2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl (Hardcover) 416 pages

This literary and metaphysical epic unifies the cosmological phenomena of our time - from crop circles to quantum mechanics to the worldwide resurgence of shamanism - in support of the Mayan prophecy that the year 2012 portends an unprecedented global shift.

Cross Umberto Eco, Aldous Huxley, and Carlos Castaneda and you get the voice of Daniel Pinchbeck. And yet nothing quite prepares you for the lucidity, rationality, and informed audacity of this seeker, skeptic, and cartographer of hidden realms.

In tracing the meaning of the end of the Mayan Calendar in 2012, and the imminent transition from one world to another prophesied by the Hopi Indians of Arizona, Pinchbeck synthesizes indigenous cosmology, alien abductions, shamanic revivalism, crop circles, psychedelic visions, the current ecological crisis and the Judeo-Christian Apocalypse into a new vision for our time. The result is an unprecedented and riveting inquiry into where humanity is immediately headed - and its strange and startling congruence with the ideas of the mysterious civilization of the Classical Maya.

Throughout the 1990s, Pinchbeck had been a member of New York's literary select. He wrote for publications like ArtForum, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine. Critics acclaimed his first book, Breaking Open the Head, as the most significant contribution to psychedelic literature since the work of Terence McKenna.

One River, Many Wells  Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox 367 blz.

Read an excerpt on justice.
Matthew Fox, now an Episcopal priest, is the author of 24 books and serves as president of the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland, California. This wide-ranging and substantive sourcebook of the spiritual wisdom from the world's religions, contemporary scientists, and mystical seers is a powerful example of deep ecumenism — something the author has been pioneering for years. He quotes Father Bede Griffiths, a Benedictine monk who devoted his life to interfaith exploration, as saying that the time has come "to share one another's spiritual riches. . . . If one starts with doctrines, the arguments are endless. . . . But when one comes to the level of interior experience, that is where the meeting takes place. . . . It is in the cave of the heart that the meeting has to take place."
The book, which contains various scriptural texts of the religions and excerpts from ancient and modern mystics, is divided into four sections: relating to creation; relating to divinity; relating to ourselves: paths to encounter and enlightenment; and relating to the future: what the divine is asking of us. Fox believes that these thematic sections address some of the major concerns of our time — ones relevant "to our soul and social needs." Specifically, he identifies 18 themes characteristic of the universal religious tradition of humankind.

No Time to Lose A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva
By Pema Chodron 408 pages

Over the years, Pema Chödrön's books have offered readers an exciting new way of living: developing fearlessness, generosity, and compassion in all aspects of their lives. In No Time to Lose Pemainvites readers to venture further along the path of the "bodhisattva warrior," explaining in depth how we can awaken the softness of our hearts and develop true confidence amid the challenges of daily living.
Pema reveals the traditional Buddhist teachings that guide her own life: those of The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara), a text written by the eighth-century sage Shantideva. This treasured Buddhist work is remarkably relevant for our times, describing the steps we can take to cultivate courage, caring, and joy—the keys to healing ourselves and our troubled world. Pema offers us a highly practical and engaging commentary on this essential

Talks with Ramana Maharshi Robert Powell - 506 blz.

This spiritually significant work is a profound series of dialogues between one of the great sages of our time and his inquirers. These "Talks" offer a genuinely universal approach to Truth, by directly pointing to the certainty of our essential nature. By applying even a few of these passages to our life, we can become aware of the ever-present, abiding Reality.
The great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) had the unique gift of embodying the highest wisdom in the most ordinary manner. His words, full of insight and understanding, express the authentic experience of Enlightenment. For decades, they have guided people from diverse backgrounds and traditions to the Source of enduring peace and happiness.
Through the wise words of this beloved sage, we are clearly and consistently shown how to reclaim our innate Freedom--simply by looking in the right place and discovering what has always been present. A fundamental shift of attention is all that is required. By approaching these dialogues in the spirit of inquiry, one has the opportunity to awaken to a greater Reality: that of our own Being, our true Self.

Montségur and the Mystery of the Cathars
By (author) Jean Markale 298 blz.

