Book Description
In this literary gem Vigen Guroian chronicles not merely the changing seasons but the course of his own life as he and his family move from Maryland to a new home near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Leaving the old garden behind and cultivating another garden become an emblem of our journey through life, marked as it is by both bitter losses and sweet new blessings.
While deeply personal, The Fragrance of God vividly unfolds the great biblical themes of the grandeur of God's creation, the senses as "paths" to experiencing God, and the garden as a "place" of birth, death, and renewal.
Laced throughout with quotations from Guroian's beloved church fathers and replete with theological reflection,
The Fragrance of God will lead readers down a path of deeper insight into the creation and the Creator.
Book Description
This beautiful book is a resource for those who want to create a contemplative garden or to better understand what it is to follow a contemplative path. It will be of interest to landscape architects and designers, anyone interested in the fusion of East and West in cultural expression, and garden lovers everywhere. It explores the innovative approach to garden and landscape design found in the work of Martin Mosoko, a landscape architect and Zen teacher working in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. Mosoko's work incorporates principles of Oriental and Western garden design to make bold and original statements in his landscapes. Mosoko explains how to deploy the materials of the garden so that their arrangement reflects the contemplative mind. The chief paradigm he uses is the mandala, a symbolic picture of the ideal world used in some form in many of the world's cultures. Rocks, streams, plants, paths, and structures of the garden each take their place in the mandala as one of its five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. The means to produce a balance of these elements is the mind conditioned by meditation and a clear understanding of its own nature. Inner harmony is expressed as outer beauty. Mosoko's approach to landscaping transforms space into spirit, infused with magic. It can be used to create anything from a small courtyard to a country estate, in any environment from the city to the suburbs. After explaining theory and method the book leads us into five of Mosko's gardens, each alive with the energy and excitement he brings to his designs. Although located in different parts of the country and created in different styles, each garden is a reflection of the mind of clarity and calm.
Customer Reviews:
Extraordinary insights.......2004-10-18
This book is remarkable in at least three regards. First, it is so finely produced that we, as readers, can actually feel our way into the gardens it is showing us. Second, the principles of garden-making it offers us are profound, simple and flexible: we can see how the Mosko gardens emerge from them, and how our own might too. Third, and most unusual, it is deeply spiritual, coming from years of meditative practice in the Zen and Tibetan tradtions, as well as in unnamed native traditions of spirit. In the deepest sense this book is beauty as instruction.
landscape as spirit: creating the contemplative garden.......2004-10-15
this book's title, if the picture of the cover is real, is different from the Amazon title. who proof's this stuff?
Beautiful, Inspiring - a great gift.......2004-04-29
This gorgeously made and printed book will inspire ANY gardener or person who enjoys gardens. The photos take you into a world of amazing gardens. I'm not a garden nut, but I love a beautiful book and this one is on my coffee table. The writing is clear, creative, and very informative. This book is an excellent gift to anyone who loves architecture, design, or landscapes.
Landscape as Spirit.......2003-12-27
In this time of shortening days when everything but us hurry up humans is sensibly quieting down, what a pleasure and a treasure to sit down in a comfy armchair and open this book. Turning the pages is stepping into a contemplative garden and wandering the paths. Letting the colors and shapes and scents and sounds take you in. A beauty feast - massaging your worried mind, snatching speedy thought, soothing your bustling spirit.
And when, a timeless while later, you close the book and stand up in your feet again, you are changed.
Restored, refreshed and more in love with life.
How does a book do all this?
I don't know.
That is part of the delightful mystery and what I love about it.
Clearly, these two authors have been having a good time. Working hard, paying attention in their own lives to what it is that creates harmony and balance. Playing with rock, water, plants, and light. Listening deeply to the voices that seem to encourage us to stop arguing with reality and relax back into our natural sanity. Now, with gorgeous photographs and wise words, they are sharing with us what they've discovered along the way.
I suggest "reading" Landscape as Spirit once through just for the images. Turning the pages slowly and letting the gardens enter and speak. Then, a second time, for the words - inspirational and practical, for the professional gardener and layperson alike.
