Rudolf Steiner -- educator, architect, artist, philosopher and agriculturalist -- ranks amongst the most creative and prolific figures of the early twentieth century. Yet he remains a mystery to most people. This is the first truly popular biography of the man behind the ideas, written by a sympathetic but critical outsider. Steiner is widely known for what he left behind: a network of Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, Camphill schools and villages and pioneering work in holistic health and environmental research. Although his achievements are felt all over the world, few people understand this unusual figure. Steiner's own writings fill several bookcases, but are often dense and 'insider' in tone. Gary Lachman tells Steiner's story lucidly and with great insight. He presents Steiner's key ideas in a readable, accessible way, tracing his beginning as a young intellectual in the ferment of fin de siecle culture to the founding of his own metaphysical teaching, called anthroposophy. This book is a full-bodied portrait of one of the most original philosophical and spiritual luminaries of the last two centuries.

Can we see the future in our dreams? Does time flow in one direction? What is a 'meaningful coincidence'? Renowned esoteric writer Gary Lachman has been recording his own precognitive dreams for forty years. In this unique and intriguing book, Lachman recounts the discovery that he dreams 'ahead of time', and argues convincingly that this extraordinary ability is, in fact, shared by all of us. Dreaming Ahead of Time is a personal exploration of precognition, synchronicity and coincidence drawing on the work of thinkers including J.W. Dunne, J.B. Priestly and C.G. Jung. Lachman's description and analysis of his own experience introduces readers to the uncanny power of our dreaming minds, and reveals the illusion of our careful distinctions between past, present and future.

'The Dedalus Book of the Occult' celebrates the influence of occult thought on some of the central poets and writers of the last two centuries, beginning with the Enlightenment obsession with occult politics and leading through to the deep occult roots of the modernist movement.

The ability to imagine is at the heart of what makes us human. Through our imagination we experience more fully the world both around us and within us. Imagination plays a key role in creativity and innovation. Until the seventeenth century, the human imagination was celebrated. Since then, with the emergence of science as the dominant worldview, imagination has been marginalised -- depicted as a way of escaping reality, rather than knowing it more profoundly -- and its significance to our humanity has been downplayed. Yet as we move further into the strange new dimensions of the twenty-first century, the need to regain this lost knowledge seems more necessary than ever before. This insightful and inspiring book argues that, for the sake of our future in the world, we must reclaim the ability to imagine and redress the balance of influence between imagination and science. Through the work of Owen Barfield, Goethe, Henry Corbin, Kathleen Raine, and others, and ranging from the teachings of ancient mystics to the latest developments in neuroscience, Lost Knowledge of the Imagination draws us back to a philosophy and tradition that restores imagination to its rightful place, essential to our knowing reality to the full, and to our very humanity itself.

Wilson has blended H.P. Lovecraft s dark vision with his own revolutionary philosophy and unique narrative powers to produce a stunning, high-tension story of vaulting imagination. A professor makes a horrifying discovery while excavating a sinister archeological site. For over 200 years, mind parasites have been lurking in the deepest layers of human consciousness, feeding on human life force and steadily gaining a foothold on the planet. Now they threaten humanity s extinction. They can be fought with one weapon only: the mind, pushed to and beyond its limits. Pushed so far that humans can read each other s thoughts, that the moon can be shifted from its orbit by thought alone. Pushed so that man can at last join battle with the loathsome parasites on equal terms."

From the sands of Alexandria via the Renaissance palaces of the Medicis, to our own times, this spiritual adventure story traces the profound influence of Hermes Trismegistus -- the 'thrice-great one', as he was often called -- on the western mind. For centuries his name ranked among the most illustrious of the ancient world. Considered by some a contemporary of Moses and a forerunner of Christ, this almost mythical figure arose in fourth century BC Alexandria, from a fusion of the Egyptian god Thoth and the Greek god Hermes. Master of magic, writing, science, and philosophy, Hermes was thought to have walked with gods and be the source of the divine wisdom granted to man at the dawn of time. Gary Lachman has written many books exploring ancient traditions for the modern mind. In The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus, he brings to life the mysterious character of this great spiritual guide, exposing the many theories and stories surrounding him, and revitalizing his teachings for the modern world. Through centuries of wars, conquests and religious persecutions, the fragile pages of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus have still survived. This is a book for all thinkers and enquirers who want to recover that lost knowledge and awaken a shift in human consciousness.

