7 MB, PDF. Scan.

Amir D. Aczel - The Mystery of the Aleph: Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Human Mind



The search for infinity, that sublime and barely comprehensible mystery, has exercised both mathematicians and theologians over many generations. Jewish mystics, in particular, labored with elaborate numerological schema to imagine the pure nothingness of infinity, while scientists such as Galileo, the great astronomer, and Georg Cantor, the inventor of modern set theory (as well as a gifted Shakespearean scholar), brought their training to bear on the unimaginable infinitude of numbers and of space, seeking the key to the universe.

In this sometimes technical but always accessible narrative, Amir Aczel, author of the spirited study Fermat's Last Theorem, contemplates such matters as the Greek philosopher Zeno's several paradoxes; the curious careers of defrocked priests, (literal) mad scientists, and sober scholars whose work helped untangle some of those paradoxes; and the conundrums that modern mathematics has substituted for the puzzles of yore. To negotiate some of those enigmas requires a belief not unlike faith, Aczel hints, noting, "We may find it hard to believe that an elegant and seemingly very simple system of numbers and operations such as addition and multiplication--elements so intuitive that children learn them in school--should be fraught with holes and logical hurdles." Hard to believe, indeed. Aczel's book makes for a fine and fun exercise in brain-stretching, while providing a learned survey of the regions where science and religion meet. --Gregory McNamee

Aczel's compact and fascinating work of mathematical popularization uses the life and work of the German mathematician Georg Cantor (1845-1918) to describe the history of infinityAof human thought about boundlessly large numbers, sequences and sets. Aczel begins with the ancient Greeks, who made infinite series a basis for famous puzzles, and Jewish medieval mystics' system of thought (Kabbalah), which used sophisticated ideas to describe the attributes of the one and infinite God. Moving to 19th-century Germany, mathematician Aczel (Fermat's Last Theorem) introduces a cast of supporting characters along with the problems on which they worked. He then brings in Cantor, whose branch of mathAcalled set theoryA"leads invariably to great paradoxes," especially when the sets in question are infinite. Are there as (infinitely) many points on a line as there are inside a square or within a cube? Bizarrely, Cantor discovered, the answer is yes. But (as he also showed) some infinities are bigger than others. To distinguish them, Cantor used the Hebrew letter aleph: the number of whole numbers is aleph-null; the number of irrational numbers, aleph-one. These "transfinite numbers" pose new problems. One, called the continuum hypothesis, vexed Cantor for the rest of his life, through a series of breakdowns and delusions: others who pursued it have also gone mad. This hypothesis turns out to be neither provable, nor disprovable, within the existing foundations of mathematics: Aczel spends his last chapters explaining why. His biographical armatures, his clean prose and his asides about Jewish mysticism keep his book reader friendly.

Running time: 5.5 hours, 74.3 MB





Rabbi David Aaron - Kabbalah Works: Secrets for Purposeful Living



Awaken to your purpose, your passion, and your power!

The secret wisdom of the Kabbalah is a secret no more! Rabbi David Aaron, best-selling author of Endless Light, Seeing G-d, and The Secret Life of God, has helped readers and students of all faiths find meaning, purpose, and personal power from the ancient teachings of the Kabbalah. Now he draws on its timeless truths to answer the questions and issues that matter to you most in Kabbalah Works.

In these intimate talks, filled with the warmth and humor beloved by his audiences around the world, Rabbi Aaron shares the divine knowledge of Jewish mystical tradition to offer practical guidance for modern times. He shows how you can achieve success in every aspect of your life, love, happiness, creativity, and more, when you unlock your natural self-knowledge and reclaim the abundance within you. And he inspires you to discover your ultimate identity, purpose, and joy as he speaks to such vital matters as:

• how beliefs make or break our lives;
• the joy of self-awareness;
• connecting to the divine;
• the power of service;
• the gift of eternal life;
• and more!

Illuminate your tomorrows with the insights of the ancients. Make the connection to a life beyond your dreams with Kabbalah Works

Running time: almost 4 hours, 100 MB





Rabbi David A. Cooper - The Mystical Kabbalah



Kabbalah, it is said, was brought down from heaven by angels. The great mystics of Judaism originally passed its teachings by word of mouth only, believing that the secrets of the kabbalah transcend the written word. In this great oral tradition, The Mystical Kabbalah will immerse listeners in this traditional school of sacred wisdom for reaching peace through union with God. On this unparalleled five-cassette study course, Rabbi David Cooper – who has been acclaimed as "one of today’s leading teachers of Jewish meditation" – synthesizes this uniquely preserved wisdom with elegant meditations he developed during his years of study and research in the Old City of Jerusalem. Here are original teachings on the sephirot, "the mystical structures that underpin all reality" … the ohr ain sof – the original light of creation ... the magid – our inner guide to mystical insights, and much more. Both practical and inspirational, The Mystical Kabbalah is the perfect introduction to Judaism’s most time-honored system for spiritual growth.

Acclaimed as one of today's leading teachers of Jewish meditation, Rabbi Cooper synthesizes a uniquely preserved wisdom with elegant meditations he developed during his years of study and research in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Running time: 6 hours, 275 MB in three parts.





St. Symeon The New Theologian - Hymns Of Divine Love



Symeon was born into an aristocratic family in Asia Minor (Turkey) and was given the name George. From boyhood he was groomed for a life in politics. At age eleven, he was sent to the capital Constantinople (Istanbul) to live with his uncle who guided him in his early education.

When he was 14, George met a monk at the the monastery of Studios named Symeon the Pious. George accepted Symeon the Pious as his spiritual director while continuing to prepare for a life in politics.

Somewhere around age 20, George was overcome by an ecstatic state in which, as with many other mystics, he experienced God as a living presence of radiant light.

Despite this radically transformative experience, he spent several more years attempting to fulfill his family's expectations, eventually becoming an imperial senator. However, his continuing mystical experiences were not compatible with such a public life and, at age 27, he renounced his previous life and became a monk, entering the monastery at Studios to continue under the direct guidance his spiritual director, even taking on the same monastic name -- Symeon.

The closeness teacher and disciple shared worried the monastic authorities that a homosexual relationship might be developing and the two were separated. The young Symeon was given the choice of remaining at Studios and no longer receiving spiritual guidance from the elder Symeon, or he could go to another monastery and keep his spiritual director.

So as not lose the guidance of Symeon the Pious, the young Symeon chose to move to the monastery of St. Mamas in Constantinople. There, Symeon was ordained a priest and eventually became the abbot of the monastery, reviving the monastery's life of prayer and meditation. While abbot of St. Mamas, Symeon wrote extensive treatises (called the Catecheses) as guidelines for the ideal monastic and God-focused life, emphasizing the power of contemplative prayer and meditation.

The mystical spiritual practices that he advocated and his growing reverence for Symeon the Pious after the elder Symeon's death led to further conflicts with authorities and Symeon was exiled in 1009 to a small hermitage on the far side of the Bosphorus.

Disciples began to gather around Symeon and soon the small hermitage grew into a full monastery. It was there that Symeon wrote his most personal work, Hymns of Divine Love, a collection of poems describing his mystical experiences.

Symeon's doctrines and poetry emphasize not only the possibility, but the necessity of personally experiencing the Divine. He also stated that one need not be a monk or renunciate, saying that one "who has wife and children, crowds of servants, much property, and a prominent position in the world" can still directly experience the divine embrace.

He is called Symeon the New Theologian to distinguish him from John the Evangelist (called John the Theologian in Greek) and Gregory of Nyzanius (also called Gregory the Theologian in the Eastern Orthodox tradition).

297 pages, 79.9 MB, PDF. Scan.





Kalman Bland, Ph.D. - Jewish Mysticism



These lectures begin by offering an historians answers to two rather straightforward questions: What is Jewish about Jewish Mysticism (Kabbalah)? What is mystical about Jewish Mysticism? The lectures end with an historians attempt to understand our contemporary fascination with such arcane subjects. Along the way, the major trends in Late Antique, medieval, early modern, and modern Jewish mysticisms are introduced. Their characteristic beliefs and meditational techniques are described. The audience may reasonably expect to come away from these lectures having learned something useful about the academic study of religion, the complexity of Judaism's creative impulses, and the astonishing resources of human imagination as it struggles to de-habituate the everyday in order to discover infinities in grains of sand. Honoring the liberal injunction to let nothing human be alien to us, these lectures are designed to demystify the Kabbalah. They do not seek to judge whether the Kabbalah is morally good or bad, healthy-minded or pathological, philosophically true or empirically false, but to discover what made the Kabbalah possible or attractive to its adherents and implausible or repellent to its opponents. Being an optimist, the lecturer assumes that, just as we are not obliged to become triangles in order to grasp the Pythagorean Theorem, we need not be Jewish Kabbalists in order to fathom Jewish Mysticism.

A mere handful of lectures cannot do justice to the two-thousand years of Jewish history during which a plethora of mystical traditions evolved. They cannot chart the many striking parallels and the equally striking dissimilarities between the Kabbalah, Christian mysticism, Sufism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. But they can make visible the otherwise hidden processes by which medieval Jewish mystics-like their counterparts, the medieval Jewish philosophers and theologians-transformed the heritage of biblical and rabbinic Judaism. With ingenious legerdemain, they aligned it with ancient mythic consciousness and newfangled metaphysical doctrines that stressed the conflict between outer appearances and inner realities. The lectures can suggest something of the competition between the philosophic and mystical traditions and explain why mysticism succeeded where philosophy failed. The lectures can also catch glimpses of Jewish history through the lens of the mystics, just as they can identify some of the mystical factors shaping Jewish communal life and ritual practice. Perhaps most importantly of all, the lectures can provide members of the audience with sufficient historical background, technical terminology, and clarification of fundamental concepts to allow them to confront critically the primary sources of Jewish Mysticism as they become more readily available every day. Being an optimist, the lecturer hopes so.

10 Audio lectures – about 7.5 hours of material, size: 296 MB

Lecture 1 - Historical Framework for Jewish Mysticism



Lecture 2 - Early Rabbinic Judaism and Mystical Ecstasy



Lecture 3 - Triumph of Spirituality in German Pietism



Lecture 4 - Yoga, Language and Abraham Abulafia



Lecture 5 - Theosophy, The Psychodynamics of God



Lecture 6 - The Zohar and Symbolism



Lecture 7 - Divine Consequences of Human Behavior



Lecture 8 - Catastrophe and the Kabbalah, Post 1492



Lecture 9 - Messiahs, Messianism and the Kabbalah



Lecture 10 - Jewish Mysticism, Nowadays



Kalman Bland - Jewish Mysticism Guidebook

14 pages, 810 KB, PDF.





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Charles S. Knight - The Mystery and Prophecy of the Great Pyramid



Contents: The Construction; History; Builders; Mystery of its Purpose; Symbol of Science; Geographical Significance; Mathematical Symbolism; Law of Cycles; Astrological Sybmolism; Biblical Prophecies; Recent World Events; Human Progress; The New Age; Fulfillment of the Pyramid's Prophetic Symbolism; Ancient Pyramid Builders of the Americas.

193 pages, 5.78 MB, PDF. Scan.





James Finley - Christian Meditation, Experiencing the Presence of God



Finley, a spiritual counselor who studied with Thomas Merton, presents a clear introduction to meditating as a Christian. He situates meditation—by which he principally means "a form of prayerful reflection, using thoughts and images"—in a historic tradition of Christian spiritual practice. The book's first seven chapters examine some major themes of Christian meditation, e.g. "entering the mind of Christ" and "hearing the Lord's voice." Finley is to be commended especially for the way he interweaves theology and practice, as in his examination of the role of the body in Christian meditation. Through meditation, we learn to inhabit our bodies better, he observes, and gain insight into the true meaning of the Incarnation—the Word becoming flesh. Another section that deserves special mention is the treatment of "Trinitarian mysticism." Many Christian titles aimed at a broad market skip over the complicated doctrine of the Trinity, but Finley suggests that meditating on the triune nature of the Christian God is crucial. These heady discussions are rounded out by concluding chapters—a revision of portions of Finley's 2000 title The Contemplative Heart—that are full of practical instruction.

Enter a Monastery Without Walls

Christian Meditation introduces an ancient practice to a contemporary audience. James Finley, a former monk and student of Thomas Merton, presents the fundamentals of both understanding and practicing Christian meditation. He provides simple, helpful instructions, as well as explaining the deeper connection with the divine that meditation can bring. Above all, he makes clear that the aim of meditation is to allow us to experience divine contemplation -- the presence of God.

301 pages, 3.29 MB, PDF. Scan.





Nathan Wolski - A Journey into the Zohar: An Introduction to the Book of Radiance



"With a poet's heart and a scholar's mind, Nathan Wolski guides us through the Zohar--the masterpiece of Kabbalah--revealing its wonder and mystery. His translations of these mystical narratives are superb, conveying the potency of the original Aramaic. His commentary reveals the ancient secrets with exquisite sensitivity. Readers who have been daunted by the Zohar now have a gateway and a path." --Daniel Matt, translator and editor of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition

"Wolski's book is elegantly written, erudite, and enlightening. It makes available to a much wider audience the kinds of religious thinking that went into the production of the Zohar. There is no book like it in English, and as an original commentary on the Zohar, it will have lasting value." --Joel Hecker, author of Mystical Bodies, Mystical Meals: Eating and Embodiment in Medieval Kabbalah --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

291 pages, 940 KB, PDF.





Michael Berg - The Way, Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment



Berg, the editor-in-chief of Kabbalah magazine, offers a readable introduction into what he claims is the universal mystical tradition. The Kabbalah is replete with modern analogies (even Vince Lombardi!) and is written in an intelligent style expressly designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience. However, Berg overreaches with the claim that "Kabbalah is the birthright of all humanity. It does not belong to any religion or ethnic group." Unless God desires everyone to be Jewish (which Judaism has always rejected), it is disingenuous to say that "The Way" is "for literally everyone in the world" and then proceed to refer exclusively to Jewish texts, prayers, heroes and holidays and the mysterious power of Hebrew and Hebrew alone. Berg's "way" has much in common with other mystical traditions, particularly reincarnation and meditation. "Love thy neighbor" may be "the secret of living in accordance with Kabbalah," but it is hardly a monopoly. Ironically, the path outlined here is reminiscent of St. Paul's ancient Christian missions to the pagans. St. Paul eliminated Jewish ritual observance and made the religion palatable to the uninitiated winning countless converts to a new tradition, but alienating observant Jews. Characterizing the Sabbath as "one day just to sit back and cruise, if that's what we really want to do" may win the hearts of Santana and Madonna, but it will likely leave serious Jewish mystics cringing.

257 pages, 836 KB, PDF.





Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto - Mesillat Yesharim, Path of the Just



The Mesillat Yesharim - "Path of the Just" is an ethical text composed by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746). It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical.

Mesillat Yesharim was written and published in Amsterdam. The earliest known manuscript of Mesillat Yesharim, written in 1738, was arranged as a dialogue between a hakham (wise man) and a hasid (pious person). Before publication, it was rearranged to have only one speaker.

The aim is the perfection of character. Within each step, Luzzatto explains the step itself, its elements, how it can be acquired, and what might distract from its acquisition. For example: Watchfulness can be acquired by setting aside time for introspection, and acquiring watchfulness can be impaired by excessive mundane responsibilities, wrong company or a cynical stance in life. The same pattern is used for every single one of the traits mentioned.