Thank you to Mosko and Norden for what you have given birth to and your generosity of spirit in offering it out into the world.
A spiritual and visual delight.......2003-11-28
Mosko is a Zen teacher and Landscape Architect and this book seeks to explain his philosophy by showing and describing how the teachings and practice of both disciplines relate to each other and with the external world.
Most people when they think of Zen and gardens can only think of the immaculate stone and gravel gardens of Japan. Mosko shows that the true understanding of the basic principles of harmony and balance leads to the creation of gardens that delight the eye and the soul.
Taking each element of the garden individually, Mosko explains the spiritual balance between the opposites and the harmony of that balance which, when translated successfully into a real garden, results in an immediate sense of 'rightness' when the garden is experienced. This 'rightness' is beautifully captured by Noden's photographs. The testament to Mosko's brilliance is that the gardens are 'right' for a spectrum of clients not just 'right' for Mosko. The superficial disparity between The Adobe and Flowers in Space lessens the closer you look and you can see the underlying principles of harmony and balance are exactly the same for both.
The beauty of this book for me is that I have found it wildly instructive and inspirational despite having little or no knowledge or understanding of 'Eastern' religion. I found that certain phrases and design concepts would arise in my mind long after I had read the book, infusing me with a desire to express those thoughts in my work.
This book is a must for anyone considering a contemplative garden and a very worthy reference for anyone wanting to design a garden of any sort.
Average customer rating:
- Exquisite little book
- Journey to the Sacred Garden
- Happy Daydreams!
- You can't help but succeed with this book
- Working your garden brings growth.
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Journey to the Sacred Garden A Guide to Traveling in the Spiritual Realms
Hank Wesselman
Manufacturer: Hay House
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1401901115 |
Book Description
At the heart of spiritual awakening lies the discovery that each of us can achieve the direct, transformative connection with the sacred realms-a connection that defines the mystic. The Journey to the Sacred Garden guides us along a well-traveled path into this extraordinary experience and includes an experiential CD of shamanic drumming and rattling, providing us with an effective, easily learned technique for expanding awareness and shifting consciousness safely. The first goal: to find our Sacred Garden, a place for personal empowerment; as well as physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual restoration. Once there, we learn through direct experience that the garden can be used as a gateway into the other levels of the inner worlds.
Anthropologist Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., reveals that our garden operates by four primary rules:
oEverything in the garden is symbolic of some aspect of ourselves or our life experience.
oEverything in the garden can be communicated with, enhancing understanding.
oThe garden can be changed by doing work.
oWhen you change your garden, some part of you or your life will change in response.
Customer Reviews:
Exquisite little book.......2006-11-11
This lovely little book makes it easy for the beginner or delightful for the experienced "traveler" to visit their own personal garden or sacred space deeply. The accompanying CD adds immensely to the process and is part of the reason I purchased the book. Having recently attended one of Hank Wesselman's workshops, I found that this book an CD are like being at the workshop!
Journey to the Sacred Garden.......2005-10-14
This is a great book and cd for a practical application in the direction of mediation and shamanism. It is more than an explanation of things and more of an experiential event. I recommend this book and the one that follows it for those who are looking to do work and have not yet found a group or teacher to help them with the real work.
Happy Daydreams!.......2003-12-23
Having read the book several times and done the journeys with the CD, I think that it's an interesting experience. The drumming has the ability to put you into a light trance and you can relax while going into your sacred garden. Nothing really scary has happened to me as I've gone on these trips alone and nothing really dramatic has happened either. it certainly doesn't compare to what supposedly happens on an LSD trip.-- Sorry. I don't get the kind of way out visions that Wesselman gets.
After trying the journeys for a month, I think I MAY or MAY NOT be feeling better because of the sessions. I SEEM to be more creative musically, more aware of what is going on of significance in everyday life, a little more energetic at times, (...), and possibly relieved somewhat from a condition I have. Is it the sessions or just the natural flow of events? I don't know.
