The Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences

The Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences PDF Author: Robert Crookall
Publisher: James Clarke & Co.
ISBN: 9780227677292
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
Albert Schweitzer said 'All the problems of religion ultimately go back to the one - the experience I have of God within myself differs from knowledge concerning Him which I derive from the world ... In the world He is impersonal force; within me, He reveals Himself as Personality'. In his earlier books, Dr Crookall dealt with the most important of psychical experiences, namely, out-of-the-body experiences, popularly called astral projections. These are, he says, natural and normal to mankind. This work is concerned with cosmic and mystical experiences, the 'highest' and most significant of which we are capable. These are also natural and normal to mankind. In the First Part, a large number of experiences of at-one-ment are assembled and classified, preparatory to a consideration of their incidence and nature. Some people have at-one with inanimate objects, others with animate objects (nature), still others with people, and many with God. These various groups are shown to overlap - there is, says Crookall, a complete and unbroken spectrum beginning with minerals and ending with God. It is clear that at-one-ment with God is not, as some writers have supposed, essentially distinct from at-one-ment with nature. On the basis of this, the author agrees with Dr Raynor Johnson and the Revd Sidney Spencer: the latter concluded 'Cosmic consciousness is the natural complement of the experience of union with God'. The Second Part of the book deals with descriptions of at-one-ment that have hitherto been entirely neglected by writers on this important subject, namely, those of 'communicators', the supposed dead. Some supposed dead 'communicators' are shown to describe at-one-ment with inanimate objects, others with nature, with people, and still others with God. Again, these groups overlap to form an unbroken spectrum of experience, as in the experiences of the living - a strong suggestion of surviving souls. In point of fact, Crookall notes that mystical experiences seem to be more frequent among the dead than the living! This, of course, might have been expected. Human mystical experiences are here considered, for the first time, in relation to the correlation suggested in the author's first book.

The Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences

The Interpretation of Cosmic and Mystical Experiences PDF Author: Robert Crookall
Publisher: James Clarke & Co.
ISBN: 9780227677292
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 204

Get Book Here

Book Description
Albert Schweitzer said 'All the problems of religion ultimately go back to the one - the experience I have of God within myself differs from knowledge concerning Him which I derive from the world ... In the world He is impersonal force; within me, He reveals Himself as Personality'. In his earlier books, Dr Crookall dealt with the most important of psychical experiences, namely, out-of-the-body experiences, popularly called astral projections. These are, he says, natural and normal to mankind. This work is concerned with cosmic and mystical experiences, the 'highest' and most significant of which we are capable. These are also natural and normal to mankind. In the First Part, a large number of experiences of at-one-ment are assembled and classified, preparatory to a consideration of their incidence and nature. Some people have at-one with inanimate objects, others with animate objects (nature), still others with people, and many with God. These various groups are shown to overlap - there is, says Crookall, a complete and unbroken spectrum beginning with minerals and ending with God. It is clear that at-one-ment with God is not, as some writers have supposed, essentially distinct from at-one-ment with nature. On the basis of this, the author agrees with Dr Raynor Johnson and the Revd Sidney Spencer: the latter concluded 'Cosmic consciousness is the natural complement of the experience of union with God'. The Second Part of the book deals with descriptions of at-one-ment that have hitherto been entirely neglected by writers on this important subject, namely, those of 'communicators', the supposed dead. Some supposed dead 'communicators' are shown to describe at-one-ment with inanimate objects, others with nature, with people, and still others with God. Again, these groups overlap to form an unbroken spectrum of experience, as in the experiences of the living - a strong suggestion of surviving souls. In point of fact, Crookall notes that mystical experiences seem to be more frequent among the dead than the living! This, of course, might have been expected. Human mystical experiences are here considered, for the first time, in relation to the correlation suggested in the author's first book.

