Thurschwell examines the intersection of literary culture, the occult and new technology at the fin-de-siècle. She argues that as new technologies, such as the telegraph and the telephone, began suffusing the public imagination from the mid-nineteenth century on, they seemed to support the claims of spiritualist mediums. Making unexpected connections between, for instance, speaking on the telephone and speaking to the dead, she examines how psychical research is reflected in the work of Henry James, George DuMaurier and Oscar Wilde among others.

Your self, aware presence, knows no resistance to any appearance and, as such, is happiness itself; like the empty space of a room, it cannot be disturbed and is, therefore, peace itself; like this page, it is intimately one with whatever appears on it and is thus love itself; and like water that is not affected by the shape of a wave, it is pure freedom. Causeless joy, imperturbable peace, love that knows no opposite, and freedom at the heart of all experience...this is your ever-present nature under all circumstances. Our self, aware presence, knows no resistance to any appearance and, as such, is happiness itself; like the empty space of a room, it cannot be disturbed and is, therefore, peace itself; like this page, it is intimately one with whatever appears on it and is thus love itself; and like water that is not affected by the shape of a wave, it is pure freedom. Causeless joy, imperturbable peace, love that knows no opposite, and freedom at the heart of all experience...this is our ever-present nature under all circumstances.

The message of this popular book, in its seventeenth printing since first publication in 1985, is that we are not alone. We are surrounded at all times by love and support. The aim of author Iris Belhayes, who in the year 2000 passed into the world of spirit, was and is to help readers find their way back "home" to the love which is there whenever we choose to experience it. In this book, Iris shared what she learned from Enid, a spirit guide who communicated with her over a period of many years. Enid's explanation of the roles of spirit guides and spirit families in our lives is one of hope, of joy and of reassurance. In this exciting view of the cosmos, all of us seek experience above all-and all experiences contribute to the world. There are no monsters, no demons, no evil creatures, except those we conceptualize and create in our own minds and imaginations. This inspirational and uplifting book can be read on two levels. One level assumes spirit guides are actual entities from the other side. The other level considers guides our own inner wisdom. Like the many-layered universe she discusses, the approach of Iris Belhayes was very rich and can be viewed from several perspectives. But all viewpoints communicated a vision that is full of hope, love and affirmation. Iris and Enid explain how each of use organizes our life according to a preset game plan that we freely choose Our spirit guides and spirit families provide support and reassurance in helping us live out that game plan and have the many varied experiences we seek. Besides offering a sense of meaning and purpose, the author presents techniques for getting in touch with your own spirit guides. Her message is one of strength and power. She encourages readers to go beyond what they think they see and experience physically to what she calls Real Reality, which is multidimensional. She discusses some of the other levels of reality and other beings which exist, and offers instructions for how we can go beyond our "physical universe trance states" to even higher levels of consciousness and understanding. If you are ready to expand your boundaries of what is possible, this is the book for you

Most of us at the very least wonder about our own immortality and many people are convinced that there is something beyond death, beyond the blackness of the grave. In Western Judaeo-Christian culture we absorb from an early age the idea that virtue now has its own reward - later. We are taught that the universe is essentially moral and that there are absolute human values. But increasingly, science presents us with a picture of a much more mechanical universe in which there is no absolute morality and man has no purpose and no personal responsibility except to his culture and his biology. We no longer live in an age when faith is sufficient; we demand data, and we are driven by data. And it is data - data that apparently throws some light on our current concepts of Heaven and Hell - that the near-death experience seems to offer. The near-death experience (NDE) is intriguing for two major reasons. First, it is very common and secondly, it is cross-cultural. The results of one NOP survey in America suggest that over 1 million Americans have 'seen the light'. Any experience that is so common must have had some influence on the way we think about life and death. Indeed, it could be the very engine that drives our ideas of an afterlife. Many people believe that in the NDE we are given glimpses of Heaven (or Hell). But it is just as reasonable to assume that it is the NDE itself which may have shaped our very ideas about Heaven and Hell. The experiences described in this book are all first-hand accounts from people who wrote to me or to David Lorimer, chairman of the International Association of Near Death Studies (UK), after a television programme, radio broadcast or magazine or newspaper article made them aware of our interest in near-death experiences. We asked 500 of those who wrote to answer a detailed questionnaire about their experiences. Our aim was to gather in a standardised format as much detail as we could about the NDE, the people who have experienced it and the effect that the experience has had on their lives. It is from this database that the statistics quoted in this book have been drawn, and the accounts given to me by these people and by others who have written to me since then form the basis of the book. But their accounts provided much more than mere statistics. Each one was special in its own way, and provided a personal testimony which I found both moving and utterly sincere. It is very seldom that an author can so truthfully say that without others a book could not have been written - in this case, without these people there would, indeed, have been no book. I feel privileged to have been allowed to read their accounts, and I am grateful to everyone who, by being willing to share their experience with me, has helped in this search to find the truth in the light. Peter Fenwick London December 1994