I did not have to go to the lower worlds to find my spirit guides as Wesselman instructs. I found them immediately in the garden. I think I mostly made them up from what I would want them to be, except, heh heh, the Birdman and the Tarzan-like guy with the snake. I also have a nymph, a beautiful woman, a knome, a wizard, Jesus, my oversoul, and a council of elders. I also imagined my dead mother too. I think I'm capable of making this all up from imagination anyway. They mostly work on healing me in some way through light, light balls that I swallow, and water and healing potions. I also have gifts from them that represent goals that I focus on while there. It is easy to hold a vision with the drumming. I can even be interrupted and move back into the vision again relatively quickly. I never really get much verbal council of any significance about, for instance, the purpose of my life--just generalized, cliched, bland stuff that I could have guessed on my own. I never communicate with nature or the elements the way Wesselman does and I'm probably not that interested.
The instruction book is short, to the point, informative and easy to read. The sessions are relaxing. Are the visions real or imaginative? Are they profoundly beneficial? At this point, I don't know.
Update August 2, 2004: I'd knock it down a star. I haven't used the CD in several months and I don't think it has changed my life in any significant way. I think it could only be effective with certain people, as Wesselman seems to suggest. Maybe if you get someone to help you who knows something about it, you would do better. I did my visions with the CD by myself.
You can't help but succeed with this book.......2003-05-13
This is a well-written, beautiful little book written in peaceful yet eloquent language. Having had little success with meditation, I have been very excited about the consciousness states I have been able to achieve using the experiental CD included with the book. I also find that in addition to being relaxing and instructive (and incredibly entertaining), the shamanic state is indeed a real point of power. I have had almost instant "life feedback" or "results" - to use an informercial term - after visiting and learning in my own garden space. Read this book, and use the CD. It may prove to be invaluable for you as it has for me.
Working your garden brings growth........2003-02-23
The premise is advancement of course, however the emphasis here is a direct look into the work one needs to perform in order to advance. I found the direction given to be highly sensible and realistic, no matter what your faith foundations are. The entire scope of this book actually fits what most consider acceptable genres, nothing leaps out as being extreme. In all my past readings I have found very few books to be applicable and truly functional, this has worked for me, I believe this is mostly true as I accept the down to Earth reality implied. I suggest another great book to help guide and advance in the spiritual realm, SB 1 or God by Karl Mark Maddox
Book Description
Creating a garden that is a spiritual sanctuary — a calm refuge from the stresses of everyday life, a soothing balm for heart and soul — is within every gardener's reach. This book looks at the garden as a place to engage the senses and connect the spirit to nature. Gardens, whether small urban plots or larger country spaces, can become places to foster personal growth and spiritual awareness. Spiritual Gardening in resplendent with illustrations and color photos throughout, illuminating how to create your own special outdoor retreat.
Customer Reviews:
Spiritual Gardening: Creating Sacred Space Outdoors.......2007-07-19
I have a little garden sanctuary where I like to puddle about, meditate, read, or contemplate. This little spot evolved over the years as I changed and grew. There have been some major renovations as well as some small detail tweaking. Still, I felt that there was something not quite right about my little garden. Something was missing so when I saw the book Spiritual Gardening, I had to pick it up.
Spiritual Gardening is a multi-faceted book that every gardener will find useful. There are ready made layouts for a variety of different feels ranging from traditional gardens to more flexible designs. Not only are these designs explained in a physical form but the author also looks to the symbolic and sacred meaning behind the various elements and how they combine into one coherent picture. This connects the reader naturally to other sections of the book that look specifically at symbolism of color, space, and texture.
Throughout the book there are also colorful pictures of various garden designs, elements, and plants. Looking at these photographs really starts to spark the imagination and bring that personal sacred space to life. I can't wait for spring. I can clearly see my little sanctuary now and am eager to make a few modifications.
Just what I was looking for..........2007-01-04
Having just moved to home with very neglected gardens, I wanted a different approach. This lovely book was perfect.
Did anyone even look at the galley proofs?!?.......2004-05-24
It must be said that this is a beautiful book! Photographs, paper, color, layout -- and the text could/would have been, too. But starting on pages 46/47, the text is totally dismembered -- big chunks missing [go from one page to the next mid-sentence and find an entirely different sentence being continued], and big chunks repeated. It made no sense to stumble through the next handful of pages, or try to read beyond: love the photos, but can't keep the book.
