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Aristotle said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
Astrology, called the "Divine Science," relates to the movements of the endless, wondrous, planets and stars. Astrology strives to give reason and description to cosmic influences on those of us here below.
The Buddhist mind does not associate suffering with something such as "God's wrath ". To the Buddhist, the cause of suffering is ignorance, and ignorance indeed covers the full spectrum of human limitation.
Bulfinch's Mythology is in actuality three distinct works. "The Age of Fable" covers Greek and Roman antiquity. "The Age of Chivalry" concerns King Arthur and His Knights, and "Legends of Charlemagne" illuminates the classic romantic Italian and European tales.
While it is widely believed that Celtic folklore was phased out of Britain due to the many invasions, it is arguable that the tradition not only remained present, but was clearly reflected in popular poetry of the age of Chaucer.
Chinese Philosophy is in a sense, "wisdom literature"'. Transmitted through stories and sayings, it is in a sense, designed to move the recipient ever onward toward a balanced and harmonious way of life.
The Christian teachings are essentially paternal. They are based largely upon the precept that we have a Heavenly Father who created this world for humans, and suited it to human needs. That the Father sent human beings down to earth as images of Himself, with brains, senses, limbs, and all that is needed to function in this world. And that then, He, the Father, sent his only Son Jesus Christ, to the earth as Savior of humanity and forgiver of the sins of humanity.
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Confucianism. A tradition of ethical and socio-philosophicall guidelines aimed at bettering society. Sometimes considered a religion, but oftewn referred to as more of a philosophy of life. Based upon the teachings of the 6th Century BC Chinese Scholar Confucius.
Babylon was the capital of Babyloniain the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. and was located on the alluvial plain between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Babylon was not only the capital of the country but also a religious center and the center for writing and scholarly study. Ancient was believed to be the most magnificent and richest city of the ancient world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous."
Henry David Thoreau said: "It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate.
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English folklore could be considered a collective mythology of the Anglo-Saxons. However, it also has intrinsic Welsh influences. Providing evidence of a predominately non-hostile Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, interspersed with the Norman's replacement of a great deal of English legends with Britonic ones.
Sacred and esoteric teachings are based on a strong connection with the natural world, and a perception of universal and natural laws. Such teachings are known first by the heart and then the mind.
Irish fairy tales are truly unique. The best loved traditional Irish fairy tales are full of enchantment, brave deeds, magic, love and lost love. Celtic and Irish Fairy tales are a must for any who seek wondrous and often symbolic stories.
Freemasonry, a secret secular society that evolved in the Middle Ages, was opposed by most organised religions,especially the Catholic Church. Freemasonry was, in a very real sense an attempt to establish a new social order and a revolution of consciousness. The Nazis claimed that Masons of the highest degree were willing members of what they called "the Jewish conspiracy". The nazis professed that Freemasonry was one of the underlying causes of Germany's loss of the First World War. The “mission” of Freemasonry is the "brotherhood of all mankind under God.
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Gnosticism is a philosophical and religious movement which started in early Christian and pre-Christian times. It is the teaching based upon Gnosis, the knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of experiencing God directly and personally. Gnosticism is identifiable through the experientail immediacy of Spirit. It is an exploration of the spiritual and esoteric paths that encompasses many traditions of realization of the mysteries of our beingness. Gnosticism is not a religion, or philosophical dogma. It is a particular body of knowledge obtained from divine experience or revalation. Gnosticism can be referred to as an idealogocal system for bridging the gap between human and divine experience, rendering the practitioner with an elevated sense of self and the universe.
Gothic Literature. A literary style made popular during the end of the 18th century. Such literature is often scary, and obsessed with the supernatural,these qualities give this style is magic that keep drawing readers towards it. It is characterized by gloomy settings, castles, and old, dark houses, where mysterious, violent, or supernatural occurrences take place. Gothic literature is a genre of dark fantasy exploring the nature of the darker side of the human psyche.
Grimoires are books of ceremonies, rituals, and spells that are to be used in ceremonial magic. Most were composed in Europe from the fifteenth to the sixteenth centuries or, at about the end of the medieval period. Two of the most famous of grimoires are the Greater and Lesser Keys of Solomon, or The Lemegeton.
Gurdjieff said that with esoteric teachings, preserved in secret schools, it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted iin religion, or to restore what has been forgotten. Gurdjieff also said that secret knowledge is not deliberately hidden, and in some cases not hidden at all, but that most people simply are not interested in such knowlege.
Hesiod was an early Greek poet who presumably lived around 700 BC. His writings serve as a central source for knowledge of Greek mythology, farming techniques, archaic Greek astronomy, and ancient time-keeping. Hesiod's works, especially Works and Days, is from the view of the small independent farmer, differing from Homer's view is from nobility or the rich. Hesiod is coupled with Homer as the first great writers of Greek literature.