Taking "self-help" to new heights and learning to cultivate your divine spiritual self in any environment, The Urban Ritualist uncovers the divine purpose of all beings, to strengthen the divine spirit within and use its power to uplift human consciousness. The term "self-help" is indicative of humankind's desire to elevate themselves - their physical, social, and economic conditions. This desire to change has been linked to the universal changes that are taking place in terms of the earth, and universal energy. Although many believe that our thoughts have the capacity to manifest the changes we desire, and in many ways it does, there is another part to the equation. It's not all about what you think, it's also about who you are. To "Know Thyself" is the most recognized edict given to humankind by the ancient Kemetians. It is the foundation of transformation work and the lifeblood of magic. In The Urban Ritualist, the path to know oneself and cultivate spiritual growth and development is laid out. Spirituality and ritual are examined from an ancient African and African American worldview as researched and expressed by African and African American scholars and practitioners over the last 60 years. It examines the importance of culture and the role it plays in one's practice of ritual. The book brings into question the values a culture holds, and encourages its readers to examine their personal values, attitudes, and beliefs. Finally, the book examines the various energies, inherent in the elements and environment that, when activated en mass, will elevate the magic that will hold this universe together. The Urban Ritualist is for persons of all ages, cultures, religious affiliations and backgrounds to synthesize ritual into their own lives and value systems. Readers are encouraged to uplift their ethnicity with positive conscious intent and to respect the spirit, energy and power in all people. In the book, you will learn to use common tools imbued with your positive conscious intent to manifest success and abundance for yourself, your family and your community. The book also encourages readers to expand their frame of reference to the positive transformation of the world community for the benefit of all. Infuse every day, every occasion and your life with ritual to live in the true power of peace and love with no limitations. Author Bio: Queen Afi Andaiye Najuma Reynolds is a certified Kemetic Yoga instructor and student of internal qi gong for energy cultivation and movement to aid the healing process. She specializes in breathwork, meditation techniques, ritual creation, and spiritual/intuitive ancestral readings. She produces a line of natural body care products under the brand "Queen Afi's Natural Body Care Products," creates ritual tools under the brand "Ritual Works ," and provides nutritional and healthy lifestyle guidance under the auspices of the Universal Temple of Peace and Love.. Queen Afi holds a Master of Education degree in Instructional Technology and has over 15 years in government, business, and community program/course development experience. She has also worked in supported employment, organizational development and human performance technology. Queen Afi is Senior Consultant for R.A.W. (Ready, Able, and Willing) to Work, Inc.; a work-readiness, new technologies training program. She is leading the effort to identify and develop work opportunities in the community for program participants, to provide services to small businesses, seniors and young families.

Who are the ancient astronauts? Why did they first come to Earth? Why are they returning now? What part did they play in building the great monuments of antiquity? What part did they play in the formation of present and earlier civilizations? With what other beings do we share our universe? And where does the Earth fit into the cosmic scheme of things? Almost twenty years of experimental work with telepathy led to the "breakthrough" contact recorded in this book. The Ra Material is an account not only of the events leading up to this contact, but of over 200 pages of verbatim transcripts of each and every conversation!

