Being a Magical and Qabalistic Interpretation of the Drama of Parzival by a Companion of the Holy Grail.

First published in 1965, this book represents a refinement and further development of the core thesis that Henri de Lubac had originally put forward many years earlier in a bold and controversial work in which he first called into question the idea of pure nature.

This study illustrates how the isolated prophet or mystic is no longer relevant and that it is only through the formation of prophetic communities of faith that our modern sense of fragmentation can be addressed.

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A distinctive feature of Western religous life in recent years has been the rediscovery of the contemplative tradition in Christianity. Within the Christian mystical tradition, England holds a unique place, with a number of major figures from the Middle Ages and later whose writings have fascinated generations of readers. This book presents seven of them, five from the medieval period, the golden age of English mysticism - Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, the author of The Cloud of Unknowing, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kempe; and two from later centuries - William Law and George Herbert. Each chapter consists of an introductory essay on the life and writings of each individual, followed by carefully chosen extracts from their writings. Those from the medieval period are in fresh new translations. All these writers see the spiritual life as an ongoing process, a pilgrimage. This inner pigrimage requires no outer excursions, but throughout the ages spiritual pilgrims have undertaken physical pilgrimages as well. One aim of this book is to encourage its readers to continue this tradition by visiting sites from which the writings arose. So each chapter is provided with a map of the area of immediate interest and a drawing of the place most associated with each figure, and the introductory essays contain practical information about how to get there. No other anthology of mystical and spiritual writings describes the lives and locations of these individuals in this way. Gordon L. Miller, Ph.D., is a writer and historian living near Seattle, Washington. He attended Milligan College and Christian Theological Seminary. This book developed from a period of post-graduate study at Cambridge University, when he visited the sites described in the book, a journey which, he says, "made the historical grounding of the English mystical tradition much more real to me." He is also the author of Wisdom of the Earth: Visions of an Ecological Faith.

Including: Mester Eckhart, Tauler, Paracelsus, Jacob Boehme, Giordano Bruno and Others.

"I have been reading Lady Julian of Norwich," declares C.S. Lewis in a letter to his former pupil, the Benedictine mystic Bede Griffiths. "A dangerous book, clearly. I'm glad I didn't read it much earlier." Thomas Merton wrote simply, "There can be no doubt that Julian is the greatest of the English mystics."



Few texts have had held such interest or been the object of such enduring devotion as has Julian of Norwich's 14th-century classic A Revelation of Love. This great work--along with The Cloud of Unknowing and Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle--form the very heart of Western mysticism, and each generation has cherished its beautiful poetry and profound account of a soul's quest for the divine. This new translation of Julian's mystical writings offers today's reader immediate access to this most powerful spiritual of books written in English. Julian's message of God's intimate and enabling love is revealed as both beguiling and inescapable. The poetry and rhythmic structure of the original Middle English text are respected, yet it is given fresh immediacy since it is now rendered in inclusive language for the first time ever. Moreover Julian's key ideas are easily identified-even by newcomers to her unique system of thought-by means of an original and authoritative linking commentary at the head of each key chapter, as well as continuing support from highly informative footnotes and a detailed glossary of the main terms used.

The great stories and myths have much to teach today's men and women. For most men, none are more rewarding than the ancient Arthurian legends of the lives of knights dedicated to the search for the Holy Grail. At their core these stories invite men to move outside comfortable boundaries and to risk a much greater calling: nothing less than the discovery of the true self. The starting point for many men is the receiving of a "sacred wound": a death, a betrayal, some grievous loss. Trying to accept and understand the significance of these life events is important, for from this wound can come healing for self and others. As Richard Rohr puts it: "The work of religion is to open your eyes and see that everything swirls with meaning". Enter into the quest with Fr. Rohr back to the beginnings of Christianity and its deepest symbols, to ancient stories of the death of the hero and strength passed on through the drinking of his blood; to the intertwining of these myths in the Grail legends, particularly in the story of Parsifal and his search for the Grail and wholeness. The author not only makes these legends come vividly alive, he also shows that despite changes in culture and advances in science and technology the universal truths are unchanging, and the quest remains the same, sacred challenge for today.