None of the other reviewers here mention finding this mess. Are there different printings out there?
Enhanced with lush and beautiful photography.......2004-05-03
Enhanced with the lush and beautiful photography of John Glover, Spiritual Gardening: Creating Sacred Space Outdoors by Peg Streep is a compendium of horticultural inspirations and contemplative wisdoms with respect to creating a garden that would function as a personal spiritual sanctuary from the cares, concerns, stresses and problems of our daily lives. Not merely a nice thing to look at, an effective spiritual garden would engage all of the senses and connect our minds and hearts to an inner balance of tranquility, aroma, and healing. Drawing upon ancient traditions (including those of Zen Buddhism and Native Americans), Spiritual Gardening will enable anyone to design a very special sanctuary combining earth, wind, light, water, and living plants.
At Your Own Risk.......2001-06-07
Read SPIRITUAL GARDENING by Peg Streep at your own risk. After seeing an excerpt in Oprah's magazine, I purchased and read this exceptional book. It truly changed my life. I will never be the same. It took me outside, introduced me to the place of gardens in history, the value of gardens, the many kinds of gardens, and the love and care of gardens. It inspired me to read magazines on gardening, buy hundreds of dollars worth of gardening books--which I cherish, "delve" into the philosophy of feng shui, evaluate my backyard, enhance my backyard into a garden creation--perennials, benches, statues, chimes, birdfeeders, a gazing ball, and enjoyable dreams of more beauty to come therein. It's a passionate and fun obsesssion! SPIRITUAL GARDENING is my favorite gift to give to those I care about. The book is beautiful. It is full of color photographs of varied gardens. The writing is inspirational and full of memorable garden quotations. It's one of my most valued possessions!
Book Description
This lyrical primer on the spirituality of gardening reflects on the relationship between a gardener and his or her garden. Meditating upon how interaction with the earth opens the heart, schools the mind, engages the body, and embraces the soul in a world of increasing detachment from the natural realm, this book affirms a garden as a soulful space where people can take root and experience the changing seasons and the enduring cycle of renewal. Filled with the joy of living, this enchanting spiritual guide will speak to those who yearn to find the holy in the place they call home.
Customer Reviews:
tilling the soil.......2007-01-16
Gunilla has a way of relating the simple, ordinary, mundane tasks of life to the profound. Her metaphor, in this case gardening, gives honor to the repetitive, unrewarding tasks which ultimately, hopefully, result in beauty and creative expression. She goes a step further by embracing the hard, disappointing and, in some cases, ugly into the landscape both of our literal gardens and of our ultimate garden: the soul.
A Mystic's, From Mystic, Mystical Garden.......2006-07-22
What an irony! A contemplative mystic, who lives in Mystic Connecticut, writes a book of prose and poetry about a year in the life of her garden. What other name could a book like this have? This is a charming little book. It probably will not catch the fancy of more pragmatic people, but then again it doesn't try to. If you are into theology, philosophy, or "how to" books, leave this one alone. If you enjoy romance and poetic thought, take time to smell the roses in this mystic garden. Some things are better enjoyed than dissected. This is one of them.
Drink of Water for the Soul.......2006-06-09
In our increasingly fast-paced, outwardly focussed culture of immediate gratification, Norris' book calms and refreshes like a drink of water for the soul. She reminds us that every visible blossom has deep and hidden roots that followed their own natural rhythms to produce the splendor that we call Spring. She calms the anxiety by reminding us that all good things take time. Her writing touches the universal heart and is as exquisite in its focus and simplicity as it is profound in depth. A must read for anyone ready to marry intention with action to create a meaningful life.
magical and poetic.......2006-06-04
Gunilla Norris is a truly gifted writer. She has a unique way of understranding the world and an equally unique way of communicating that understanding in her books. She savors everyday events and turns them into poetry. She asks us to take the time to appreciate the process of cultivating and nurturing a garden while being mindful of the kind of hard work that goes into creating its beautiful bounty. The parallel to life is clear. This book is a real treasure!
