Book picks similar to
The Meaning of Masonry by W.L. Wilmshurst
freemasonry
masonic
history
non-fiction
Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming
Stephen LaBerge - 1989
Based on Dr. Stephen LaBerge's extensive laboratory work at Stanford University mapping mind/body relationships during the dream state, as well as the teachings of Tibetan dream yogis and the work of other scientists, including German psycholgist Paul Tholey, this practical workbook will show you how to use your dreams to: Solve problems; Gain greater confidence; improve creativity, and more.
The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick - 2011
Dick is the magnificent and imaginative final work of an author who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception, the malleability of space and time, and the relationship between the human and the divine. Edited and introduced by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem, this will be the definitive presentation of Dick’s brilliant, and epic, final work. In The Exegesis, Dick documents his eight-year attempt to fathom what he called "2-3-74," a postmodern visionary experience of the entire universe "transformed into information." In entries that sometimes ran to hundreds of pages, Dick tried to write his way into the heart of a cosmic mystery that tested his powers of imagination and invention to the limit, adding to, revising, and discarding theory after theory, mixing in dreams and visionary experiences as they occurred, and pulling it all together in three late novels known as the VALIS trilogy. In this abridgment, Jackson and Lethem serve as guides, taking the reader through the Exegesis and establishing connections with moments in Dick’s life and work.
Heaven and Hell
Emanuel Swedenborg - 1758
A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual crisis that led to an unparalleled series of paranormal experiences. He spent his last twenty-seven years in almost daily experience of heaven and hell, recording his observations and conversations, many of which are reported in Heaven and Hell. This sustained and detailed description of the nonphysical realms has left its impression on the minds of many great thinkers, including Goethe, Blake, Coleridge, Emerson, Borges, and Milosz.This deluxe edition contains an introduction by religious historian Bernhard Lang setting the volume in the context of its time.The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg is a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life. Introductions and annotations by eminent, international scholars place Swedenborg’s writings in their historical context and illuminate obscure references within the text, enabling readers to understand and trace Swedenborg’s influence as never before.
The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin, The Mage — As Delivered By Abraham The Jew Unto His Son Lamech — As A Grimoire of The 15th Century
Abraham von Worms - 1897
From Abramelin he took his concepts of protections, purifications, evocations, vestments, and dromena down to specific details. This system of Abramelin the Mage is known from a unique 15th century manuscript persevered in the Bibliotheque de l`Arsenal in Paris. In it, Abraham of Wurzburg, a cabalist and connoisseur of magics, describes a tour that he made of the then civilized world, visiting sorcerers, magicians, and cabalists, estimating their powers and virtues. This quest is in itself as fascinating as the similar tours of Gurdjieff. The high point of Abraham`s travels was found in a small town on the banks of the Nile, where he encountered the great magician Abramelin, whose complete system Abraham thereupon sets out in detail. This amounts to a complete course in ceremonial magic (both white and black), which the student can pursue by himself. Abramelin, whose system is based mostly on Hellenistic theurgy of the Iamblichan sort, but with Jewish increments from the Cabala, explains the qualifications needed to become a magician, purifications and asceticisms to be practiced month by month, studies and activities permitted during this period, selections of place and time for working magic, equipment needed, prayers and formulas, evocation of good and evil spirits, commanding spirits, to do one`s will, overcoming rebellious spirits, an similar material. Specific instructions are offered to develop such powers as clairvoyance, divining metals and treasurers, warding off evil magic, healing illness, levitation, transportation, rendering oneself invisible, creating illusions and glamour, reading minds, placing compulsions, working black magic, and a host of other abilities. We do not guarantee that Abramelin's techniques work, not that the results are desirable...
Gandhi: His Life and Message for the World
Louis Fischer - 1950
This is the story of Mahatma Gandhi, a man who owned nothing-and gained everything!!
The Mysteries of Godliness: A History of Mormon Temple Worship
David John Buerger - 2002
While officially intended to preserve the sacredness of the experience, the silence leaves many Latter-day Saints mystified. What are the derivation and development of the holy endowment, and if these were known, would the experience be more meaningful? Modern parishioners lack context to interpret the arcane and syncretistic elements of the symbolism.For instance, David Buerger traces the evolution of the initiatory rites, including the New Testament-like foot washings, which originated in the Ohio period of Mormon history; the more elaborate Old Testament-like washings and anointings, which began in Illinois and were performed in large bathtubs, with oil poured over the initiate’s head; and the vestigial contemporary sprinkling and dabbing, which were begun in Utah. He shows why the dramatic portions of the ceremony blend anachronistic events—an innovation foreign to the original drama.Buerger addresses the abandonment of the adoption sealing, which once linked unrelated families, and the near-disappearance of the second anointing, which is the crowning ordinance of the temple. He notes other recent changes as well. Biblical models, Masonic prototypes, folk beliefs, and frontier resourcefulness all went into the creation of this highest form of Mormon Temple worship. Diary entries and other primary sources document its evolution.
