Book picks similar to
The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus: From Ancient Egypt to the Modern World by Gary Lachman
occult
history
hermeticism
esoteric
The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism
Fritjof Capra - 1975
Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise
Thich Nhat Hanh - 2015
But our hearts and minds are so full of noise that we can’t always hear the call of life and love. To hear that call and respond to it, we need silence.In his beautiful new book, Buddhist monk and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh explains how mindfulness is the practice that stops the noise inside. With gentle anecdotes, simple Buddhist wisdom and practical exercises, he shows us how to live mindfully so that all the internal chatter ceases and we are left with the eloquent sound of silence. Now, at last, we can answer the call of the beauty around us. Through silence, Thich Nhat Hanh reveals, we are free to hear, to see - and just be.
Principia Discordia ● Or ● How I Found Goddess and What I Did to Her When I Found Her: The Magnum Opiate of Malaclypse the Younger
Gregory Hill - 1965
This legendary underground classic contains absolutely everything worth knowing about absolutely anything. Discordianism is the religion for these screwed-up times, and Principia Discordia reveals it here for your enlightenment, confusion and entertainment.
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Carl Sagan - 1996
And yet, disturbingly, in today's so-called information age, pseudoscience is burgeoning with stories of alien abduction, channeling past lives, and communal hallucinations commanding growing attention and respect. As Sagan demonstrates with lucid eloquence, the siren song of unreason is not just a cultural wrong turn but a dangerous plunge into darkness that threatens our most basic freedoms.
The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics
Elaine Pagels - 1995
With magisterial learning and the elan of a born storyteller, Pagels turns Satan's story into an audacious exploration of Christianity's shadow side, in which the gospel of love gives way to irrational hatreds that continue to haunt Christians and non-Christians alike.
Undoing Yourself: With Energized Meditation and Other Devices
Christopher S. Hyatt - 1982
Who hates Undoing? Stuffed-shirt academicians, do-nothing sweetness-and-light practitioners of cosmic foo-foo, and would-be slave-owners everywhere. On the other hand, if you are interested in actually accomplishing something, you will love it.
Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book 1
Neale Donald Walsch - 1995
Suppose God provided clear, understandable answers. It happened to Neale Donald Walsch. It can happen to you. You are about to have a conversation... I have heard the crying of your heart. I have seen the searching of your soul. I know how deeply you have desired the Truth. In pain have you called out for it, and in joy. Unendingly have you beseeched Me. Show Myself. Explain Myself. Reveal Myself. I am doing so here, in terms so plain, you cannot misunderstand. In language so simple, you cannot be confused. In vocabulary so common, you cannot get lost in the verbiage. So go ahead now. Ask Me anything. Anything. I will contrive to bring you the answer. The whole universe will I use to do this. So be on the lookout; this book is far from My only tool. You may ask a question, then put this book down. But watch. Listen. The words to the next song you hear. The information in the next article you read. The story line of the next movie you watch. The chance utterance of the next person you meet. Or the whisper of the next river, the next ocean, the next breeze that caresses your ear - all these devices are Mine; all these avenues are open to Me. I will speak to you if you will listen. I will come to you if you will invite Me. I will show you then that I have always been there. All ways.
The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images
Ami Ronnberg - 2010
The highly readable texts and over 800 beautiful full-color images come together in a unique way to convey hidden dimensions of meaning. Each of the ca. 350 essays examines a given symbol’s psychic background, and how it evokes psychic processes and dynamics. Etymological roots, the play of opposites, paradox and shadow, the ways in which diverse cultures have engaged a symbolic image—all these factors are taken into consideration.Authored by writers from the fields of psychology, religion, art, literature, and comparative myth, the essays flow into each other in ways that mirror the psyche’s unexpected convergences. There are no pat definitions of the kind that tend to collapse a symbol; a still vital symbol remains partially unknown, compels our attention and unfolds in new meanings and manifestations over time. Rather than merely categorize, The Book of Symbols illuminates how to move from the visual experience of a symbolic image in art, religion, life, or dreams to directly experiencing its personal and psychological resonance.The Book of Symbols sets new standards for thoughtful exploration of symbols and their meanings, and will appeal to a wide range of readers: artists, designers, dreamers and dream interpreters, psychotherapists, self-helpers, gamers, comic book readers, religious and spiritual searchers, writers, students, and anyone curious about the power of archetypal images.