The history and philosophy of the mysterious Cathar religion and its lost treasure
• Demonstrates that Catharism is not simply a heretical Christian cult as it is often portrayed
• Examines the evidence for the existence of a lost Cathar treasure and its possible connection to the Holy Grail
On March 16, 1244, over 200 Cathars were captured in their fortress stronghold of Montségur and were burned alive by troops of the Inquisition. While some Cathar enclaves survived into the next century, this was the death blow to a religion that had been a powerful symbol of Occitain sovereignty against the designs of the French monarchy and the papacy. History has recorded that four high-ranking Cathar perfecti carried a great treasure out of Montségur the night before its fall, a fact that led rebel Huguenots of the 17th century and members of Hitler’s S.S. to believe that an enormous treasure or weapon of awesome spiritual power lay hidden somewhere nearby the ruins of the former Cathar stronghold.

The Templars and the Grail: Knights of the Quest
Karen Ralls 261 blz.

Why do the powerful medieval Knights Templar, the famed warriors of the Crusades, still intrigue many today? A secret society long shrouded in mystery, the Templars were believed to conduct mystical rituals, to guard the Holy Grail, and to possess the priceless treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem. Did they bring their treasure to North America, as some legends say? This definitive work about the Templars and their presumed hidden knowledge addresses many such fascinating questions, with rare photos from the Rosslyn Chapel Museum (Scotland) included.
The Spring 2003 issue of Templar History Magazine reviewed the book, saying in part: "This is truly unique among Templar publications. Academics are quick to dismiss matters of a speculative nature, and in so doing often throw the baby out with the bath water. Those who write speculative works often dismiss academic researches for fear that it will not fit their prescribed pre-conceived notions. Neither approach is the case with this book. Dr. Ralls has utilized both sources in order to present an educational, objective and thought-provoking book, that offers the best of both worlds and may well be the first to truly get to the heart of the matter concerning the Templars and the Grail. If you read but one book on the Knights Templar this year, this is truly the one to read."

Nicholas & Helena Roerich:
The Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers
Ruth A. Drayer 357 blz.

In her latest title, Ruth Drayer provides a factual account of the two Russian visionaries who believed beauty could solve the world's problems and unify humanity. Partners in all things, charismatic Nicholas (1874-1947) was an internationally acclaimed artist (responsible for over 7,000 paintings), author, daring explorer, conservationist, archeologist, humanitarian and peacemaker, while his wife, Helena (1879 - 1955), was a teacher and healer as well as the inspired co-author of the Agni Yoga (www.agniyoga.org) series. This is the first book in English to interweave the Agni Yoga writings and the Roerichs' relationship with their spiritual teacher in with their fascinating travels, disclosing the long-hidden story of the Roerichs' connection with Tibetan Buddhism.
Though it may read like a tale, Drayer takes us on the real-life adventures of the Roerichs as they travel to the most remote and dangerous regions of India, China, Mongolia, the Gobi, Tibet and Siberia. We bear witness as the couple flees the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 Russia and as they arrive in New York City in the fall of 1920 where they later founded the first school that teaches all of the arts under one roof. We experience their trials and tribulations as the Roerichs trek through the following years, which were marked by spy charges, political upheaval and even captivity. Though the courageous couple reached the border of Tibet by 1927 in their search of the sacred Buddhist site, Shambhala, which was to complete their mission of peace by establishing a true “heaven on Earth,” their journey was again met with conflict.

Livia Kohn: Daoist Body Cultivation : Traditional Models And Contemporary Practices
pb. - illus. - University of Hawaii Press

'Contains eight excellent and detailed studies and a superb introduction in its exploration of Daoist techniques and theories of how to live long, healthy, and harmoniously.' Shin-yi Choo, Rutgers University
Daoist Body Cultivation is a comprehensive volume by a group of dedicated scholars and practitioners that covers the key practices of medical healing, breathing techniques, diets and fasting, healing exercises, sexual practices, Qigong, and Taiji quan.
Contributors: Shawn Arthur, Bede Bidlack, Catherine Despeux, Stephen Jackowicz, Lonny Jarrett, Livia Kohn, Louis Komjathy, Michael Winn.
Livia Kohn is professor of religion and East Asian studies at Boston University.

Peter Kingsley: In the Dark Places of Wisdom
255 p. - pb - Independent Pub Group

A set of ancient inscriptions on marble found 40 years ago in southern Italy, recording details so bewildering that scholars have kept silent about them ... Sensational new information about a group of ancient philosophers who were so intensely practical that, two and a half thousand years ago, they shaped our existence and the world we live in ... These are just two ingredients of this extraordinary book, which uncovers an astonishing reality right at the origins of the Western world. Written by a highly-acclaimed contemporary historian and expert in the field, it provides dramatic new evidence about one of the most important of ancient philosophers, Parmenides—and revolutionizes our understanding of the history of religion, of the origins of philosophy, and of Western culture as a whole.