The Supreme Adventure

The Supreme Adventure PDF Author: Robert Crookall
Publisher: James Clarke & Co.
ISBN: 9780227676066
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
While religious faith, at least that which is of the orthodox type, appears to be on the decline and church attendance fall, the great experience of death which all men must undergo continues to intrigue many who seldom, if ever, cross the threshold of a church. In this meticulously compiled volume, Dr. Robert Crookall, an eminent scientist who is also a student of psychical research, has brought together, from a great many different sources, what appear to be the personal testimonies of the experiences of death and survival. Taken together they form an impressive body of evidence on a topic where opinion is frequently expressed but evidence seldom considered: what we have here an entirely new kind of evidence. The success of the first edition of this book, published in 1961, has led to the issue of this revised and updated edition.

Psychic Phenomena and Mystical Experience

Psychic Phenomena and Mystical Experience PDF Author: Lawrence L. Leshan
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
ISBN: 1944529306
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description
Mysticism and the paranormal have long been associated in two ways: in the repeated reports of mystically trained individuals acquiring paranormal abilities and in the warnings given in all serious mystical training schools that students who become interested in these abilities will cease to make progress. This essay, chapter 24 of Psychic Exploration, discusses those associations. The full volume of Psychic Exploration can be purchased as an ebook or paperback version from all major online retailers and at cosimobooks.com.

Yeshua the Cosmic Mystic

Yeshua the Cosmic Mystic PDF Author: Theodore Nottingham
Publisher: Theosis Books
ISBN: 0983769737
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description
The experiential and transformational teachings brought to each human being by Jesus of Nazareth transcending religious beliefs, creeds, cultures, and time. The essence of the teachings of Jesus called the Anointed One is the awakening of the spiritual depths of human beings in a way that utterly transforms their understanding of themselves and of their relationship with life. Our world desperately needs such a unifying vision and a sense of common ground among people and cultures. It is the mystic first and foremost who reveals the spiritual home that we all share and the wondrous purpose of our presence in the universe. One of the highly respected personalities in the religious world of our time, the Benedictine Monk Bede Griffith, made this radical and prophetic statement late in his life: "If Christianity cannot recover its mystical tradition and teach it, it should just fold up and go out of business." The Anointed One put it another way: "Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord and do not practice what I tell you?" (Luke 6:46)

The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature

The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature PDF Author: William James
Publisher: Xist Publishing
ISBN: 1681950898
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
The Best Nonfiction Masterpiece of the 20th Century? “There are two lives, the natural and the spiritual, and we must lose the one before we can participate in the other.” - William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature is not a book about a specific religion. The author, psychologist Williams James does not try to convince the reader one religion is better than the other. He doesn’t even make a case for atheism and the scientific approach. The book is in fact about human nature and how we experience religion at a psychological level. Xist Publishing is a digital-first publisher. Xist Publishing creates books for the touchscreen generation and is dedicated to helping everyone develop a lifetime love of reading, no matter what form it takes

Rational Mysticism

Rational Mysticism PDF Author: John Horgan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Table of contents

Platonic Mysticism

Platonic Mysticism PDF Author: Arthur Versluis
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438466331
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
Restores the Platonic history and context of mysticism and shows how it helps us understand more deeply the humanities as a whole, from philosophy and literature to art. In Platonic Mysticism, Arthur Versluisclearly and tautly argues that mysticism must be properly understood as belonging to the great tradition of Platonism. He demonstrates how mysticism was historically understood in Western philosophical and religious traditions and emphatically rejects externalist approaches to esoteric religion. Instead he develops a new theoretical-critical model for understanding mystical literature and the humanities as a whole, from philosophy and literature to art. A sequel to his Restoring Paradise, this is an audacious book that places Platonic mysticism in the context of contemporary cognitive and other approaches to the study of religion, and presents an emerging model for the new field of contemplative science. “An important work on the mystical experience delving deep into its history, particularly from the Platonic perspective. An essential text for anyone interested in mysticism and its relationship to philosophy and creative expression.” — Andrew Newberg, author of How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation “The present work, the latest from the pen of Arthur Versluis, provides a trenchant, learned, and illuminating analysis of the origins of Western mysticism in the Platonist tradition, relayed through such figures as Plotinus and Dionysius the Areopagite, down through Meister Eckhart and others, while suitably excoriating the attempts of certain modern philosophers and sociologists of religion to ‘deconstruct’ it from a materialist perspective. I found it a rattling good read!” — John Dillon, author of The Heirs of Plato: A Study of the Old Academy (347–274 BC)