When The Flying Cow was first published in 1975, it revealed a world of psychic wonders in Brazil hitherto barely explored by outsiders. Author Guy Lyon Playfair had spent two years as a member of the Brazilian Institute for Psychobiophysical Research (IBPP), the first group of its kind to investigate and document the wide range of inexplicable phenomena - from poltergeists and psychic surgeons to trance artists and children who recall previous lives. He spent several days and nights in a poltergeist-haunted house, managing to record several inexplicable happenings on tape. He watched as a young man untrained in art dashed off a series of portraits in the styles of numerous deceased masters, some in a matter of seconds. He witnessed some of the country's unorthodox healers at work, and saw them open bodies with their bare hands, eventually finding out for himself how it feels to be on the receiving end of this most bizarre form of alternative surgery. He also looked into some of the best known cases from the past, collecting new eye-witness evidence for the mysterious abilities of such legendary figures as Arigo, the 'surgeon of the rusty knife', colourful and controversial mediums such as Carlos Mirabelli, Peixotinho and Otilia Diogo. He even obtained an account of the rarest of all psychic phenomena - materialisation - from a chief of police. The Flying Cow was followed by its sequel The Indefinite Boundary in 1976. Material from the latter has been included in this edition, making it the most comprehensive survey available of the paranormal world of Brazil. The author gave up a secure and lucrative career as freelance journalist and translator to explore that world, and in this book, fully revised and updated, he describes what he found there. Much of it is as surprising today as it was when it was first published.

Gordon Smith, hailed as the UK's most accurate Spiritual Medium, is respected internationally both for his ability to convey precise messages from the Spirit World, filled with a level of detail that astounds people, and also as one of the world's foremost teachers of mediumship. In this fascinating updated edition of one of his bestselling books, Gordon sheds light on: - how mediums and psychics get their information - why spirits choose to communicate with us - the truth about ghosts, poltergeists and hauntings - out-of-body experiences and altered states of awareness - re-incarnation and memories of past lives. While Gordon is the first person to acknowledge that people's imagination, grief or distress can affect their perceptions, and that charlatans and frauds only add to the confusion, his incredible experiences and research have inspired him with a passion to reveal what really happens in the Spirit World. In The Unbelievable Truth, he lifts the lid on these 'insider' topics with wit, insight and great knowledge.

An absorbing account of an anthropologist's fieldwork and explorations into alternative religions in Brazil, "Samba in the Night" invites the reader into the mysterious world of spirit mediums, poltergeists, psychic surgery, exorcism and spiritual healing. The author focuses on spiritism, a vital religious movement with millions of followers. He provides descriptions of rituals and at the same time weaves in a detective story about the complex relations between Spiritist rituals and the rest of their world. Through a patchwork of anecdotes about spirit mediums, doctors, engineers, lawmakers, Jesuits, and past-life therapists, the book offers an introduction to Brazilian religion and society as well as to the art of anthropological fieldwork.

The first readable and accurate translation of twenty of the most authoritative Hindu documents pertaining to ascetic ideals and the ascetic way of life, this text opens to students a major source for the study of the Hindu ascetical institutions and of the historical changes they underwent during a period of a thousand years or more. Beginning with an analysis of the historical context that gave rise to Indian ascetical institutions and ideologies, Patrick Olivelle moves on to elucidate the meaning of renunciation-the central institution of holiness in most Hindu traditions-and the function and significance of the various elements that constitute the rite of renunciation. The Samnyasa Upanisads will be an unparalleled source of information and insight for students of Hinduism and Indian asceticism, mysticism, and holiness.

By breaking free of your own self-limiting beliefs, you'll discover the unlimited potential of who you really are. It's time to get over your self! There is an insidious, global identity theft occurring that has robbed people of their very recognition of their true selves. The culprit-indeed the mastermind of this crisis-has committed the inside job of creating and promoting the idea that we are all a separate self, which is the chief source of our daily distress and dissatisfaction. No more than a narrative of personhood pieced together from disparate neural activations, the self we believe ourselves to be in our own minds-although quite capable of being affirming, inspiring, and constructive-often spews forth a distressing flow of worry and second-guessing, blaming and shaming, regret and guilt. This book offers an antidote to this epidemic of stolen identity, isolation, and self-deprecation: no-self (a concept known in Buddhist philosophy as anatta or anatman). The No-Self Help Book turns the idea of self-improvement on its head, arguing that the key to well-being lies not in the relentless pursuit of bettering one's self but in the recognition of the self as a false identity born in the mind. Rather than identifying with a small, relative sense of self, this book encourages you to embrace a liberating alternative-an expansive awareness that is flexible and open to experiencing life as an ongoing and ever-changing process, without attachment to personal outcomes or storylines. To help you make this leap from self to no-self, the book provides forty bite-sized chapters full of clever and inspiring insights based in positive psychology and non-duality-a philosophy that asserts there is no real separation between any of us. So, if you're tired of "self-help" and you're ready to explore who you are beyond the self, let The No-Self Help Book be your guide.

