Theosophy Books

The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling

James Hillman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 48 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Life-Changing Perspective 5 out of 5 stars.
15 of 16 people found this review helpful.

After reading Moore's "Care of the Soul," I decided to move on to his teacher, James Hillman. And I am glad I did.

This book gave me pause to conduct my own personal "archetypal autobiography," an exercise that has utterly transformed my life. Hillman's insights into the forces that move and motivate us have helped me as a man, as a father, and as a scholar.

I had my own copy bound in leather and I refer to it periodically -- when trends and events in my my life require archetypal realignment, when my soul needs grooming, and when I need the kind of perspective that shows me how I can gracefully my past into my present, and thence to the future.

It is a subtle and sophisticated set of arguments, not for the feint of mind.

Flip to his presentation of Plato's myth of Er (pp. 7-9 and 44-47) to capture a sense of Hillman's expansive wisdom.

Editorial Review:

James Hillman, a former director of the Jung Institute who has written more than 20 books on behavior and psychology, delves into human development in The Soul's Code. Hillman encourages you to "grow down" into the earth, as an acorn does when it becomes a mighty oak tree. He argues that character and calling are the result of "the particularity you feel to be you" and knocks those who blame childhood difficulties for all their problems as adults. According to Hillman, "The current American identity as a victim is the flip side of the coin whose head brightly displays the opposite identity: the heroic self-made man, carving out destiny alone and with unflagging will." Hillman's theories seem disarmingly simple, but he backs them with a careful, well-practiced intellect.

Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus

Edgar Cayce

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Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Chaotic but fun to read. 3 out of 5 stars.
7 of 12 people found this review helpful.

Overall, the presenting of the material is a bit, confusing and scattered. BUT, if one has some background experience and understanding of current scripture, one can identify those areas of interest as one reads the text, and have fun with comparing "visions" to scriptural reference.

Tedious 1 out of 5 stars.
6 of 7 people found this review helpful.

"Tedious" is the word I would use to describe my experience with this book and that's not the experience I'm looking for. The other Cayce books that I've read on Reincarnation, Atlantis, and Prophecy were easy to read and fascinating. What I found difficult was the author's explanation of the Readings and the Readings themselves. I found myself reacting after each Reading with "Huh? What is he talking about?" Believe me, I mean no disrepect towards Mr. Cayce and his work. I just found the book difficult to digest. Perhaps now wasn't the time to read it.

GOOD, SOLID READ 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Pretty amazing book. You will either believe it or not. If I were to have a qualm, it would be whether this information came from an evil source. (I'm a Catholic) but over and over it repeats the message of love. The book is enriching but does not feed the soul as the Bible does....but a very nice adjunct.

Julian of Norwich: Showings (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Edmund Colledge, James Walsh, Jean Leclercq

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In a time when Christian women mystics are at last being discovered, Julian of Norwich still stands out as one of the most essential--and one of the most approachable. An anchoress who lived in solitude in Norwich, England, in the late 14th century, Julian's book consists of the 16 "showings" or revelations from God. Most famous is her vision of the universe as she gazes into the smallness of a hazelnut, but the book is rich throughout with beauty. Her style is simple and homely in its images, not unlike the later St. Teresa of Avila. "God almighty is our loving Father," she writes, "and God all wisdom is our loving Mother." She affirms, "our substance is in God, and ... God is in our sensuality." For Julian God is the foundation of all that is, and the foundation of God is love. As she concludes, "What, do you wish to know your Lord's meaning in this thing? Know it well, love was his meaning. Who reveals it to you? Love. What did he reveal to you? Love. Why does he reveal it to you? For love."

The editors, Edmund Colledge, O.S.A., and James Walsh, S.J., worked for 13 years on this beautiful edition. Including a detailed analysis of the text in the introduction, the book also contains an insightful preface from Jean Leclercq, who explores the relevance of Julian's work for today. All of this, however, is in service to these astonishing visions, given to a woman whose single desire was to surrender all to God. --Doug Thorpe

Isis Unveiled [Two Volume Set]

