|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Kay Lindahl, The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice (Skylight Paths Publishing, 2002), paper, 140 pp., $16.95, ISBN 1-893361-44-6
Listening is, by far, a lost artform. In this book, Lindahl - founder of The Listening Center in California - invites readers to learn this art "to create more peace, harmony and love in your life", to be present in the moment and with others, and to grow in understanding by really listening. Lindahl has seen where "Listening as a sacred art encompasses reflection, illustration, meditation, and practice," especially in the context of interfaith dialogue. The greatest obstacle to such dialogue - to any meaningful dialogue - is the inability to fully listen. The brief chapters highlight various means and exercises for listening, and point out how important it is to cherish silence, instead of filling it with verbal prattle. The more people who read this excellent book, the greater the benefit to the individual and the world at large.
This is an excellent reprint of the Crowley classic, featuring a full-color reproduction of the Stele of Revealing, along with reproductions of the original hand-written text. While the origins of this message to Crowley have been debated over the years, the type face and layout make it easier to read than some more cramped volumes produced over the years. A must for any Thelemite's library.
Here is a book which is aimed at teenagers, and presents them with a viable means to find self-understanding - which is prerequisite to any magickal working. Far better than the titles currently available for that age group, which tout the love spells, or hip-worded instructions for becoming a "wizard", Selby gives teens an honest chance to gain control of their own lives by stopping to experience the moment, and grasping how to make their minds an asset, instead of letting them run amuck. Selby uses resources from a variety of religions, and the stories about teens reflect accurately the day-to-day concerns of high school kids, bolstered by lessons on how to use meditation effectively. Only then, with this knowledge and experience, should a teen venture into the realms of magickal workings.
This book is surprising - in part, because it even got published. Writing for serious and advanced spiritual seekers, the author details the need for spirituality to move beyond doctrine and dogma, culture, history and myth. Citing many of his own experiences, Potter points the way to growing spiritually beyond the limits of physical existence. One flaw is his style of writing, which is somewhat academic in tone, and becomes garbled and confusing in places. The author also fails to allow readers to plummet their own inner realms. Instead, he ends up echoing the very fundamentalism he claims to disdain, in that he sees his methods as the only way to accomplish the stated end of direct consciousness.
Taking a look at the meaningful aspects of these four elements from the perspectives of many religions, the author provides guided meditations and thoughtful reflections to help readers better understand how the elements play vital roles in human life. An impressive list of books for further reading is also included, with references in the text itself taken from Sufi poetry, T.S. Eliot, Pagan mythology and other sources. For those who wish to align themselves with these energies, understand them to better use them in magickal pursuits, and connect with the workings of the world, this is a recommended read.
This latest printing of the classic is nicely put together, containing all the original material Gardner presented to those early practitioners of what came to be known as Wicca. Though British, Gardner doesn't write in the standard tone of most British mages - i.e. Aleister Crowley or even, in some cases, the Farrars - and the chapters offer insight into what the Craft was meant to be. Though it has been rumored over the decades that Gardner borrowed heavily from the Golden Dawn system and others for his rituals and ideas, this book is still an outstanding read from both a historical and practical viewpoint.
This book is exceptional for its forthright view of meditation - not as a job or career, but as a hobby. The author puts emphasis on always remaining a beginner, instead of trying to advance (as would be expected at a Buddhist or Zen monastery, for instance), because keeping meditation fresh and simple works far better than forcing oneself into an uncomfortable lotus or kneeling position for hours on end, trying to "find the self" while escaping reality. More important, according to Strand, to meditate from where a person is in life. The wisdom he gained from his years exploring the topic ring true, and this is a book for all those who wish to truly discover how to make meditation a meaningful part of daily life.
Home Page Current Issue Past Issues The Frater's Domain Quill's Corner