This book is wonderful.......2006-05-12
Gunilla Norris' work is wonderful. The way she writes in mystical and wonderful. She weaves spirtuality into everyday things. I love her work. She is an amazing author.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Yossi Klein Halevi, born in America and now an Israeli citizen, embarked on a spiritual quest in order to appreciate the religious dimensions of conflicts in the Middle East. Beginning in 1998, he undertook "an attempt at religious empathy" in order "to test whether faith could be a means of healing rather than intensifying the conflicts in this land." Halevi, author of the critically acclaimed Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist, chose "to pray and meditate with my Christian and Muslim fellow believers," as "a conscious refutation of the way we religious people of different faiths have always judged each other--by what we believe about God, rather than how we experience God's presence." The holy days of each religion form the structure of At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden, and Halevi's encounters with Sufi dervishes, Muslim sheiks, monks, nuns, and laypeople are entertaining, poignant, and sometimes fearsome. The stories do not separate "spirituality" from "politics"--or history, psychology, or theology. His commitment to describing an integrated experience of the many aspects of religious life helps to make the book a successful exercise in empathy, and a book of lasting literary value. --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
Yossi Klein Halevi's first book, Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist, a remarkable coming-of-age story, was lauded by the New York Times as being "of burning importance ... a drama central to the very soul of Jewish life." Now, in At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden, Haleví describes his unprecedented and extraordinary spiritual journey to discover, as a religious Israeli Jew, a common spiritual language with his Christian and Muslim neighbors in the Holy Land.
While religion has fueled the violent conflict plaguing the Middle East, Halevi wondered whether it could be a source of unity as well. To find the answer, he began a two-year exploration of the devotional life of Christianity and Islam. He followed their holiday cycles, befriended Christian monastics and Islamic mystics, and joined them in prayer in monasteries and mosques -- searching for wisdom and holiness in places that are usually off-limits to outsiders of other faiths.
In this gripping work, Halevi candidly reveals how he fought to resolve his own fears and anger as a Jew and came to relate to Christians and Muslims as fellow spiritual seekers. He chronicles the difficulty of overcoming obstacles -- theological, political, historical, and psychological -- that separate believers of the three monotheistic faiths. And he introduces a dynamic range of fascinating individuals attempting to reconcile the dichotomous heart of this sacred place -- a struggle central to Israel, but which resonates for us all.
Written in lyrical prose, Halevi takes his search for God into the heart of the Middle Eastern conflict. He insists on a spirituality that isn't escapist but instead confronts the wounds of history. The result is a book startlingly original and bold, one that embraces and transcends the categories of politics and faith.
Customer Reviews:
An honest, humble, inspiring adventure.......2006-09-08
I just love this guy. Starting with a simple urge to connect with his neighbors, Yossi Halevi embarks on an awkward, fascinating, dangerous journey through Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. He discovers a series of surprising characters who dream, not just of peace between Jews, Muslims and Christians, but of spiritual friendship. And the story of these fragile, budding friendships becomes an adventure of almost overwhelming power.
I want to quote from one episode, where Halevi and a madcap Jew called Eliyahu Charanamrit McLean attend a mosque in Karawa village on the West Bank:
"This mosque was a family project: Everyone here belonged to the Abu-Laben clan. They were working class people; the shaykh himself was a car mechanic.
"What do the other Muslims think of you?" Eliyahu asked.
"That we're crazy," replied Saud's father. "They think we chant the name of 'Abdallah' instead of 'Allah"". Laughter.
I asked Saud what he experienced during the zakir [or dance of remembering God]. "That our hearts kept getting closer and closer to God," he said, with the Sufi vagueness I'd so often encountered from Ibrahim. ...
Ibrahim, not to be poetically outdone, added "Our souls went up to heaven like clouds".
"When you pray together," said the shaykh's father, "you form one heart".
I felt sad for this forlorn Sufi Shteibl. Here was an Islam with which we could make peace, yet it was almost absurdly perepheral. Still, maybe the fact that a handful of Muslims and Jews had danced together was enough for God to work with; perhaps He would magnify our prayers, widen the circle of ecstasy." (p. 104-105)
Halevi is realist enough to claim no easy victories. As the level of sectarian violence rises again, his network of friends retains little but hope and prayer. It's a marvelous book.
