‘Life Is Real Only Then, When “I Am’ by G.I. Gurdjieff

‘Life Is Real Only Then, When “I Am”‘ was first privately printed in 1974. It is the incomplete text of the third Series of All and Everything by G. I. Gurdjieff. The book comprises a prologue, Gurdjieff’s description of five of his lectures (delivered on five nights starting November 28 and ending December 19, 1930) and a final essay entitled “The Outer and Inner World of Man”. Gurdjieff himself noted the importance of reading his trilogy in correct sequence.

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Meetings with Remarkable Men by G.I. Gurdjieff

Meetings with Remarkable Men is the second volume of the All and Everything trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff. It was published in 1963 and tells the tale of the young Gurdjieff growing up in a world torn between his unexplainable experiences and the developing modern sciences. The book takes the form of Gurdjieff’s reminiscences about various “remarkable men” that he has met, beginning with his father. They include the Armenian priest Pogossian; his friend Soloviev, Prince Lubovedsky, a Russian prince with metaphysical interests, and a couple of others.

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Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson or An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man by G. I. Gurdjieff

Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson or An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man is the first volume of the 'All and Everything' trilogy written by the Greek-Armenian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff. The All and Everything trilogy also includes 'Meetings with Remarkable Men' (first published in 1963) and' Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am'' (first privately printed in 1974).

Because the book was intended to be the main study tool for his teachings, and because the idea of work is central to those teachings, Gurdjieff went to great lengths in order to increase the effort needed to read and understand it. Gurdjieff himself once said, “I bury the bone so deep that the dogs have to scratch for it." The book treats of an enormous number of subjects and questions. It is a vast allegorical myth structure in a literary form all its own.

From the foreword of G. I. Gurdjieffs “Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson”:

“All written according to entirely new principles of logical reasoning and directed toward the accomplishment of the following three fundamental tasks: FIRST SERIES To destroy, mercilessly and without any compromise whatever, in the mentation and feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, by centuries rooted in him, about everything existing in the world. SECOND SERIES To acquaint the reader with the material required for a new creation and to prove the soundness and good quality of it. THIRD SERIES To assist the arising, in the mentation and in the feelings of the reader, of a veritable, nonfantastic representation not of that illusory world which he now perceives, but of the world existing in reality.”

Beelzebub’s Tales is included in Martin Seymour-Smith‘s 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written, with the comment that it is “…the most convincing fusion of Eastern and Western thought has yet been seen.

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Letters From Russia by P.D. Ouspensky

From 1907 until 1913 Ouspensky wrote for a Russian newspaper, mostly on foreign affairs. At the same time he was working on various books based on the idea that our consciousness is an incomplete state not far removed from sleep, and also that our three-dimensional view of the universe is inadequate and incomplete. Hoping that answers to some of the questions he had posed might have been found by more ancient civilisations, he made an extensive tour of Egypt, Ceylon and India. On his return Ouspensky learnt that Russia was at war. Very rare book.

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The Complete Pythagoras

The Complete Pythagoras is a compilation of two books. The first is entitled The Life Of Pythagoras and contains the four biographies of Pythagoras that have survived from antiquity: that of Iamblichus (280-333 A.D.), Porphry (233-306 A.D.), Photius (ca 820- ca 891 A.D.) and Diogenes Laertius (180 A.D.). The second is entitled Pythagorean Library and is a complete collection of the surviving fragments from the Pythagoreans.

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Sakti and Sakta by Sir John Woodroffe

Sakti and Sakta by Sir John Woodroffe is a study on Shakta Tantric beliefs and practices. The book is an essential and indispensable volume on Tantra. It was written at the turn of the 20th century, during the British colonial occupation of India, and so it is not what one might call an easy or leisurely read. The text assumes some familiarity with Hindu and/or Tantric religious terms, so it would be helpful to keep a copy of John Grimes’ A Concise Dictionary of Indian Philosophy: “Sanskrit Terms Defined in English” or other references handy while you’re reading it. Nonetheless, it is an exciting piece of work, and still one of the best works on Shakta Tantra to be found.

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Dark Night Of The Soul by Saint John of the Cross

Dark Night Of The Soul describes the painful experiences and their significance on the spiritual journey of St. John. The dark night is perceived by mystics and practising monks from several religions to be a blessing in disguise, whereby the individual is stripped (in the dark night of the senses) of the spiritual ecstasy associated with acts of virtue. Although the individual may for a time seem to outwardly decline in their practices of virtue, they in reality become more virtuous, as they are being virtuous less for the spiritual rewards (ecstasies in the cases of the first night) obtained and more out of a true love for God. It is this purgatory, a purgation of the soul, that brings purity and union with God.