Integral Life Practice: A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance, Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening
By Ken Wilber pb - 288p.

Ken Wilber’s books are known for giving readers “aha” moments: the universe, when viewed through the lens of Ken’s Integral Approach, just starts to make profound sense. Integral Life Practice (ILP) is Ken’s system for making that knowledge experiential and for waking up in every aspect of our lives. It combines meditation along with exercises for working with body, mind, and “shadow” (those parts of ourselves that we tend to deny). The techniques are drawn from a variety of the great wisdom traditions, and one of the best things about ILP is how adaptable it is to the conditions of anyone’s life and schedule. You can choose the practices that suit you best, and adapt them within whatever belief system or religion you may be following—or not following: it’s also perfect if you want spiritual practice without the organized religion thing. This guide contains everything you need to design your own system and to get started.

WOMEN OF WISDOM Tsultrim Allione. - 340 p.

Women of Wisdom explores and celebrates the spiritual potential of all women, as exemplified by the lives of six Tibetan female mystics. These stories of great women who have achieved full illumination, overcoming cultural prejudices and a host of other problems which male practitioners do not encounter, offer a wealth of inspiration to everyone on the spiritual path.

In this revised and expanded edition, Tsultrim Allione's extensive autobiographical preface and introduction speak directly to the difficulties and triumphs of women in the West who pursue a spiritual life as she shares her own stories and experiences. Women of Wisdom offers valuable insights to all those interested in woman's spirituality regardless of background or tradition.

Tsultrim Allione is one of the most widely known contemporary Western women teachers of Buddhism. She received her master's degree from Antioch University in Buddhism/Women's Studies and was among the first Western women ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She has been a practicing Buddhist for over thirty years and has taught throughout the world, making great efforts to create teaching methods which facilitate the Western understanding of Buddhism.

Lynne McTaggart: The Intention Experiment
Using your thoughts to change your life and the world
hardcover - 320 p. - Simon and Schuster

The Intention Experiment builds on the discoveries of McTaggart’s first book, international bestseller The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, which documented discoveries that point to the existence of a quantum energy field (and which informed the cult classic movie “What the BLEEP Do We Know!?” in whose full version, Down the Rabbit Hole, McTaggart appears). The Field created a picture of an interconnected universe and a scientific explanation for many of the most profound human mysteries, from alternative medicine and spiritual healing to extrasensory perception and the collective unconscious. The Intention Experiment shows you myriad ways that all this information can be incorporated into your life.

James H. Austin: Zen and the Brain
Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness
872 p. - 27 illus. – pb – Mitt Press

Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." According to James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology" for awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only because the human brain undergoes substantial changes.
The book uses Zen Buddhism as the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand the brain mechanisms that produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, a neuroscientist and Zen practitioner, interweaves his teachings of the brain with his teachings/personal narrative of Zen. The science, which contains the latest relevant developments in brain research, is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin covers such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of advanced stages of enlightenment.
James H. Austin is is Clinical Professor of Neurology, University of Missouri Health Science Center, and Emeritus Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado Health Science Center.

Miranda Shaw: Buddhist Goddesses of India
602 p. - cloth - Princeton

The Indian Buddhist world abounds with goddesses--voluptuous tree spirits, maternal nurturers, potent healers and protectors, transcendent wisdom figures, cosmic mothers of liberation, and dancing female Buddhas. Despite their importance in Buddhist thought and practice, these female deities have received relatively little scholarly attention, and no comprehensive study of the female pantheon has been available. Buddhist Goddesses of India is the essential and definitive guide to divinities that, as Miranda Shaw writes, "operate from transcendent planes of bliss and awareness for as long as their presence may benefit living beings."
Beautifully illustrated, the book chronicles the histories, legends, and artistic portrayals of nineteen goddesses and several related human figures and texts. Drawing on a sweeping range of material, from devotional poetry and meditation manuals to rituals and artistic images, Shaw reveals the character, powers, and practice traditions of the female divinities. Interpretations of intriguing traits such as body color, stance, hairstyle, clothing, jewelry, hand gestures, and handheld objects lend deep insight into the symbolism and roles of each goddess. In addition to being a comprehensive reference, this book traces the fascinating history of these goddesses as they evolved through the early, Mahayana, and Tantric movements in India and found a place in the pantheons of Tibet and Nepal.

