"We must think with clarity. Clarity is honesty born into thinking." --Massimo Scaligero Here is a classic of contemporary spirituality. Scaligero was a student of Zen, yoga, and the spiritual science of Rudolf Steiner--but he came to completely independent conclusions based on his direct spiritual experience. Scaligero's masterpiece is a continuous, unfolding meditation, and an immediate expression of his travels in higher realms. It shows how the primal principle, the source of all being--knowing and love--descends instant by instant into the phenomenal world. He writes from the very stream of being, into which his work invites us, and poses a challenge: will we learn to experience the processes of consciousness, or will we rest in their products? As with the texts of all true spiritual masters, Scaligero's words must be savored and contemplated in order to extract the nectar of wisdom contained in them.
Journal for Star Wisdom 2016 includes articles of interest concerning star wisdom (Astrosophy), as well as a guide to the correspondences between stellar configurations during the life of Christ and those of today. This guide comprises a complete sidereal ephemeris and aspectarian, geocentric and heliocentric, for each day throughout the year. Published yearly, new editions are available beginning in October or November for the coming new year. According to Rudolf Steiner, every step taken by Christ during his ministry between the baptism in the Jordan and the resurrection was in harmony with—and an expression of—the cosmos. Journal for Star Wisdom is concerned with these heavenly correspondences during the life of Christ. It is intended to help provide a foundation for cosmic Christianity, the cosmic dimension of Christianity. It is this dimension that has been missing from Christianity in its two-thousand-year history. Readers can begin on this path by contemplating the movements of the Sun, Moon, and planets against the background of the zodiacal constellations (sidereal signs) today in relation to corresponding stellar events during the life of Christ. In this way, the possibility is opened for attuning, in a living way, to the life of Christ in the etheric cosmos. This year's journal begins with an article by Robert Powell on the relationship between the galactic center and Christ’s miracle of the healing of the man born blind, followed by an article by Estelle Isaacson about the life of the man born blind, whose name was Celidonius. She has also written on the “star of Lazarus and reading the starry script.” Claudia McLaren Lainson’s article “The Towers We Build” relates to the planet Uranus and events of our time against the background of the position of Uranus—in 2016, the same as shortly after Christ’s Ascension. She also honors psychologist and astrosopher William Bento, who died on June 5, 2015, with her “In Memoriam.” David Tresemer’s article, written with Robert Schiappacasse, expands on a short contribution from William Bento. Brian Gray’s article focuses upon the birth of Jesus—in terms of a stellar imagination—in relation to the three kings on the one hand and the shepherds on the other. Nicholas Kollerstrom contributed “Position of the Ancient Star Zodiac,” presenting his research into the original scientific definition of the zodiac. The article “Specters” by Kevin Dann takes a unique approach to “The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness,” the subject of David Tresemer’s article. The monthly commentaries for 2016 by Claudia McLaren Lainson are supported by monthly astronomical previews by Sally Nurney, offering opportunities to observe and experience physically the stellar configurations during 2016. This direct interaction between the human being on Earth and the heavenly beings of the stars develops the capacity to receive their wisdom-filled teachings.
A fantastical field guide to the hidden history of New York's magical past Manhattan has a pervasive quality of glamour—a heightened sense of personality generated by a place whose cinematic, literary, and commercial celebrity lends an aura of the fantastic to even its most commonplace locales. Enchanted New York chronicles an alternate history of this magical isle. It offers a tour along Broadway, focusing on times and places that illuminate a forgotten and sometimes hidden history of New York through site-specific stories of wizards, illuminati, fortune tellers, magicians, and more. Progressing up New York’s central thoroughfare, this guidebook to magical Manhattan offers a history you won’t find in your Lonely Planet or Fodor’s guide, tracing the arc of American technological alchemies—from Samuel Morse and Robert Fulton to the Manhattan Project—to Mesmeric physicians, to wonder–working Madame Blavatsky, and seers Helena Roerich and Alice Bailey. Harry Houdini appears and disappears, as the world’s premier stage magician’s feats of prestidigitation fade away to reveal a much more mysterious—and meaningful—marquee of magic. Unlike old-world cities, New York has no ancient monuments to mark its magical adolescence. There is no local memory embedded in the landscape of celebrated witches, warlocks, gods, or goddesses—no myths of magical metamorphoses. As we follow Kevin Dann in geographical and chronological progression up Broadway from Battery Park to Inwood, each chapter provides a surprising picture of a city whose ever-changing fortunes have always been founded on magical activity.
The idea of "north" suggests much more than wintry cold, ice, and snow. To many, it hints at something magical, enchanting, and mysterious. This book explores the spiritual aspect of this attraction through a survey of ancient history, Norse mythology, and contemporary studies of Earth mysteries and sacred sites. Through her detailed research, Margaret Jonas traces the birth of Celtic Christianity in the British Isles, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Germany to reveal a time when ancient prophecies related to the Sun and divine beings came to fulfillment. A new spiritual wisdom gradually spread across Europe--not just northward from the south, but also eastward from west. The author describes how a paradisiacal element from the earliest stages of Earth's evolution was preserved and nurtured in hidden places associated with the northern mysteries. This fascinating work of accessible scholarship features chapters on Hyperborea, Thule, and Apollo; the Druids and Odinic Mysteries; Norway and the Celtic Christian Legacy; the Number Five and the Etheric Body; the Externsteine and the God Vidar, and Finland. The book concludes with hints of a future when northern magic will be transformed, and "new clairvoyant faculties will be within the reach of all humanity."
