The internet has changed every aspect of life in the modern world, providing us with myriad new ways to communicate, work and learn. For a growing number of people it is also transforming the way they practise their religion. In America today, online spaces serve as critical alternatives for tech-savvy Muslims seeking a place to root their faith, forge religious identity, and build communities. With a particular focus on the Inayati Order, a branch of the oldest and most prominent Sufi order in the West, Robert Rozehnal explores the wider trends emerging where digital and religious worlds meet. He examines how the Cyber Sufis are revolutionising internal communication, spiritual pedagogy and public outreach, and looks ahead to the future of digital Islam in the age of Web 3.0. The first introductory roadmap to navigating this new landscape, Cyber Sufis will be a vital resource for students and general readers interested in how the internet is reshaping religious practice in the twenty-first century.

Presenting lore that can spiritually enrich anyone's life, this one-of-a-kind encyclopedia is devoted to the esoteric in Judaism-the fabulous, the miraculous, and the mysterious. In this second edition, Geoffrey W. Dennis has added over thirty new entries and significantly expanded over one hundred other entries, incorporating more knowledge and passages from primary sources. Jewish esotericism is the oldest and most influential continuous occult tradition in the West. This comprehensive treasury of Jewish teachings, drawn from sources spanning Jewish scripture, Talmud, the Midrash, the Kabbalah, and other esoteric branches of Judaism, is exhaustively researched yet easy to use. It includes over one thousand alphabetical entries, from Aaron to Zohar Chadesh, with extensive cross-references to related topics. With a quick reference glossary and illustrations throughout, this encyclopedia puts thirty-five hundred years of wisdom in your hands.

From the premier interpreter of Rumi comes the first definitive one-volume collection of the enduringly popular spiritual poetry by the extraordinary thirteenth-century Sufi mystic.

THE HIERARCHY OF SAINTS is an intermediate level work of Sufi beliefs about the status of saints and specific their roles and duties. Based on evidence in the Quran and Holy Traditions of Prophet Muhammad, and the ancient teachings of masters of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, four levels of saints are described in detail, along with guidelines to identify such holy souls. This title is recommended for anyone engaged in the study Sufism.

John F Newton was an American writer who, on his induction into Masonry, inquired if there was any introductory book detailing what the Craft was, "whence it came, what it teaches, and what it is trying to do in the world." Finding there was none, he resolved learn, and write upon the subject. 'The Builders' is the fascinating result of this research. Starting with ancient Egypt, Newton follows a thread of evidence from the ancient Mystery religions and the Collegia of Rome to the Comacine Masters and the Cathedral Builders, tracing the true origins of Masonry to these medieval stone-masons. The fraternity fell into decline, but was resurrected at an eighteenth century London alehouse. This scholarly but popular account of masonry was once given to every newly initiated Mason in the State of Iowa. It will prove a boon to all those interested in the Craft, mason and non-mason alike.

All Breathing Life Adores Your Name is a book of prayers composed as poetry by the founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. This English language book of prayers introduces the reader to Jewish mysticism in contemporary life. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner has said that Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi's ideas and stories have "profoundly altered the landscape of American Judaism." And, it is in his tradition of originality and spiritual centeredness that Reb Zalman has opened a door for our souls with these prayer/poems. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, the author of both Jewish Literacy and A Code of Jewish Ethics, says of this book, "It is hard to pray for more than a few sentences in Hebrew if you don't know what you're saying. And it's hard to pray for more than a few sentences in English if the prayers don't touch and teach your heart. Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, the master davvener of our age has delivered a vital book, one that enables people to actually davven, not just pray, in English. Many have promised such a book, but this one delivers."Rodger Kamenetz, the author of both Burnt Books and The Jew in the Lotus, says, "One is grateful to Reb Zalman for bringing into English these Jewish prayers that have lived a long life in him. Indeed, his introductory notes show how these prayers have provided him solace, guidance and inspiration at key moments to a unique man of prayer, so that we can begin to understand not only what the words say but how they speak in the heart."

2011 Reprint of 1940 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Werber's books are recommended for those seeking closeness with the inner self, the Christ within, the true self, and the font of power. This is the power (the one and only power) of the laws of manifestation, the power that brings peace, the power of love. Her books consist of short topics, or 'lessons' which can be read one each day as meditations, or at leisure, slowly and deeply, and as valuable sources of knowledge, which have been imparted to the author by the divine within. They are written as intimate conversations from the Master (the great self, or christ if you like) within to the author. The information imparted in the books is universal. They are given to bring about a release from fear, doubt and lack, through the understanding of trust and oneness.

