You were born into one of the greatest mysteries of all time. Your soul was projected into a vital, living body, with a creative thinking brain that shares in the mystery called "Life." Did you ever stop to question the reason for your being in this world, sharing in these magnificent life experiences, enjoying the excitement of love, the adventure of discovery and the creation of the miracle of new life? Can the true purpose behind your life be one of mere sensual enjoyment, animal appetites, the search for money, power, fame and fortune? Or is there a deeper, more mystical reason why you were born? THE TAPESTRY OF TIMELESS WISDOM This tapestry of timeless wisdom that comes to us from the Far East and the Middle East, which tries to comprehend and chart the invisible forces of life, is called Mysticism. Some of the greatest revelations of all time have come to us from the mystical lands of ancient India, China, Tibet and Egypt. These deeper mysteries have spread throughout the world, laying the foundations upon which civilization was built. Some of these great truths spread to Greece and influenced the philosophers of that ancient land. They were to be found in ancient Japan and laid the foundations for Shintoism and Buddhism. They became a part of the wisdom of Jerusalem, which comprised the background of the ancient Jewish faith, and ushered in the Christian dispensation. Moses's laws of the Ten Commandments and Jesus's Golden Rule and Sermon on the Mount have permeated the laws and educational systems upon which our Western civilization has been built. MIRACLES PERFORMED BY GREAT MYSTICS OF THE PAST The great mystics like Moses, Abraham and Jesus used some of these revelations which caused them to perform miracles in their time. Turning a stick into a crawling serpent, or changing water into wine, walking on the water, healing the sick, all these miraculous forces showed the use of ancient white magic and transcendental spiritual forces that came directly from the mystical lands of India, China, Tibet and Egypt. In fact, the teachings of the Far East and Mid-East preceded the teachings of the Christian mystic, Jesus, by several hundred years! ASK FOR A MIRACLE TODAY You can become a part of this great cosmic scheme of mysticism and ask for your own personal miracle today. You can use the forces of occultism, white magic, invocations, rituals, chants and meditations to release the creative energy of your own higher nature and perform miracles in your own life.

This book presents a provocatively, outrageously assertive exposure of fools in their not infrequently bizarre manifestations, the object being to leave no halfwits behind. It explores the world of the fool from many perspectives, including Engines of Limited Cognition: Dumb Bells, Dumb Clucks and Dumb Waiters; Imprudence and Its Imbecilic Implications; Fools, Eccentrics & Sons of Momus; and Idiotic Opportunities: Putting Fools to Work. This is not to infer (or even hint) that either the author or his readership is in any demonstrable sense of the word foolish, now or at any other time. After all, no fool would write a book like this, and no fool would read it. Precisely who does read it is a discretely personal decision we leave to those gifted with more than ordinarily inquiring minds. Indeed, those who elect to come along for the ride are likely to find their minds piqued, tickled and enriched by this tour de farce. True to form, Reed illustrates Ambrose Bierce's definition of educational -- 'that which discloses to the wise and disguises from the fools their lack of understanding.' Abundantly documented, endlessly subtle, hopelessly eccentric and deadly funny, the book blends history, sociology, literature, philosophy, etymology and even theology, all with a good laugh.

A fascinating collaboration between a medieval historian and a professor of psychiatry, this enthralling book applies modern biological and psychological research findings to the lives of medieval mystics and ascetics. Drawing upon a database of over 1,400 medieval holy persons and in-depth studies of individual saints, this illuminating study examines the relationship between medieval mystical experiences, the religious practices of mortification; laceration of the flesh, sleep deprivation and extreme starvation, and how these actions produced altered states of consciousness and brain function in the heroic ascetics. Examining and disputing much contemporary writing about the political and gender motivations in the medieval quest for a closeness with God, this is essential reading for anyone with an interest in medieval religion or the effects of self-injurious behaviour on the mind.

From Hero to Servant to Mystic addresses both the initial and ongoing formation of priests by tracing three significant stages in how their spiritual lives unfold. Fr. Scott Detisch offers seminarians, priests, spiritual directors, and clergy personnel directors a way of understanding the whole gamut of spiritual growth and development in priests by focusing on three major clusters of energies within men—the Hero, the Servant, and the Mystic. By recognizing the difficulties that may arise within the inner life and outer world of a priest, Detisch offers helpful methods for navigating through those challenging periods. By applying these energies to their spiritual lives, priests will experience a different form of relationship with the person of Christ—the Hero, who offers his life for Christ; the Servant, who ministers with Christ; and the Mystic, who lives his life in Christ.

Mysticism is condemned as often as it is praised. Much of the condemnation comes from mysticism’s apparent disregard of morality and ethics. For mystics, the experience of “union” transcends all moral concern. In this careful examination of the works of such practitioners or examiners of mysticism as Paul Tillich, Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill, and Martin Buber, the author posits a spectrum of uneasy relationships between mysticism and morality. Horne explores the polarities of apophatic (imageless) and imaginative mysticism, the contemplative and the active life, and morality and amorality. He stresses the importance of the distinction between “proper-name” (entirely personal) morality and “social” morality, for the history of Christian mysticism is a mix of minimal moral concern, proper-name morality, and social morality. The volume will be of interest to students of religious experience, ethics, and the recent history of mysticism. Carefully reasoned and documented, the argument is couched in clear prose, easily accessible to lay readers as well as to scholars.