Telepathy, thought transference, unconscious communication. While some important early psychological theorists such as William James, Frederic W. H. Myers and Sigmund Freud all agreed that the phenomenon exists, their theoretical approaches to it were very different. James's and Myers's interpretations of and experimental investigations into telepathy or thought transference were an inextricable part of their psychical researches. Freud's insistence on the reality of thought transference had nothing to do with psychical research or paranormal phenomena, which he largely repudiated. Thought transference for Freud was located in a theory of the unconscious that was radically different from the subliminal mind embraced by James and Myers. Today thought transference is most commonly described as unconscious communication but was largely ignored by subsequent generations of psychoanalysts until most recently. Nonetheless, the recognition of unconscious communication has persisted as a subterranean, quasi-spiritual presence in psychoanalysis to this day. As psychoanalysis becomes more interested in unconscious communication and develops theories of loosely boundaried subjectivities that open up to transcendent dimensions of reality, it begins to assume the features of a religious psychology. Thus, a fuller understanding of how unconscious communication resonates with mystical overtones may be more deeply clarified, articulated and elaborated in contemporary psychoanalysis in an explicit dialogue with psychoanalytically literate scholars of religion. In Legacies of the Occult Marsha Aileen Hewitt argues that some of the leading theorists of unconscious communication represent a 'mystical turn' that is infused with both a spirituality and a revitalized interest in paranormal experience that is far closer to James and Myers than to Freud.

Rudolf Steiner systematically cultivated methods of spiritual vision and research, enabling him to investigate the course of earthly and human evolution. Steiner described how the thoughts and actions of the hierarchies of spiritual beings are discernible in the dimensions of soul and spirit. Under certain conditions, it is possible for an initiate who has developed special capacities to grasp what these beings are actively preparing for the future. This was achieved especially by St. John in his Book of Revelation and, similarly, by Rudolf Steiner throughout his many years of spiritual research and teaching. Richard Seddon gathered the essence of hundreds of lectures to create this broad overview of the future for humanity and the Earth. His fascinating survey takes us from the present time through the sixth and seventh ages, or future epochs, and the Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan stages of Earth. The author also discusses the respiritualization of the Earth's layers and the solar system, which was not mentioned by Steiner but illumines events in the Apocalypse and the eventual transforming of evil to good. At the core of this process is the gradual development of Christ forces, which determine the future of individuals and all of evolution. C O N T E N T S Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Future of the Fifth Age 3. The Sixth Age 4. The Seventh Age 5. The Sixth Epoch (Seals) 6. The Seventh Epoch (Trumpets) 7. Stages of Form 8. Conditions of Life 9. Conditions of Consciousness Appendices: 1. The Human Being Seen Spiritually 2. The Pattern of Evolution 3. Concerning the Lord's Prayer