Doctor Illuminatus: A Ramon Llull Reader
380 p. - pb - Princeton

Edited and translated by Anthony Bonner
For this new anthology, Anthony Bonner has chosen central texts from his acclaimed two-volume compilation Selected Works of Ramon Llull ( Princeton , 1985). Available for the first time in an affordable format, these works serve as an introduction to the life and writings of the Catalan (properly, Majorcan) philosopher, mystic, and theologian who lived from 1232 to 1316. Founder of a school of Arabic and other languages, Llull was also a poet and novelist and one of the creators of literary Catalan.
This volume contains three prefaces on Llull's life, thought, and reputation. Of Llull's works, it offers Book of the Gentile and the Three Wise Men, his seminal Christian apology; the Ars brevis, a summary of his philosophical system; The Book of the Lover and the Beloved, a celebration of mystical love in the courtly tradition; and his wittily scathing Book of the Beasts.

Jelaluddin Rumi: The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi
(Complete Set Vols 2, 4 & 6) - R.A. Nicholson
1000 p. - hardcover - E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust

The Mathnawi of Jalalu'ddin Rumi Set: MawlanaJalal al-Din Rumi's poem, the Mathnawi, is one of the best known and most influential works of Muslim mysticism. Nicholson's critical edition is based on the oldest known manuscript, including the earliest, dated 1278, and preserved in the Mawlana Museum at Qonya.

Daniel Ladinsky: I heard God Laughing
91 p. - pb - Penguin Books

To Persians the poems of Hafiz are not 'classical literature' from a remote past but cherished wisdom from a dear and intimate friend that continue to be quoted in daily life. With uncanny insight, Hafiz captures the many forms and stages of love. His poetry outlines the stages of the mystics 'path of love', a journey in which love dissolves personal boundaries and limitations to join larger processes of growth and transformation.
With this stunning collection, Ladinsky has succeeded brilliantly in translating the essence of one of Islam’s greatest poetic and spiritual voices.

Daniël Ladinsky: Love Poems from God
Twelve sacred voices from the east and west
In both eastern and western traditions, it is believed that certain mystics and saints receive a gift from God that make them poetic conduits of the divine, bearers of `love poems from God'. Twelve of these timeless spiritual writers, six from the East and six from the West, are beautifully presented in this inspirational volume. Ladinsky, best known for his gifted translations of the great Sufi poet Hafiz, brings his art to this rich and luminous collection.

Coleman Barks (transl.): The Essential Rumi
New expanded edition
388 p. - hardcover - HarperSanFrancisco

A comprehensive collection of ecstatic poetry that delights with its energy and passion. The Essential Rumi brings the vibrant, living words of famed thirteenth-century Sufi mystic Jelalludin Rumi to contemporary readers.

Coleman Barks: A Year with Rumi
Daily Readings hardcover - Harper

Coleman Barks has played a central role in making the Sufi mystic Rumi the most popular poet in the world. A Year with Rumi brings together 365 of Barks's elegant and beautiful translations of Rumi's greatest poems, including fifteen never-before-published poems.

Jon Kabat-Zinn: Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness - Hyperion

Ten years ago, Jon Kabat-Zinn changed the way we thought about awareness in everyday life with his now-classic introduction to mindfulness, Wherever You Go, There You Are. Now, with Coming to Our Senses, he provides the definitive book for our time on the connection between mindfulness and our physical and spiritual wellbeing. With scientific rigor, poetic deftness, and compelling personal stories, Jon Kabat-Zinn examines the mysteries and marvels of our minds and bodies, describing simple, intuitive ways in which we can come to a deeper understanding, through our senses, of our beauty, our genius, and our life path in a complicated, fear-driven, and rapidly changing world.
In each of the book’s eight parts, Jon Kabat-Zinn explores another facet of the great adventure of healing ourselves - and our world - through mindful awareness, with a focus on the “sensescapes” of our lives and how a more intentional awareness of the senses, including the human mind itself, allows us to live more fully and more authentically. By “coming to our senses” - both literally and metaphorically by opening to our innate connectedness with the world around us and within us - we can become more compassionate, more embodied, more aware human beings, and in the process, contribute to the healing of the body politic as well as our own lives in ways both little and big.

