Tag Archives: Mysticism

Sacred Mountains

Featured

Posted on by

Stories of The Mystic Mountains
An Anthology
Michael Berman

Sacred Mountains
Stories of The Mystic Mountains
An Anthology
Michael Berman
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781906958220
£15.00 / US$24.00
Subjects: Shamanism/Mysticism/Spirituality/Myths & Legends.

Click HERE for Sacred Mountains / USA

Click HERE for Sacred Mountains /UK

On the mountains of truth, you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

What mountains mean to me: in one word, awe-inspiring. Although we can measure them, our minds are incapable of actually grasping the very small or the very large things in nature: neither atomic particles nor astronomical distances. How big is a mountain, how much does it weigh? Our limited minds can only cope with subjective assessments such as how difficult is it to climb, how dangerous would an avalanche be? So the feelings it produces are awe, a little fear, and possibly exhilaration if and when we think that we have conquered the mountain – but in reality we never can.
~ Professor David Hunt

All the stories presented in this collection contain shamanic elements, so the obvious starting point is to explain what is meant by this. The term ‘shaman’ is a controversial one. Initially employed by early anthropologists to refer to a specific category of magical practitioners from Siberia, the term is now widely used to denote similar practitioners from a variety of cultures around the world. This application of an originally culture-specific term to a more general usage has caused problems with regard to definition, with disagreements among scholars over whether certain features, such as soul flight or possession, or certain types of altered states of consciousness, should or should not be listed among the core characteristics of shamanism.
(Wilby, 2011, p.252.)

Introduction
What are Mountains for you?
Soul Captivation on White Bone Mountain
The Magic Brush and the Golden Mountain
The Legend of Amirani
The Story of Jumping Mouse
The Children of Hamelin: A Shamanic Journey into Mount Poppenberg
The Crystal Clear Waters of Mount Elbruz
The Vision Quest, Mount Sinai, and a Dream Fulfilled
Mount Ararat
Mount Koya-san, the Hermit’s Cave, and Fujiyama
Sacred Towers
The Fool on the Hill and the Book of Mysteries
The Tobacco of Harisaboqued
The Princess of the Tower

Appendix:
The Baal Shem Tov –
Rabbi, Religious Formulator or Shaman?

***
cover photograph by Joe Page shows Rennes Le Château seen from castle of Rennes Les Bains.

—
Launch 17th of January 2012 at the Georgian Embassy the author will talk about this book and give a reading. Starting promptly at 7.30 pm. The event is free and Georgian wine will be served at no cost too. The address is 4 Russell Gardens, West Kensington, London W14 8EZ. The hall holds about 60 people and we are hoping for a full house.
—

*************************************************************************************
RESOURCES FOR THE SACRED MOUNTAINS EXPERIENCE
Arts & Culture, Folklore, Myths & Legends, Food & Drink.
*************************************************************************************

Tbilisi Opera & Ballet Theatre
www.opera.ge

*

Georgia Cradle of Wine
www.georgia.gov.ge/5225

*

TAMADA,
Authentic Georgian Restaurant,
122 Boundary Road, St John’s Wood,
London NW8 0RH, UK.
www.tamada.co.uk


*

Tantra for Westerners

Posted on by

A Practical Guide to The Way of Action
Francis X. King

Tantra for Westerners
A Practical Guide to The Way of Action
Francis X. King
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-869928-60-5
£15.00 / US$24.00
Subjects: Tantra/Tantrism.

Click HERE for USA & AUS

Click HERE for UK

Tantra has been defined as “a mystical philosophy” and as “an unorthodox religious tendency”. Both definitions are incomplete.

While Tantra has mystical, philosophical and religious aspects it is, above all, a technique of action – a system of physical, mental and spiritual discipline incorporating meditation, yoga, and sacramental worship in the widest sense of the phrase. This system has one purpose: the transformation of the individual – his or her rebirth to a new existence.

There is no “tantric faith” to be accepted or rejected on the bases of thought and emotion. tantrics make the same claim as Western magicians: “if you follow a certain course of action you will be led back to the roots of your own identity and will learn the truth about yourself and the universe you inhabit.”

Tantra For Westerners is a complete theoretical and practical guide to the Way of Action, covering the concepts of pleasure and pain, power and passivity, esoteric physiology, Tantra and Qabalism, right-hand and left-hand Tantra, tantric ritual for westerners and the arousal of Kundalini – the serpent power.

Francis X King (1934-1994) was a well known authority on magick, mysticism and religion. His books includes Ritual Magic in England and The Magical World of Aleister Crowley.


Judith Page’s cover painting, title ‘Tristan’ 20″ x 24″ oil on canvas. It shows the Goddess Tsun’kie k’sai, a Burmese deity. The cat is a Burmese, sacred cat of Burma.
judith-page.com

Mystical Vampire

Posted on by

The Life and Works of Mabel Collins
Kim Farnell

Mystical Vampire
The Life & Works of Mabel Collins
Kim Farnell
Format: Softcover
ISBN: 9781869928858
£15.00/US$26
Subjects: Biography/Theosophical History

Click HERE for the UK edition

Click HERE for USA & Worldwide
–
”I recommend the book to one and all whom have an interest in Victorian Society, for the off-beat origins of many institutions that are influential on our lives today. More than a few ideas found within Mystical Vampire such as the possibility of Annie Besant and Helena Blavatsky being more than just friends, make the book a good investment. For the Ripperologist, the two (and there may be other gems in there, so buy it!) items I mentioned on Collins / Stephenson are worth the price of the book alone. Few books (Sugden, Begg and Evans come to mind) are as well referenced and footnoted as this one. Ms Farnell has done an excellent job on her subject, Minna Mabel Collins.”
Howard Brown, Casebook: Jack The Ripper, the Web’s largest Jack The Ripper public archive www.casebook.org

”Kim Farnell has done devotees of gaslight and mediums a service in bringing Mabel’s world back to life.” Gary Lachman – The Independent On Sunday.
Gary Lachman’s works include:Turn Off Your Mind -The Mystic Sixties and The Dark Side of The Age of Aquarius (Sidgwick & Jackson) and The Dedalus Occult Reader: The Garden of Hermetic Dreams (Dedalus).

MYSTICAL VAMPIRE
The characters:
*Mabel Collins, Theosophist, novelist, fashion columnist, journalist and anti-vivisection campaigner
*Madame Blavatsky the extraordinary and highly influential Russian occultist and author, and other eminent members of her Theosophical Society
*Annie Besant, social reformer and Theosophist
*Robert Donston Stephenson, a suspect for Jack the Ripper and Mabel’s lover
*Frances Power Cobbe, social reformer, suffragist and anti-vivisection campaigner
*Charlotte Despard, social reformer, and anti-vivisection campaigner

Mabel Collins was an independent woman in the oppressive Victorian climate. She wrote many novels, but most will remember Mabel Collins, for her best selling mystical text Light On The Path published by the Theosophical Society. After her fall out with Madame Blavatsky,she carried on with her life as an esotericist, traveller and writer. She was moved by the plight and suffering of helpless creatures and became a campaigner for the abolition of vivisection.