Contents

Introduction
1 - Concerning Man's Duty in the World
2 - The Trait of Watchfulness
3 - The Divisions of Watchfulness
4 - The Manner of Aquiring Watchfulness
5 - The Factors which Detract from Watchfulness
6-The Trait of Zeal
7-The Divisions of Zeal
8-The Manner of Acquiring Zeal
9-The Factors which Detract from Zeal
10-The Trait of Cleanliness
11-The Particulars of the Trait of Cleanliness
12-The Means of Acquiring Cleanliness
13-The Trait of Separation
14-The Divisions of Separation
15-The Means of Acquiring Separation
16-The Trait of Purity
17-The Means of Acquiring Purity
18-The Trait of Saintliness
19-The Divisions of Saintliness
20-The Weighing of Saintliness
21-The Means of Acquiring Saintliness
22-The Trait of Humility
23-The Means of Acquiring Humility
24-The Fear of Sin
25-The Manner of Acquiring Fear of Sin
26-The Trait of Holiness

76 pages, 684 KB, PDF.





Pinchas Giller - Shalom Shar'abi and the Kabbalists of Beit El



The Jerusalem kabbalists of the Beit El Yeshivah are the most influential school of kabbalah in modernity. The school is associated with the writings and personality of a charismatic eighteenth-century Yemenite Rabbi, Shalom Shar'abi, considered by his acolytes to be divinely inspired by the prophet Elijah. Shar'abi initiated what is still the most active school of mysticism in contemporary Middle Eastern Jewry. Today, this meditative tradition is rising in popularity not only in Jerusalem, but throughout the Jewish World.

Pinchas Giller examines the characteristic mystical practices of the Beit El School. The dominant practice is that of ritual prayer with mystical "intentions," or kavvanot. The kavvanot themselves are the product of thousands of years of development and incorporate many traditions and bodies of lore. Giller examines the archaeology of the kavvanot literature, the principle aspect of which is the meditation on God's sacred names while reciting prayers, the development of particular rituals, and the innovative mystical and devotional practices of the Beit El kabbalists.

212 pages, 1.45 MB, PDF.





Martin Buber - Ten Rungs: Collected Hasidic Sayings



The sacred sayings and short tales collected here by Martin Buber have their origins in the traditional Hasidic metaphor of life as a ladder, reaching towards God in rungs of ascending perfection. Through riddles and Biblical interpretations, Jewish proverbs and spiritual meditations both profound and tender, Buber seeks to awaken in the reader an awareness of the urgency of the human condition and of the great need for spiritual righteousness and selfrenewal.

Ten Rungs imparts an exquisite glimpse of the mystical piety and joy that defines Hasidic lore. ‘No one can really be devout in relation to God, if he is not devout toward His creation…. And so, dear reader, these pages are not concerned with the mysteries of heaven, but with your life and mine, in this hour and the next.’

Martin Buber (1878–1965) was one of the greatest religious thinkers of the twentieth century, and was nominated for Nobel prizes for both Literature and Peace. His works include I and Thou, The Way of Man and Between Man and Man.

95 pages, 2.03 MB, PDF.





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Thomas Keating - Contemplative Prayer (Audio, 3 CD)



The Cloud of Unknowing" is one of Christianity’s enduring mysteries – a meditative state where God is experienced on the deepest interior level. To move beyond thoughts and feelings and into the arms of the divine spirit, we have been given the gift of contemplative prayer. On Contemplative Prayer, Father Thomas Keating introduces you to this method for inviting the grace of God into your life, to discover the treasure of holiness always present in ordinary events. Join Father Keating as he teaches a complete workshop on this system of Christian meditation, as it has been practiced in the cloisters and monasteries of Europe since medieval times. Contemplative Prayer, like a freshening wind, is an uplifting event that can help take you to the starting point of the true spiritual journey.

Father Thomas Keating is an author, teacher, and monk who has worked for many years to foster understanding among the world’s religions. A member of the Cistercian order founded in 1098, Father Keating, now in his 70s, has served at monasteries in Colorado and Massachusetts. He directs retreats in the practice of Centering Prayer, a cornerstone of contemporary Christian contemplative practice. He is the author of many books, including Open Mind, Open Heart; The Mystery of Christ; Invitation to Love; and Intimacy with God.

206 MB, 3 CD, Audio.

Parts 1, 2 and 3:





James R. Davila - Descenders to the Chariot, the People Behind the Hekhalot Literature



The Hekhalot literature is a bizarre conglomeration of Jewish esoteric and revelatory texts in Hebrew and Aramaic, produced sometime between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages and surviving in medieval manuscripts. These texts claim to describe the self-induced spiritual experiences of the "descenders to the chariot" and to reveal the techniques that permitted these magico-religious practitioners to view for themselves Ezekiel's Merkavah as well as to gain control of angels and a supernatural mastery of Torah. Drawing on epigraphic and archaeological evidence from the Middle East, anthropological models, and a wide range of cross-cultural evidence, this book aims to show that the Hekhalot literature preserves the teachings and rituals of real religious functionaries who flourished in late antiquity and who were quite like the functionaries anthropologists call shamans.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and Sigla

1. The Hekhalot Literature
2. Mysticism, Magic, and Shamanism
3. Becoming a Shaman
4. Shamanic Ascetic Techniques
5. Initiatory Disintegration and Reintegration
6. The Otherworldly Journey
7. Control of the Spirits
8. The Hekhalot Literature and Other Jewish Texts of Ritual Power
9. Locating the Descenders to the Chariot
10. Conclusions

Bibliography
Indices

354 pages, 15.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





Gershom Scholem - Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition



TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE
REVISED PREFACE

I. General Remarks
II . The Halakhic Character of Hekhaloth Mysticism
III . The Four Who Entered Paradise and Paul's Ascension to Paradise
IV. The Merkabah Hymns and the Song of the Kine in a Talmudic Passage
V. Some Old Elements in the Greater Hekhaloth
VI. The Age of Shiur Komah Speculation and a Passage in Origen
VII. Some Remarks on Metatron and Akatriel
VIII. Some Aggadic Sayings Explained by Merkabah Hymns. The Garment of God
IX. The Relationship Between Gnostic and Jewish Sources. Jewish Sources on the Ogdoas. Yaldabaoth and Ariel. Elijah and Lilith
X. The Theurgic Elements of the Lesser Hekhaloth and the Magical Papyri

APPENDICES

A. A New Interpretation of an Aramaic Inscription
B. On the Magical Formulae AKRAMACHAMAREI and SESENGEN BARPHARANGES
C. Ma'asseh Merkabah—An Unpublished Merkabah Text
D. Mishnath Shir ha-Shirim—by Professor Saul Lieberman
ADDENDA

142 pages, 6.86 MB, PDF. Scan.





Moshe Idel - Enchanted Chains, Techniques and Rituals in Jewish Mysticism







259 pages, 2.98 MB, PDF. Scan.





Elliot R. Wolfson - Luminal Darkness, Imaginal Gleanings from Zoharic Literature



Since 1945, scholarship and interest in the ancient tradition of Kabbalah have reached unprecedented heights. What originated as an esoteric ritual, secretly studied by a select elite, is yielding to increasingly widespread interest. Renowned as one of the world's most astute interpreters of Kabbalistic texts, Elliot Wolfson offers an illuminating and original presentation of Kabbalah. Combining its wisdom with Western philosophical heritage from Plato to Heidegger and beyond, synergy guides his elucidation of the fundamentals of Jewish mysticism and shapes his taxonomy of Kabbalistic thought. A deeply dialectical thinker, Wolfson holds seemingly paradoxical tenets in tandem: Medieval Judaism and American modernity; the 'tradition' of Kabbalah and postmodern philosophy; sexual body and human spirit; ontological truth and religious imagination; revelation and occultation; good and evil; left and right - none of these, he writes, are diametrically opposite. Rather, they are dialectical poles with which to think and through which to intuit, tools to gaining a deeper understanding of the Jewish mystical tradition and its meaning for the twenty-first century. An insightful collection of seminal essays "Luminal Darkness" reveals the unmistakably poetic nature of this important scholar's creative process, and delineates the evolution of his thinking on the role and importance of the Zohar in Kabbalistic tradition.

328 pages, 1.72 MB, PDF.





Rabbi Tirzah Firestone - The Receiving, Reclaiming Jewish Women's Wisdom



The astonishing stories of seven remarkable but almost unknown Jewish women form the centerpiece of this treatise on feminine spirituality. Mystics, sages, prayer leaders and miracle workers, the women lived in the second to 20th centuries, in countries from Germany to Kurdistan. Their recorded legacies survived precisely because they bypassed feminine norms. Firestone, a rabbi and psychotherapist, chose the women based on their abilities to bring life into balance, uniting opposites (practical/spiritual; purpose/action) to achieve wholeness. Each woman's story serves further as a springboard for exploring an aspect of Kabbalah, which literally means "the receiving." Wholeness, says Firestone, is "alive" in this mystical Jewish path that "not only acknowledges the feminine aspects of life, but also the fact that neither the human world nor God can be whole without the marriage of its masculine and feminine parts." To help contemporary women apply the mystical approach to their lives today, she includes practical teachings and techniques. Firestone argues for being connected to "one's fire and sensual wisdom," claiming that the subordination of the body to the spirit has created an "unhealed schism" and a disparagement of women. She admits beginning the book in anger at the ways women have been "devalued and omitted," but as she immersed herself in the women's lives, she says, she found their "determination and positive attitude contagious." Though Firestone's plea for wholeness can become repetitious, she writes convincingly of the power of the feminine to enrich and uplift the world.

292 pages, 1 MB, PDF.





Joseph Dan - The Heart and the Fountain, An Anthology of Jewish Mystical Experiences



From its very first page, it's obvious that this lucid, authentically Jewish and scholarly work is different from the numerous recent titles that have jumped on the kabbalistic bandwagon. Dan, an expert on Jewish mysticism and winner of the 1997 Israel Prize, carefully explodes several misconceptions. He begins by separating religion from mysticism. In current usage, he says, "someone who prays is religious; someone who really means it is a mystic." But the basic attitudes of mysticism often contradict those of established religion: the mystic distrusts language, logic and thought, certain that those vehicles cannot lead to the revelation of God's nature. "Mysticism is that which cannot be expressed in words, period," states Dan succinctly. He further distinguishes between mysticism and Kabbalah, noting that though many mystics were Kabbalists, Jewish mysticism began a thousand years before Kabbalah. Mysticism, he stresses, is a Christian term that has no parallel in Judaism; Jewish mysticism is the "invention of contemporary scholars dealing with comparative study of religion." A comprehensive introduction explains the historical development of mysticism from antiquity to modern times, and delineates its leaders, texts and theology. Over 25 selections reflect the remarkable scope of Jewish mysticism, from the visions of Rabbi Akiba and Rabbi Ishmael to the secrets of the Zohar; from apocalyptic, messianic and magical texts to the vibrant writing of four contemporary Israeli poets an unconventional inclusion. This volume will appeal to any serious reader of mysticism.

Dan is the Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, winner of the Israel Prize in 1997, a leading authority on Jewish mysticism, and the author of more than 50 books. With such credentials, he makes a fitting editor of a collection intended as an introduction to Kabbalah, an esoteric tradition in Judaism concerning the divine that was given to Moses on Mount Sinai and transmitted secretly through the generations. After an excellent introduction that discusses Jewish mysticism as a whole and then contrasts it with Christian mysticism, Dan presents 25 meaningful excerpts, some from classic texts like the Palm Tree of Devorah, the Zohar, and the mystical prayer of Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov, others from contemporary poetry. Each entry is prefaced with a helpful introduction that puts it in historical context. The book is annotated, but it lacks a bibliography a major flaw in a work meant as an entre . Still, Dan's writing is lucid and engaging, bringing an expert's view to a subject that has, unfortunately, been subsumed into popular culture. Highly recommended for large public libraries or where there is an interest in spirituality.

337 pages, 1.46 MB, PDF.





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William Ryan - Breathing Yeshua, Christian Meditation in the Way of the Heart



- A teaching on the Christocentric dimension of Prayer of the Heart. ("Yeshua" is the Aramaic form of Jesus.)

"In the practice of Prayer of the Heart in uniting breath and holy name through 'Breathing Yeshua' we thereby consecrate ourselves in devotional love to Him, and we offer ourselves into the limitless Life of HIs Heart. This consecrated love to Him becomes the means, the doorway into the wordless, imageless Mytery of Trinitarian Life. This is the movement from the cataphatic human expression into the apophatic formless spaciousness of God's Mystery. Personal love in Yeshua takes us into the the Oceanic Love of the Trinity that encompasses all things. 'We will come to them and make our home in them.' (John 14:23) Love in Yeshua is the unique core of the Christian Path. Love is the Path, Love is the journey, and Love is the fulfillment. Breathing Yeshua is the simple way of communion with Christ in Prayer of the Heart."

100 pages, 4.62 MB, PDF.





William Ryan - Christian Meditation, Cultivating a Daily Practice in Prayer of the Heart



A short booklet explaining the theological and historical foundations of Prayer of the Heart, instructions for silent sitting Prayer of the Heart contemplative prayer, a description of Prayer of the Heart with the scriptural word and the Divine Word within Creation. The booklet concludes with guidelines for cultivating the secret garden of our life of inner communion with Yeshua, the inner Light of Love in the sanctuary of the Heart.

15 pages, 1.16 MB, PDF.





William Ryan - Entering the Stream of Mercy in the Jesus Prayer



A teaching on the path of the Jesus Prayer formulation of Prayer of the Heart - integration of the Yeshua Prayer as prayer of union and prayer of intercession. Yeshua Prayer and the spiritual theology of Theosis.

33 pages, 840 KB, PDF.





William Ryan - The Beloved is My Refuge, A Guide to Consecrated Life in Prayer of the Heart



A text of comprehensive teaching in Prayer of the Heart - The Ancient Practice of Inner Communion with God. This 99 page book with illustrations contains the following:

• Theological Foundations of Prayer of the Heart.
• The Prayer of the Heart Tradition in Christianity.
• Prayer of the Heart Practice in Silence and Stillness.
• Prayer of the Heart and Liberation from Thoughts and Compulsions.
• Prayer of the Heart Practice in the Consecration of Every Moment in Daily Life.
• Prayer of the Heart and Transformative Movements and Unitive Experience.
• Covenantal Commitment to Prayer of the Heart as a Way of Life in the Spirit.

100 pages, 3.48 MB, PDF.





Gene Edwards - 100 Days in the Secret Place



Bored with the exercises of religious ritualism and parched by the teaching of dry dogma, man searches for a way back home to the place of His presence. Unfortunately, this journey inward is a "road less traveled" and too few have found the way. Gene Edwards, the master storyteller, has gathered together the writing of three Christian mystics from the seventeenth century: Michael Molinos, Madam Guyon, and Francois Fenelon, The writings of these "masters of the spiritual way" will be as lampposts leading the weary traveler towards that secret place lovingly created by the Father. The writings of Molinos, Fuyon, and Fenelon will bring you to the brink of your own humanity as they lure you to step over the threshold into the world where God has prepared a special place just for you. Are you living in a drought of spiritual dryness? Are you lost in the depths of spiritual loneliness? Are you longing for a moment of spiritual reality? Then 100 Days in a Secret Place is your way out!