The Shekinah is the manifestation of the Wisdom Goddess of the Kabbalah, the Old Testament and Merkavah Mysticism. She encompasses the primordial light of creation, the wisdom of the serpent and the inspiration of the dove. She is the beauty of the lily and the embodiment of the Tree of Life. She is also the World soul, heavenly glory, mother of angels, inspiration for prophecy, and source of souls, as well as being the Shabbat Bride and the wife of God. In The Cosmic Shekinah the authors present a concise history of the different influences of earlier wisdom goddesses on the development of the Shekinah. These goddesses include the Sumerian Inanna, the Egyptian Ma'at, the Greco-Egyptian Isis, the Semitic Anat and Astarte and the Canaanite Asherah. They show that from these ancient sources the unnamed Wisdom Goddess and wife of God portrayed in the Old Testament and early Jewish wisdom literature arose. It is this unnamed Wisdom Goddess who would subsequently become the source for the development of the Shekinah as well as the Gnostic Sophia. The influence of the feminine divine as the Shekinah has continued to find expression, with the Virgin Mary and the Holy Spirit of Christianity and the Sakina of Islam all being shaped by the enduring influence of the Wisdom Goddess. Through tracing her roles, myths and functions the authors show that in addition to her resurgence, the Wisdom Goddess has always been present throughout history, even when she has been suppressed and disguised by deliberate exclusion and mistranslation. Drawing on numerous sources including medieval Kabbalistic works, Hekhalot texts of Merkavah Mysticism, ancient literature such as the Egyptian, Sumerian and Ugaritic myths, the Old Testament, Gnostic texts and recent finds in Biblical archaeology, The Cosmic Shekinah draws attention back to the light of divine feminine wisdom.

Part oracle, part meditation book, and part Aladdin's cave of Middle Eastern myth and sacred story, Desert Wisdom offers a fresh way to hear the ancient visionary voices of the Middle East that generated three (or more) of the world's great religions.
Renowned Sufi scholar and teacher Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of The Sufi Book of Life and Prayers of the Cosmos, has revisioned his acclaimed 1995 classic for the 21st century. Praised by scientists, poets and mystics alike for its ecological approach to "hearing" the native wisdom of the Middle East on its own terms, Desert Wisdom takes us on a journey from ancient Egypt throughout the Middle East to Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafiz. In between, we spend time hearing Genesis the way a storyteller might have told it and sit at the feet of the Aramaic-speaking prophet, Yeshua of Nazareth. Through it all, Desert Wisdom presents us with ancient wisdom about life's biggest questions like:

"Why am I here? Who am I? And how do I love?"

A new translation from Coptic and Greek texts, and an in-depth study of The Gospel of Thomas, integrating philological expertise with historical synthesis, tracing and reconstructing the threads of ancient Jewish esoteric ideas stretching across the millennia in Kabbalah, Jewish-Christian (Ebionite) texts, as well as in Islamic Sufi and Shi'ite gnostic traditions. Zinner's work injects fresh and invigorating ideas into Thomas scholarship and delivers an important contribution to the field of Jewish Studies.

Max Heindel's mysticism is set firmly in the western tradition of the Gnosis. Following a series of disappointments and ill health, Heindel claims to have been visited by a Spiritual Being, who he identified as an Elder Brother of the Rosicrucian Order. From this entity he received a compelling explanation of the spiritual evolution of both the Cosmos and Humanity, couched in terms best suited to the logical, linear mind of western culture. 'The Rosicrucian Mysteries' is an elementary exposition of these teachings and training methods, and a perfect introduction to the philosophy of this important teacher of the Western Mystery Tradition.

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. There is a vast body of imaginal literature in Bengali that introduces fictional Sufi saints into the complex mythological world of Hindu gods and goddesses. Dating to the sixteenth century, the stories-pir katha-are still widely read and performed today. The events that play out rival the fabulations of the Arabian Nights, which has led them to be dismissed as simplistic folktales, yet the work of these stories is profound: they provide fascinating insight into how Islam habituated itself into the cultural life of the Bangla-speaking world. In Witness to Marvels, Tony K. Stewart unearths the dazzling tales of Sufi saints to signal a bold new perspective on the subtle ways Islam assumed its distinctive form in Bengal.