Homer is the name given to the supposed author of the early Greek poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer, the greatest name in this history of epic poetry, has come down through history unfortunately as little more than a name, with minimal biographical information about his life story.
Immanuel Kant was born in the East Prussian city of Königsberg, studied at its university. He worked as a tutor and professor for more than forty years, and during that time never travelling more than fifty miles from home.
Immanuel Kant was a philosopher of the European Enlightenment and was highly religious. But he felt that morality should not be reliant upon God, but upon logic instead.
Immanuel Kant said: "Enlightenment is man’s release from self-incurred tutelage."
Jainism is an ancient religion originating in India. Jainism teaches that the way to liberation is to live with respect for all beings, including animals. It further teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live lives of harmlessness and renunciation. Jainism is a religion of love and compassion above all else. Jainism was founded in about the 6th century BC by Vardhamana, who is known as Mahavira ("Great Hero")
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John Bunyan was a 17th Christian writer and preacher. He was a "committed and zealous evangelist" dedicated to the salvation of others. He was tried and inprisoned for not attending the established church and preaching to unlawful assemblies. He spent twelve years in prison for his approach to Christian faith, and wrote over 40 books.
Judaism. As the religion of the Jewish people, it is based on principles and ethics embodied in the Bible (Tanakh) and the Talmud. Judaism is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths, and among the oldest religious traditions still in practice today. Judaism is built on the history and laws set out in the Torah (Five Books of Moses). Judaism is the faith of the Jewish people, who believe that God revealed himself through Abraham, Moses and other prophets.
Kaballah and the "Tree of Life" is the inner "tradition" of esoteric teachings of Judaism. Kaballah, a piece of a larger reality of the ancient world, and a hidden Gnostic (knowledge). Kaballah is not a Christian practice nor is it an orthodox Jewish practice.Also it is not a normal part of Judaism, Orthodox or otherwise, though it originated within Judaism. Kaballah is an ancient wisdom that explains the eternal laws on how spiritual energy moves and exists throughout the cosmos.
Lemuria was hypothesised to be a huge pre-historic continent in the southern Indian Ocean. The first recorded suggestion of this occurred in 1860 by geologist William T Blandford (1832-1905). His proposition of the existence of Lemuria was a means of explaining the presence of identical Permian rocks in South Africa and Gondwana (Southern India).
Among Seers and Metaphysicians Lemuria was proposed to be the most significant of all pre-historical civilizations on Earth, which flourished for over 850,000 years. Lemuria was viewed (by them) to be the homeland of a telepathic race of people with fully developed psychic abilities. Lemuria was believed to be a very large continent that was purported by some to be a paradisiacal garden and the cradle of human civilization.
While basically unknown during the Middle Ages, the story of Atlantis was rediscovered by Humanists at the very beginning of modern times.The earlier hypothesis presented by Plato was that Atlantis was based on real geography. Plato described the temple in the center of Atlantis with a dominating statue of Poseidon and a chariot with six winged horses.
Famed psychic Edgar Cayce first mentioned Atlantis in a life reading given in 1923. Later Cayce gave its geographical location as the Caribbean, and proposed that Atlantis was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization which had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal.
The most widely used symbols, charms and talismans of luck and good fortune are celestial. Of course there is also the traditional Oriental method of telling fortunes with tea leaves. More folklore is related to salt, animals, and of course numerology with ideas about lucky or unlucky numbers.
The Islamic religion is based upon acquiring peace through the submission to Allah's (God's) Will. Islam is more than 1,400 years old, and dates back to the 7th Century A.D. Islam is the way of life and Muslims are those who claim to follow that way of life. It is written that the final Prophet of Islam said, "Any one who declares there is no God but Allah, and dies holding that (belief) will then enter paradise".
Mormonism is a term describing the religious, ideological, and cultural aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, and specifically The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Mormonism originated in the early 1800s. The Mormon religion is based upon revelations and teachings of Joseph Smith.
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Here can be found Ancient Irish Legends and the re-telling of some of the best loved, most famous tales of ancient Ireland. Countless Irish legends have been passed on orally down the generations and many can be found here as an enthralling anthology of Irish legends and tales of the occult.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a profoundly influential German philosopher, psychologist, and philologist. He had no formal philosophical training but was a brilliant philologist, becoming professor of philology at Basle when 24.
"A subject for a great poet would be God's boredom after the seventh day of creation." -Nietzsche
"And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once." -Nietzsche
Nostradamus, born in December of 1503 in the south of France, was of Jewish heritage but converted to Catholicism during the period of religious intolerance and inquisition. He was catapulted to fame in 1557, soon after the publication of the first volume of his prophecies. Nostradamus was also under a cloud of suspicion by the inquisitors, but through his royal patronage, was able to escape the cross examinations. Nostradamus was in his late 40s when he frequently went into meditative states revealing visions of the future.