160 pages, 333 KB, PDF.





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Martin Laird - Into the Silent Land, A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation



Sitting in stillness, the practice of meditation, and the cultivation of awareness are commonly thought to be the preserves of Hindus and Buddhists. Martin Laird shows that the Christian tradition of contemplation has its own refined teachings on using a prayer word to focus the mind, working with the breath to cultivate stillness, and the practice of inner vigilance or awareness. But this book is not a mere historical survey of these teachings. In Into the Silent Land, we see the ancient wisdom of both the Christian East and West brought sharply to bear on the modern-day longing for radical openness to God in the depths of the heart.

Laird's book is not like the many presentations for beginners. While useful for those just starting out, this book serves especially as a guide for those who desire to journey yet deeper into the silence of God. The heart of the book focuses on negotiating key moments of struggle on the contemplative path, when the whirlwind of distractions or the brick wall of boredom makes it difficult to continue. Laird shows that these inner struggles, even wounds, that any person of prayer must face, are like riddles, trying to draw out of us our own inner silence. Ultimately Laird shows how the wounds we loathe become vehicles of the healing silence we seek, beyond technique and achievement. Throughout the language is fresh, direct, and focused on real-life examples of people whose lives are incomparably enriched by the practice of contemplation.

167 pages, 5.62 MB, PDF. Scan.





Denys Turner - The Darkness of God Negativity in Christian Mysticism



For the medieval mystical tradition, the Christian soul meets God in a 'cloud of unknowing', a divine darkness of ignorance. This meeting with God is beyond all knowing and beyond all experiencing. Mysticisms of the modern period, on the contrary, place 'mystical experience' at the centre, and contemporary readers are inclined to misunderstand the medieval tradition in 'experientialist' terms. Denys Turner argues that the distinctiveness and contemporary relevance of medieval mysticism lies precisely in its rejection of 'mystical experience', and locates the mystical firmly within the grasp of the ordinary and the everyday. The argument covers some central authorities in the period from Augustine to John of the Cross.

288 pages, 5.66 MB, PDF. Scan.





Ray C. Petry - Late Medieval Mysticism



This edition presents in English language, and in convenient-size soft cover volumes, a selection of the most indispensable Christian treatises written before the end of the sixteenth century. These books meet the need of lay people and libraries, students and pastors, for a single set of books containing the great literature of the Christian heritage. The texts are heightened in usefulness by a wealth of introductory material, explanatory notes, bibliographies, and indexes.

CONTENTS

Preface
General Introduction

I. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX (1090-1153)
Introduction
On the Love of God
Of the Three Ways in Which We Love God
That the Soul, Seeking God, Is Anticipatedby Him

II. THE VICTORINES
Introduction
HUGH (C. 1096-1141):
The Realm and the Role of Light
The Grades of Knowledge
Love the Cure of the Soul's Sickness
God's Dwelling in the Soul Through Knowledge and Love
The Soul's Deepest Desire
RICHARD (C. 1123-1173):
The Way to Contemplation
ADAM (d. 1192):
Gospel Symbols and the Mystic Goal

III. FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1182-1226)
Introduction
Exposition of the Lord's Prayer
Praises of the Virtues
The Canticle of Brother Sun

IV. BONAVENTURE (1221-1274)
Introduction
The Journey of the Mind to God

V. RAMON LULL (c. 1232-1315)
Introduction
The Blanquerna:
The Lullian Ideal
Of the Book of the Lover and the Beloved
The Art of Contemplation

VI. MEISTER ECKHART (c. 1260-1328)
Introduction
Sermon on the Eternal Birth
Another Sermon on the Eternal Birth
A Sermon on the Contemplative and the Active Life
On Solitude and the Attainment of God
About the Body of Our Lord
Love Cannot Be Lazy

VII. RICHARD ROLLE: HERMIT OF HAMPOLE
(c. 1300-1349)
Introduction
The Mending of Life

VIII. HENRY SUSO (c. 1295-1366)
Introduction
The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom
The Life of the Servant:
The Higher School of Gelassenheit
The Way of Suffering and of the Cross

IX. CATHERINE OF SIENA (1347-1380)
Introduction
A Treatise of Divine Providence

X. JAN VAN RUYSBROECK (1293-1381)
Introduction
The Sparkling Stone

XL. GERMAN THEOLOGY ( THEOLOGIA GERMANICA) [LATE FOURTEENTH CENTURY]
Introduction
German Theology

XII. NICHOLAS OF CUSA (1401-1464)
Introduction
On Learned Ignorance
The Vision of God
A Sermon on the Eucharist
"Where Is He Who Is Born King of the Jews?"

XIII. CATHERINE OF GENOA (1447-1510)
Introduction
Treatise on Purgatory

421 pages, 9.57 MB, PDF. Scan.





Miguel Herrero De Jauregui - Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity



Many recent discoveries have confirmed the importance of Orphism for ancient Greek religion, philosophy and literature. Its nature and role are still, however, among the most debated problems of Classical scholarship. A cornerstone of the question is its relationship to Christianity, which modern authors have too often discussed from apologetic perspectives or projections of the Christian model into its supposed precedent. Besides, modern approaches are strongly based on ancient ones, since Orpheus and the poems and mysteries attributed to him were fundamental in the religious controversies of Late Antiquity. Both Pagan and Christian authors often present Orphism as a precedent, alternative or imitation of Chistianity.This free and thorough study of the ancient sources sheds light on these controversial questions. The presence of the Orphic tradition in Imperial Age, documented by literary and epigraphical evidence, is confronted with the informations transmitted by Christian apologists on Orphic poems and cults. The manifold Christian treatments of Pagan sources, and their particular value to understand Greek religion, are illuminated by this specific case, which exemplifies the complex encounter between Classical culture and Jewish-Christian tradition.

457 pages, 3.49 MB, PDF. Scan.





Thomas a Kempis – Of the Imitation of Christ



Written in Latin in the early 15th century, The Imitation of Christ is perhaps second only to the Bible in importance in Christian thought. Thomas Hemerken, aka THOMAS KEMPIS (1380-1471), was a Christian monk and mystic from Kempen, Germany, and he intended this patchwork of medieval mysticism for the most sincere and dedicated of believers-monks, nuns-but lay Christians find wisdom in his encouragement and teaching of a direct path to a relationship with God. Readers of Christian theology and students of medieval literature alike will be fascinated by this work, one of the most powerful influences on modern spirituality and philosophy.

For five hundred years, this gentle book, filled with the spirit of the love of God, has brought understanding and comfort to millions of readers in over fifty languages, and provided them with a source of heart-felt personal prayer. These meditations on the life and teachings of Jesus, written in times even more troubled and dangerous than our own, have become second only to the Bible as a guide and inspiration.

348 pages, 30 MB, PDF. Scan.





Thomas a Kempis - Prayers and Meditations on the Life of Christ



Contents:

Treatise I

* Part I - Devout Meditations On The Life Of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, And Upon The Benefits Wrought By Him For Us, With Thanksgiving Therefore

* Part II - Of The Passion Of Christ, According To The Four Evangelists

Treatise II - Prayers Concerning The Resurrection, Divided Into Two Parts

* Part I - Concerning The Resurrection Of Christ, And His Appearances

* Part II - Of The Ascension, Of Pentecost, And Of Certain Other Matters

456 pags, 16.4 MB, PDF. Scan.





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ZOHAR – The Book of Splendor (Aramaic-English Bilingual Version)



The Zohar (Hebrew: Splendor or Radiance) is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five books of Moses) and scriptural interpretations as well as material on theosophic theology, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The Zohar contains a discussion of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of Ego to Darkness and "true self" to "The Light of God," and the relationship between the "universal energy" and man. Its scriptural exegesis can be considered an esoteric form of the Rabbinic literature known as Midrash, which elaborates on the Torah.

The Zohar is mostly written in what has been described as an exalted, eccentric style of Aramaic, a language spoken in the Land of Israel during the Roman Period in the first centuries of the Common Era.

The Zohar first appeared in Spain in the 13th century, and was published by a Jewish writer named Moses de Leon. De Leon ascribed the work to Shimon bar Yochai, a rabbi of the second century CE during the Roman persecution who, according to Jewish legend, hid in a cave for thirteen years studying the Torah and was inspired by the Prophet Elijah to write the Zohar. This accords with the traditional claim by adherents that Kabbalah is the concealed part of the Oral Torah.

While the traditional majority view in religious Judaism has been that the teachings of Kabbalah were revealed by God to Biblical figures such as Abraham and Moses and were then transmitted orally from the Biblical era until its redaction by Shimon ben Yochai, modern academic analysis of the Zohar, such as that by the 20th century religious historian Gershom Scholem, has theorized that De Leon was the actual author. The view of non-Orthodox Jewish denominations generally conforms to this latter view, and as such, most non-Orthodox Jews have long viewed the Zohar as pseudepigraphy and apocrypha while sometimes accepting that its contents may have meaning for modern Judaism. Jewish prayerbooks edited by non-Orthodox Jews may therefore contain excerpts from the Zohar and other kabbalistic works, even if the editors don't literally believe that they are oral traditions from the time of Moses.

3782 pages, 140 MB, PDF. Scan.





Giordano Bruno - Cause, Principle and Unity, And Essays on Magic



"The works of Giordano Bruno have for so long been confined to the Renaissance tradition of Hermeticism and magic, as they were presented by Frances Yates...that it is heartening to find some of them included in the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy, edited by Desmond Clarke. Richard J. Blackwell's first ever English translation of two of the final works on magic are free renderings of Bruno's Latin, much aided by the recent Italian translations by Albano Biondi...They read well, and it is of great importance that the English-speaking public should at last have available Bruno's remarkable General Account of Bonding, which investigates the ways in which minds act on, and react to, one another in a desire for gratification." Choice

Giordano Bruno's notorious public death in 1600, at the hands of the Inquisition in Rome, marked the transition from Renaissance philosophy to the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. This volume presents new translations of Cause, Principle and Unity, in which he challenges Aristotelian accounts of causality and spells out the implications of Copernicanism for a new theory of an infinite universe, as well as two essays on magic, in which he interprets earlier theories about magical events in the light of the unusual powers of natural phenomena.

224 pages, 906 KB, PDF.





William Law - The Spirit of Prayer



Influenced by the writings of German mystic, Jacob Boehme, William Law wrote two related works of mysticism: The Spirit of Love and The Spirit of Prayer. Written by Law in the 1750's, these books emphasize Law's own creative interpretation of mysticism, which relies heavily on the indwelling of Christ in the believer's soul. The Spirit of Prayer contains a series of prayers and dialogues which focus on the profound love of God. Law intended his writings to help readers renew their understanding of the holy life. He encourages his readers to follow God's calling in this poetic passage: "When therefore the first spark of a desire after God arises in thy soul, cherish it with all thy care, give all thy Heart into it, it is nothing less than a touch of the Divine. Get up therefore and follow it as gladly, as the Wise Men of the East followed the Star from Heaven that appeared to them. It will do for thee, as the Star did for them, it will lead thee to the birth of Jesus, not in a stable at Bethlehem in Judea, but to the Birth of Jesus in the dark centre of thy own fallen Soul." Law is sensitive and wise in his words. Readers find themselves at first convicted and then comforted by Law's The Spirit of Prayer.

263 pages, 12.3 MB, PDF. Scan.





James Macbeth Bain - The Christ of the Holy Grail



1910. The great Christ of the cosmos and the little Christ of the soul, being a word of spiritual doctrine to the practical mystics of our day, and supplementary to "The Brotherhood of Healers". This work is divided into three Parts with Part 1 concerning the Holy One of Blessing, the Father and the Mother, the Unnameable and in its body is found the life or whole doctrine of the other two parts. Part 2 concerns the genesis, growth and life of the Son of God in the soul, while Part 3 concerns the powers of the Holy Spirit the comforter, or the spirits of the Christhood in whose communion is the fellowship of the Holy Ghost.

138 pages, 7.58 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rowland and Morray-Jones - The Mystery of God, Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament



This book brings together the perspectives of apocalypticism and early Jewish mysticism to illuminate aspects of New Testament theology. The first part begins with a consideration of the mystical character of apocalypticism and then uses the Book of Revelation and the development of views about the heavenly mediator figure of Enoch to explore the importance of apocalypticism in the Gospels and Acts, the Pauline Letters and finally the key theological themes in the later books of the New Testament. The second and third parts explore the character of early Jewish mysticism by taking important themes in the early Jewish mystical texts such as the Temple and the Divine Body to demonstrate the relevance of this material to New Testament interpretation.

717 pages, 2.83 MB, PDF.






John Worcester - Correspondences of the Bible: The Plants, Minerals, and Atmospheres



In this book, commonly known as Plants of the Bible, the Rev. John Worcester discusses the deeper, spiritual meanings of an extensive list of plants and inanimate materials, most of them occurring in the Bible. Passages from the Bible and the theological writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, as well as descriptions from textbooks, are woven into Worcester's text to provide a well-rounded picture of each item explained. In providing the spiritual meanings of each item, Worcester focuses on their application to our own individual spiritual life.

293 pages, 660 KB, PDF.





John Worcester - Correspondences of the Bible: Animals



Within the literal language of the Bible is a deeper spiritual meaning that points the way toward a greater understanding of faith and of our own role in the world. Eighteenth-century scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg described that inner language of the Bible as "correspondences." More than a century later, John Worcester used Swedenborg's teachings as the foundation for a three-volume road map to the correspondences of the natural world. Correspondences of the Bible remains one of the most highly regarded references on the subject today.

Correspondences of the Bible: The Animals covers both the familiar and the exotic, from farmyards to remote jungles. Starting with the animals that feature most prominently in the Bible - sheep, goats, and oxen, the animals used for sacrifice - Worcester goes on to discuss beasts of burden. Other animals are grouped by function and by similarities in their correspondences, and Worcester describes how certain character traits can overlap by species, sometimes manifesting in a positive way in one animal and negatively in another.

263 pages, 607 KB, PDF.





Paul Harris - Frequently Asked Questions About Christian Meditation



„Many of the points and concerns addressed in this book were raised as questions or points of discussion in recent years as I have given retreats, seminars and conferences on Christian Meditation in various countries of the world. It has been my habit to arrange for listeners to put their questions in writing. From these hundreds of questions I have selected 56 of the most frequently asked questions pertaining to the practice and teaching of meditation. The beauty of answering a question in writing rather than orally is that one can give the time, research and thought necessary for a full response to a questioner. Too often in re-sponding to questions orally, one is forced to abridge or shorten answers in a rushed manner because of time constraints. There are no trivial or unimportant questions in this book. Some of the questions asked were spontaneous, others well thought out and written down, but I have tried to answer each question in a thorough and thoughtful way.“

312 pages, 2.12 MB, PDF.

Margaret Smith - Studies in Early Mysticism in Near and the Middle East







These studies represent an attempt to show the relationship between the rise and development of a mystical element in Islam, that which we know as Sufism, and the mysticism which was already to be found within the Christian church of the Near and Middle East at the time when the Arab power established itself as a political force of far-reaching extent, and at a period when the faith of Islam was in the process of development and formulation.

289 pages, 4.63 MB, PDF. Scan.





