Showing results by narrator "Sandra Brautigam" in All Categories

Blavatsky engages in a spirited debate on spiritualism, defending an article entitled "Fragments of Occult Truth" by another writer, though one she had published in her own periodical, The Theosophist. The article had come under attack by a rival magazine of the time, and Blavatsky comes to the rescue.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1910, and she takes a philosophical examination of the mysteries of evil, as she puts it. She explains that there is a necessity for evil to exist, that it serves certain purposes, which she goes into detail about.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This is a lecture of hers from 1913, where she speaks about universal consciousness, spiritual unfolding and personal psychic progress.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This piece by her is a short, basic introduction to occultism through the eyes of Theosophy as well as the differences between the Occultist and the Mystic.

Originally published in 1890 for students of Theosophy, the author discusses various aspects of the astral light, from etymology to symbolism to function, taken from a variety of sources available at the time.

Toward the end of the Renaissance period, John Dee and Edward Kelly famously engaged in experiments with alchemy, crystal balls, and conversations with otherworldly entities during this important chapter of real occult and magical history. Here Adams explores the life of Dee and his relationship with Kelly, regarding these experiments. He offers examples of the sorts of dialogue that occurred, which Dee dutifully recorded for the sake of posterity. Adams also documents the tragic final years of the lives of both men, after they went their separate ways.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1913, and she's writing about the Ancient Mysteries as compared to the modern religions of the world. She also discusses the Great White Brotherhood, Initiation, the Rosicrucians, Madame Blavatsky, and other related topics.

More than 40 years prior to Bill Wilson creating the organization known as Alcoholics Anonymous, in 1892 noted spiritual author Annie Besant gave a lecture on the subject of alcoholism (published later that same year) and referred to drinking alcohol as "the alcoholic disease"! She, of course, approached the subject from a theosophical and thus spiritual standpoint. She briefly described her own history with alcohol as well as the physical and spiritual effects it has on the individual.

A writer, scholar in his own right, friend, and confidant, G. R. S. Mead offers a defense of his colleague, H. P. Blavatsky. During her life, she was often accused of being a charlatan. Mead offers first-hand knowledge of working with and knowing Madame Blavatsky and speaks out against reports that attempted to discredit her.

Notable author Seth Pancoast, a theosophist and regular contributor to theosophical, esoteric, and occult journals and periodicals, writes on the topic of the cabalistic sciences. Here, we have collected two of his essays entitled "The Kabbalah" and "The Mystery of Numbers", written from a theosophical perspective. Please enjoy.

Discover how to quiet your mind in one minute or less with a variety of proven meditation techniques. From mindfulness in everyday life to breath awareness and visualization, the practices in this book are designed to give anyone with one minute to spare a taste of inner peace.

Florence Farr was an actress, writer, and first-wave feminist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as an active member of the British occult community who regularly worked with her male counterparts in the fields of esoterica, being an initiate of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Collected here are seven of her magical essays: "Magic of a Symbol", "On the Play of the Image-Maker", "The Tetrad or Structure of the Mind", "Egyptian Use of Symbols", "The Philosophy Called Vedanta", "On the Kabbalah", and "The Rosicrucians and the Alchemists".

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent Theosophist, and women’s rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various Theosophical publications of her day. This particular piece dates to 1911, and she’s lecturing on Christ from an intellectual but still spiritual standpoint. She encourages us to engage in critical discussion regarding historical evidence, authenticity of records, and his nature and purpose. She also touches on the Buddha, Blavatsky, Gnosticism, the mysteries, the ascended masters, and so forth.

Annie Besant was a writer, lecturer, prominent theosophist, and women's rights activist of her time. She was a frequent contributor to various theosophical publications of her day. This piece by her, from 1912, is a short, basic introduction to mysticism through the eyes of theosophy. She writes about mysticism within Christianity and the Western Mystery Tradition in general. It's also interesting to note that she mentions the Illuminati in this piece, but in a philosophical rather than historical context, which is unusual for the time period.

Published in 1892, in this piece Mead explains that anyone can be a Theosophist, but in order to be considered an Occultist, the individual must be an agent of practice, not theory, and must have the wisdom to differentiate good from evil. Simply claiming to be an occultist and having basic knowledge on general subjects is not enough to truly be considered one. One of the great, underrated writers of Esoterica.

The philosophy behind the Law of Attraction is all about taking personal responsibility. When you take responsibility for the state of your life and for your decisions, you see that you have essentially created your past and your present life with your thoughts and actions. Part of you already knows your own power to manifest anything you could ever imagine, and 30 Days of Thanks is your guide for bringing that power into the forefront of your conscious mind.

Mead notices that modern students often shrug off or dismiss the mysteries and wisdom of the ages, as unimportant. He argues that spirit is entirely absent from the religion of today, because it has been divorced from science. And, what was once considered religion to the primitive man is very different than what is considered religion now. Psychology, what he called the science of antiquity, is what is needed for the student of the mysteries to regain their foothold in the world.

C Jinarajadasa was a writer, philosopher, Freemason and prominent theosophist of his day. This particular piece is a lecture he gave in 1905, and he discusses consciousness, the inseparable duality of love and beauty, Plato's world of ideas, the divine mind and other related topics.

One of the great tragedies of our time is that we have the tools and technologies available to us to free up our time and open up our lives to learning, creating, relaxing, and building. And yet...we are so attached to being busy that we spend most of our time looking forward, looking backward, and missing those things that are right in front of us.

C. Jinarajadasa was a writer, philosopher, prominent Theosophist of his day, as well as a Freemason. In this particular piece (originally published in 1915), the author takes a scholarly examination and ritual dissection of the Catholic Mass. Among the many topics that he discusses are: the creed, the altar, the vestments, the collect and epistle, commemoration of the dead, Prajapati, and more.