Spiritual Traditions

Many of us navigating the years beyond midlife report high levels of self-acceptance, freedom, and joy, but there can also be bouts of second-guessing and regret as well as the occasional longing to be reminded that you’re not in this alone. Designed to be listened to weekly in two-year cycles, the 120 timeless readings in this book focus on the issues and concerns that arise among those who view aging as a path to spiritual culmination.

After completing his groundbreaking research chronicled in DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman was left with one fundamental question: What does it mean that DMT, a simple chemical naturally found in all of our bodies, instantaneously opens us to an interactive spirit world that feels more real than our own world? When his decades of clinical psychiatric research and Buddhist practice were unable to provide answers to this question, Strassman began searching for a more resonant spiritual model.

"Effortless mindfulness" is a new way to immediately enter an optimal flow state available to us in the midst of our busy lives. In The Way of Effortless Mindfulness, Kelly teaches that when you "unhook" awareness from chattering thoughts, you can access a peaceful mind and a naturally embodied wakefulness. From this heartful space, students report they find that right action comes easily and a loving tenderness for all of life is freely available. This book outlines practical and supportive material from neuroscience, psychology, and the wisdom of various spiritual traditions.

An inspiring exploration of the goddesses of the West African spiritual traditions and their role in shaping Yoruba (Ifa), Santeria, Haitian vodoun, and New Orleans voodoo.

If you want to study Paganism in more detail, this book is the place to start. Based on a course in Paganism that the authors have taught for more than a decade, it is full of exercises, meditations, and discussion questions for group or individual study. This book presents the basic fundamentals of Paganism. It explores what Pagans are like; how the Pagan sacred year is arranged; what Pagans do in ritual; what magick is; and what Pagans believe about God, worship, human nature, and ethics.

Make no mistake, the sacred gods are active. The African continent is home to ancestors, sacred deities, and diverse cultures. Among them is the Yoruba tradition, one of Africa’s most powerful societies. Standing the test of time and thriving against extinction, the Yoruba culture is one of the few African cultures that have crossed the vast oceans and continue to thrive today. Devotees spend their lives under the sacred guiding influence of the gods and are open to sharing the secrets of Orisha with those who seek knowledge.

Kundalini awakenings can have profound physical, emotional, and mental effects, making it difficult to cope with everyday life, yet these powerful awakenings can also allow you to release past trauma, see past the illusions of the false self, and awaken your spiritual heart, enabling you to recognize the divine self. In this step-by-step guide to the three-phase process of Kundalini awakening, Mary Shutan delivers practical information on how to deal with such a spiritual emergence in our modern world.

In this initiatory guide to the hermetic art of alchemy, artist Marlene Seven Bremner reveals how the alchemical opus, the Great Work, offers a practical means for liberating the authentic creator within and attaining gnosis, or true self-knowledge. Exploring the connections between Surrealism and alchemy, as well as the rich and complicated symbolism of alchemical art, Bremner elucidates how both Surrealism and alchemy seek to unfetter the imagination and dissolve the boundaries between dream and reality, thus reconciling the conscious and unconscious minds.

In The Mist-Filled Path, Frank MacEowen shows how embracing the indigenous wisdom of Scotland and Ireland can lead to healing and transcendence. Using his own travels and teachings along with Celtic stories and myths, he explores ancient traditions, ecopsychology, the ancient mother, altars and hearths, "Oran Mor" (the Great Song), contemplation, and mysticism. The book tells how to draw on ancestral roots to find a personal spirituality that also works for the greater good.

Preparing for Eternity presents an objective contrast between the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church and the word of God. It is an excellent discipleship manual for Roman Catholics who have not discovered the narrow road that leads to eternal life.

Explores the background and sexual magical beliefs of Paschal Beverly Randolph, Ida Craddock, Aleister Crowley, Maria de Naglowska, Austin Osman Spare, Julius Evola, Franz Bardon, Jack Parsons, William S. Burroughs, Marjorie Cameron, Anton LaVey, and Genesis P-Orridge.

Shares Rosemary’s early experimentation with psychedelics in the 1950s, her development through the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s, and her involvement, at first exciting but then heartbreaking, with Dr. Timothy Leary. Describes her LSD trips with Leary, their time at the famous Millbrook estate, their experiences as fugitives abroad, including their captivity by the Black Panthers in Algeria, and Rosemary’s years on the run after she and Timothy separated.

Cuneiform texts found on clay plates in Mesopotamia tell us about an extraterrestrial race, called the Anunnaki, who came from space to exploit our planet. Through genetic manipulation, they created modern humans from existing earthly life forms to serve them as slaves. They physically left our planet millennia ago, but as Jan Erik Sigdell reveals, their influence and control over humanity is still pervasive and significant.

No matter where we are in our spiritual development, we all have questions about our practice and what we are experiencing - both the challenges and opportunities. How can I overcome my struggles to meditate more deeply? Is there a need for a guru, or can I rely on myself? Can I trust my intuition? Is it possible to hear the “Inner Word”, the voice of the soul, and how can I be sure that’s what I’m hearing? Is the Higher Self in the heart?

Beyond Virtue Ethics offers a distinctive approach to virtue ethics, arguing not simply for the importance of "struggle" to virtue ethics, but that "struggle" itself is a manifestation of virtue. In doing this, Stephen M. Meawad offers a way of thinking about virtue not simply as a perfected state, but as a state that is to a greater or lesser degree a manifestation of the ideal itself, which is not attainable.

“Between Heaven and Mirth will make any reader smile. . . . Father Martin reminds us that happiness is the good God’s own goal for us.” —Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York From one of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders and the New York Times bestselling author of The...

In the realm of African spiritual pathways, no tradition is so widely embraced and practiced as the West African religion Orisa. Awakened by her own spiritual journey, Tobe Melora Correal, an initiated priestess in the Yoruba-Lukumi branch of Orisa, guides us along this blessed road. Finding Soul on the Path of Orisa provides a fresh look at these ancient teachings and emphasizes introspection and inner work over the outward manifestations of Orisa's practices.

In this audio edition of her book Wisdom Walk, Sage Bennet beautifully outlines the central rituals and teachings from nine of the world's great spiritual traditions, making them accessible without diminishing them, while exploring the essential beliefs of each tradition. Wisdom Walk provides a simple, easy-to-follow guide for bringing the world’s spiritual traditions into your own life through practical, powerful rituals.

In this guide, Pierre offers support for those embarking on an authentic spiritual search. He focuses in depth on helping you answer three fundamental questions: Who am I deep down? What am I really looking for in my spiritual quest? What is the deep motivation of my search? He shows how integrity, generosity, and discernment are essential components of any lasting spiritual path.

The son of a Jewish father and Baptist mother, Paul Wilbur grew up attending synagogue. In college, he was transformed by a Baptist minister's teaching about a rabbi, Jesus, who fulfilled the promise of the Torah. As he grew in his relationship with Jesus, Wilbur was reintroduced to the God of the Old Testament and began exploring his Jewish heritage. Along the way, he discovered the power of Jewish worship traditions - the weekly Shabbat, with the power of Holy Communion and dedication to family, along with other high holy traditions and feast days.