Gerald G. May - Will and Spirit, a Contemplative Psychology



Contents

Preface

1: Willingness and Willfulness
2: Foundations for a Contemplative Psychology
3: Unitive Experience: A Paradigm for Contemplative Spirituality
4: Searching: The Quest for Love, Union, and Being
5: Fear: Self-Image and Spirituality
6: Love: The Answer to Fear
7: Energy: The Unifying Force
8: Tension, Attention, and Attachment
9: Good and Evil in Unity and Duality
10: Encounter with Evil
11: On Being a Pilgrim and a Helper

388 pages, 1.2 MB, PDF.





Julian of Norwich - Revelations of Divine Love



Written in the 14th century, Revelations of Divine Love is a powerful work of English mysticism. After falling deathly ill, St. Julian received sixteen different mystical revelations; in this splendid work, she describes and reflects upon those revelations. Having received these revelations at a time of great pain for herself, as she lay ill, she focuses on the mysteries of Christianity, in particular, the vast love of God and the existence of evil. She describes the "motherhood" of God, depicting how God suffers with his creation as it experiences great and multifaceted evil. Nevertheless, she also emphasizes the need to follow God in order to receive the beautiful vision of God in the afterlife. For her deep and penetrating descriptions of God and love, countless readers have found St. Julian's work uplifting, encouraging, and challenging. Revelations of Divine Love astounds readers, engulfing them in a powerful revelation of God's love.

262 pages, 14.5 MB, PDF. Scan.




Origen – On Prayer



Although it was written in the late first/early second century CE, today Origen on Prayer remains an influential text for believers on the practice, structure, and mindset of prayer. Early church scholar and theologian Origen was born, lived, and taught in Alexandria, Egypt and wrote several works. Origen writes that prayer is the way in which humans can know and have discourse with God. He notes the many ways prayer is depicted in the Bible, and then tackles the argument that prayer is superfluous. He describes the four purposes of prayer: requests, prayers (praise), intercessions, and thanksgivings. Origen also performs an exegesis of the Lord's Prayer, and this in-depth look at each phrase of the prayer is a valuable resource for Christians old and new. Origen concludes with comments on the formalities of prayer, in which he describes the proper posture and state of mind for praying. Origen on Prayer is helpful for those who wish to know how to approach prayer and notable for its expert discussion of the Lord's Prayer. Origen uses many Biblical references, particularly to prayerful characters, so the text presents a number of heralded role models for our communication with God.

71 pages, 181 KB, PDF.




Thomas Plante - Contemplative Practices in Action



"In this age of dual-career couples, overscheduled children, and 24-7 living, readers will greet Contemplative Practices in Action with a deep sigh of relief. This volume provides a highly accessible introduction into the remarkable range of contemplative practices that provide a vital corrective to a hyperfrenetic world -- from centering prayer and passage meditation to Sabbath-keeping, pilgrimage, and dance. Thomas Plante has assembled a gifted team of contributors from diverse backgrounds who write with clinical sensitivity, scientific authority, and deep appreciation for the wisdom contained in the world's religious traditions. Readers will emerge enriched personally and professionally by this wonderful collection of chapters."

273 pages, 1.54 MB, PDF.




Richard J. Foster - Prayer, Finding the Heart's True Home



There are hundreds of books on prayer, and much of the advice they contain is likely to be the same. So what distinguishes these books? Call it a kind of wisdom, a sense that here's someone who knows something of God's heart. A good example can be found in this fine book by the Quaker writer and teacher Richard Foster. The author of the bestselling Celebration of Discipline explores various aspects of prayer, which he defines in one place as "the human response to the perpetual outpouring of love by which God lays siege to every soul." Beginning with the simplest forms of prayer--what he calls "ordinary people bringing ... ordinary concerns to a loving and compassionate Father"--he then explores the deeper places where prayer becomes not simply petition but a way of life. He writes of prayer of adoration and rest, sacramental prayer, meditation, and contemplation, and in the final section of the book moves outward into ministry, where prayer meets the needs of the world. In each chapter Foster defines, describes, and gives helpful examples. Above all he writes with grace--in both the artistic and spiritual senses. --Doug Thorpe

Foster, Quaker theologian and best-selling author, provides an excellent and comprehensive survey of 21 forms of Christian prayer. He groups the sections around three movements (inward, upward, and outward) which address three human needs (transformation, intimacy, and ministry). Foster presents the best thinking of various church traditions to help the reader feel drawn to prayer and to a restored and deeper relationship with oneself, God, and others. This is one of the best, most comprehensive, yet accessible introductions to prayer that this reviewer has seen.

Contents

Preface
Coming Home: An Invitation to Prayer

Part I Moving Inward: Seeking the Transformation We Need

Chapter 1 Simple Prayer
Chapter 2 Prayer of the Forsaken
Chapter 3 The Prayer of Examen
Chapter 4 The Prayer of Tears
Chapter 5 The Prayer of Relinquishment
Chapter 6 Formation Prayer
Chapter 7 Covenant Prayer

Part II Moving Upward: Seeking the Intimacy We Need

Chapter 8 The Prayer of Adoration
Chapter 9 The Prayer of Rest
Chapter 10 Sacramental Prayer
Chapter 11 Unceasing Prayer
Chapter 12 The Prayer of the Heart
Chapter 13 Meditative Prayer
Chapter 14 Contemplative Prayer

Part III Moving Outward: Seeking the Ministry We Need

Chapter 15 Praying the Ordinary
Chapter 16 Petitionary Prayer
Chapter 17 Intercessory Prayer
Chapter 18 Healing Prayer
Chapter 19 The Prayer of Suffering
Chapter 20 Authoritative Prayer
Chapter 21 Radical Prayer

313 pages, 1.04 MB, PDF.




William Ralph Inge - Personal Idealism and Mysticism



CONTENTS:

I. OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Our religion is necessarily determined by our personal experience - Man is a microcosm, with affinities to every grade in creation - There is no special organ for the perception of God, but we are brought near to Him by all our faculties, unified as the higher reason –The ascent of the soul, as described by the Neoplatonists and Christian mystics - The soul and the intelligence - The One above intelligence - Ethical system: the soul's progress - Is the ascent purely ethical? Hypothesis of intellectual and aesthetic interests in God - Importance of this admission for the attitude of religion to science and art - Unfortunate tendency to disparage the witness of nature to God - The natural order is not to be interpreted in terms of human wishes - Influence of Lotze on the side of a pluralistic will-philosophy - General character of Divine revelation - Psychological basis of Trinitarian doctrine - The problem of personality The problem of sin

II. SOURCES AND GROWTH OF THE LOGOS-CHRISTOLOGY

The doctrine of the Trinity best understood from the side of Divine immanence – Confusion caused by the different connotation of "Person" in Greek, Latin and English - Popular theology generally too tritheistic - Doctrine of Christ as the Logos - "The Word of Jehovah" in the Old Testament - Sketch of the Logos-idea in Greek philosophy - Philo's doctrine of the Logos - Great importance of the doctrine of the cosmic Christ in St. Paul - Relations of Christ to the Father, the world, and the human soul - This side of St. Paul's theology has been unduly neglected - The prologue of the fourth Gospel - The Christology of St. Paul and St. John almost identical; their point of view different - Importance for St. John of our Lord's life on earth - St. John's view of the symbolic value of history - The inner witness to its truth

III. DEVELOPMENT AND PERMANENT VALUE OF THE LOGOS-CHRISTOLOGY

Significance of the old Christological controversies - Adoptianism and Arianism – Modalism - Attitude of Athanasius towards the Logos-doctrine – Continuous generation of the Son, in Victorinus and others – Was the Incarnation part of God's original purpose? The immanent Logos – The doctrine in the New Testament - In the second-century Apologists - In the Alexandrian Platonists - In Augustine - In the medieval mystics - The Logos-doctrine and "natural religion" – Panentheism and Panpsychism - Ritschlian hostility to the Logos-Christology - Static view of revelation – Development in revelation: Christ in the Church – Christ as the ideal of humanity - Professor Wallace quoted

IV. THE PROBLEM OP PERSONALITY

The conception of "Personality," as used by modern philosophy, was unknown to ancient thought - Its introduction has caused many difficulties in theology, especially in relation to the sacraments - The assumption of rigid impervious personal units is contrary to experience - Unification of the personal life an ideal, not a given fact - The universal and the individual are both abstractions - But, practically, we must lose and forget our Self before we can find it -"Personal Idealism" and Trinitarian doctrine - Christian love based on unio mystica - Hypothesis of a racial self or "Over-soul" - The choice between monism and pluralism – What unity in Christ means - Metaphors of the vine, the body, &c. - We are in real spiritual contact with the Logos-Christ

V. THOUGHT AND WILL

Strong current of anti-intellectualism in contemporary thought - Disparagement of the intellect in Lotze, Howison, W. James, and English "Pragmatists" - This movement is being utilised by Christian apologists, both Catholic and Protestant - Herrmann's tirade against mysticism - His view of ethics as wholly independent of science and philosophy - Causes of the reaction - Separation of value-judgments from judgments of fact untenable – Sceptical orthodoxy has no sound foundation – Our view of the world ought to be cosmocentric rather than anthropocentric - We must not champion one faculty against another - The intellect is not, as Kidd thought, a disintegrating principle - Religious values are not in danger - Surrender of the will, not its apotheosis, is what religion demands - Our practical ideals must also be our surest truths - The present must be a transitory phase - The Logos theology is cosmocentric, and indubitably Christian - Christian eschatology symbolic – Insoluble difficulties connected with space and time - Healthy interaction of Gnosis and Praxis – We must act out our thoughts and think out our acts

VI. THE PROBLEM OF SIN

Alleged tendency of mysticism to promote moral indifference - The problem of sin does not exist for sociology - Nor for morality, which accepts the conflict as internecine – Morality needs evil, without which it could not exist - Confused and inconsistent teaching about sin in Christian theology - Sin as rebellion - As lawlessness - As imperfection - Theory of original guilt - Influence of the Book of Genesis - Christ's attitude towards sin less tragic than that of later Christian theology - Sin should not hold a larger place in ethics than virtue - Theory that sin is rooted in sensuality - Or in pride - The real root is selfishness – Civilisation based on individualism is on its trial, and is not emerging victorious - Selfishness leads to shipwreck all through nature - Vicarious redemption necessary - Individualism leads to loss of faith in eternal life - "Psychical research" of the kind advocated by Mr.Myers can bring no help – We can never believe in heaven while our dreams of the future centre in self - Mysticism and the problem of evil - Conclusion

208 pages, 11.4 MB, PDF. Scan.





More from GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM 4shared folder:

Mosley and Hill - The Power of Prayer around the World



There are as many different ways to pray as there are faiths in the world. Mosley and Hill describe the various methods and offer tips on using the most appropriate ones at the most effective times. Some prayers are informal and conversational, others ask for specific results, and still others take place in a church or other institutional setting. Mosley and Hill advise anyone who wants to pray more effectively and with greater satisfaction to try several approaches, depending on one's attitude at the moment and on the particular situation. For example, instead of pacing up and down at an airport waiting for the flight to depart, practice simple meditation techniques to instill peace and tranquility. Mosley and Hill also examine how prayer is used in different religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Most people may learn nothing new from this slim book, but especially those who have neglected the art of prayer will probably appreciate its support and encouragement. June Sawyers

Universally, the power of prayer has being recognized by many cultures for immeasurable time. Whether it be a part of a formal service recited with a congregation of worshipers or an individual, quiet moment, prayer is part of the lives of people from a variety of religions. There seems to be an innate urge among humanity to connect with a higher source of energy and love when we need guidance or direction, and this is called prayer. By reading prayers from religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, from cultures in Africa, India, Egypt and China, we begin to share the sense of a common experience. The deepest inner feelings and longings are similar, concern for family, assistance in healing, a longing for peace, or a wish for a greater wisdom. Prayer then becomes more than a means to an end; it becomes a state of humility and of awe. It can exist whether we are washing the floor or composing a symphony. Prayer is communion with the Divine, a universal loving creative force that exists in a variety of ways for people around the world. This book brings together an inspirational collection of prayer suitable to all ages and traditions. In addition, it offers insight and guidance about the nature of prayer that will be useful for the serious seeker.

105 pages, 1.42 MB, PDF. Scan.




Panayotis Tzamalikos - Origen: Cosmology and Ontology of Time



"Professor Panayotis Tzamalikos has become a recognised authority on Origen's understanding of Time. This erudite and closely argued new study sheds further light on a pivotal theme in Origen's thought, uncovering generalised misapprehensions about 'Platonism' and 'Greek views' of complex issues. A fine achievement.' George Newlands, (Professor of Divinity, University of Glasgow)."

Origen's Cosmology and Ontology of Time constitute a major catalyst and a massive transformation in the development of Christian doctrine. The author challenges the widespread impression about this theology being bowled head over heels by its encounter with Platonism, Gnosticism, or Neoplatonism, and casts new light on Origen's grasp of the relation between Hellenism, Hebrew thought and Christianity. Against all ancient and modern accounts, the ingrained claim that Origen sustained the theory of a beginningless world is disconfirmed. He is argued to be the anticipator and forerunner of critical notions, with his innovations never having been superseded. While some of the accounts afforded by subsequent Christian writers were more extended, they were not fuller. Of them, Augustine just fell short of even accurately echoing this Theory of Time, since he introduced affinity with Platonism at points where Origen had instituted a radical dissimilarity. With his background fruitfully brought into the study of these questions, Origen's propositions are genuine innovations, not mere advances, however massive.

422 pages, 15.5 MB, PDF. Scan.





Brian Ogren - Renaissance and Rebirth, Reincarnation in Early Modern Italian Kabbalah



Metempsychosis was a prominent element in Renaissance conceptualizations of the human being, the universe, and the place of the human person in the universe. A variety concepts emerged in debates about metempsychosis: human to human reincarnation, human to vegetal, human to animal, and human to angelic transmigration. As a complex and changing doctrine, metempsychosis gives us a well-placed window for viewing the complex and dynamic contours of Jewish thought in late fifteenth century Italy; as such, it enables us to evaluate Jewish thought in relation to non-Jewish Italian developments. This book addresses the problematic question of the roles and achievements of Jews who lived in Italy in the development of Renaissance culture in its Jewish and its Christian dimensions.

333 pages, 2.86 MB, PDF.





Archimandrite George - The Lords Prayer



Meanings in Gospel discourse are formulated in the Holy Spirit and therefore with enduring value and a view to eternity.

Every teaching, parable, story and description, as well as every phrase, every word and ever "detail" contained in the Gospel οf Christ is οf greatest depth and significance. These αre not exhαusted by α mere superficiαl interpretαtion, the most our own poor spiritual measure can conceive. This is αlso true οf the God-given prαyer known to αs ''Our Father", which the Lord Himself gαve to His Church as αn exαmple οf prαyer for αll of us.

Our Holy Fαthers lived the Gospel of Christ. They kept His holy commαndments. Their life, their discourse became extensions of the Gospel, αnd their experience in the Spirit οf God enriches the holy Tradition οf the Church. They reveαl the great depth ofthe sαving words οf the Lord Christ αnd prove thαt His commandments "are not heavy", but cαn be αpplied by Christiαns in αny αge, αnd thus they keep control over our lαck οf faith, neglect αnd sloth. With our old and modern Holy Fαthers αs interpreters of the Lord's Prαyer, we investigate αnd touch its depths, directing it to the Lord.

46 pages, 7.88 MB, PDF. Scan.