Aware of it or not, you create your reality. Understanding this can transform your life. 'The Gregory Continuum' T, channeled through Bobbie G, says: "The Choice is yours. The possibilities are infinite. To understand this, read our book."

An examination of the public fascination with spiritualism and psychical research in Britain from the mid-nineteenth to the early twentieth century. The book explores the variety of social background, education, and professional expertise that characterized the men and women who attended seances and investigated psychic phenomena, and places them in the context of their times without ridiculing their beliefs.

While modernism's engagement with the occult has been approached by critics as the result of a loss of faith in representation, an attempt to draw on science as the primary discourse of modernity, or as an attempt to draw on a hidden history of ideas, Leigh Wilson argues that these discourses have at their heart a magical practice which remakes the relationship between world and representation. As Wilson demonstrates, the courses of the occult are based on a magical mimesis which transforms the nature of the copy, from inert to vital, from dead to alive, from static to animated, from powerless to powerful. Wilson explores the aesthetic and political implications of this relationship in the work of those writers, artists and filmmakers who were most self-consciously experimental, including James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Dziga Vertov and Sergei M. Eisenstein.

"After-death communications," or "ADCs, " occur when someone is contacted spontaneously and directly by a deceased family member or friend, without the help of any medium. The authors' research shows that these spiritual experiences offer hope, love, and comfort for thousands of people. Included are more than 350 first-hand accounts of those whose lives have been changed and even protected by messages or signs from the deceased.

In this book the author brings to light man's deep inner need for spiritual wisdom in life and helps the reader develop a new sense of reality that is based on love, power and compassion. He describes our relationship with the natural world in detail and discusses how we can harness its tremendous powers for our personal and mankind's benefit. It's Time to Come Alive challenges some of our most commonly held beliefs and offers a way out of the emotional restrictions and physical limitations we have created in our lives. Topics include: What shapes our Destiny; using the power of intention; secrets of defying the aging process; doubting - the cause of failure; opening the heart; material wealth and spiritual wealth; fatigue - the major cause of stress; methods of emotional transformation; techniques of primordial healing; how to increase health of the five senses; developing spiritual wisdom; the major causes of today's earth changes; entry into the new world; twelve gateways to heaven on earth; and many more. Andreas Moritz is a Medical Intuitive and practitioner of Ayurveda, Iridology, Shiatsu and Vibrational Medicine. Author of The Amazing Liver & Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, and Time to Wake Up. Founder of the innovative healing systems, Ener-Chi Art and Sacred Santmony - Divine Chanting for Every Occasion.

With a unique and refreshing blend of self-help, wisdom, and spiritual insight, Rebecca Rosen helps us "wake up" and start living our lives with divine intention and purpose.
We all want to be happy and fulfilled. We want to understand the very point of our lives--why we're here and what we're meant to do. Yet, when we think about how to get from here to there and answer life's "Big" questions, so many of us don't know where to begin. The advice from so many different people and sources can be overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. In "Awaken the Spirit Within," acclaimed author and spiritual medium Rebecca Rosen offers us an inspired and invigorating prescriptive program to give our lives clarity and deeper meaning. With Rebecca's down-to-earth and conversational style, this book will help you learn how to:
- Create more peace and fulfillment in your personal relationships
- Gain confidence in your natural talents and abilities
- Succeed in greater degrees at your job
- Develop financial abundance and prosperity
- Conquer addictions and negative thinking
- Find freedom from weight struggles and poor body image
- Gain the clarity to make the "right" choices and decisions for your life

Bold claims? Yes. But when it comes to Rebecca Rosen, you'll understand just after a few pages, why Time.com has told its readers to "Take her advice seriously."