There comes to all souls, at least once in life, a severe test. It is known as the Dark Night of the Soul. It is when we are beleaguered by darkness: spiritual and mental and where no hope seems to be near and everything we try to do is thwarted. It is where the soul is forced to persist and enter into the glorious Golden Dawn of Illumination and kinship with God, or relax into the dull slumber of a mediocre physical existence. You cannot avoid it. If this test hasn't already come in your life-it will. How you deal with it is as important as life itself. This book, written by a high initiate, St. John, will be your counsel and guide.

This sweeping study of mysticism by Jess Hollenback considers the writings and experiences of a broad range of traditional religious mystics, including Teresa of Avila, Black Elk, and Gopi Krishna. It also makes use of a new category of sources that more traditional scholars have almost entirely ignored, namely, the autobiographies and writings of contemporary clairvoyants, mediums, and out-of-body travelers. This study contributes to the current debate about the contextuality of mysticism by presenting evidence that not only are the mystic's interpretations of and responses to experiences culturally and historically conditioned, but historical context and cultural environment decisively shape both the perceptual and affective content of the mystic's experience as well.

Hollenback also explores the linkage between the mystic's practice of recollection and the onset of other unusual or supernormal manifestations such as photisms, the ability to see auras, telepathic sensitivity, clairvoyance, and out-of-body experiences. He demonstrates that these extraordinary phenomena can actually deepen our understanding of mysticism in unexpected ways.

A unique feature of this book is its in-depth analysis of "empowerment," an important phenomenon ignored by most scholars of mysticism. Empowerment is a peculiar enhancement of the imagination, thoughts, and desires that frequently accompanies mystical states of consciousness. Hollenback shows its cross-cultural persistence, its role in constructing the perceptual and existential environments within which the mystic dwells, and its linkage to the fundamental contextuality of mystical experience.

Building on the success of "The Foundations of Mysticism," this second volume of McGinn's classic The Presence of God series covers the major theoreticians of the period 500 to 1200 CE. Major figures include Gregory the Great, John Scotus Eriugena, Bernard of Clairvaux, William of St. Thierry, and Hugh of St. Victor.

This work aims to recover the mystical heart of Christianity, confirming that there is a direct tradition of spiritual practices that the main stream Church has managed to ignore and suppress. The author's quest for higher knowledge takes him on a journey to Maine, New York, London, Cyprus and Greece. His revelation of a vital living mystical practice based in ancient Christian thought, is a major step in linking the most esoteric traditions of the East to the largely hidden esoteric traditions of the West. The book has a wide cultural significance, revealing a Western Christian spirituality that includes space for mystical practice that is too often assumed to be the exclusive domain of eastern religions.

The object of this book is to learn how to conquer yourself; to free yourself from evil passions; to reform the disorder, great or little of your past life; to regulate it to the Divine will. To attain this goal, many obstacles must be overcome. This book, authored by the great mystic, Ignatius, shows how.

Those students who have found only frustration in this giant mystic, will here find set forth the structural plan conceived to underlie the poet's cosmic conceptions, and to tie them into an organic whole. For this psychological key, the author has gone back for her sources to the ancient Scriptures, including the Kabbala, to the occult writings of Nietzsche, Thoreau, Boehme and Whitman and early Oriental philosophers. The key to the mystery of Blake is this: that he was a true seer and spokesman because he had come to an understanding of the processes of his own soul. Partial Contents: Symbolism in the songs; Great Crisis; Return to Illumination; Psychology of Symbol; Structural Plan of the Ancient Wisdom; Tiriel; Song of Liberty; America, Europe; Books of Urizen, Los, Ahania; Everlasting Gospel.

One of the most important works on mysticism ever published! Contents: The best writing of: Eckhart; Tauler; Meditations on the Seven Words from the Cross; Suso; Ruysbroek; Theologia Germanica. Inspiring.