Boesel & Keller - Apophatic Bodies, Negative Theology, Incarnation and Relationality



The ancient doctrine of negative theology or apophasis--the attempt to describe God by speaking only of what cannot be said about the divine perfection and goodness--has taken on new life in the concern with language and its limits that preoccupies much postmodern philosophy, theology, and related disciplines. How does this mystical tradition intersect with the concern with material bodies that is simultaneously a focus in these areas? This volume pursues the unlikely conjunction of apophasis and the body, not for the cachet of the "cutting edge" but rather out of an ethical passion for the integrity of all creaturely bodies as they are caughtup in various ideological mechanisms--religious, theological, political, economic--that threaten their dignity and material well-being. The contributors, a diverse collection of scholars in theology, philosophy, history, and biblical studies, rethink the relationship between the concrete tradition of negative theology and apophatic discourses widely construed. They further endeavor to link these to the theological theme of incarnation and more general issues of embodiment, sexuality, and cosmology. Along the way, they engage and deploy the resources of contextual and liberation theology, post-structuralism, postcolonialism, process thought, and feminism.The result not only recasts the nature and possibilities of theological discourse but explores the possibilities of academic discussion across and beyond disciplines in concrete engagement with the well-being of bodies, both organic and inorganic. The volume interrogates the complex capacities of religious discourse both to threaten and positively to draw upon the material well-being of creation.

481 pages, 1.94 MB, PDF.





Richard J. Foster - Celebration of Discipline



When Richard Foster began writing Celebration of Discipline more than 20 years ago, an older writer gave him a bit of advice: "Be sure that every chapter forces the reader into the next chapter." Foster took the advice to heart; as a result, his book presents one of the most compelling and readable visions of Christian spirituality published in the past few decades. After beginning with a simple observation--"Superficiality is the curse of our age.... The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people"--Foster's book moves to explain the disciplines people must cultivate in order to achieve spiritual depth. In succinct, urgent, and sometimes humorous chapters, Foster defines a broad range of classic spiritual disciplines in terms that are lucid without being too limiting and offers advice that's practical without being overly prescriptive. For instance, after describing meditation as a combination of "intense intimacy and awful reverence," he settles into such down-to-earth topics as how to choose a place and a posture in which to meditate.

Perhaps most interesting and useful is Foster's chapter on the controversial Christian discipline of submission. According to Foster, submission does not demand self-hatred or loss of identity. Instead, it simply means growing secure in the conviction that "our happiness is not dependent on getting what we want" but on the fulfillment that naturally flows from love of one's neighbors. Such wise and encouraging suggestions have helped many readers to discard the idea that discipline is an onerous duty and to move toward a liberating and simpler idea of discipline--whose defining character, as Foster never forgets, is joy. --Michael Joseph Gross

Contents

Foreword by D. Elton Trueblood
Introduction
1. The Spiritual Disciplines: Door to Liberation

Part I. The Inward Disciplines

2. Meditation
3. Prayer
4. Fasting
5. Study

Part II. The Outward Disciplines

6. Simplicity
7. Solitude
8. Submission
9. Service

Part III. The Corporate Disciplines

10. Confession
11. Worship
12. Guidance
13. Celebration
In Celebration of Celebration of Discipline
358 pages, 1.24 MB, PDF.





Richard J. Foster - Life with God, Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation



Starred Review. Foster (Celebration of Discipline) has built a career exploring foundational spiritual practices like fasting, prayer, study and worship. Here he zeroes in on Bible study to help Christians grow in their faith. Although Bible study is nothing if not a well-trod topic, Foster breathes new life into it by drawing on ancient resources: he is especially interested in the age-old practice of lectio divina, sacred reading that requires the attention of both mind and heart. Foster cautions several times that lectio divina is neither a magical solution to problems nor an approach that bypasses the living God by treating the Scriptures as a sort of Ouija board. He warns that the Bible is also not an owner's manual for successful living or even moral living; we shouldn't read it merely to serve our own needs. Rather, lectio divina offers an invitation to enter the Bible as a story (or a complex group of stories) and enter its river of life. As usual, Foster's work is not for those readers who are seeking quick answers or a behavioral checklist of what the Bible says they should do. Rather, it is a deep reflective guide to spiritual rumination and growth.

243 pages, 710 KB, PDF.




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GNOSTICISM AND CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM:



KABBALAH-QABALAH:



NEOPLATONISM, PLATONISM AND PYTHAGOREANS:

Parke-Taylor - Yahweh: The Divine Name in the Bible



Table of Contents

Title Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
I The Name of God
II The Tetragrammaton Before Moses
III The God of the Fathers
IV The God of Moses
V The Tetragrammaton in the Old Testament
VI The Tetragrammaton Within Judaism
VII The Tetragrammaton Within Christianity
Select Bibliography
Index of Biblical References
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects

145 pages, 3.37 MB, PDF. Scan.





A.M. Cassiday - Evagrius Ponticus: the Early Church Fathers



Evagrius Ponticus (c.345–99) was a seminal figure for Eastern monasticism and had a strong influence on Western monasticism as well. He left more writings than any other father from the Egyptian desert. However, many of his writings were lost after he was condemned as an Origenist in the sixth century. During the twentieth century, numerous works were recovered (especially in ancient oriental translations from the original Greek) but very few of these works are available in English translation; many of them are not readily available at all.

This collection presents complete works drawn from the full range of his writings, many of which have not previously appeared in English, offering translations of some of Evagrius’ letters, his notes on various books of the Bible, his treatises and his ‘chapters’ (a genre popularised by Evagrius that consists of condensed, interconnected sentences). All of the works included here are translated in full. The translations aim to present the material accurately and accessibly. The volume is prefaced by a substantial introductory essay that presents Evagrius, his works and influence, and modern scholarship about him in a way that is of great use to students and also comprehensible to beginners.

Christian mystic and writer whose development of a theology of contemplative prayer and asceticism laid the groundwork for a tradition of spiritual life in both Eastern and Western churches.

Evagrius was a noted preacher and theological consultant in Constantinople when a personal spiritual crisis prompted him to leave for Jerusalem to become a monk. He soon withdrew into the Egyptian desert, where he spent the rest of his life evolving his mystical theology in theory and practice while he supported himself by copying manuscripts.

Historical research since 1920 has suggested that Evagrius produced the first major philosophical–theological exposition of monastic mysticism by developing the Neoplatonic biblical theology of the 3rd-century Christian teacher Origen. Evagrius’ Gnostic Centuries emphasized that the essential function of spiritual beings is to experience union with God, the transcendent One, expressed as pure light. Because of an original, alienating fault, the intellectual world, notably man, can find reconciliation only by an ascetical, self-mortifying process whereby the spirit regains its rule over matter and realizes its capacity to experience the divine simplicity. Evagrius’ other written works, only fragments of which are extant in the original Greek, survive mainly in Syriac and Latin translations. They include the Monachikos (“The Monastic Life”), a treatise, “On the Eight Principal Vices,” and several biblical commentaries.

His spiritual doctrine affected Christianity in the Greek tradition through the 6th-century Neoplatonic philosopher-mystic Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the 7th-century mystical theologian Maximus the Confessor, and the 14th-century Byzantine monastic centre at Mt. Athos in northeastern Greece. In the Latin culture, he inspired the 5th-century monastic writer John Cassian. Western Christianity, however, has long suspected Evagrius of heresy. His teachings were denounced by the second general Council of Constantinople in 553 as permeated with Origenist errors, viz., subordinationist views on the Trinity, and the doctrine of the preexistence of souls. Nevertheless, he is considered the great doctor of mystical theology among the Syrians and other Eastern Christians, and his philosophy is sometimes seen as the Christian analogue of Zen Buddhism.

265 pages, 935 KB, PDF.





J. Christopher King - Origen on the Song of Songs as the Spirit of Scripture



Christian exegesis of the Song of Songs has long interacted creatively with - and, more recently, reacted critically against - the allegorical interpretation developed by Origen of Alexandria (c.185-c.254) in his Commentary and two Homilies on the Song of Songs. Interest in Origen's exegesis of the Song's narrative elements has dominated past scholarship, which has almost entirely ignored how Origen assesses the Song itself, in its unity as a revealed text. This study aims to show that the Commentary and Homilies - when read in light of Origen's hermeneutic, his nuptial theology, his understanding of the prophetic mediation of inspired texts, and his doctrine of last things - clearly portray the Song of Songs itself as the divine Bridegroom's perfect marriage-song. As such, it mediates Christ's eschatological presence, as the 'spirit' of Scripture, in and through the intelligible structures of the text itself.

Contents

Abbreviations
Introduction

1. Origen and the spiritual reading of the Song of Songs
2. Origen, the nuptial motif, and the Song of Songs
3. Origen’s grounds for the wholly spiritual reading of the Song of Songs
4. Origen on the hermeneutical unity of the Song of Songs
5. Origen on the hermeneutical finality of the Song of Songs

Conclusion: the Song of Songs as the spirit of Scripture
Select bibliography
Index

305 pages, 3.14 MB, PDF.





Evagrius of Pontus - The Greek Ascetic Corpus



Evagrius of Pontus (c.345-399) was one of the most prominent figures among the monks of the desert settlements of Nitria, Sketis, and Kellia in Lower Egypt. Through the course of his ascetic writings he formulated a systematic presentation of the teaching of the semi-eremitic monks of these settlements. The works of Evagrius had a profound influence on Eastern Orthodox monastic teaching and passed to the West through the writings of John Cassian (c.365-435). This is the first complete English translation of Evagrius' Greek ascetic writings, based on modern critical editions, where available, and, where they are not, on collations of the principal manuscripts. Two appendices provide variant readings for the Greek texts and the complete text of the long recension of Eulogios. The translations are accompanied by a commentary to guide the reader through the intricacies of Evagrian thought by offering explanatory comments and references to other Evagrian texts and relevant scholarly literature. Finally, detailed indexes are provided to allow the reader to identify and study the numerous themes of Evagrian teaching.

Contents:

Abbreviations
Introduction

TRANSLATION

1. The Foundations of the Monastic Life: A Presentation of the
Practice of Stillness
2. To Eulogios. On the Confession of Thoughts and Counsel
in their Regard
3. [To Eulogios.] On the Vices Opposed to the Virtues
4. On the Eight Thoughts
5. The Monk A Treatise on the Practical Life
6. To Monks in Monasteries and Communities and Exhortation
to a Virgin
7. On Thoughts
8. Chapters on Prayer
9. Reflections
10. Exhortations 1-2 to Monks
11. Thirty- Th ree Ordered Chapters
12. Maxims 1-3
Commentary
Appendix i: Variant readings
Appendix 2: Eulogios—Text of Lavra

410 pages, 4.5 MB, PDF. Scan.





Norman Russell - The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition



Deification in the Greek patristic tradition was the fulfillment of the destiny for which humanity was created - not merely salvation from sin but entry into the fullness of the divine life of the Trinity. This book, the first on the subject for over sixty years, traces the history of deification from its birth as a second-century metaphor with biblical roots to its maturity as a doctrine central to the spiritual life of the Byzantine Church. Drawing attention to the richness and diversity of the patristic approaches from Irenaeus to Maximus the Confessor, Norman Russell offers a full discussion of the background and context of the doctrine, at the same time highlighting its distinctively Christian character.

433 pages, 3.8 MB, PDF.





Eric Butterworth - The Universe Is Calling: Opening to the Divine through Prayer



The popular Unity minister who authored the acclaimed Discover the Power Within You offers a non-theological, non-ritualistic guide to prayer for contemporary seekers of oneness, guidance, and self-regulation.

193 pages, 1.88 MB, PDF.





Friedrich Heiler – Prayer: a Study in the History and Psychology of Religion



This comprehensive study explores the central role of prayer through the ages, from ancient indigenous prayer rituals to today's large-scale public worship.

Prayer is the great bond of union of Christendom; and not only of Christendom, but of all mankind. Prayer is the most tangible proof of the fact that the whole of mankind is seeking after God; or - to put it more correctly - that it is sought by God. Mankind at prayer is a proof of the universal revelation of God. For it is precisely in prayer that we have revealed to us the essential element of all religion, which Friedrich von Hugel, as well as Nathan Soderblom, were never tired of pointing out, viz.: the prevenience and givenness of the grace of God. Prayer is not man's work, or discovery or achievement; but God's work in man-" for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." (Rom. 8.26).

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Prayer as the Central Thenomenon of Religion
Sources for the Study of Prayer
(a) Prayers
(b) Personal Testimonies about Prayer
(c) Purely External Testimonies

CHAPTER I - PRIMITIVE PRAYER

CHAPTER II - RITUAL PRAYER

CHAPTER III - PRAYER IN THE RELIGION OF GREEK CIVILIZATION

CHAPTER IV - CRITIQUE AND IDEAL OF PRAYER IN PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT

CHAPTER V - PRAYER IN THE EXPERIENCE OF GREAT RELIGIOUS PERSONALITIES

CHAPTER VI - GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MYSTICISM AND PROPHETIC RELIGION

CHAPTER VII - PRAYER IN MYSTICISM

CHAPTER VIII - THE VARIANTS OF MYSTICAL PRAYER

CHAPTER IX - PRAYER IN PROPHETIC RELIGION

CHAPTER X - THE PERSONAL PRAYER OF GREAT MEN. POETS AND ARTISTS

CHAPTER XI - PRAYER IN PUBLIC WORSHIP

CHAPTER XII - PERSONAL PRAYER AS A LAW OF DUTY AND GOOD WORKS

CHAPTER XIII - THE ESSENCE OF PRAYER

409 pages, 4.9 MB, PDF. Scan.





Larry W. Hurtado - Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity



This outstanding book provides an in-depth historical study of the place of Jesus in the religious life, beliefs, and worship of Christians from the beginnings of the Christian movement down to the late second century.
"Lord Jesus Christ" is a monumental work on earliest Christian devotion to Jesus, sure to replace Wilhelm Bousset's "Kyrios Christos" (1913) as the standard work on the subject. Larry Hurtado, widely respected for his previous contributions to the study of the New Testament and Christian origins, offers the best view to date of how the first Christians saw and reverenced Jesus as divine. In assembling this compelling picture, Hurtado draws on a wide body of ancient sources, from Scripture and the writings of such figures as Ignatius of Antioch and Justin to apocryphal texts such as the "Gospel of Thomas" and the "Gospel of Truth."

Hurtado considers such themes as early beliefs about Jesus' divine status and significance, but he also explores telling devotional practices of the time, including prayer and worship, the use of Jesus' name in exorcism, baptism and healing, ritual invocation of Jesus as "Lord," martyrdom, and lesser-known phenomena such as prayer postures and the curious scribal practice known today as the "nomina sacra."

The revealing portrait that emerges from Hurtado's comprehensive study yields definitive answers to questions like these: How important was this formative period to later Christian tradition? When did the divinization of Jesus first occur? Was early Christianity influenced by neighboring religions? How did the idea of Jesus' divinity change old views of God? And why did the powerful dynamics of early beliefs and practices encourage people to make the costly move of becoming a Christian?

Boasting an unprecedented breadth and depth of coverage — the book speaks authoritatively on everything from early Christian history to themes in biblical studies to New Testament Christology — Hurtado's "Lord Jesus Christ" is at once significant enough that a wide range of scholars will want to read it and accessible enough that general readers interested at all in Christian origins will also profit greatly from it.