A Course in Miracles
Foundation for Inner Peace - 1976
__________'I love it. Will make you see the world differently' - 5* reader review'This book can and will change your life' - 5* reader review 'Anyone who has ever sensed that pull against the ego for a greater understanding and meaning to life, will feel blessed to have discovered this great work.' - 5* reader review
The Tomb of God: The Body of Jesus & the Solution to a 2000-year-old Mystery
Richard Andrews - 1996
Dissatisfied with the explanations of previous researchers, Richard Andrews & Paul Schellenberger applied mathematical logic to the enduring mystery of Rennes-le-Château & the "treasure" alleged to be buried there. Beginning with a healthy skepticism, they assumed the enigma would wither under scrutiny. The quest began with an investigation into the activities of a group of 19th-century priests, but as the trail was pursued, it became apparent that the mystery's scope stretched far beyond the mountains of southern France. A series of paintings, maps & tombstones pointed to one very specific location. The authors combined their knowledge of archeology, theology & surveying to produce a startling account of what they believe to be the true events surrounding the burial of Jesus.
The Laughing Jesus: Religious Lies and Gnostic Wisdom
Tim Freke - 2005
An Incendiary Wake-Up Call to the WorldWhat if the Old Testament is a work of fiction, Jesus never existed, and Muhammad was a mobster?What if the Bible and the Qur'an are works of political propaganda created by Taliban-like fundamentalists to justify the sort of religious violence we are witnessing in the world today?What if there is a big idea that could free us from the us-versus-them world created by religion and make it possible for us to truly love our neighbors—and even our enemies?What if it is possible to awaken to a profound state of oneness and love, which the Gnostic Christians symbolized by the enigmatic figure of the laughing Jesus?Discover for Yourself Why the Gnostic Jesus Laughs
Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy: A Journey into a New Christianity Through the Doorway of Matthew's Gospel
John Shelby Spong - 2016
In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship. Pulling back the layers of a long-standing Gentile ignorance, he reveals how the church’s literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from these original Jewish authors’ intent that it is an act of heresy.Using the Gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the Bible’s literary and liturgical roots—its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition—to explain how the events of Jesus’ life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the Gospels took these stories to be factual, distorting their original meaning.In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a better blueprint for the future than where the church’s leaden and heretical reading of the story of Jesus has led us—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story in the modern world.
Behold a Pale Horse
Milton William Cooper - 1991
This information has been kept in topsecret government files since the 1940s. His audiences hear the truth unfold as he writes about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the war on drugs, the secret government, and UFOs.Bill is a lucid, rational, and powerful speaker whose intent is to inform and to empower his audience. Standing room only is normal. His presentation and information transcend partisan affiliations as he clearly addresses issues in a way that has a striking impact on listeners of all backgrounds and interests. He has spoken to many groups throughout the United States and has appeared regularly on many radio talk shows and on television.In 1988 Bill decided to "talk" due to events then taking place worldwide, events that he had seen plans for back in the early 1970s. Bill correctly predicted the lowering of the Iron Curtain, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the invasion of Panama. All Bill's predictions were on record well before the events occurred. Bill is not a psychic. His information comes from top secret documents that he read while with the Intelligence Briefing Team and from over seventeen years of research.
The Orthodox Way
Kallistos Ware - 1979
It raises the basic issues of theology: God as hidden yet revealed; the problem of evil; the nature of salvation; the meaning of faith; prayer; death and what lies beyond. In so doing, it helps to fill the need for a modern Orthodox catechism. Yet this book is not a mere manual, a dry-as-dust repository of information. Throughout the book, Father Ware shows the meaning of Orthodox doctrine for the life of the individual Christian. Doctrinal issues are seen not as abstract propositions for thological debate but as affecting the whole of life.A wealth of texts drawn from theologians and spiritual writers of all ages accompanies Father Ware's presentation. They too reveal Orthodoxy not just as a system of beliefs, practices and customs but indeed as the Way.
Sacred Geometry
Miranda Lundy - 1998
In this small volume, Miranda Lundy presents a unique introduction to this most ancient and timeless of universal sciences.Sacred Geometry demonstrates what happens to space in two dimensions - a subject last flowering in the art, science and architecture of the Renaissance and seen in the designs of Stonehenge, mosque decorations and church windows. With exquisite hand-drawn images throughout showing the relationship between shapes, the patterns of coin circles, and the definition of the golden section, it will forever alter the way in which you look at a triangle, hexagon, arch, or spiral.
A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook
Janet Farrar - 1987
This collection includes two books in one volume, Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches' Way and is the most comprehensive and revealing work on the principles, rituals and beliefs of modern witchcraft.
The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief
Gregg Braden - 2006
From the healing of our bodies, to the success of our careers, relationships, and the peace between nations, this new evidence demonstrates that we each hold the power to speak directly to the force that links all of creation. What would it mean to discover that the power to create joy, to heal suffering, and bring peace to nations lives inside of you? How differently would you live if you knew how to use this power each day of your life? Join Gregg Braden on this extraordinary journey bridging science, spirituality and miracles through the language of The Divine Matrix.