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.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Contents: General Characteristics of Mysticism; Mystical element in the Bible; Christian Platonism and Speculative Mysticism; Practical and Devotional Mysticism; Nature Mysticism and Symbolism; Mystical Theology; Greek Mysteries and Christian Mysticism; Doctrine of Deification; Mystical Interpretation of the Song of Solomon.

This book aims at quickening personal religion by recalling the lessons in the spiritual life which some of the great Masters of Devotion have left to us in their lives and in their writings. Contents: St. Augustine and the "Confessions"; Julian of Norwich and "Revelations of Divine Love"; Thomas A. Kempis and the "Imitation of Christ"; Lorenzo Scupoli and the "Spiritual Combat"; Francis de Sales and the "Devout Life"; William Law and "A Serious Call."

Contents: What is Mysticism; The Mystical Element in the Gospel and Epistles; The Montanists, The Gnostics, and the Alexandrines; Neo-Platonism; The Influence of Neo-Platonism in Christianity; Three Types of Medieval Mysticism; The German Mystics of the Middle Ages; English, Italian, Spanish, and French Mystics; Post Reformation Mysticism in England; Puritan Mystics; Jacob Boehme and William Law; Modern Mysticism; Bibliography, Index.

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.

"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.

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 scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

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.

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

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.

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.

In Western Christianity, the mystic was seen as having direct access to God, and therefore great authority. Dr. Jantzen discusses how men of power defined and controlled who should count as a mystic, and thus who would have power: women were pointedly excluded. The modern philosophical assumption that mysticism is essentially about intense subjective experiences is misguided. This book is the first on the subject to take issues of gender seriously, and to use them as a point of entry for a deconstructive approach to Christian mysticism.

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.

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.>

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.

If you need to understand consumer markets in the Middle East then look no further than this comprehensive guide. Consumer Middle East 2003 is resource of clearly presented, comparable consumer market size data. Providing volume and value statistics for over 330 product sectors (1996-2001) in 10 countries of the Middle East, it aims to be a one-stop shop for understanding consumer trends. Combine this with full coverage of socio-economic parameters and you have a comprehensive research tool giving you the opportunity to create a detailed picture of this market.

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.

Laughing at the Devil is an invitation to see the world with a medieval visionary now known as Julian of Norwich, believed to be the first woman to have written a book in English. (We do not know her given name, because she became known by the name of a church that became her home.) Julian "saw our Lord scorn [the Devil's] wickedness" and noted that "he wants us to do the same." In this impassioned, analytic, and irreverent book, Amy Laura Hall emphasizes Julian's call to scorn the Devil. Julian of Norwich envisioned courage during a time of fear. Laughing at the Devil describes how a courageous woman transformed a setting of dread into hope, solidarity, and resistance.

This is a companion volume to Petroff's anthology Medieval Women's Visionary Literature (OUP 1986), which collected texts written by and for medieval women mystics. This volume collects her own essays in which she applies a variety of literary approaches to this remarkably diverse body of texts.

John Sanford opens a new door to the Gospel of John and discovers a treasure-house of psychological wisdom. The Fourth Gospel is the most mystic of all the gospels. And Mystical Christianity sheds light on its myriad meanings. It is a book that John Sanford was meant to write.

Partial Contents: Absolute Being; Adam; Nature and Method of Attainment; Consciousness; Cause and Effect; Christ in You; Contemplation; Cyclic Law; After-Death States; Evolution; Eternity; Emanation; Free Will; Fate; God and Godhead; Good and Evil; The Ancient Gnosis; Heaven and Hell; Intellect; Intuition; Initiation; The Infinite; Knowledge; Love; Logos or Word; Mind; Matter and Substance; Materialism; Manifestation; Mysticism and Mind; Myths; Nature; Personality; Planetary Spheres; Reason; Reality; Religion; Reincarnation; Self-Knowledge; The One Self; Soul, Nature; Soul and Cosmos; Sin; Space; Time and Space; Doctrine of the Trinity; Mystical Union; The Mystical Virgin; Visions; Nature of Will in God and Man; Wisdom in Man.