Helena P. Blavatsky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

QUITE INFORMATIVE! 4 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

The two volumes of "Isis" treat of the interrelationship of science and religion as they correspond to the Ancient Wisdom, or Theosophy. The author, HPB, takes painstaking care to show how modern science (c. 1875ff.) is greatly at odds with theosophical science inasmuch as the ultra materialistic perspective of modern scientists prevents them from seeing the meta-reality of the science of the Ancient Wisdom.
HPB is quite thorough in venturing among a number of prominent scientists of her day--e.g. Farraday, Huxley, Cooke--and showing how their theories either: (1) were preceded by the Ancient philosophers/mystics or (2) are hopelessly obscured, and hence, invalid, due to the refusal of the modern scientist to accord well with principles that operate beyond the realm of the several measurable senses.
Consequently, HPB takes something of a polemical tone in these volumes, which, at times, can be somewhat tiring, as the volumes total 1400 pp.
The second volume treats of the development of religion from the most ancient times to the modern day, and attempts to show how the Ancient Wisdom beliefs were only taught to the initiates of the Inner Mysteries and how, over time, various perversions of that teaching got picked up by the profane and then layered over with ceremonies, rules and superstitions. Volume 2 shows, for instance, how sacred Egyptian temple rites devolved into the Greek religion of Eleusis, and how that developed into the Roman cult mythology and how Judaism was a pastiche of the faiths of Egypt, Persia (contemporary Iran), with Christianity being the latest of the religious heritage, excepting Islam.
In my opinion, humble though it be, HPB seeks to show how all religions form from one common thread and that, thus, there are far more similarities in our far-flung and diverse belief systems than there are differences. The author invites us to look beneath the superficial, what she calls, 'the husks', and into the 'true kernal', so that we can claim what was once lost.
Overall, I would recommend these volumes to the reader, assuming he has patience to wade through a fair amount of detail, has some ability to read Greek and Latin, and loves small-print footnotes. Even should the reader be unconvinced of HPB's thesis, she should come away with much food for thought.

Editorial Review:

Helena P. Blavatsky was a world traveler and fearless investigator of unexplained mysteries in cosmic and human nature.

As One Is: To Free the Mind from All Conditioning

J. (Jiddu) Krishnamurti

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This title contains a series of 8 lectures, given in Ojai, California in 1955, from one of the 20th century's greatest philosophers and teachers. Krishnamurti confronts the typical grasping and confused mind which lies at the root of all violence and suffering. Though offered over fifty years ago, the ideas in these talks are fresh, relevant and offer an enduring message for today as Krishnamurti discusses a world in which booming productivity and scientific advancement should promise a happy future, but don't.He points also to the ongoing escalation of war, competition, envy and territoriality despite gains in education, religious ecumenism and the technologies of self-improvement. He asks his listeners to consider that all apparent progress is simply another illusion. In their brilliantly clear essays, his focus is singular, with no glib answers to eternal questions. To read this book is to venture into the unexplored assumptions that govern our lives. The workings of the mind are so simple and obvious in J Krishnamurti's explanations, yet so enormously challenging to confront. Like other classic texts, such as religious scriptures, the words ring true. The issues addressed include: the nature of violence; the problem of change; the conditioning of the mind; how to achieve "peace"; the nature of worship and spiritual practice; and how to really listen.

Anthroposophy in Everyday Life

Rudolf Steiner

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Anthroposophy in Everyday Life 5 out of 5 stars.
29 of 29 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the easier of Steiner's books to read that I've found so far. It gives good information on how to live your life more effectively, including a simple way to develop a reliable memory. I particular appreciated the passage where he explains why we suffer. In looking over this book in order to write this review, I realize that it is a book that would be well to read more than once, not because it's hard to understand, but because its wisdow is so worthwhile that it needs to become a part of me.

I have only been introduced to Rudolph Steiner' works in the past six months. I have read a number of his books and found that many of them are composed of identical lectures which repeat the same information from lecture to lecture with only a little new information or getting to the main point until the last one or two of the lectures. Fortunately, the above book is not one of those. It is a shame that no one ever took the time to distill the wisdom of this genius so that it would be less tedious to read his books. I supposed this is because it would be a monumental task because he was so prolific. And maybe it would take another genius to do it. Still, in my opinion, it is worthwhile to research his information. I decided to read some of his books because so many other esoteric writers whose books I have read and whom I respect greatly, refer to his works constantly as if he were the final authority on everything of any importance.

Editorial Review:

These are four of Rudolf Steiner’s best-loved lectures. In-cluded are “Practical Training in Thought,” “Overcoming Nervousness,” “Facing Karma,” and “The Four Temperaments.” With its many practical exercises, mantras, and meditations, this book is a fundamental introduction for anyone entering the path of inner development.

Intuitive Thinking As a Spiritual Path : A Philosophy of Freedom (Classics in Anthroposophy)

Rudolf Steiner

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Of all of his works, Intuitive Thinking as a Spiritual Path is the one that Steiner himself believed would have the longest life and the greatest spiritual and cultural consequences. It was written as a phenomenological account of the "results of observing the human soul according to the methods of natural science.

This seminal work asserts that free spiritual activity - understood as the human ability to think and act independently of physical nature - is the suitable path for human beings today to gain true knowledge of themselves and of the universe. This is not merely a philosophical volume, but rather a warm, heart-oriented guide to the practice and experience of living thinking.