John Kain: A Rare and Precious Thing
The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Working with a Spiritual Teacher
275 p - hardback - Bell Tower

This book is the first in-depth exploration of how to evaluate spiritual teachers, what to expect from them, and what to be wary of, as well as whether it is necessary to study and practice with a guru or possible to achieve the same thing on your own. John Kain introduces us to teachers (and their students) from a wide range of traditions:
Murat Yagan, a ninety-year-old Circassian teacher of Sufism and Kebzeh in a rural community in British Columbia; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the nineteenth-generation keeper of the sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Nation; Joan Chittister, OSB, a sister at a Benedictine monastery in Erie, Pennsylvania, an ardent advocate for peace and justice, a feminist, and a questioner of institutional thinking; Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, enthusiastic teacher of Hasidism, and past holder of the World Wisdom chair at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado; Gehlek Rimpoche, a renegade but beloved Tibetan Buddhist teacher whose aim is to dispense with superficial traditions and integrate the essence of Buddhist teaching into Western culture; Sudha Puri, the American-born head of Ananda Ashram north of Los Angeles and the Vedanta Centre in Massachusetts, in the lineage of the Indian sage Ramakrishna; John Daido Loori, the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in New York’s Catskill Mountains, who is known for using photography and the arts as bridges to awareness; and Adyashanti, a charismatic American teacher in Los Gatos, California, who has broken away from all established traditions.
Woven throughout Kain’s detailed profiles of the teachers themselves is information on finding a teacher, life in a spiritual community, dealing with problems like disillusionment and abuse of power, and the meeting (or lack thereof) between Western psychology and religion.

Kocku von Stuckrad: Western Esotericism
A brief history of secret knowledge
167 p. - pb - Equinox

A controversial issue of public debate during the recent years, esotericism can be described as the search for an absolute but hidden knowledge that people claim to access through mystical vision, the mediation of higher beings, or personal experience. In Western cultural history these claims often led to conflicts with more established forms of scriptural religions and with reductionist interpretations in science and philosophy.
In this highly readable book Kocku von Stuckrad describes the impact of esoteric currents from antiquity to the present and pursues the continuities and breaks in a tradition that significantly influenced the formation of modernity. When Hermes Trismegistos reveals wisdom of an absolute quality, the unveiling of hidden knowledge in Jewish Kabbalah is transformed by Christians, Renaissance thinkers speak of an ‘eternal philosophy,’ or when in the ‘New Age’ people try to get in contact with a source of superior understanding—in every case the dynamic of concealment and revelation is at stake and the ways this hidden knowledge can be made accessible for human curiosity.

Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism
Edited by Wouter J. Hanegraaff, in collaboration with Antoine Faivre, Roelof van den Broek and Jean-Pierre Brach
1230 p. - hardback - Brill - 2006

This is the first comprehensive reference work to cover the entire domain of “Gnosis and Western Esotericism” from the period of Late Antiquity to the present. Containing around 400 articles by over 180 international specialists, it provides critical overviews discussing the nature and historical development of all its important currents and manifestations, from Gnosticism and Hermetism to Astrology, Alchemy and Magic, from the Hermetic Tradition of the Renaissance to Rosicrucianism and Christian Theosophy, and from Freemasonry and Illuminism to 19th-century Occultism and the contemporary New Age movement. Furthermore it contains articles about the life and work of all the major personalities in the history of Gnosis and Western Esotericism, discussing their ideas, significance, and historical influence.

Colm Luibheid: Pseudo-Dionysius,the complete works
318 p. - pb - Classics of Western Spirituality - Paulist Press

There are few figures in the history of Western Spirituality who are more enigmatic than the fifth or sixth-century writer known as the Pseudo-Dionysius. The real identity of the person who chose to write under the pseudonym of Dionysius the Areopagite is unknown. Even the exact dates of his writings have never been determined. Moreover the texts themselves, though relatively short, are at points seemingly impenetrable and have mystified readers over the centuries. Yet the influence of this shadowy figure on broad range of mystical writers from the early middle ages on is readily discernible. His formulation of a method of negative theology that stresses the impotence of humans' attempt to penetrate the "cloud of unknowing" is famous as is his meditation on the divine names. Despite his influence, relatively few attempts have been made to translate the entire corpus of his written into English. Here in one volume are collected all of the Pseudo-Dionysius' works. Each has been translated from the Migne edition, with reference to the forthcoming Göttingen critical edition of A.M. Ritter, G. Heil, and B. Suchla. To present these works to the English-speaking public, an outstanding team of six research scholars has been assembled. The lucid translation of Colm Luibheid has been augmented by Paul Rorem's notes and textual collaboration. The reader is presented a rich and varied examination of the main themes of Dionysian spirituality by René Roques, an incisive discussion of the original questions of the authenticity and alleged heresies in the Dionysian corpus by Jaroslav Pelikan, a comprehensive tracing Dionysius' influence on medieval authors by Jean Leclercq, and a survey by Karlfried Froehlich of the reception given the corpus by Humanists and sixteenth-century Reformers.