On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician
Catherine MacCoun - 2008
But this is only half the story. According to Catherine MacCoun, alchemy is no mere metaphor. It’s real magic. Transforming the inner world is, for the alchemist, a way to transform the outer world. Through studying the principles of alchemy, we can achieve extraordinary effects from ordinary actions by understanding how the world really works. We can perceive the hidden connections between the spiritual and the material worlds. Knowledge of these connections enables us to influence external phenomena through the powers of heart and mind alone. Yet alchemy is not, like some forms of magic, the exercise of mind over matter. It is the art of taking what already exists—whatever presents itself—and transmuting the harmful into the helpful, the useless into the valuable. On Becoming an Alchemist initiates us into these secrets, showing us how to think, perceive, and operate as an alchemist. It offers practical advice and exercises that will help the modern magician to: ● Understand and apply basic principles of alchemy ● Transmute setbacks, failures, and losses into sources of magical power ● Navigate one’s inner world with poise, confidence, and common sense ● Intuitively show up in the right place at the right time to benefit from magical coincidences ● Discover the potentials latent in any situation by awakening subtle perception
Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
Martin Prechtel - 1998
Arriving at Santiago Atitlan, a Tzutujil Mayan village on the breathtaking shores of Lake Atitlan, Prechtel met Nicolas Chiviliu Tacaxoy--perhaps the most famous shaman in Tzutujil history--who believed Prechtel was the new student he had asked the gods to provide. For the next thirteen years, Prechtel studied the ancient Tzutujil culture and became a village chief and a famous shaman in his own right.In Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, Prechtel brings to vivid life the sights, sounds, scents, and colors of Santiago Atitlan: its magical personalities, its beauty, its material poverty and spiritual richness, its eight-hundred-year-old rituals juxtaposed with quintessential small-town gossip. The story of his education is a tale filled with enchantment, danger, passion, and hope.
TechGnosis: Myth, Magic Mysticism in the Age of Information
Erik Davis - 1998
Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.
Initiation
Elisabeth Haich - 1953
It reveals her insights into the subtle workings of karma, reincarnation, and spiritual development.
Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives
Michael Newton - 2000
Michael Newton takes you once again into the heart of the spirit world. His groundbreaking research was first published in the bestselling Journey of Souls, the definitive study on the afterlife. Now, in Destiny of Souls, the saga continues with 70 case histories of real people who were regressed into their lives between lives. Dr. Newton answers the requests of the thousands of readers of the first book who wanted more details about various aspects of life on the other side. Destiny of Souls is also designed for the enjoyment of first-time readers who haven't read Journey of Souls. Explore the meaning behind your own spiritual memories as you read the stories of people in deep hypnosis, and learn fascinating details about: —Our purpose on Earth—Soul mates and spirit guides—Spiritual settings and where souls go after death—Soul travel between lives—Ways spirits connect with and comfort the living—The soul-brain connection —Why we choose certain bodies
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens - 2007
"God did not make us," he says. "We made God." He explains the ways in which religion is immoral: We damage our children by indoctrinating them. It is a cause of sexual repression, violence, and ignorance. It is a distortion of our origins and the cosmos. In the place of religion, Hitchens offers the promise of a new enlightenment through science and reason, a realm in which hope and wonder can be found through a strand of DNA or a gaze through the Hubble Telescope. As Hitchens sees it, you needn't get the blues once you discover the heavens are empty.