Readers will not find abstract philosophy here, but a step-by-step account of how a person may come to experience living, intuitive thinking - "the conscious experience of a purely spiritual content."

During the past hundred years since it was written, many have tried to discover this "new thinking" that could help us understand the various spiritual, ecological, social, political, and philosophical issues facing us. But only Rudolf Steiner laid out a path that leads from ordinary thinking to the level of pure spiritual activity - intuitive thinking - in which we become co-creators and co-redeemers of the world.

Theosophy : An Introduction to the Spiritual Processes in Human Life and in the Cosmos

Rudolf Steiner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Real Truth 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I find Steiner's work invigorating. Theosophy requires you to THINK, unlike much of the New Age drivel on the bookshelves today. Steiner was obviously a man with a great gift of sight and I feel blessed that he has shared so much with us through his writing.

This is a must read for anyone serious about delving deeper into spiritual truth and wisdom. Not only does Steiner share his vision of the Spiritual world, he tells how we can all gain access to that world IF we are willing to devote ourselves to the work with sincerity and dedication.

Editorial Review:

This work, though now appearing for the first time in English dress, has not only passed into three editions in Germany, but has been translated into Russian, Swedish, Dutch, Czechish, and Italian, while a French translation is being prepared. It were perhaps well to mention that in this work the words "know" and "knowledge," when used in reference to the supersensible worlds, involve actual experience of them gained by man through his higher organs of perception. The names chosen by the author to describe the higher bodies of man, and other theosophic facts, have been, as far as possible, retained here. Readers will find that they revert with primitive strength to the ancient power of names, and are word pictures and also mnemonics of what they represent. They thus constitute distinct forces too valuable to be withheld from the English reading public.

The Secret Doctrine : The Synthesis of Science, Religion, and Philosophy (Volumes 1 and 2)

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 23 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

This is only the Index 1 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Be certain that you realize what you are purchasing when you buy this item. This is NOT "The Secret Doctrine"; it is only the INDEX for those volumes. The other reviews had led me to believe this was "The Secret Doctrine" itself; but it is not. You must already have volumes 1 and/or 2 of "The Secret Doctrine" for this index to be of any use.

Exhaustive, penetrating, and wholly satisfying! 5 out of 5 stars.
16 of 18 people found this review helpful.

Not suggested for anyone with a short attention span. This is a massive accomplishment bringing the A to Z of occultism under one literary umbrella. An astonishing find.

there she go; here we are! 5 out of 5 stars.
14 of 18 people found this review helpful.

These volumes are a great testament in spiritual literature. They expound on the mysteries of the universe and man--their nature and evolution. All this gives rise to explaining how spiritual laws function. She says in the preface that the truths contained in the volumes are the essence of all world religions; her job being one of rescuing these truths from "degradation." Blavatsky was an early leader of the theosophist movement. In this work, she goes stanza by stanza using the "occult" (spiritual) teachings of the book of Dzyan. Of course, what makes these volumes come to life is her commentaries. As one current spiritual writer has already noted, she was a prophet of the current trend toward the emerging spirituality which is lighting up our planet. Well-travelled and well-connected with diversity, Blavatsky identifies the basic tenet of spiritual literature: we are all one! This is definitely for the intrepid. Anyway, go HB! Phillip Paris, Orlando, Florida, USA; parispg@aol.com

Editorial Review:

This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1895 edition by the Theosophical Publishing Society, London. Third and revised edition.

Bees

Rudolf Steiner

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1923 Rudolf Steiner predicted the dire state of the honeybee today. He said that, within fifty to eighty years, we would see the consequences of mechanizing the forces that had previously operated organically in the beehive. Such practices include breeding queen bees artificially.

The fact that over sixty percent of the American honeybee population has died during the past ten years, and that this trend is continuing around the world, should make us aware of the importance of the issues discussed in these lectures. Steiner began this series of lectures on bees in response to a question from an audience of workers at the Goetheanum.

From physical depictions of the daily activities of bees to the most elevated esoteric insights, these lectures describe the unconscious wisdom of the beehive and its connection to our experience of health, culture, and the cosmos.

Bees is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the true nature of the honeybee, as well as those who wish to heal the contemporary crisis of the beehive. Bees includes an essay by David Adams From Queen Bee to Social Sculpture: The Artistic Alchemy of Joseph Beuys.

The art and social philosophy of Joseph Beuys (1921–1986) is among the most influential of the twentieth century. He was strongly influenced by Rudolf Steiner's lectures on bees. The elemental imagery and its relationship to human society played an important role in Beuys's sculptures, drawings, installations, and performance art. Adams' essay on Beuys adds a whole new dimension to these lectures, generally considered to be directed more specifically to biodynamic methods and beekeeping.