This unprecedented series is based on hundreds of transcripts of spiritual discourses of Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, 40th Sufi master of the renowned Naqshbandi Golden Chain, which originates with Prophet Muhammad, may the peace and blessing of God upon him. Respected for his moderate interpretation of traditional Islamic teachings, for sixty years Shaykh Nazim has been instrumental in spreading spiritual awareness to millions. Seekers around the world eagerly log on to witness his daily live broadcast on Sufilive.com, hoping to absorb his divinely inspired guidance on issues that impact all humanity. A testament to their popularity, these discourses are translated live into fifteen languages.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

The Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi (d. 1934) was one of the most famous Sufi saints of the last century with many followers both in the Middle East and in Europe. Dr Martin Ling's bestselling biography of the Shaykh, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, brought him to the attention of the English-reading public. The Qur'an and the Prophet in the Writings of the Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi presents for the first time in English all the collected works of the Shaykh on the two guiding principles of Islam. The Shaykh al-'Alawi had embarked on a full commentary on the Qur'an but only completed an introduction explaining his approach to Qur'anic exegesis and commentaries on three chapters. All these pieces are included here with an additional appendix of answers to questions that the Shaykh's disciples had put to him on the Qur'an. The Qur'anic commentaries are followed by a treatise on the meaning of the invocation of blessings on the Prophet. This extremely profound treatise delves into the spiritual nature of the Prophet explaining how he represents both the summit of spiritual attainment and the example for all those seeking enlightenment. Also included in the appendix are answers that the Shaykh gave his disciples on sayings of the Prophet. The Qur'an and the Prophet in the Writings of the Shaykh Ahmad al-'Alawi is a treasury of Sufi commentary by an author whose stunning interpretations and penetrating insights are rare, even among the most renowned of Sufi authors. Moreover, there is very little in English on Quranic exegesis, especially Sufi exegesis, and readers with an interest in Sufism, Islamic studies and spirituality in general will find much here that is unique.

Its author is as mysterious as its subject matter. The one appearance of English occultist FRANCIS BARRETT (b. circa 1770) upon the literary scene is this mammoth 1801 work, a complete study of ritual magic, in practice and in its theoretical underpinnings. Drawing on numerous works of the arcane and the occult, this one-of-a-kind book ignited a fervor for magic, in all its forms, in the Europe in the early 19th century, and may have even influenced Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church.Subtitling his tome Celestial Intelligencer, Barrett promises here to present a "complete system of occult philosophy," containing the "ancient and modern practice of the Cabalistic art," and showing "the wondering effects that may be performed by a Knowledge of the celestial influences, the occult properties of metals, herbs, and stones." Alchemy, talismanic magic, magnetism, ceremonial magic, the conjuration of spirits... Barrett reveals the secrets of all these disciplines, and more.Featuring all the original charts, diagrams, and illustrations, and including Barrett's biographies of famous occultists from Agrippa to Zoroaster, this is a fascinating work of occult and cultural history.

Kabbalah holds the secrets to a path of conscious awareness. In this compact book, noted spiritual teacher DovBer Pinson presents 32 key concepts of Kabbalah and shows their value in opening the gates of perception. From the Introduction: Simply translated, Kabbalah means "that which is received." Looking deeper, the word Kabbalah can mean to be open and receptive, to challenge one's own internal navigational system in order to see, hear, and be open to... more. We must be receptive to a teaching to fully absorb it. We turn ourselves into vessels and invite within that which we wish to understand or grasp. In this way, we become receptacles, dispensaries, and a part of the Kabbalah. We become vessels of this tradition by opening the self to a higher reality, and viewing the spirit within the matter. We raise our consciousness to the point where the Divine within all creation is revealed. As we pursue a deeper awareness, we become less ego-centered and more attuned to the deeper significance of our surroundings. About the author: Rabbi DovBer Pinson heads the Iyyun Center in Brownstone Brooklyn. He has written several books, including Inner Rhythms: The Kabbalah of Music; Reincarnation & Judaism: The Journey of the Soul; Meditation & Judaism: Exploring Meditative Paths and Jewish Wisdom of the Afterlife.