In this book, the author takes the reader on a contemplative and theological journey into the angelic wisdom at the heart of the symbol of the cherubim. He uses as the guide for the journey, the 12th-century theologian Richard of St Victor and his treatise, De arca mystica.

A former Trappist monk who lived and studied with Thomas Merton presents the traditional teaching of the mystical life in a way that people can both understand and make real in their lives.

This volume provides a contemporary overview of texts, images, phenomena and personalities of Christian mysticism during the Western Middle Ages. The material is primarily approached from literary, history of mentality and psychology of religion perspectives. Basic knowledge is communicated through critical analysis and is also made accessible through a glossary. Although this work clearly focuses on German mysticism, developments in other European countries are presented in a comparative manner.

The rich mystical tradition of the Near and Middle East is the fascinating subject of this wide-ranging study by Dr Margaret Smith, a renowned writer in this field. Her book explores the relationship between the rise and development of a mystical element in Islam - which we know as Sufism - and the mysticism that was already to be found within the Christian Church of the Near and Middle East, at the time when Arab power was establishing itself and the faith of Islam was in the process of development and formulation. In this earliest period of Islamic mysticism, the contacts between Christianity and Islam were at their closest. Here Dr Smith presents the mystics' teachings and allows their own writings to speak for them, offering an illuminating comparison between the early mystical doctrines of two great religious traditions, and celebrating their shared devotion and inspiration.

A scholarly and masterful exploration of the meaning and importance of 'mystery' and 'mysticism' to the Christian revelation, offering a fuller understanding of Christian spirituality down the ages and a firmer grasp of what it means to be a Christian.>

This is a selection from the writings of the 12th century Benedictine mystic, who wrote books on prayer, theology, poetry, music, natural history, the human body, health as well as one play. It includes commentary which places Hildegard's work in its social and historical context and the new translations bring it all vividly to life.

The mystics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were, writes Karen Armstrong, like "the astronauts of our own day.  They broke into a new religion, blazed a new trail to God and to the depths of the self, a trail far from the beaten pilgrimage paths of Chaucer and Langland."  Mysticism is a spiritual mystery shared in some form by all faiths; it has a supernatural quality that extends beyond the given boundaries of religious creed and may be experienced by any lay person.  The thrilling intensity of a mystical experience, as represented in this volume by the writings of four mystics of the Middle Ages, can inspire other spiritual seekers with its insight into the limitless wonder of both human and divine experience. Dissatisfied by the strictures of dogma and a religion that failed to quench the human thirst for knowledge of a mystical order, these four mystics--Richard Rolle of Hampole, Walter Hilton, Dame Julian of Norwich, and the unknown author of The Cloud Of Unknowing --communicate an intense and passionate experience of faith rare in any time.  Because of their unique beliefs and spiritual strength, their knowledge and writings have proved timeless, and in this beautiful volume show contemporary seekers important new insights into the nature of divine love.

William Law was a kind and gentle soul who clearly perceived the mystic oneness of all existences. His writings should be read by any mystic. "What is a good Book? A good Religious Book is one full of such truths and Spiritual information will lead us to see and know who, and what and where we are; that God is our All, and that all is misery but a heart and life devoted to him. The best Book is undeniably that which will turn to us that inward one, which, with noon day clearness, shows us the strength of sin, the power of every evil temper, the secret workings of our hearts, the weakness of all our virtues; and to the Teacher, whose instructions consist in an inward birth of Divine Light and Goodness.

The sun has risen higher and one sees more clearly and broadly what our new relations with the Unseen may be. Nothing can now prevent us from reaching that wonderful land which stretches so clearly before those eyes which are opened to see it. Contents: The Two Needful Readjustments; The Dawning of the Light; The Great Argument; The Coming World; Is it the Second Dawn?; Spirit Photography. Yes, this is the same author who brought you Sherlock Holmes. He was a gifted spiritualist and mystic.

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