768 pages, 55.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Kevin Corrigan - Evagrius and Gregory: Mind, Soul and Body in the 4th Century



Evagrius of Pontus and Gregory of Nyssa have either been overlooked by philosophers and theologians in modern times, or overshadowed by their prominent friend and brother (respectively), Gregory Nazianzus and Basil the Great. Yet they are major figures in the development of Christian thought in late antiquity and their works express a unique combination of desert and urban spiritualities in the lived and somewhat turbulent experience of an entire age. They also provide a significant link between the great ancient thinkers of the past – Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Clement and others – and the birth and transmission of the early Medieval period – associated with Boethius, Cassian and Augustine.

This book makes accessible, to a wide audience, the thought of Evagrius and Gregory on the mind, soul and body, in the context of ancient philosophy/theology and the Cappadocians generally. Corrigan argues that in these two figures we witness the birth of new forms of thought and science. Evagrius and Gregory are no mere receivers of a monolithic pagan and Christian tradition, but innovative, critical interpreters of the range and limits of cognitive psychology, the soul–body relation, reflexive self-knowledge, personal and human identity and the soul’s practical relation to goodness in the context of human experience and divine selfdisclosure. This book provides a critical evaluation of their thought on these major issues and argues that in Evagrius and Gregory we see the important integration of many different concerns that later Christian thought was not always able to balance including: mysticism, asceticism, cognitive science, philosophy, and theology.

Contents: Preface; Evagrius and Gregory: ascetic master, pastoral father; Christian upheavals; Mind, soul, body; an overview of Evagrius' and Gregory's thought; The meaning and scope of impassibility or purity of heart in Evagrius and Gregory; Uncovering the origins and structure of the 7 deadly sins tradition: Evagrius and the 8 'reasonings'; Gregory and the fall of intellect; Body into mind: the scientific eye in Evagrius; Gregory's anthropology: Trinity, humanity and body-soul formation; The human in the divine: the dialogical expansion of mind and heart in Evagrius; Pathways into infinity: Gregory of Nyssa and the mystical life; General conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

256 pages, 4.3 MB, PDF.





The Phenomenology of Prayer (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy)



This collection of ground-breaking essays considers the many dimensions of prayer: how prayer relates us to the divine; prayer's ability to reveal what is essential about our humanity; the power of prayer to transform human desire and action; and the relation of prayer to cognition. It takes up the meaning of prayer from within a uniquely phenomenological point of view, demonstrating that the phenomenology of prayer is as much about the character and boundaries of phenomenological analysis as it is about the heart of religious life.

312 pages, 2.49 MB, PDF.





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Julius Evola - Meditations on the Peaks: Mountain Climbing as Metaphor for the Spiritual Quest



Evola articulates the close relationship between the physical rigors of mountain climbing and the ascent of the initiate toward self-transcendence.

Julius Evola, a leading exponent of esoteric thought, was also an ardent mountain climber who personally scaled the peaks of the Tyrols, Alps, and Dolomites. For Evola the physical conquest of a mountain, with all the courage, self-transcendence and mental lucidity that it entails, becomes an inseparable and complementary part of spiritual awakening. It is no coincidence that many ancient cultures chose mountains as the abodes of their gods and considered the rigorous ascent of peaks as the task of heroes and initiates. In modern times, which tend to suffocate the heroic with naked self interest, the mountain still forms part of the profound dimension of spirit where the soul finds within itself more than what it thought itself to be. In Meditations on the Peaks, Evola combines recollections of his own experiences with reflections on other inspirational men and women who shared his view of the transcendent greatness of mountains.

116 pages, 1.11 MB, PDF. Scan.





Douglas Burton-Christie - The Word in the Desert, Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism



The growing scholarly attention in recent years to the religious world of late antiquity has focused new attention on the quest for holiness by the strange, compelling, often obscure early Christian monks known as the desert fathers. Yet until now, little attention has been given to one of the most vital dimensions of their spirituality: their astute, penetrating interpretation of Scripture. Rooted in solitude, cultivated in an atmosphere of silence, oriented toward the practical appropriation of the sacred texts, the desert fathers' hermeneutic profoundly shaped every aspect of their lives and became a significant part of their legacy. This book explores the setting within which the early monastic movement emerged, the interpretive process at the center of the desert fathers' quest for holiness, and the intricate patterns of meaning woven into their words and their lives.

353 pages, 18 MB, PDF. Scan.





D.T. Suzuki – Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist



This book has no pretension to be a thorough, systematic study of the subject. It is more or less a collection of studies the author has written from time to time in the course of his readings, especially of Meister Eckhart as representative of Christian mysticism. For Eckhart's thoughts come most closely to those of Zen and Shin. Zen and Shin superficially differ: one is known as Jiriki, the "self-power" school, while the other is Tariki, the "other-power" school. But there is something common to both, which will be felt by the reader. Eckhart, Zen, and Shin thus can be grouped together as belonging to the great school of mysticism. The underlying chain of relationship among the three may not be always obvious in the following pages. The author's hope, however, is that they are provocative enough to induce Western scholars to take up the subject for their study.

CONTENTS

Preface
1 Meister Eckhart and Buddhism
2 The Basis of Buddhist Philosophy
3 ‘A Little Point’ and Satori
4 Living in the Light of Eternity
5 Transmigration
6 Crucifixion and Enlightenment
7 Kono-mama (‘I Am That I Am’)
8 Notes on ‘Namu-amida-butsu’
9 Rennyo’s Letters
10 From Saichi’s Journals
Notes

209 pages, 607 KB, PDF.





Timothy Lim - The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction



Everyone has heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but amidst the conspiracies, the politics, and the sensational claims, it can be dificult to separate the myths from the reality. Timothy Lim here presents the true facts and leading theories behind the cultural and historical background of the scrolls, and examines their significance for our understanding of the Old Testament and the origins of Christianity and Judaism. He also tells the fascinating story of the scrolls since their discovery, explains the science behind their deciphering and dating, and does not omit the cast of characters, scandals, and controversies that have hastened the scrolls' rise to the status of cultural icon.

153 pages, 2.37 MB, PDF.





J. Glen Taylor - Yahweh and the Sun: Biblical and Archaeological Evidence for Sun Worship in Ancient Israel



This challenging provocative book argues that there was in ancient Israel a considerable degree of overlap between the worship of the sun and of Yahweh-even that Yahweh was worshipped as the sun in some contexts. As an object created not by humankind but by God himself, the sun as an object of veneration lay outside the bounds of the second commandment and was considered by many to be an appropriate 'icon' of Yahweh of Hosts. Through its ivestigation of 'solar Yahwism', this book offers fresh insight into several passages (e.g.Genesis 1; 32.23-33; Joshua 10.12-14; 1 Kings 8.12; Ezekiel 8.16-18; Psalms 19; 104) and archaeological data regarding the orientations of Yawistic temples, the "lmlk" jar handles, horse figurines, and the Taanach cult stand. The book argues that the struggle between Yahweh and other deities in ancint Israel took place within the context of the development of Yahwism itself.

321 pages, 6.18 MB, PDF. Scan.





Mirecki, BeDuhn - The Light and the Darkness, Studies in Manichaeism and Its World (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies)



This is the second volume of scholarly studies in Manichaeism which were originally presented before the Manichaean Studies Group of the Society of Biblical Literature from 1997 through 1999. Like its predecessor, Emerging from Darkness: Studies in the Recovery of Manichaean Sources (Brill, 1997), this volume presents international scholarship from leading researchers in the growing field of Manichaean studies. Here the researchers move from the continuing foundational work of recovering Manichaean sources to the necessary task of understanding the relationship of Manichaeans to the larger world in which they lived. That relationship took several distinct forms, and the contributions in this book analyze those forms, examining the relationship of Manichaeism with diverse cultural, social and religious traditions.

232 pages, 51 MB, PDF. Scan.





Conrad Rudolph - Reading the Text of Hugh of St Victor's Mystic Arc



„Perhaps nowhere in medieval culture do art, science, and theology better converge than in Hugh of Saint Victor's The Mystic Ark, a work that was conceived, not coincidentally, at a moment of previously unrivalled con troversy over art and of perceived threat by science to theology. The time was one of enormous social, intellectual, and political change; change in which the emerging and often contentious schools of Europe played a central role, particularly in the crucial areas of science and the systemati zation of theology. The Mystic Ark is the name of both a painting made by Hugh for the school of Saint Victor and the text that describes it, the two being created sometime from 1125 to early 1130. It was no accident that it was from within this highly charged and itself radically changing world of the education of the intellectual elite that The Mystic Ark originated.

The Painting of The Mystic Ark presents an elaborate visual summary of the entire history of salvation in a religious sense, all of human history that matters from the beginning until the end of time, pointedly in association with all of creation, both spiritual and physical, and under divine dispensation. Imposed on top of this universal history and fully integrated with it is a complex schema of individual salvation that is also related to the salvation of humankind as a whole.

More specifically, the painting effects its meaning through the depiction of Christ embracing the cosmos, with the six days of creation pro ceeding from his mouth. The cosmos is composed of the three cosmic zones of ether, air, and earth, all of which is heavily dependent on figurai forms found in the traditions of pedagogic schemata (Figs. 2 and 4). The zone of ether is indicated by the representations of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac and the Twelve Months, arranged in two concentric rings. In the region of air, the Twelve Winds are portrayed along with a rather complete quaternary harmony. Through the earth fully represented as a mappa mundi, itself a major vehicle for Hugh's theoretical views on the history of salvation the Chosen People are shown, first wandering from Egypt to the Promised Land, and then being dragged off into captivity in Babylon (Fig. 5, no. 18, 19). Symbolically coterminous with the earth, an image of the Ark of Noah is the focus of this complex composition, an image that is meant to be understood as holding four exegetically dis tinct readings as the Ark of Noah, the Ark of the Church, the Ark of Wisdom, and the Ark of Mother Grace.“

123 pages, 15.3 MB, PDF. Scan.





Gordon L. Miller - The Way of the English Mystics



A distinctive feature of Western religous life in recent years has been the rediscovery of the contemplative tradition in Christianity. Within the Christian mystical tradition, England holds a unique place, with a number of major figures from the Middle Ages and later whose writings have fascinated generations of readers. This book presents seven of them, five from the medieval period, the golden age of English mysticism - Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe; and two from later centuries - William Law and George Herbert. Each chapter consists of an introductory essay on the life and writings of each individual, followed by carefully chosen extracts from their writings. Those from the medieval period are in fresh new translations. All these writers see the spiritual life as an ongoing process, a pilgrimage. This inner pigrimage requires no outer excursions, but throughout the ages spiritual pilgrims have undertaken physical pilgrimages as well. One aim of this book is to encourage its readers to continue this tradition by visiting sites from which the writings arose.So each chapter is provided with a map of the area of immediate interest and a drawing of the place most associated with each figure, and the introductory essays contain practical information about how to get there. No other anthology of mystical and spiritual writings describes the lives and locations of these individuals in this way. Gordon L. Miller, Ph.D., is a writer and historian living near Seattle, Washington. He attended Milligan College and Christian Theological Seminary. This book developed from a period of post-graduate study at Cambridge University , when he visited the sites described in the book, a journey which, he says, "made the historical grounding of the English mystical tradition much more real to me". He is also the author of Wisdom of the Earth: Visions of an Ecological Faith.

190 pages, 6.98 MB, PDF. Scan.

Benedicta Ward - The Sayings of the Desert Fathers



The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalized and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the Church, they were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer, and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel. First recorded in the fourth century, their Sayings-consisting of spiritual advice, anecdotes, parables, and reflections on life-influenced the rule of St. Benedict, set the pattern for Western monasticism, and have inspired centuries of poetry, opera, and art.

Organized around key themes-Charity, Fortitude, Lust, Patience, Prayer, Self-control, and Visions-this edition of the Sayings is fresh, accessible, and authoritative

302 pages, 1.3 MB, PDF.





Michael Haad - The Templars: History & Myth



An order of warrior monks founded after the First Crusade to protect pilgrims to Jerusalem, the Templars developed into one of the wealthiest and most powerful bodies in the medieval world. Yet two centuries later, the Knights were suddenly arrested and accused of blasphemy, heresy and orgies, their order was abolished, and their leaders burnt at the stake. Their dramatic end shocked their contemporaries and has gripped people's imaginations ever since. This new book explains the whole context of Templar history, including, for the first time, the new evidence discovered by the Vatican that the Templars were not guilty of heresy. It covers the whole swathe of Templar history, from its origins in the mysteries of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem through to the nineteenth century development of the Freemasons. The book also features a guide to Templar castles and sites, and coverage of the Templars in books, movies and popular culture, from "Indiana Jones" to the Xbox360 game Assassin's Creed.

193 pages, 1.08 MB, PDF.





Steven Fanning - Mystics of the Christian Tradition



From divine visions to self-tortures, some strange mystical experiences have shaped the Christian tradition as we know it. Full of colourful detail, Mystics of the Christian Tradition examines the mystical experiences that have determined the history of Christianity over two thousand years, and reveals the often sexual nature of these encounters with the divine.

In this fascinating account, Fanning reveals how God's direct revelation to St Francis of Assisi led to his living with lepers and kissing their sores, and describes the mystical life of Margery Kempe who 'took weeping to new decibel levels'. Through presenting the lives of almost a hundred mystics, this broad survey invites us to consider what it means to be a mystic and to explore how people such as Joan of Arc had their lives determined by divine visions.

Mystics of the Christian Tradition is a comprehensive guide to discovering what mysticism means and who the mystics of the Christian tradition actually were.

300 pages, 2.07 MB, PDF.




Casper Labuschagne - Numerical Secrets of the Bible: Rediscovering the Bible Codes



Were you intrigued, but disappointed by The Bible Code?

Labuschagne's book is not the work of an amateur, but was written by one of Europe's leading biblical scholars and deals with one of the most important recent discoveries in the field of biblical study, namely that the books of the Bible are numerical compositions. The biblical writings were not written in an off-hand manner, but were meticulously composed according to compositional techniques in which the counting of words plays a crucial role. It goes without saying that this discovery has far-reaching consequences for our views on the formation and the structure of the text of the Hebrew Bible and of the Greek text of the New Testament.

The author introduces the reader to the fascinating world of number symbolism in biblical times, he demonstrates how well-known symbolic numbers, such as 7 and 12, and especially the lesser known holy numbers 17 and 26, which represent the numerical value of the name YHWH, were used to give structure to the text and to deepen its contents.

Among other fascinating findings, this study confirms the medieval Jewish tradition that Holy Scripture consists of the name of God set in succession, or interwoven in the fabric of the text.

211 pages, 5.92 MB, PDF.





David Brakke - Demons and the Making of the Monk; Spiritual Combat in Early Christianity



Demons--whether in embodied form or as inward temptation--make vivid appearances in early Christian monastic literature. In this finely written study of demonology and Christian spirituality in fourth- and fifth-century Egypt, David Brakke examines how the conception of the monk as a holy and virtuous being was shaped by the combative encounter with demons.
Brakke studies the "making of the monk" from two perspectives. First, he describes the social and religious identities that monastic authors imagined for the demon-fighting monk: the new martyr who fights against the pagan gods, the gnostic who believes he knows both the tricks of the demons and the secrets of God, and the prophet who discerns the hidden presence of Satan even among good Christians. Then he employs recent theoretical ideas about gender and racial stereotyping to interpret accounts of demon encounters, especially those in which demons appear as the Other--as Ethiopians, as women, or as pagan gods.