Basing himself on Christian sources-literally "from Saint Paul to Meister Eckhart"-Wolfgang Smith formulates what he terms an "unexpurgated" account of gnosis, and demonstrates its central place in the perfection of the Christ-centered life. He observes, moreover, that the very conception of a "supreme knowing," as implied by the aforesaid sources, has a decisive bearing upon cosmology, which moreover constitutes the underlying principle upon which his earlier scientific and philosophical work-beginning with his ground-breaking treatise on the interpretation of quantum mechanics-has been based. The "fact of gnosis," however, has a decisive bearing on the theological notion of creatio ex nihilo as well, and it is this imperative that Smith proposes to explore in the present work. What is thus demanded, he contends, is the inherently Kabbalistic notion of a creatio ex Deo et in Deo, not to replace, but to complement the creatio ex nihilo. This leads to an engagement with Christian Kabbalah (Pico de la Mirandola, Johann Reuchlin, and Cardinal Egidio di Viterbo especially) and with Jacob Boehme, culminating in an exegesis of Meister Eckhart's doctrine. The author argues, first of all, that Eckhart does not (as many have thought) advocate a "God beyond God" theology: does not, in other words, hold an inherently Sabellian view of the Trinity. Smith maintains that Eckhart has not in fact transgressed a single Trinitarian or Christological dogma; what he does deny implicitly, he shows, is none other than the creatio ex nihilo, which in effect Eckhart replaces with the Kabbalistic creatio ex Deo. In this shift, moreover, Smith perceives the transition from "exoteric" to "esoteric" within the integral domain of Christian doctrine. Wolfgang Smith brings to his writing a rare combination of qualities and experiences, not the least his ability to move freely between the somewhat arcane worlds of science and traditional metaphysics. Alongside Dr. Smith's imposing qualifications in mathematics, physics, and philosophy, we find his hard-earned expertise in Platonism, Christian theology, traditional cosmologies, and Oriental metaphysics. His outlook has been enriched both by his diverse professional experiences in the high-tech world of the aerospace industry and in academia, and by his own researches in the course of his far-reaching intellectual and spiritual journeying. Here is that rare person who is equally at home with Eckhart and Einstein, Heraclitus and Heisenberg Harry Oldmeadow, La Trobe University]

The Mysteries of the Qabalah is written from a Theosophical point of view. This text explains the signatures of each Hebrew letter, the use of techniques such as permutation and numerology to find deeper meaning in the sacred writings, and the history and a bibliography of Jewish mysticism. The Sepher Yezirah is the central text of the Qabalah, in which the principle of the letters is explained, and the associations between the other letters and the tree of life are explained.

There slumber in every human being faculties by means of which he can acquire for himself a knowledge of higher worlds. Mystics, Gnostics, Theosophists - all speak of a world of soul and spirit which for them is just as real as the world we see with our physical eyes and touch with our physical hands. At every moment the listener may say to himself: that, of which they speak, I too can learn, if I develop within myself certain powers which today still slumber within me. -- Rudolf Steiner

Antoine Fabre d'Olivet (December 8, 1767-March 25, 1825) was a French author, poet, and composer whose biblical and philosophical hermeneutics in?uenced many occultists, such as Eliphas Lvi and Gerard Encausse (Papus), and Ren Gunon. D'Olivet spent his life pursuing the esoteric wisdom concealed in the Hebrew scriptures, Greek philosophy, and the symbolism of many ancient cultures as far back as ancient India, Persia, and Egypt. His writings are considered classics of the Hermetic tradition. His best known works today are his research on the Hebrew language (The Hebraic Tongue Restored), his translation and interpretation of the writings of Pythagoras (The Golden Verses of Pythagoras), and his writings on the sacred art of music. In addition to the above works, Hermetica has published in consistent facsimile format for its Collected Works of Fabre d'Olivet series Cain and The Healing of Rodolphe Grivel, as well as Hermeneutic Interpretation of the Origin of the Social State of Man and the Destiny of the Adamic Race. D'Olivet's mastery of many ancient languages and their literatures enabled him to write (in the time of Napoleon) this extraordinary text which remains a landmark investigation of the deeper esoteric undercurrents at work in the history of culture. The Golden Verses of Pythagoras, so remarkable for their moral elevation, and standing as the most beautiful monument of antiquity raised in honor of Wisdom, were originally transcribed by Lysis, though it is to Hierocles that we owe the version that has come down to us. Fabre d'Olivet has translated them into French verse of special form (eumolpique), and in his Discourse upon the Essence and Form of Poetry in the present volume he explains and illustrates this melodious style. In his Examinations of the Golden Verses, which comprises the last division of this book, he has drawn with the power of his great mind the metaphysical correlation of Providence, Destiny, and Will.