Beyond Physicalism

Beyond Physicalism PDF Author: Edward F. Kelly
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442232404
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 636

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Book Description
The rise of modern science has brought with it increasing acceptance among intellectual elites of a worldview that conflicts sharply both with everyday human experience and with beliefs widely shared among the world’s great cultural traditions. Most contemporary scientists and philosophers believe that reality is at bottom purely physical, and that human beings are nothing more than extremely complicated biological machines. On such views our everyday experiences of conscious decision-making, free will, and the self are illusory by-products of the grinding of our neural machinery. It follows that mind and personality are necessarily extinguished at death, and that there exists no deeper transpersonal or spiritual reality of any sort. Beyond Physicalism is the product of an unusual fellowship of scientists and humanities scholars who dispute these views. In their previous publication, Irreducible Mind, they argued that physicalism cannot accommodate various well-evidenced empirical phenomena including paranormal or psi phenomena, postmortem survival, and mystical experiences. In this new theory-oriented companion volume they go further by attempting to understand how the world must be constituted in order that these “rogue” phenomena can occur. Drawing upon empirical science, metaphysical philosophy, and the mystical traditions, the authors work toward an improved “big picture” of the general character of reality, one which strongly overlaps territory traditionally occupied by the world’s institutional religions, and which attempts to reconcile science and spirituality by finding a middle path between the polarized fundamentalisms, religious and scientific, that have dominated recent public discourse. Contributions by: Harald Atmanspacher, Loriliai Biernacki, Bernard Carr, Wolfgang Fach, Michael Grosso, Michael Murphy, David E. Presti, Gregory Shaw, Henry P. Stapp, Eric M. Weiss, and Ian Whicher

What Are They Saying About Mysticism?

What Are They Saying About Mysticism? PDF Author: Harvey D. Egan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666733903
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
Fr. Egan surveys the current scholarship on mysticism, giving special attention to the works Carl Albrecht, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Richard Bucke, Teilhard de Chardin, Harvey Cox, William James, William Johnston, Bernard Lonergan, Thomas Merton, Erich Neumann, Karl Rahner, Walter Stace, Evelyn Underhill, R. C. Zaehner, and many lesser-known authors. The book covers a wide spectrum of modern thinking. It presents authors who treat mysticism as a psychological phenomenon involving pathology and altered states of consciousness, as well as others who understand it as stages of life toward union with the God of Love. Fr. Egan also highlights both those authors who have opened up Christian mysticism to the riches of the Eastern tradition and those critical of this Eastern turn. Finally, he explores the theological reflections of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan for their ability to bring together mystical spirituality and academic theology. These contemporary theologians offer a solid foundation for a new science of mysticism based on the Christian mystical tradition, empirical sciences, East-West dialogue, and contemporary theological pluralism.

The Feeling of Transcendence, an Experience of God?

The Feeling of Transcendence, an Experience of God? PDF Author: Louis Roy
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 172527275X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
In this book, Louis Roy takes account of the fact that, in the last fifty years, numerous people in the secularized West have responded yes to surveys that asked, "Are you aware of having had an experience during which you felt in the presence of a dimension or a reality very different from ordinary human life?" Are such experiences mere illusions? Some thinkers, like Feuerbach and Freud, believed so. Are such experiences encounters with God? Karl Barth, a great Protestant theologian, did not think much of their worth. On this issue, psychologists and theologians are divided. Roy argues that those experiences are valid, that they possess a real potential, and that they can open their recipients to a genuine wisdom. He reports on eight narratives, spells out their constitutive elements, classifies them into four categories--aesthetic, ontological, ethical, and interpersonal--and suggests criteria to assess their concrete authenticity. Thus, this book will appeal to educated readers interested in spirituality, philosophy of religion, psychology, literature, theology, and pastoral ministry.