Drawing on biographies of exceptional monks, collections of monastic sayings and stories, letters from ascetic teachers to their disciples, sermons, and community rules, Brakke crafts a compelling picture of the embattled religious celibate. Demons and the Making of the Monk is an insightful and innovative exploration of the development of Christian monasticism.

324 pages, 5.05 MB, PDF.





Christian Apocrypha and Early Christian Gospels



A wide range of texts -- some showing Gnostic tendancy or influence -- survived within the Christian tradition outside of the New Testiment canon. This section of the library offers a large collection of these documents. Note that texts discovered in the Nag Hammadi collection are listed in the Nag Hammadi Library section, and are not included here. Texts of a primarily Gnostic character are cataloged in the Gnostic Scriptures and Fragments section of the Library

Contents
Apocryphal Acts
• The Acts of Andrew
• The Acts and Martyrdom of Andrew
• The Acts of Andrew and Matthew
• The Acts of Barnabas
• The Acts of John
• The Acts of John the Theologian
• The Acts and Martyrdom of Matthew
• The Martyrdom of Matthew
• The Acts of Paul
• The Acts of Peter
• The Acts of Peter and Andrew
• The Acts of Peter and Paul
• The Acts of Philip
• The Acts of Thomas
• The Consummation of Thomas
Apocalyptic Texts
• The Revelation of John the Theologian
• The Revelation (or Vision) of Paul (from the Ante-Nicene Fathers)
The Revelation of Paul (another version, source is not identified)
• The Apocalypse of Peter (from the Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol X.) Note that an entirely different text of this name is found in the Nag Hammadi Library.
The Apocalypse of Peter (another translation, from The Apocryphal New Testament)
• The Revelation of Stephen
• The Apocalypse of Thomas
• The Apocalypse of the Virgin
Apocryphal Gospels
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text A
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Greek Text B
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Latin Text
• A Compilation of the Thomas Texts (c. 5th Century)
• An Arabic Infancy Gospel
• The Gospel of James
• The Gospel of the Nativity of Mary
• The Gospel of Mary of Bethany (or Magdalene)
• The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
• The Gospel of Nicodemos (The Acts of Pilate)
• The Gospel of Bartholomew
• The Gospel of Peter
• The Gospel of the Lord by Marcion
• The Secret Gospel of Mark

Other Early Christian Writings
• Didache.
• The Shepherd of Hermas
• The Epistles of Jesus Christ and Abgarus, King of Edessa.
• Ephraim of Syria`s The Pearl: Seven Hymns on the Faith.
• Ephraim of Syria`s Hymn Against Bar-Daisan.
• The Epistle of the Apostles.
• The Teachings of Addeus the Apostle.

487 pages, 3.37 MB, PDF.





Joannes Richter - Secret Colour Codes in the Bible



Contents

Introduction
The National Library
Ancient Egyptian Arts
Medieval paintings
Birds as religious Symbols
Colouring codes in the Pentateuch
Androgynous Adam in the 2nd century AD
Codings for androgynous symbolism
Early Hebrew Bibles
The Zohar
Colour Codings in the medieval Bibles
Categorizing Bibles
Red & blue Initials
Heading lines
Numbering lines
Initial lines
Genealogical trees
Background colours
The divine garments
Garments for the Creator God
Creation of Adam and resolving Eve
Identification of colouring symbols
Modern androgynous symbolism
The Russian tri-colour Banner
Other modern Banners
Conclusion

72 pages, 9.03 MB, PDF.





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Daniel P. Schrock - The Dark Night A Gift of God



Schrock is a gifted pastor and spiritual guide who has gained rich insights into what occurs as one lives seriously the Christian life of prayer and service. As he knows from his studies and his experience as a pastor and confidant, Schrock has learned much about the darkness that often descends on one in varying degrees and intensity as one grows as a disciple of Jesus Christ. In this book he shares what he has discovered about the darkness that descends like a disturbing shadow over the spiritual life of those who have passed beyond the beginning stage of the Christian walk. This initial stage is a time when one’s enthusiasm for the Lord dominates one’s feelings. The dark night is a process of maturation, a time to become a more loving Christian.

One never has to guess what Schrock means as he explores the dark night. He is always clear, and he writes with a fresh, engaging, and even passionate style. Moreover, Schrock wears his wisdom lightly. He has a profound respect for those whom he pastors; warmth for his readers permeates every page of this book.

John of the Cross discovered that the dark night is a reflection of God’s providential guiding. It is an experience in which God “speaks in the night” and in which God draws ever closer to the human heart. John was a gifted poet who described the dark night in its paradoxical transition from meditation to gifted prayer with these lines, the wisdom of which is easily detected in Schrock’s lively and inspiring prose.

I suspect that many readers will pause to mull over the wisdom distilled so diligently by a very experienced spiritual guide.

218 pages, 980 KB, PDF.





Martha Himmelfarb - The Apocalypse; A Brief History



This accessible and enlightening history provides insights into the fascinating genre of apocalyptic literature, showing how the apocalypse encompasses far more than popular views of the last judgment and violent end of the world might suggest.
• An accessible and enlightening history of the "apocalypses"--ancient Jewish and Christian works -- providing fresh insights into the fascinating genre of literature
• Shows how the apocalypses were concerned not only with popular views of the last judgment and violent end of the world, but with reward and punishment after death, the heavenly temple, and the revelation of astronomical phenomena and other secrets of nature
• Traces the tradition of apocalyptic writing through the Middle Ages, through to the modern era, when social movements still prophesise the world’s imminent demise

Contents:

Acknowledgments
Chronology
1 Revelation in the Age of the Torah
2 The Book of the Watchers and Ascent to Heaven
3 The Book of Daniel and the Kingdom of the Holy Ones
4 The Heavenly Messiah
5 The Heavenly Temple, the Fate of Souls after Death, and Cosmology
6 Tours of Paradise and Hell and the Hekhalot Texts
7 Eschatology in the Byzantine Empire
8 Apocalyptic Movements in the Modern Era
Further Reading
Index

190 pages, 1.29 MB, PDF. Scan.





Paul Richard Blum – Philosophy of Religion in the Renaissance



The Philosophy of Religion is one result of the Early Modern Reformation movements, as competing theologies purported truth claims which were equal in strength and different in contents. Renaissance thought, from Humanism through philosophy of nature, contributed to the origin of the modern concepts of God. This book explores the continuity of philosophy of religion from late medieval thinkers through humanists to late Renaissance philosophers, explaining the growth of the tensions between the philosophical and theological views. Covering the work of Renaissance authors, including Lull, Salutati, Raimundus Sabundus, Plethon, Cusanus, Valla, Ficino, Pico, Bruno, Suárez, and Campanella, this book offers an important understanding of the current philosophy/religion and faith/ reason debates and fills the gap between medieval and early modern philosophy and theology.

Contents

1 From Faith and Reason to Fideism: Raymond Lull,
Raimundus Sabundus and Michel de Montaigne
2 Nicholas of Cusa and Pythagorean Theology
3 Giordano Bruno’s Philosophy of Religion
4 Coluccio Salutati: Hermeneutics of Humanity
5 Humanism Applied to Language, Logic and Religion: Lorenzo Valla
6 Georgios Gemistos Plethon: From Paganism to Christianity and Back
7 Marsilio Ficino’s Philosophical Theology
8 Giovanni Pico against Popular Platonism
9 Tommaso Campanella: God Makes Sense in the World
10 Francisco Suárez—Scholastic and Platonic Ideas of God
Epilogue: Conflicting Truth Claims
Bibliography
Index

222 pages, 34 MB, PDF. Scan.





Michael E. Lodahl – Shekhinah/Spirit: Divine Presence in Jewish and Christian Religion



This study in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit revolves around three interrelated problems, all approached from within the context of Jewish-Christian conversation: exclusivism, evil and eschatology. Hence, it isdivided into Parts I, II and III, with each part containing two chapters.

In Chapter 1argue that the traditional Christian approach to pneumatology has participated in, and contributed to, the Church's exclusivist claim to be the sole community bearing the presence of God's Spirit. I try to show also how this claim has had particularly disastrous consequences for the people and faith of Israel.

Chapter 2, then, represents a reply to the problem as outlined in Chapter 1, for it offers a way of taking seriously the history of Jewish interpretations of the divine Spirit as the proper context for formulating Christian pneumatology. A process-relational understanding of God and creation, which is assumed throughout, is in Chapter 2 specifically explicated as the basis for a reconstruction of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. In many ways that chapter provides the key argument of the entire work.

In Chapter 3 I continue to appropriate Jewish insights into the mode and activity of God's presence in creation, looking specifically to the work of the medieval kabbalists Moses de Leon and Isaac Luria. I believe they are important because of the ways in which they incorporate a serious attention to evil into their ideas about God, creation and humanity's role in redemption. Their deliberations provide the foundation for Chapter 4, which is an attempt to write pneumatology as it comes into contact with, and is transformed by, the problem of evil. As mentioned earlier, I believe that both the quality and the quantity of extreme and senseless human suffering in the Holocaust have made it a paradigmatic evil of our century.

Chapter 4 attempts to ask, then, whether and how God was present in the Holocaust. It cannot be considered an answer to Chapter 3 in the way that Chapter 2 is an answer to Chapter 1. For when it is the unimaginable suffering and senseless death of fellow human beings that is under theological consideration, it seems more appropriate to allow the questions to be raised in all their radicality than confidently to provide answers to them all. I have in Chapter 4 drawn upon the writings of Martin Buber, Emil Fackenheim and Arthur Cohen to help me hear those questions more clearly.

In Chapter 5, through an imaginative reading of selected gospel narratives, I present the outlines of an intentionally post-Holocaust Spirit Christology. Because the problem of Part HI is eschatology, Chapter 5 can also be characterized as a Christology which is in tension with traditional eschatological estimations of Jesus' significance. But a pneumatology which is responsive to the Christian tradition cannot ignore the eschatological framework which shaped not only the Church's doctrine of Christ, but also its doctrine of the Holy Spirit from the very beginning.

Thus, Chapter 6 provides a reply in the form of a reinterpreted eschatology which takes seriously what I believe to be God's intentions in the divine activities of creation and covenant-making.

244 pages, 22.2 MB, PDF. Scan.





Isaac Israeli - A Neoplatonic Philosopher of the Early Tenth Century



Recognized as one of the earliest Jewish neo-Platonist writers, Isaac ben Solomon Israeli (ca.855–955) influenced Muslim, Jewish, and Christian scholars through the Middle Ages. A native of Egypt who wrote in Arabic, Israeli explored definitions of such terms as imagination, sense-perception, desire, love, creation, and “coming-to-be” in his writings.

This classic volume contains English translations of Israeli’s philosophical writings, including the Book of Definitions, the Book of Substances, and the Book on Spirit and Soul. Additionally, Isaac Israeli features a biographical sketch of the philosopher and extensive notes and comments on the texts, as well as a survey and appraisal of his philosophy. Restored to print for the first time in decades, Isaac Israeli will be essential reading for students and scholars of medieval philosophy and Jewish studies.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD ( by ALFREDY IVRY)
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE (by S. M. STERN)

PART I - TEXTS WITH COMMENTS

I. THE BOOK OF DEFINITIONS—Preliminary Note, Translation, and Comments (by S. M. STERN)
II. THE BOOK OF SUBSTANCES—Preliminary Note, Translation, and Comments (by S. M. STERN)
III. THE BOOK ON SPIRIT AND SOUL—Preliminary Note, Translation, and Comments (by S. M. STERN)
IV. THE MANTUA TEXT—Preliminary Note, Translation, and Comments (by A. ALTMANN)
V. AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK ON THE ELEMENTS—Preliminary Note, Translation, and Comments (by A. ALTMANN)

PART II - THE PHILOSOPHY OF ISAAC ISRAELI (by A. ALTMANN)

A. The Downward Way
I. THE CREATOR
II. FIRST MATTER AND FIRST FORM (WISDOM)—INTELLECT
III. THE THREE SOULS—NATURE
IV. CREATION, EMANATION, AND NATURAL CAUSALITY
V. THE ELEMENTS AND COMPOSITE SUBSTANCES

B. The Upward Way
VI. PURIFICATION—ILLUMINATION—UNION
VII. THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY
VIII. THE ROLE OF PROPHECY
INDEX OF NAMES
INDEX OF SUBJECT-MATTER

258 pages, 12.4 MB, PDF. Scan.




Zaleski, Kaufman - Gifts of the Spirit: Living the Wisdom of the Great Religious Traditions



Drawing on the wisdom of teacher from the world's great religious traditions, including Robert Thurman, Sharon Salzberg, Ram Dass, Mother Mary Clare Vincent, Joan Halifax, and Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man, Gifts of the Spirit deepens our appreciation of such everyday routines as waking up, eating, and working, as well as the abundant rewards of enjoying music, gardening, walking, and being with others. Vivid descriptions of rituals from around the world help us find new spiritual meaning in life's key passages.

Discover everyday spiritual riches through:
• Zen arts of cooking and eating
• Jewish and Native American coming-of-age rituals
• Bedouin rules of hospitality and friendship
• Mindful approached to pregnancy and birth
• Ancient Christian practices that nurture the dying
• Shaker philosophies of daily work and craft
• The Buddhist way to a peaceful night's sleep

301 pages, 30.5 MB, PDF.





Annette Y. Reed - Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature



In the Book of the Watchers, an Enochic apocalypse from the third century BCE, the "sons of God" of Gen 6:1-4 are accused of corrupting humankind through their teachings of metalworking, cosmetology, magic, and divination. By tracing the transformations of this motif in Second Temple, Rabbinic, and early medieval Judaism and early, late antique, and Byzantine Christianity, this book sheds light on the history of interpretation of Genesis, the changing status of Enochic literature, and the place of parabiblical texts and traditions in the interchange between Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.

Contents:

Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Angelic Descent and Apocalyptic Epistemology: The Teachings of Enoch and the Fallen Angels in the Book of the Watchers
2 From Scribalism to Sectarianism: The Angelic Descent Myth and the Social Settings of Enochic Pseudepigraphy
3 Primeval History and the Problem of Evil: Genesis, the Book of the Watchers, and the Fallen Angels in Pre-Rabbinic Judaism
4 The Parting of the Ways? Enoch and the Fallen Angels in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity
5 Demonology and the Construction of Christian Identity: Approaches to Illicit Angelic Instruction among Proto-Orthodox Christians
6 The Interpenetration of Jewish and Christian Traditions: The Exegesis of Genesis and the Marginalization of Enochic Literature
7 The Apocalyptic Roots of Merkabah Mysticism? The Reemergence of Enochic Traditions in Rabbinic Judaism
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index of Modern Authors
Index of Primary Sources
Subject Index

336 pages, 4.25 MB, PDF.




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Robert Lomas - The Secret Science of Masonic Initiation



The Secret Science of Masonic Initiation is different and revelatory. This book will take you on an imaginative journey deep into that inner part of your consciousness that Freemasonry calls your soul. Not since the glory days of Wilmshurst, Ward, and Waite, has any serious Masonic writer attempted to look at the meaning of Masonry in such knowledgeable depth. Its ritual says it is a high and serious subject. But how can an individual discover the truths it outlines? How do you become an Initiate and a Master? A new, spiritually aware generation is asking this question and demanding answers. Using words and images, this book leads you through the spiritual stages of Masonic knowledge. The Craft teaches that each new apprentice shall find a teacher to gain instruction. The open Lodge is not the place for instruction but a place for living out truths that should be taught privately by contemplation of symbols.