The fiction discussed in Gary Lachman's highly praised The Dedalus Book of the Occult. - Passages from Valery Bruisov, Andre Bely, William Beckford, Honore Balzac, William Beckford, Jacques Cazotte, J.K.Huysmans, Bulwer-Lytton, de Maupassant, de Nerval, Goethe, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Arthur Machen, Gustav Meyrink, Jan Potocki and Robert Irwin. - Wide-ranging publicity from The Guardian, Independent on Sunday to Fortean Times and occult magazines. - Author tour to promote the book. People have enjoyed stories of magic and the supernatural for ages, but in the late 18th century, tales of the occult became something more than a source of entertainment, or the means of enjoying the thrill of the strange and unknown. Drawing on the tradition of 'rejected knowledge', at the dawn of the modern age, numerous writers found in the occult a powerful antidote to the rising scientification of human experience. In these reports from the dark side, the weird, enigmatic and unexplainable became symbols of the human spirit's resistance to the new rational world. Dedalus Occult Reader brings together for the first time a unique collection of European fiction, offering some of the finest flowers and bizarr

Why are we here? Human beings have asked themselves this question for centuries. Modern science largely argues that human beings are chance products of a purposeless universe, but other traditions believe humanity has an essential role and responsibility in creation. Lachman brings together many strands of esoteric, spiritual and philosophical thought to form a counter-argument to the nihilism that permeates the twenty-first century. Offering a radical alternative to postmodern apathy, he argues that we humans are the caretakers of the universe, entrusted with a daunting task: that of healing and repairing creation itself. This is an important book from a key thinker of our time, addressing some of the most urgent questions facing humanity.

For the last four centuries, science has tried to account for everything in terms of atoms and molecules and the physical laws they adhere to. Recently, this effort was extended to try to include the inner world of human beings. Gary Lachman argues that this view of consciousness is misguided and unfounded. He points to another approach to the study and exploration of consciousness that erupted into public awareness in the late 1800s. In this "secret history of consciousness, " consciousness is seen not as a result of neurons and molecules, but as responsible for them; meaning is not imported from the outer world, but rather creates it. In this view, consciousness is a living, evolving presence whose development can be traced through different historical periods, and which evolves along a path to a broader, more expansive state. What that consciousness may be like and how it may be achieved is a major concern of this book.

Lachman concentrates on the period since the late 1800s, when Madame Blavatsky first brought the secret history out into the open. As this history unfolds, we encounter the ideas of many modern thinkers, from esotericists like P. D. Ouspensky, Rudolf Steiner, and Colin Wilson to more mainstream philosophers like Henri Bergson, William James, Owen Barfield and the psychologist Andreas Mavromatis. Two little known but important thinkers play a major role in his synthesis -- Jurij Moskvitin, who showed how our consciousness relates to the mechanisms of perception and to the external world, and Jean Gebser, who presented perhaps the most impressive case for the evolution of consciousness.

G. I. Gurdjieff dominated early twentieth-century esoteric thought with his unsettling system of psychological development known as the Fourth Way. Much less is known about his brilliant follower, P.D. Ouspensky who disseminated Gurdjieff's ideas and greatly influenced the European avant garde. Most writers present him, in Gurdjieff's own words, as a weak man, unable to grasp his Master's teachings. Gary Lachman effectively undercuts this bias, interweaving biography with excerpts from Ouspensky's other writings to show that he had a strong mystical vision of his own, in stark contrast to Gurdjieff's concept as man as a machine.

Writers have been killing themselves for centuries. From Petronius in ancient Rome to the 20th Century Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima, writers, more than any other kind of artist, have taken their own lives in an extraordinary number of ways. With bullets, poison, drugs and swords, poets, playwrights, novelists and philosophers have sent themselves off into the big sleep. Others, one step shy of that last exit, have made great literature about the urge to self-destruction. For the first time, Gary Lachman investigates the many links between self-death and the written word, bringing together an unusual gallery of literary greats and a host of other fatal characters. Typically for Dedalus, the covers gorgeous. Sasha Selavie in QX International Dead Letters ultimately proves to be at once stimulating and thought-provoking and the section devoted to various suicidal writings is most diverting. Peter Burton in One80 Reviews

This definitive work on the occult's "great beast" traces the arc of his controversial life and influence on rock-and-roll giants, from the Rolling Stones to Led Zeppelin to Black Sabbath.
When Aleister Crowley died in 1947, he was not an obvious contender for the most enduring pop-culture figure of the next century. But twenty years later, Crowley's name and image were everywhere. The Beatles put him on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The Rolling Stones were briefly serious devotees. Today, his visage hangs in goth clubs, occult temples, and college dorm rooms, and his methods of ceremonial magick animate the passions of myriad occultists and spiritual seekers.
"Aleister Crowley" is more than just a biography of this compelling, controversial, and divisive figure--it's also a portrait of his unparalleled influence on modern pop culture.

'He writes a clear, light prose, and he makes his interests, however bizarre, seem important.' - "Punch"
'One of the more earnest and interesting writers of his generation.' - "The Guardian"
'He has the kind of story-telling power which could charm the birds off the trees.' - "The Journal" (Newcastle upon Tyne)
Gerard Sorme has been hired by a New York publisher to edit a book on Esmond Donelly, notorious 18th-century Irish rake, friend of Rousseau, Boswell and Horace Walpole, and author of a bawdy work on the deflowering of virgins. Sorme's quest for information on Donelly takes him to the home of a pyromaniac and flagellant in Baton Rouge, the labyrinthine corridors of the British Museum, and a remote castle in Ireland. As he digs deeper into the mystery of Donelly, Sorme uncovers a tale of intrigue, conspiracy, and murder involving a secret society, the Sect of the Phoenix, that dates back to medieval times. But the Sect still exists, and Sorme's researches have not gone unnoticed by powerful men who have their own reasons for wanting the truth about Esmond Donelly to remain hidden. . . .
"The God of the Labyrinth" (1970), the third book of Wilson's 'Gerard Sorme trilogy', is a novel in the mode of Jorge Luis Borges that explores two of Wilson's major interests - philosophy and sex - in the form of a thrilling literary mystery. This edition, the first in more than 30 years, includes a new introduction by Gary Lachman and the original afterword by the author, in which he discusses the role of sex in literature and defends his work against charges of pornography.