Ovid 2 Titles
Ovid, one of the greatest poets of antiquity, was author of Metamorphoses, a masterpiece on Greek and Roman myths. Ovid was a major inspiration for Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton.
Plato was born around the year 428 BCE in Athens. of a noble family which claimed descent from Codrus, an early king of Athens.
Plato, a student of Socrates, was strongly influenced by Socrates' emphasis on ethics and politics. Plato would later commemorate Socrates as the wise and central speaker in his philosophical writings. He was twenty-eight when Socrates died, and he was committed to refining and extending the Socratic principles.
Plato was "one of the most dazzling writers in the Western literary tradition". He was one of the most wide-ranging, penetrating, and influential authors in the history of philosophy.
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It is said in so many ways with eloquesnce and elegance that The Power of the Mind has great ability to Heal and change your world forever. Much has been said about the Power of The Mind, and how we are all capeable of, and responsible for creating the kind of life we choose to live. It is said that The Power of the Mind draws events, circumstances and people into our lives and repels others according to the nature and content of our thought processes. It is surmised by the Unseen Master Tadyatha that the Mind is indeed charged with energy and power for manifestation in accordance with the quantitative and qualitative emotional content behind any mentation or visualization.
Rabindranath Tagore was born in Northern India into a distinguished Bengali family in Calcutta, West Bengal in 1861. He has created a distinctive voice in Indian literature. One that is quite accessible to the Western reader. In 1913 Tagore became the first Asian Nobel laureate with a Nobel Prize for his collection of poems, Gitanjali.
Sagas and Legends have for many centuries chronicled the fantasy and folklore of entire populations. They have been passed down from generation to generation not unlike a cultural identity. It seems that in some sense, these ancient legends portray the collective uniqueness of the various civilizations.
Born Augustin Nicholas Ruiz de Santayana y Borais on December 16, 1863, George Santayana came with his family to America at age nine. He was an influential 20th century American philosopher, poet, critic, and best-selling novelist and one of the greatest of the philosophers from Harvard University. He was perhaps most famous for his aphorism "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Arthur Schopenhauer was born February 22, 1788, in Danzig, as the son of a wealthy merchant. He was a European philosopher who expressed realization of the value of Eastern philosophy. Schopenhauer was "overwhelmed by the majesty of thought, beauty, and loftiness of expression" in the Upanishads. He wasinfluential on Nietzche and influenced by Kant's transcendental idealism. Among 19th century philosophers, Arthur Schopenhauer was among the first to contend that at its core, the universe is not a rational place.
Secret Societies 26 Titles
Ancient mystery school teachings, and hidden agendas passed down through the millennia, secret societies and brotherhoods who knew and held information and ancient texts as clues to the mystery of creation. From ancient times there has existed various relatively secret societies and brotherhoods with esoteric knowledge. Even during the Dark Ages of the Inquisition, such knowledge was taught through these societies and brotherhoods. It's also obvious that some secret societies and brotherhoods exist today, as direct legacies of the ancient past.
Shamanism can be described as a practice. A Practice that views the visible world as being pervaded by invisible forces or spirits. Spirits and forces affecting the lives of the living. Shamanism simply asserts that all life forms are peers, in possession of Spirit, Knowledge and Power. Shamanism, as a practice across many cultures was a most ancient way of communicating with Spirit.
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Shintoism is a thriving religion in Japan and is one of the world's most ancient religions. It was the state religion of Japan until 1945. Many Japanese follow both the teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism without contradiction. Shintoism is separated into four forms: Koshitsu, Shuha, Folk, and Jinja. It is an optimistic faith that believes all humans are intrinsically good and that all evil is caused by evil spirits.
Sikhism, a universal faith with a message of peace and prosperity for the whole world is inspired by the emphasis on devotion to God. Sikhism was founded in the 15th Century based upon the teachings of Guru Nanak and later a nine guru liniage. Barely 500 hundreds years old, there are over 20 million Sikhs around the world, making Sikhism the fifth largest world religion.
Sophocles, one of history's greatest dramatic writers was born in the rural small community of Colonus Hippius in Attica. This would later become a setting for his plays. He died at the venerable age of ninety in 406 or 405 BC.
Sufism is a pathway to God of love and spiritual advancement. It is an Islamic mystic tradition encompassing a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to divine love and the cultivation of the heart.
Emanuael Swedenborg comtends that with death we become conscious in the spiritual world. Swedenborg used breathing methods (as in yoga) to open himself to the experience of God.
Tantra is a mystical and spiritual science. Tantra's true practice is to cause the cosmic link between ourselves and the universe.
The practice of Tantra is performed in the free state of of bodylessness, formlessness and joy. It is to feel and experience oneness with everything and becoming yourself completely. Tantra is a rare spiritual path asserting and understanding the sacred nature of sexuality.