110 pages, 3.78 MB, PDF. Scan.





Albert Churchward - The Origin and Evolution of Freemasonry Connected with the Origin and Evolution of the Human Race



Connected With the Origin and Evolution of the Human Race. "To all my brother Freemasons throughout the world who are seeking for the truth." "In order to gain a true conception of the origin and evolution of Freemasonry, its Signs, Symbols, and all its Rituals and Ceremonies, one must have also a knowledge of the origin and evolution of the Human Race."

Contents: Periodic Laws of the Corpuscles and Socialists; Life and What It Is-Material, Spiritual and Evolutional; Sign Language; Creation and Evolution to Pygmies; Evolution of Totemic People and Origin of Some of Our Signs, Symbols, Ceremonies, and Explanations of the Same; Stellar Cult People and Origin of other Signs and Symbols-Seven Lesser Mysteries-Initiatory Ceremony-Written Language-Ancient Hittite Inscription Translated-Origin of the Operative and Speculative Masons and Differences; Lunar and Solar Cult-Other Signs and Symbols-Ten Greater Mysteries; Perversion by the Greeks and Other Nations; Horus of the Double Horizon and Early Solar Cults; Mythical Representations and Evolution of Religious Ideas; Ten Greater Mysteries; Universal Brotherhood of Freemasonry the only Effective Means for Permanent peace Throughout the World.

254 pages, 14.1 MB, PDF. Scan.





Albert Churchward - The Arcana of Freemasonry



The Freemasons have changed the history of the world. Their belief in liberty and equality for all people profoundly affected both the French Revolution and the founding of the United States, as evidenced in part by the symbols on our currency. In The Arcana of Freemasonry, first published in 1915, symbol expert and renowned author Albert Churchward traces and reveals the history of this very secret order. Churchward weaves a tale of Masonry's origins in ancient Egypt and its continuance through history--all told via Masonic symbols and symbolism.

From Egyptian history and Mayan belief work through Greek mathematicians, philosophers, and metaphysicians, Churchward traces the development of the most basic symbols of Freemasonry. He also reveals the hidden symbolism found in signs and tools of modern Freemasonry and helps readers find hidden meanings in all areas of life--from art and architecture to geometry and poetry. With current novels and movies leaning heavily on Masonic mysteries as plot devices, readers will be especially interested in the more arcane symbols and the stories they tell.

Contents: Freemasonry-The Bridge of History-Uniting the Past with the Present; The soul of Masonry, The Divine Name; Second Century of Modern Masonry; Origins of Freemasonry; Freemasonry, Past and Future; Origin and Explanation of some Masonic Signs and Symbols; Egyptology and Masonry; Four Cardinal Points; Operative Masonry.

380 pages, 14.3 MB, PDF. Scan.





Joseph Wild - The Origin and Secrets of Freemasonry



THERE are two forms of Masonry upon which I will speak to-night—the speculative and the operative which are not united. The operative one was tlie primary force of Masonry, while the speculative is now the most prominent. How came they to he separated? And will they ever again he united? I want to show you to-night how they came to he separated, and how Masonry itself originated, and in connection therewith, to turn your attention to the great Pyramid, for there are secrets connected with this structure that will throw some light on our Masonic conduct and ideas.

25 pages, 1.48 MB, PDF. Scan.





Timothy Hogan - Alchemical Keys to Masonic Ritual



This is the first book which establishes a direct link between the rituals of Freemasonry and the practice of both chemical and spiritual alchemy. Albert Pike understood that the symbolic degrees of Freemasonry contained alchemical secrets, but he never put the whole pattern together and showed how. This book shows these connections for the first time. This book is a must for any Freemason who wants to understand the secret meanings behind the Symbolic "Blue Lodge" ritual. Tim Hogan is a PM, 32*KCCH, KT, FRC, PSM-AMD, and Knight RC of the Royal Order of Scotland. He lectures extensively both inside and outside of the United States on Freemasonry.

53 pages, 31.8 MB, PDF. Scan.





Anonymous - Rituals of Fratres Lucis



The 'Brothers of Light'-also known as the Ritters des Licht, or 'Knights of Light'-was supposed to be a Masonic Rosicrucian splinter of the Order of the Rosy Cross, but authentic information concerning it is difficult to obtain. This book includes the rituals of Knight Novice of the Third year, Knight Novice of the Fifth Year, Knight Novice of the Seventh Year, Knight Levite and Knight Priest, as well as an introductory chapter on the order from A.E. Waite's Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross which comments on its many Hermetic characteristics.

52 pages, 1.16 MB, PDF. Scan.





Charles W. Leadbeater - Glimpses of Masonic History



Contents: Schools of Masonic Thought; The Egyptian Mysteries; The Cretan Mysteries; The Jewish Mysteries; The Greek Mysteries; The Mithraic Mysteries; Craft Masonry in Medieval Times; Operative Masonry in the Middle Ages; The Transition from Operative to Speculative; Other Lines of Masonic Tradition; The Scottish Rite; The Co-Masonic Order. This is part two of the "Hidden Life in Freemasonry."

480 pages, 1.2 MB, PDF.





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Abraham Abulafia - Sefer Ha-Ot: The Book of the Sign



Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia was the main exponent of Prophetic Kabbalah, a special vaiant of. Kabbalah that is supposed to bring the aspirant in direct contact with God. Born in Spain, a student of the writings of Moses Maimonides and of Hillel, from twenty years of age he began a life of ceaseless wandering.

His first prophetic book, Sefer ha-Yashar (Book of the Righteous), was written in 1279. Abulafia dreamed of dissolving the differences between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the next year, he went to Rome in order to convert Pope Nicholas lll. The Pope, then in Suriano (now called Soriano in Viterbo province), heard of it and issued orders to burn the fanatic as soon as he reached that place.In preparation, the stake was already erected close to the gate, but it was not in the least disturbed. Abulafia set out for Suriano and reached there on August 22, 1280. While passing through the outer gate, he heard that the Pope had succumbed to an apoplectic shoke during the preceding night. Retuming to Rome, he was thrown into prison by the Minorites, but was liberated after four weeks.

A short time later, Abulafia compiled his Sefer ha-Ot (fhe Book of the Sign) on the little island of Comino, near Malta, in years 1285-1288. This is the book that we present here as a complete unabridged translation for the first time in the English language. Sefer ha-Ot is one of the rare autobiographical book in Kabbalah, which can be well considered an apocalyptic book. Abulafia relates his experiences and visions, some of which are really frightening. The whole book, as he states at the end, is a dialogue between him and God Himself

For anyone is not acquainted with the kabbalistic techniques of prophecy, certain passages of this book will be hard to understand. Abulafia shifts from one word to another, connecting them through their numerical value (Gematria), letter assonances and other ways. At a certain point, the prophetic flux in his mind forces him to write sequences of letters that have no real meaning until the vision becomes clear, and then the message transpires out. His life merges with the subject of the vision, and he becomes the prophet Zechariyahu. God Himself commands him what he must do, and then sends him on his mission

Index of contents

Preface
Sefer Ha-Ot - The Book of the Sign
Permutations of the Tetragrammaton
The original text in Hebrew
YHVH
Images from Chaye Olam Ha-Ba (Ufe in the World to Come)

73 pages, 27.2 MB, PDF. Scan.




Abraham Abulafia - Get Ha-Shemot: Divorce of the Names



Get Ha-Shemot is Abulafia's attempt to describe the general ideology and cosmology that underlie the fundamental principle of Kabbalah - that names and letters are the essential, active, and creative elements of reality. He meant it as a rule of thumb for the masters of the names to know the truth behind the names they use, because no name can properly be used without such knowledge. In this work, which was written from the start for general distribution, Abulafia outlines the cosmic stage on which his entire Kabbalah is set, and explains its general purpose - the perfection of the mind by way of the intellect. This makes Get Ha-Shemot an indispensable introduction to his entire Kabbalah. Abulafia explains that Kabbalah is the part of Torah that must remain concealed from the public, and only received by word of mouth from a worthy teacher to a worthy student. However, to set some guidelines about the form of Kabbalah, Abulafia presents us here with what he takes to be the first and fundamental principles of all of Kabbalah. This masterpiece of Kabbalah is a very lucid and actual introduction to Kabbalah both for beginners and advanced students.

56 pages, 23.7 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag – Shamati: I Heard



Rav Michael Laitman's words on "Shamati" (as appeared in Attaining the Worlds Beyond): "Among all the texts and notes that were used by my teacher, Rabbi Baruch Shalom Halevi Ashlag (the Rabash), there was one, special notebook he always carried. This notebook contained transcripts of his conversations with his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Halevi Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), author of the "Sulam" (Ladder) commentary on "The Book of Zohar", "The Study of the Ten Sefirot" (a commentary on the texts of the Kabbalist, Ari), and many other works on Kabbalah. "Not feeling well on the Jewish New Year in September 1991, the Rabash summoned me to his bedside and handed me the notebook, whose cover contained only one word - "Shamati" (I Heard). As he handed me the notebook, he said, 'Take it and learn from it'. The following morning, my teacher perished in my arms, leaving me and many of his disciples without guidance in this world." Committed to Rabash's legacy to disseminate the wisdom of Kabbalah, Michael Laitman published the notebook just as it was written, thus retaining the text's transforming powers. Among all the books of Kabbalah, Shamati is a unique and compelling composition.

408 pages, 1.31 MB, PDF.




R.Graves, R.Patai - Hebrew Myths: The Book of Genesis



This exhaustive exploration of the Hebrew myths and the book of Genesis resulted from a remarkable collaboration between one scholar raised as a strict Protestant and one raised as a strict Jew. It goes beyond Christian biblical and Judaic myth and incorporates midrashes, folk tales, apocryphal texts, and other obscure sources to extend and complete the stories. An intriguing view of the suppressed and censored pre-biblical accounts is the result, along with a rich sense of a culture consisting of oral and literary traditions, where the spiritual is deeply rooted in landscape and history.

326 pages, 41.2 MB, PDF. Scan.




Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn - Creation And Redemption



We hereby present Creation and Redemption, a discourse delivered by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. This discourse, one of the first authored by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak when he arrived in America in 5700 (1940), examines the essential difference between the Hebrew months of Tishrei and Nissan, and the mystical dimensions each represents.

In the month of Tishrei we celebrate the miracle of Creation with Rosh Hashanah, the day that commemorates the birth of the world. Creation, however, is indicative of the natural order. The month of Nissan, in contrast, during which we commemorate the miraculous Exodus from Egypt, represents Redemption, or the supernatural.

These two forces exist not only within the world at large, and within the perpetual cycle of time, but they exist within each of us as well. Each of us has moments when we feel trapped within our natural, materialistic lives, when we cannot hear the voice of our own souls amidst the deafening thunder of the daily grind. Then, there are other moments, tranquil oases in time, when we experience spiritual clarity, when we perceive a higher, deeper, more meaningful Truth.

The key, then, when struggling with the obfuscation of the natural and materialistic, is to recognize that there is another dimension, a deeper dimension, where the limitations of the natural order do not exist. Nissan is the month when we were liberated from slavery to the world's superpower in a completely supernatural manner. To this Nissan-realm, there are no limitations, nothing to stand in the way of spiritual fulfillment. In fact, the physical exists only so that we may demonstrate how it too exposes the Divine truth. And when we recognize this, says Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, we can realize the supernatural even within the natural.

178 pages, 7.51 MB, PDF. Scan.




Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson - On the Essence of Chassidus



CONTENTS

Publisher's Foreword
Translators' Preface
Translators' Note
Genealogy of the Founders of General
Chassidism and the Leaders of Chabad
I . The Creative Contributions of Chassidus
II . Chassidus as the "Extension of En Sof"
III . Torah: The Epitome of Perfection
IV . Some Ramifications of the Concept of Moshiach
V . The Essence of the Concept of Moshiach
VI . Chassidus as a New "Life-Force"
VII . Oil: A Metaphor for Chassidus
VIII . The Four Levels of Torah Interpretation (Pardes)
IX . The Significance of the Prayer Modeh Ani
X . Modeh Ani Interpreted on Four Levels
XI . A Chassidic Insight into Modeh Ani
XII . Awakening f r o i Sleep: The Restoration of a Jewish Soul
XIII . Resurrection as a Daily Phenomenon
XIV . Observance of the Mitzvos for Their Own Sake
XV . The Chassidic Illumination of Kabbalah
XVI . Chassidus as the Link between All Levels of Interpretation
XVII . The Chassidic Emphasis on the Relation of Essence to Details
XVIII . "The Beginning Is Wedged in the End": Essence Is Found in Action
XIX . Torah and the Transformation of the Evil Inclination
XX . The Law of Acquisition in a Chassidic Perspective
XXI . Chassidus: More than a Prelude to Moshiach
Appendix: Excerpt from a Discourse Given on the Last Day of Passover 5730 (1970).
Glossary
Index Of Quotations and References
General Index

144 pages, 4.89 MB, PDF. Scan.




Rabbi Faitel Levin - Heaven On Earth



Contents:

Preface
Foreword

ONE / THE CONCEPT

1. A Down To Earth Weltanschauung
2. A Synopsis of the Dirah Betachtonim System

TWO / METAPHYSICS REVIEWED

3. Cosmology / A Hierarchy of Realities
4. Diversity and Unity
5. The G-d-World Relationship
6. The Drama of Creation
7. The Mystical Experience and Asceticism
8. The Language of Dirah Betachtonim
9. The Logic of Drah Betachtonim
10. Religious Devotion

THREE / IN FOCUS

1 I. The Nature of G-d
12. The Human / Body and Soul
13. Mitzvot / Their Spiritual Role and Function
14. The Afterlife
15. History / A Dirah Beurchtonim Perspective
16. Sociology / The Practical Application of Dirah Betachtonim
APPENDIX
NOTES
INDEX
SOURCES

169 pages, 5.42 MB, PDF. Scan.





Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn - The Power Of Return



We hereby present the third discourse of the series Yom Tov Shel Rosh Hashanah 5659, entitled The Power of Return. These discourses were authored by the fifth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn.

The current discourse, delivered on Shabbat Shuvah 5659 (1898), opens with the verse from the Haftara of that Shabbat in which the prophet Hosea exhorts the Jewish people to teshuvah, repentance: Return, 0 Israel, to the L-rd your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity (Hosea 14:2).

Thus begins Rabbi Shalom DovBer's examination of the inner workings of teshuvah. Here, he explains at length how it is precisely through making a detailed and honest examination of one's character and spiritual standing-which inevitably leads one to a contrite and broken heart-that may allow one to realize his or her essential connection with G-d.

The Power of Return, like the other volumes of the Chasidic Heritage Series, features a clear, lucid translation of the original Hebrew text of the discourse, along with copious reference and explanatory notes. The facing Hebrew text has been completely reset, vocalized and broken into chapters, and has been edited against Rabbi Shalom DovBer's original manuscript. Two Appendices, as well as a full Bibliography, appear at the end of this volume.

124 pages, 4.06 MB, PDF. Scan.




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