Lachman brings us an in-depth look at Blavatsky, objectively exploring her unique and singular contributions toward introducing Eastern and esoteric spiritual ideas to the West during the 19th century, as well as the controversies that continue to colour the discussions of her life and work.

Squid Hunters is a marine science fiction adventure novella featuring a father and son united in the bond of their unique talent; hunting and killing deadly giant blue squids. Spanning the globe from Vancouver, Canada to the plains of south central Anatolia to the Weddell Sea near Antarctica, this fast-paced story never lets up. The theme was inspired by a painting by the author's son of a giant squid descending upon unsuspecting penguins from the sky. Actual research on colossal cephalopods is combined with interesting facts and colorful locales drawn from Lachman's home base in Turkey to add a modest amount of veracity to this otherwise fanciful tale. Throughout, the author's love for his talented and resourceful son creates a compelling story.

A clear and concise overview of the life and work of the immensely influential but little understood eighteenth-century mystic-scientist Emanuel Swedenborg.
"Lachman identifies all the roles Swedenborg inhabited (spiritual thinker, psychic, scientist, inventor, statesman, traveler, and possibly even spy) and does an exceptionally good job of suggesting why this little-known polymath deserves more substantial critical attention." - "The Independent on Sunday (UK)"
It is difficult to imagine modern Western alternative spirituality without the influence of Swedish scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). Every movement in alternative spirituality - from mental-healing and Spiritualism to New Age mysticism and the twelve-step recovery movement - owes an immeasurable debt to the ideas he exploded upon the Western world.
Yet Swedenborg's work can be challenging for modern readers. His influence, everywhere at once, is difficult to get a handle on. Now, however, Gary Lachman provides an accessible, lively, and masterful introduction to the life and ideas of this spiritual giant. Lachman takes us to Swedenborg's roots as brilliant rationalist and scientist who, well into mid-life, began to experience visions of other realms. From this point Swedenborg produced an extraordinary range of writings based on his out-of-body experiences, in which he related encounters with angels, other-planetary beings, and "the world of spirits."
As Lachman explores, Swedenborg's work opened up a radically liberal and refreshing ideal of religion. The great mystic saw humanity, and all of nature, as phenomena emerging from the "spiritual world," and man as a vessel for divine influences. This vision inspired Western seekers to see man as a product of spiritual phenomena, and thus a being intimately connected with the cosmos. From this perspective grew bold new ideas about channeling, spiritual healing, mystical experience, mediumship - a litany of concepts that prefigured the revolutions in alternative and therapeutic spirituality.

Not everyone possesses the extraordinary strength of a young Lance Armstrong. Beating the alternative is the average person's guide to surviving cancer. This is the story of how a 46 year old father of two young children took control of his fate and successfully navigated the most difficult challenge of, and to, his life. Beating the Alternative is a must read for anyone recently diagnosed with colon cancer, or who loves someone about to embark on the quest for life.

The first truly popular biography of the influential twentieth-century mystic and educator who-while widely known for founding the Waldorf schools and other educational and humanitarian movements-remains a mystery to many who benefit from his ideas. People everywhere have heard of Waldorf schools, Biodynamic farming, Camphill Villages, and other innovations of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Indeed, Steiner-as an architect, artist, teacher, and agriculturalist-ranks among the most creative and prolific figures of the early twentieth century, pioneering work in alternative education, holistic health, and environmental research. While his accomplishments are felt all over the world, few people understand this unusual figure. Steiner's own writings and lectures fill several bookcases, intimidating those who would like to know more. Works on Steiner are often dense and "insider" in tone, further deterring the curious. No popular biography, written by a sympathetic but critical outsider, has been available. Gary Lachman's "Rudolf Steiner" provides this missing introduction. Along with telling Steiner's story and placing Steiner in his historical context, Lachman's book presents Steiner's key ideas in a readable, accessible manner. In particular, Lachman considers the spread of Steiner's most popular projects, which include Waldorf schools-one of the leading forms of alternative education-and Biodynamic farming-a popular precursor to organic farming. He also traces Steiner's beginnings as a young intellectual in the ferment of fin de siAcle culture, to his rise as a thought leader within the influential occult movement of Theosophy, to the founding of his own metaphysicalteaching called Anthroposophy. Finally, the book illustrates how Steiner's methods are put into practice today, and relates Steiner's insights into cosmology to the work of current thinkers. "Rudolf Steiner" is a full-bodied portrait of one of the most original philosophical and spiritual luminaries of the last two centuries, and gives those interested in the history of ideas the opportunity to discover one of the most underappreciated figures of the twentieth century.