Posted in A, tagged alchemy, aquinas, astrology, Bible, depression, development, dynamic, egypt, Eliade, enlightenment, esoteric, esoterica, gold, happiness, hucksters, jewel, joy, jung, jungian, life, magic, medieval, mystic, mysticism, myth, newton, occult, osiris, pain, phenomenology, philosophers stone, Philosophy, psychology, religion, science, self, self actualization, soul, spirit, spiritual, sublime, subtle, suffering, synchronicity, theology, transformation, zodiac on April 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Alchemy (2)
Originally uploaded by tholmb
Alchemy In everyday usage the word alchemy describes a psychological interplay among people.
Its etymology points to the actual practice of alchemy–derived via Arabic from the Greek chemeia.
Historically, alchemy involved the heating and mixing of chemicals and mineral substances with a view toward artificially transforming base metals into gold.
The ancient Greeks in [...]
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Posted in A, tagged angels, Bible, binary, christianity, communication, computer, fallen angels, hindu, Islam, jewish, language, leibniz, life, mysticism, religion, spirit on April 11, 2008 | No Comments »
angel
Originally uploaded by Leo Reynolds
Angels (Greek angelos or aggelos = messenger).The Old and New Testaments of the Bible make considerable reference to angels, which are regarded as divine messengers.
Around the sixth-century CE Dionysus the Areopagite’s The Celestial Hierarchy outlined three groups of hierarchically arranged angels.
Angels are mentioned in the Jewish Kabbala as inhabiting seven heavenly [...]
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Posted in A, tagged animism, anthropology, belief, ethnocentrism, magic, mysticism, nature, primitive, ritual, soul, spirit, tylor on April 9, 2008 | No Comments »
a couple of large spirit houses in the woods@ mae wokOriginally uploaded by doctor paradox
Animism The belief that natural objects like rivers, mountains and trees, as well as animals and people have a spiritual, animating principle.
Sir E. B. Tylor developed a theory of animism to try to explain the origins of religion.
Tylor believed that so-called [...]
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Posted in A, tagged Anthroposophy, christianity, divine, gnosticism, life, mankind, mysticism, occult, reincarnation, religion, soul, spirit, Steiner on April 8, 2008 | 12 Comments »
Goetheanum exteriorOriginally uploaded by Dystopos
Anthroposophy A spiritual movement and outgrowth ofTheosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) in the late 1800s.
Anthroposophy is said to embrace Christianity while advancing the idea of reincarnation, a teaching that most orthodox Christians do not accept.
Elements are also borrowed from several other mystical systems, including the occult, astral travel and Gnosticism.
Goetheanum [...]
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Posted in A, tagged ashram, Celibacy, contemplation, enlightenment, hindu, liberation, meditation, monks, mysticism, prayer, religion, self-realization, sex, sexuality, soul, spirit on March 24, 2008 | No Comments »
Ashram (Skt. a moving to + shrama spiritual discipline) An ashram is a retreat center where spiritual seekers, usually under the direct or indirect guidance of a master (guru), seek spiritual wisdom and development, ultimately leading to enlightenment.
Like a Christian monastery, ashram life may involve not just prayer and contemplation but also scholarly study and [...]
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Posted in A, tagged atman, Brahman, christianity, hindu, hinduism, mysticism, new age, ramanuja, religion, sankara, soul, updanisads on March 17, 2008 | No Comments »
Atman (probably from Skt. an “to breathe” 
in Hinduism, particularly in the school of Advaita Vedanta, this may be roughly understood as the “soul.”
In the Upanisads, the Atman is eternal, all-knowing and cannot be killed. The lower-case atman, translated from the Sankrit, usually refers to the personal soul. The upper-case Atman is the universal soul, [...]
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Posted in A, tagged arjuna, ashram, aurobindo, auroville, bhagavad-gita, hindu, intercession, meditation, mother, mysticism, plato, religion, soul, spirit, transformation on March 13, 2008 | No Comments »
Aurobindo, Sri (formerly Aurobindo Ghose, 1872-1950) British-educated Indian freedom fighter and nationalist (regarded by British colonialists as a terrorist) who turned philosopher and mystic.
Aurobindo took the bellicose message of the Bhagavad Gita - that Arjuna must fight to fulfil his apparently holy duty - very seriously.
Sri Aurobindo constructed explosive bombs in a Calcutta home while [...]
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Blake, William (1757-1827) English engraver, painter, poet and mystic born in London.
Not unlike visionaries from most world religions, Blake believed that a spiritual light exists behind the world of appearances.
His writings and art mostly refer to philosophical, mythological and biblical themes.
Unlike artists who use abstraction to hint at a perceived yet normally unseen reality, Blake’s [...]
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Posted in B, tagged buber, God, jewish, mysticism, soul, spirit on February 8, 2008 | No Comments »
Buber, Martin (1878-1965) Viennese-born Israeli-Jewish theologian best known for his 1922 classic, Ich und Du (I and Thou).
Buber has been described as a modern representative of a heterodox form of Jewish mysticism called Hasidism.
He appears regularly in university philosophy and religion courses, mostly for his description of relating to others and to God in terms of an “I [...]
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Posted in C, tagged Celibacy, mysticism, religion, sex, soul, spirit on January 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Celibacy Several religious traditions regard celibacy as a requirement for healthy premarital relationships and advanced spiritual progress.
In contrast to Freud’s views about so-called normal psychosexual development and C. G. Jung’s advocacy of a mind/body holism, some celibates claim that unspent sexual energy is transmuted to higher forms of conscious awareness.
Aspects of popular culture tend to [...]
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