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Ante-Nicene Fathers – VOL I – IX

Here are the complete Ante-Nicene works subtitled “The Writings of the Fathers Down to A.D. 325″ - about 11,000 pages. The collection of books consists of 10 volumes (one volume is made up of just indexes and I could not find this in a electronic version) containing English translations of the majority of Early Christian writings. The period covers the beginning of Christianity until before the promulgation of the Nicene Creed at the First Council of Nicaea. The translations are very faithful, but sometimes rather old-fashioned. These translations were first published in 1897 in United States.

Volume I. The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus:

http://www.mediafire.com/?2u3zmx2hn5emig8

Volume II. Fathers of the Second Century: Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria

http://www.mediafire.com/?miknk1fwj6jl1kk

Volume III. Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian: Three Parts: I. Apologetic; II. Anti-Marcion; III. Ethical

http://www.mediafire.com/?nc1m8u025p0f74z

Volume IV. The Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian Part IV; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen

http://www.mediafire.com/?njvuaolr80b302n

Volume V. The Fathers of the Third Century: Hippolytus; Cyprian; Caius; Novatian; Appendix

http://www.mediafire.com/?blcq3i09n5d9ita

Volume VI. The Fathers of the Third Century: Gregory Thaumaturgus; Dinoysius the Great; Julius Africanus; Anatolius and Minor Writers; Methodius; Arnobius

http://www.mediafire.com/?wolbb2o7x8gmk7t

Volume VII. The Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries: Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, Homily, Liturgies

http://www.mediafire.com/?glty3f53t5fbe2t

Volume VIII.The Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts and Epistles, The Clementia, Apocrypha, Decretals, Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents, Remains of the First Ages

http://www.mediafire.com/?xpucdafn2mlu1vr

Volume IX. Recently Discovered Additions to Early Christian Literature; Commentaries of Origen The Gospel of Peter, The Diatessaron of Tatian, The Apocalypse of Peter, The Visio Pauli, The Apocalypses of the Virgin and Sedrach, The Testament of Abraham, The Acts of Xanthippe and Polyxena, The Narrative of Zosimus, The Apology of Aristides, The Epistles of Clement (Complete Text), Origen’s Commentary on John, Books I-X, Origen’s Commentary on Mathew, Books I, II, and X-XIV

http://www.mediafire.com/?k3ycgl7iar23obp

Aquinas Ethicus Volumes I & II

Aquinas ethicus: or, The moral teaching of St. Thomas. A translation of the principle portions of the second part of the “Summa theologica”, with notes, Volume I – II.

Volume I

Volume II

The Queen of Sheeba – Kebra Nagast or The Glory of Kings

This volume contains an English translation of the famous Ethiopian work, Kebra Nagast, The Glory Of Kings. This book has been held in the highest honour in Ethiopia for several centuries and has been, and still is, venerated by the people as containing the final proof of their descent from the Hebrew Patriarchs, and of the kinship of their kings of the Solomonic line with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The importance of this book, both for kings and the people of Abyssinia, is clearly shown by the letter that King John of Ethiopia wrote to the late Lord Granville in 1872: “There is a book which contains the Law of the whole of Ethiopia. I pray you find out who has got this book, for in my country my people will now obey my orders without it.”

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Pratyabhijnahrdayam : The Secret of Self -Recognition by Jaideva Singh

The ancient scriptures hold the secret of creation and unfoldment of all that 'is'. Here is a gem of a book that holds the answers to those that genuinely are looking for answers far beyond the material world and have the curiosity and persistence to pursue.

For the serious, this book will take a life time of dedicated study as it requires contemplation. Although the author has made it easy to read, the content is anything but easy to understand. Unless you have some Eastern exposure to spirituality it is a mind bender at best as it requires a mind shift to fully comprehend what is being presented to the reader.

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Grimoire of Dr. John Fian

This book was translated by Robert Blanchard, from an original manuscript of the 16th Century practitioner Dr. John Fian, in the Scottish and English traditions of old black witchcraft.

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The Grimoire of St. Cyprian - Clavis Inferni (Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic) By Stephen Skinner & David Rankine

 There have been many grimoires attributed to St. Cyprian of Antioch due to his reputation as a consummate magician before his conversion to Christianity, but perhaps none so intriguing as the present manuscript.

This unique grimoire addresses the summoning and use of the four Archangels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel as well as their opposite numbers, the four Demon Kings, Paymon, Maimon, Egyn and Oriens. The latter are shown in their animal and human forms along with their sigils, a resource unique amongst grimoires. The text is a mixture of magical scripts, Greek, Hebrew, cipher, Latin, (and reversed Latin) made plain by the editors.