Gershom Scholem: Alchemy and Kabbalah
Translated from the German by Klaus Ottmann
110 p. - Spring Publications

A groundbreaking text on alchemy by the leading scholar of Jewish mysticism, Gershom Scholem, is presented here for the first time in English translation. Scholem looks critically at the connections between alchemy, the Jewish Kabbalah; its christianized varieties, such as the gold- and rosicrucian mysticisms, and the myth-based psychology of C. G. Jung, and uncovers forgotten alchemical roots embedded in the Kabbalah.

Garth Fowden: The Egyptian Hermes
A historical approach to the late pagan mind
244 p.- pb- Princeton

Sage, scientist, and sorcerer, Hermes Trismegistus was the culture-hero of Hellenistic and Roman Egypt . A human (according to some) who had lived about the time of Moses, but now indisputably a god, he was credited with the authorship of numerous books on magic and the supernatural, alchemy, astrology, theology, and philosophy. Until the early seventeenth century, few doubted the attribution. Even when unmasked, Hermes remained a byword for the arcane. Historians of ancient philosophy have puzzled much over the origins of his mystical teachings; but this is the first investigation of the Hermetic milieu by a social historian. Starting from the complex fusions and tensions that molded Graeco-Egyptian culture, and in particular Hermetism, during the centuries after Alexander, Garth Fowden goes on to argue that the technical and philosophical Hermetica, apparently so different, might be seen as aspects of a single "way of Hermes." This assumption that philosophy and religion, even cult, bring one eventually to the same goal was typically late antique, and guaranteed the Hermetica a far-flung readership, even among Christians. The focus and conclusion of this study is an assault on the problem of the social milieu of Hermetism.

M. Greenblatt: Wisdom teachings of Nisargadatta

A highly respected sage who lived the modest life of a Bombay shopkeeper and family man, Nisargadatta Maharaj‘s teachings are known for their clarity and universal appeal. Set against a background of rare and remarkable photographs, these previously unpublished teachings represent the heart of Maharaj's message. He helps us realize the peace and freedom of our true nature.

John Horgan: Rational Mysticism
Spirituality meets science in the search for enlightenment
292 p. - Houghton Mifflin Company

John Horgan investigates the ways in which scientists, theologians, and philosophers are attempting to formulate an empirical explanation of spiritual enlightenment. He interviews a fascinating who's who of experts, including Huston Smith, Andrew Newberg, Ken Wilber, Alexander Shulgin, Susan Blackmore, Terence McKenna. He also explores the effects of reputed enligtenment-inducing techniques such as fasting, meditation, prayer, sensory deprivation and drug trips. In his lively and thought-provoking inquiry, Horgan finds surprising connections among seemingly disparate disciplines, not the least of which is a shared awe at the nature of the universe.
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Dorje, Coleman, Jinpa: The Tibetan Book of the Dead
First complete translation - Introductory commentary by the Dalai Lama
hardcover - Viking

Overwhelmingly the most significant of all Tibetan buddhist texts in the west, this classical book about the process of death and dying, has had a number of distinguished partial translations. Now with this first full translation, carried out with the most thorough scollarship and also with a new clarity and elegance, the complete work has finally been made available in English. It includes one of the most detailed and compelling descriptions of the after-death state in the world literature. It gives practical advices meant to help those who are dying and an inspirational perspective on coping with bereavement.

Seth Robert Segall (ed.): Encountering Buddhism
Western psychology and buddhist teachings
214 p. - pb - Suny Press

Creatively exploring the points of confluence and conflict between Western psychology and Buddhist teachings, various scholars, researchers, and therapists struggle to integrate their diverse psychological orientations - psychoanalystic, humanistic, cognitive-behavorial, transpersonal- with their diverse Theravada and Mahayana Buddist practices. By investigating the degree to which Buddhist insights are compatible with Western science and culture, they then consider what each philosophical/psychological system has to offer the other. The contributors reveal how Buddhism has changed the way they practice psychotherapy, choose their research topics, and conduct their personal lives. In doing so, they illuminate the revelance of ancient Buddhist texts to contemporary cultural and psychological dilemmas.