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Taoism is philosophy, religion, the basis for Traditional Chinese Healing. The practice and wisdom of Taoism has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. It is a path of simplicity understand and harmony with nature and the universe. Taoism is based on the Tao, or the way, (as ancient Chinese sages such as Lao Tsu and Chuang Tsu observed), of nature.
Lao Tsu said "The Tao that can be named is not the true Tao", and "The Master residing in the Tao sets an example for all beings."
The Age of Reason, was an 18th century intellectual movement that occurred in Europe and America as man become inspired by reason, and science and the desire to throw off ancient systems of religious dogma, authority, and convention.
Thomas Paine said in The Age of Reason Part I that: "everything we behold is, in one sense, a mystery to us".
The Arabian Nights in the original form was known as Alf Laila wa Laila, "One Thousand and One Nights". Sheherazade, as the heroine of the Thousand and One Nights was smart, inventive and the teller of the magical and entertaining tales.
The dramas of Aeschylus and also Sophocles deal with the ancient problems of Greek life, questions of fate and freedom, human responsibility, and the motives of the Gods.
Later, in the 4th century BC, follwoing the time of the Dramas of Aeschylus and Sophocles, the dramas of Euripides became very popular and. were performed before audiences in the thousands.
The Native Americans comprised many different peoples, and nations comprising hundreds of languages. Many of these cultures consisted of skilled farmers, nomadic hunters, and gatherers. Most were adept is the usage of herbal and natural remedies to cure person or animal. They often lived in equal and open communities where both the women and men shared life's responsibilities.
Many of these indigenous cultures were very helpful to the Europeans as they arrived in what is now America.
Later they were forced to migrate away from the encroaching arrival of more and more Europeans. Finally they were pushed onto reservations, and forced to make inequitable "treaties".
The Near East is a term commonly used by historians, archaeologists, and geographers, to refer to the Asiatic regions of Turkey, Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Georgia, Armenia, and Ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq and Syria).
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Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452, near Vinci a village just west of Florence, Italy. He was a renaissance painter, but yet, much more than simply an artist. He qwas also mathmetician, architect, engineer, and philosopher. As an artist he sought an understanding and vision that would surpassing superficial analysis. The embodiment of a Renaissance ideal of the universal man, Da Vinci was the first artist to aspire toward mastery over the many branches of art.
The Oahspe Bible was transcribed from what was described as the "heavenly records" also referred to as the "Akashic Record" around 1882 by John Newbrough.
The Pacific Island Tradition of Kahunas. Kahunas are keepers of secret knowlege passed down to the select for many generations. The keepers of "Huna" The Kahunas are the mystics, or wise ones.
The subject of Alchemy is steeped in mysticism. It find commections to the mystical and mystery traditions of both East and West. Alchemy can perhaps be called a Science of the Soul resulting from an understanding of relationships between Nature, Man and Spirit.
"The Tarot is a symbolic 'book' representing the evolutions of human consciousness from an asleep to an awake state of consciousness. The various Tarot cards (pages of the book) symbolize various states of awareness along that pathway toward enlightenment." - Master Tadyatha
Theosophy teaches a human who and what he, (or she) really is, transcendant of mind and personal individuality as an Ego. Theosophy is a great body of teaching coming from from Seer and Sages to lift the veils of the animal nature of humanity exposing the intrinsic Divinity.
Tibetan Buddhism is a Mahayana (Great Wheel) Buddhist tradition. The goal of it's practice is to achieve Buddhahood which is enlightenment. It is based on the Vajrayana school of Buddhism, yet Tibetan Buddhism also incorporates elements of some of the other other Buddhist traditions along with indigenous ancient beliefs and practices.
The spiritual, religious and animistic traditions of Africa.
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Indigenous spiritual traditions of Asia
Indigenous spiritual traditions of Australia
Virgil was born in the village of Andes, near Mantua near the southern Alps and present-day northern Italy.
His ancestry, though speculated about, is fairy uncertain. Virgil's earliest poetry first published in the mid-30's BC. Considered one of the greatest of the Latin poets, the Aeneid is a fixture of classical studies.
Wicca is often referred to as the Old Religion.
It is based generally on the ancient pre-Christian pagan religions of Europe. A central idea of the Wiccan faith is that the gods can manifest in personal form, through the bodies of Priestesses and Priests. Wicca is understood by Wiccans to be a religion of clergy, and not followers.
Hinduism can be understood as a way of Divine Life that is based upon eternal principles. A vast and profound religion, it is mystical, and really meant to lead the devotee the experience of the Universal the Truth within or Nirvana which is the pinnacle of consciousness where man and God are One.
Zoroastrianism is the ancient religion of Persia, (now Iran). It pre-dates Islam and is generally based upon the Vedic religion. Zoroastrianism began with the visionary known both as Zarathustra, and Zoroaster. |
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