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The Phenomenon Of Man by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Published in 1955, English translation of the original.

I quite like the theory of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881 – 1955). He was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard views evolution as a process that leads to increasing complexity. From the cell to the thinking animal, a process of psychical concentration leads to greater consciousness. Teilhard describes humankind as evolution becoming conscious of itself. This conscious principle is actually centered in some future time and it is sucking history into itself.

His ideas came into conflict with the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, and his books were censured.

His works are very difficult to find anywhere so here is one of his rarest and best:

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Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers by Richard Evans Shultes and Albert Hofmann

Plants Of The Gods is a comprehensive reference work on psychoactive plants. It provides a definition of plant hallucinogens and information on phytochemical research on sacred plants, geography of usage and botanical range, the chemical structures of these substances and the use of hallucinogens in medicine.

The plant species discussed include the Amanita (Fly Agaric) mushroom, Atropa (Deadly Nightshade), Yellow and Black Henbane, Mandrake, Cannabis Ergot, Datura, Iboga, Yopo beans, Ayahuasca, Yage, Brugmansia, Peyote, the San Pedro cactus, the Morning Glory plus what the authors term "the little flowers of the gods" which include the various types of Psilocybe mushroom.

The text is enhanced by a wonderful variety of color and black & white photographs, illustrations and quite impressive paintings. The section Overview Of Plant Use consists of tables listing every plant's common name, botanical name, historical ethnography, context and purpose of usage, preparation and the chemical composition and effects.

Plants Of The Gods is a great and detailed investigation of entheogenic plants from around the world. This valuable reference book concludes with a bibliography and index.

". . . an extraordinary blend of botany, ethnootany, chemistry, history, mythology, and art. A visual, spiritual, and intellectual feast, Plants of the Gods is the best book ever written on hallucinogenic plants . . ."
-- Dr. Mark Plotkin, Conservation International

"Carefully researched, beautifully written, and abundantly illustrated, this book reminds us that the use of hallucinogenic plants has been a fundamental part of human experience for millennia."
-- Michael R. Aldrich, Ph.D., Curator of the Fitz Hugh Ludlow Library

". . . shows the importance of the rituals and ceremonies of tribal peoples for the discovery and conservation of new medicines . . . a volume that anyone interested in medicinal plants, economic botany, or ethnobotany would want to possess."
-- Ghillean T. Prance, Director Royal Botanic Gardens

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Aleister Crowley: The Equinox Vol. 1 Numbers 1-10

The Equinox, also called The Review of Scientific Illuminism, has become the standard for English language esotericism, aptly termed the "Encyclopedia of Initiation" by its principal editor and contributor, Aleister Crowley. The remarkable variety, depth, and utility of its contents encompass Qabalah, tarot, yoga, and the essential papers of Crowley's teaching order, A. A. The new edition is supplemented by Crowley's serialized biography along with excerpts from his many diaries, an overview of the Golden Dawn System, a book-length special section of the Qabalistic dictionary Sepher Sephiroth, fiction, poetry, book reviews, and extracts from The Vision and the Voice and The Rites of Eleusis as well as important works by other noted authors such as The Key of the Mysteries by Eliphas Levi. Crowley's extensive annotations from his personal copies have been collected at the end of the set, along with biographies of the contributors. Begun in 1909, it remains one of the definitive works on occultism and magick.

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The Mind's Own Physician: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama on the Healing Power of Meditation

By inviting the Dalai Lama and leading researchers in medicine, psychology, and neuroscience to join in conversation, this book set the stage for a fascinating exploration of the human mind. Here are some reviews of the book:

“The Mind’s Own Physician offers us a precious portal into the seminal conversations that gave birth to the nascent field of contemplative neuroscience. The issues digested, debated, and ignited in its pages will serve as a road map and inspiration for my students and their students over the coming decades.” —Amishi P. Jha, PhD, contemplative neuroscientist, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Miami

“It is extremely exciting to read what emerges from the dialogues between the leading experts in the scientific investigation of contemplative practice who present their excellent scientific work and the profound wisdom of contemplative teachers. This is a wonderful book that takes us right into the heart of these inspiring and engaging conversations by exploring profound and essential questions about how we can enhance human potential by cultivating positive human qualities.” —Britta Hölzel, PhD, Research Fellow, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Bender Institute of Neuroimaging, Giessen University, Germany

“A fascinating book exploring two contrasting views of the human mind. The scholarly discussions between His Holiness and leading scientists provide deep insights into how ancient Buddhist teachings and modern science can inform each other, and potentially transform Western clinical practices.” —Sara Lazar, PhD, Associate in Psychology, Psychiatric Neuroscience Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

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