The book developed from my gradual realization that spirituality was a normal characteristic in the human race, but that in recent millennia it had regressed in the everyday awareness of most people, especially those belonging to what they regarded as a cultural society. Only so-called primitive peoples retained a spiritual outlook. My book describes how this has come about, especially the negative influence of organized religions on individual spirituality, and the resulting deterioration in most human societies. Finally I suggest how mankind can become again spiritual during their Earth lives. Michael Higgins

This book answers the question to the most concealed practice in the Bardo Todol, commonly known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. What is the true intent of the Secret of the Four Wisdoms Gathered into the Clear Hollow Mysterious Passage of Vajrasatva? After eliminating all other possibilities you will discover that Trekcho and Togal are the one answer to this mystery. The encounter with the Vajrasatva Mystery is an Imbedded Clue to Trekcho and Togal which reveal Clear Light Evenness, not only in the after death state, but equally in the living state. Trekcho, Letting Go and Togal, the Four Stages of Soaring On or Skull Crossing are the deepest secrets of Dzogchen, the Natural Great Completion. In Nyingma these are restricted secret practices kept from the public eye. Whereas, in the Kagyu school and Bonpo tradition these same methods are open to one and all. You are the decider on these two attitudes. Let your thought be lighted by the words of the Lion of the Sakyas, "Ananda? I have set forth the Dharma without making any distinction of esoteric and exoteric doctrine; there is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist." I hope you will find the freedom of your own experience in the detailed observations and in depth examinations of these secret methods of Dzogchen. The text is in no way, nor tries to be a teaching text, a manual, nor a guidebook on Trekcho and Togal or Bardo, for I am in no way at all, a teacher, an expert nor a guide in these practices. Nor do I ever wish to be one. This essay is an answer to a life long question I have had since reading the Bardo Thodol as a young person. "What is the true meaning of Vajrasattva, the Mysterious Passageway and the Union of the Four Wisdoms?" It just so happens that after one goes through all possibilities of what this means one finally comes to the sacred secret teachings of Dzogchen's Trekcho, Togal and Bardo. So I have had to explain what little that I know about these special secret practices to answer the primary question this text attempts to answer. Why wade through the torrent of concepts on this when we can go directly to the clear, most reasonable and satisfactory answers that leave no shadow of hesitation? Vajrasattva stands for the Primordial Clear Light Void as Love and Compassion. The secret Mysterious Way of the pure Clear Passage of Vajrasatva is the Kati, running from the Heart to the Eyes. Within this Kati are the Four Lamps. From Clear Light, through the Open Kati these Lamps give forth an arising to the Four Togal Appearances. Since it is found in the highest wisdom texts from Dzogchen on Trekcho, Togal and Bardo and Tibetan's favorite book on guidance in the afterlife, it is worthy of taking a serious look.

Helena Blavatsky's translations of three fragments of ancient Buddhist wisdom, sourced from texts such as The Book of Golden Precepts, are contained in this thought-provoking volume. A valiantly sought collection of sage advice and spiritual instruction, The Voice of the Silence offers readers advice on inner growth. Principally the text echoes the principles of Buddhism, advising readers to put aside personal desires and focus upon fostering the inner wealth of the soul to achieve a life of contentment. Blavatsky's book was published as part of her personal investigations into ancient wisdom pertaining to the human soul and reality. Her hunt turned up the formerly obscure fragments which she painstakingly translated. Although existing scholars generally poured cold water upon her efforts, which they considered a haphazard grouping of ancient precepts and mysticism, the reception was warmer among readers discovering the theosophist principles of spiritualism for the first time.

Since the dawn of history people have used charms and spells to try to control their environment, and forms of divination to try to foresee the otherwise unpredictable chances of life. Many of these techniques were called "superstitious" by educated elites.
For centuries religious believers used "superstition" as a term of abuse to denounce another religion that they thought inferior, or to criticize their fellow-believers for practising their faith "wrongly." From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, scholars argued over what 'superstition' was, how to identify it, and how to persuade people to avoid it. Learned believers in demons and witchcraft, in their treatises and sermons, tried to make 'rational' sense of popular superstitions by blaming them on the deceptive tricks of seductive demons.
Every major movement in Christian thought, from rival schools of medieval theology through to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, added new twists to the debates over superstition. Protestants saw Catholics as superstitious, and vice versa. Enlightened philosophers mocked traditional cults as superstitions. Eventually, the learned lost their worry about popular belief, and turned instead to chronicling and preserving 'superstitious' customs as folklore and ethnic heritage.
Enchanted Europe offers the first comprehensive, integrated account of western Europe's long, complex dialogue with its own folklore and popular beliefs. Drawing on many little-known and rarely used texts, Euan Cameron constructs a compelling narrative of the rise, diversification, and decline of popular 'superstition' in the European mind.

Classic Charles Williams: A humanistic adept has discovered that by focusing his energies inward he can extend his life almost indefinitely. He undertakes an experiment, using African lore, to die and resurrect his own body, thereby assuring his immortality. His followers begin a revolutionary movement to destroy European civilization.

Black Jack Herman

Eva turns 109 as seen on the Today Show 4/9/08.

Quote of the day: "When you've been buried alive, you're not looking forward to the real thing "

The premiere African-American magician of the twentieth century, he was an ardent freedom fighter speaking out against the scourge of Jim Crow-ism and conducting Algonquin style roundtables in his Harlem abode circa 1920's. Intriguingly, he warned people against banks and stocks before the advent of the Great Depression. He continued to entertain and enlighten throughout the crisis that followed. That is, until his mysterious death on stage in April 1934.

Steeped in details of its early twentieth-century setting, the manuscript offers a richly detailed look at the showmanship so popular during that era. In addition, it effectively conveys the mentality of the time, with prohibition, big-name gangsters, and the threat of national economic collapse looming always in the background. Ultimately, "Black Jack: A Drama of Magic, Mystery, and Legerdermain" also serves as a testament to the power of the human spirit, as readers may be struck not only by what Eva endures, but by how she endures it.

Supporting three wives, twelve children, and assorted relatives, Mohan Rai is a thoroughly modern man, convinced he's escaped an outmoded duty to follow his father as shaman to his Bhutanese village. But the gods and spirits, ancient protectors of the tribe, have other ideas.

Dishonored and vengeful, they enter his dreams and haunt his days, destroying his business, his health, his sanity, and finally, his freedom.

Based on Mohan's letters from prison, this true account by his first Western initiate will transform your worldview.

"Ellen's retelling of Mohan Rai's first-hand account of his shamanic apprenticeship in Bhutan is a valuable contribution to the preservation of this ancient knowledge." ―Michael Harner, Ph.D., author, "The Way of the Shaman and Founder, Foundation for Shamanic Studies"

"I was fascinated. Like "Autobiography of a Yogi," Mohan Rai's story shares much wisdom. Portraying his training from childhood in the ancient, mystical traditions of the shaman, this book brings a hopeful vision I will carry into my everyday life forever...a reminder of the mysteries that sustain our lives and how little we know of them. The message runs deep." ―Hal Zina Bennett, Ph.D., author, "Spirit Animals and the Wheel of Life: Earth-Centered Practices for Everyday Living"