“Wounds into Wisdom is for anyone who has suffered trauma, either directly or in a family whose generational trauma is buried. It helps readers uncover suffering and use it to help others―the final stage of healing. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control what happens next.” ―Gloria Steinem 2020 Nautilus Book Award―GOLD/Psychology 2020 Book Award from the Jewish Women’s Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology 2019 Book of the Year Award Finalist in Religion and Self-Help categories Our past does not simply disappear. The painful history of our ancestors and their rich cultural wisdom intertwine within us to create the patterns of our future. Even when past trauma remains unspoken or has long been forgotten, it becomes part of us and our children―a legacy of both strength and woundedness that shapes our lives. In this book, Tirzah Firestone brings to life the profound impact of protracted historical trauma through the compelling narratives of Israeli terror victims, Holocaust survivors, and those whose lives were marred by racial persecution and displacement. The tragic story of Firestone’s own family lays the groundwork for these revealing testimonies of recovery, forgiveness, and moral leadership. Throughout, Firestone interweaves their voices with neuroscientific and psychological findings, as well as relevant and inspiring Jewish teachings. Seven principles emerge from these wise narratives―powerful prescriptive tools that speak to anyone dealing with the effects of past injury. At the broadest level, these principles are directives for staying morally awake in a world rife with terror.
This valuable resource introduces readers to the Old Testament books of wisdom and poetry--Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs--and helps them better understand each book's overall flow. Estes summarizes some of each book's key issues, offers an exposition of the book that interacts with major commentaries and recent studies, and concludes with an extensive bibliography. Now in paperback.
12 lectures, Hamburg, May 18-31, 1908 (CW 103) "It was Steiner's intention in these lectures to establish the ways in which this Gospel and its author, Lazarus-John, the one Christ called the beloved disciple, provided one of the surest paths to an understanding of the profound relationship of Christ to each human person and to Earth.... He leads his audience, and us readers, to an understanding of Lazarus-John unknown even to the other three primary evangelists --Matthew, Mark, and Luke --who wrote their Gospels several decades before Lazarus-John." -- Robert McDermott (from the introduction) In these twelve profound lectures, Rudolf Steiner uncovers and reclaims the essential truths of Christianity, illuminating the Gospel of John in all its majesty, power, and far-reaching significance. Foremost among the revelations to be found here is the identity of the writer of John's Gospel --the risen Lazarus, the disciple whom the Lord loved. Lazarus-John, the first to be initiated by Christ Himself, wrote his Gospel out of the deepest wellsprings of knowledge, implanting within it vital spiritual forces. As Steiner states in the final lecture of this volume, "This Gospel is not a textbook but a force that can work within our souls." It is this force living in the words and rhythms of John's Gospel that purifies the soul, transforming it --in the language of esoteric Christianity --into the Virgin Sophia, receptive to the Holy Spirit. Along this path, we come to recognize that Christianity, far from being a codified system of beliefs, is a living power within the evolution of humanity, a power that is only at the beginning of its activity. What Steiner calls the Mystery of Golgotha --the death and resurrection of Christ --stands as the turning point of time, the event through which the Earth receives its meaning. The effects of this event, and the further activity of Christ as the Spirit of the Earth, will continue to evolve from year to year, century to century, until one day in the distant future, Christianity will fulfill its mission. This cannot happen, however, until Christianity is understood "in its true, spiritual form." This lecture cycle is an essential guide to understanding the true mission of Christianity, a guide to spiritualizing the Earth, transforming the Cosmos of Wisdom into the Cosmos of Love. As with all great books, The Gospel of John not only imparts knowledge --it can also change you. "Our lectures on the Gospel of John will have a double purpose. One will be the deepening of the concepts of anthroposophy themselves and their expansion in many directions, and the other will be to make this great document itself comprehensible by means of the thoughts that will arise in our souls in consequence of these deepened and expanded concepts. I beg you to hold clearly in mind that it is the intention of these lectures to proceed in these two directions. It should not be simply a question of arguments about this Gospel, but rather that by means of the latter we shall penetrate into the deep mysteries of existence. We should hold very clearly in mind how the perspective of anthroposophy must be developed when we are dealing with any of the great historical records handed down to us by the different religions of the world. -- Rudolf Steiner (lecture 1) This volume is a translation from German of Das Johannes-Evangelium (GA 103). Cover image: The Raising of Lazarus, by William Blake (1757-1827). Pencil, pen, ink, and watercolor on paper, 11.6" x 16". Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland.
This powerful book contains chapters by 22 of the world’s leading luminaries in the field of personal development and spiritual transformation, including bestselling authors Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations With God) and Don Miguel Ruiz (The Four Agreements). Covering topics from co-creating a peaceful world, forgiveness, healing, and finding purpose and happiness, to chapters about health, well-being, destiny, and the mysteries of kundalini, The Light also includes practical exercises and guidance, empowering readers to achieve their greatest potential.
Destined to become a classic work on women's psychology, consciousness, and dream interpretation, Wisdom of the Heart presents new insights into the special language of women's dreams and leads the reader to discover her own feminine nature and attain a true inner wisdom of the heart.