A study in courage.......2006-05-17
One problem with writing intelligent books on religion is that religion demands the author experience it. Halevi takes this difficult challenge and seeks common ground with Christians and Muslims. To find this common ground he is willing to push his boundaries, go beyond his fears to find a common ground.
In his efforts he encounters a Catholic order of religious that seeks to return to the Jewish roots of Jesus as a common ground for Jewish-Christian relations; a Catholic monk of the Melkite rite (Jerusalem rite) seeing Arab-Jewish understanding through the Arab Christian; a common ground of genocide with Armenian Christians; a common ground of love with Sufi sheiks ...
Throughout his search runs a thread of the common monotheistic underpinnings of the three major religions of Israel. A second thread is a more universal acceptance that includes the great Eastern traditions - Buddhism and Hinduism. The third thread is the history of the Jewish people and the reality of strife in Israel. Through these threads, Halevi challenges the reader to confront his or her prejudices in the political and religious arenas.
The net result is not a great book, but one I highly recommend because of the issues raised and the author's personal willingness to share his experience in addressing the issues.
Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for Hope with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land.......2005-10-08
This is a must for all ethnic groups to read.
Hope.......2005-09-10
The title is exact. Halevi is an extraordinary person: a mystic deeply rooted in his Jewish faith but who can share a common search for peace and religious experience with Christians, the historic persecutors of Jews, and with Muslims, who have now become the "enemy." I know three of the communities of Christians he shared with and the descriptions are accurate so I can assume the Muslim sections are just as fair. Anyone searching for religious and mystic truth that is non-violent but serious about faith and God will love this book.
What real faith is all about. Amazing........2005-02-14
Yossi Halevy thinks he is only writing about interfaith connections in the holy land, but in fact the most inspiring aspect of the book is the delicate portrait of his own faith in God, where this deep faith takes him, and the grace of goodwill and wisdom that it creates inside his soul.
Customer Reviews:
The living Golden Dawn in Regardie's work.......2007-05-27
Dr. Israel Regardie's work reconciling psychology and ceremonial magick is invaluable to understanding the process of initiation into the Golden Dawn tradition. Regardie was one of the last living Adepts of the Order of the Golen Dawn {Stella Matutina} and published "The Golden Dawn" system of magick to ensure the teachings and psychotechnology would survive with each passing generation. He was one of the most prolific occult authors of his time and arguably the sole renewer of ceremonial magick. Taking up the motto, "Ad Majoram Adonai Gloriam," 1934, he joined Stella Matutina, the successor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Regardie acquired the bulk of the Order's documents, renewing the work of the Golden Dawn.
Dr. Regardie states in 'A Garden of Pomegranates,' "...it is essential that the whole system should be publicly exhibited so that it may not be lost to mankind. For it is the heritage of every man and woman--their spiritual birthright." Therefore modern occult organizations claiming lineage from the original Golden Dawn and its curriculum of ceremonial magick indisputably owe their existence to Regardie's legacy.
Regardie discusses in this work Qabalistic exercises of the Golden Dawn system; the symbolism of each path on the Qabalistic Tree of Life and their pathworking correspondences with the Tarot and angelic evocation; the evolution of Adam Qadmon and the mythos of Genesis; the concept of progressive initiations in the Golden Dawn system while pathworking with Qabalistic archetypes and motifs; and much more. Regardie's exegesis of Qabalistic symbolism & archetypes in "'A Garden of Pomegranates" is indispensable to any student or Adept of the tradition. Dr. Regardie's works including "'A Garden of Pomegranates" are required reading for any student of the Western Mystery Traditions.
Chapters include:
Historical Survey {Golden Dawn magick & mysticism, Qabalah}
The Pit {Practical Qabalah, Yoga, & Magick}
The Paths {Sephirot and the Tree of Life}
Adam Qadmon {Human spiritual evolution and Qabalah}
The Literal Qabalah {Application of Qabalah in magick and initiation}
The Ladder {the "Ladder of Lights," the composition of the soul, and initiation}
Cross reference "A Garden of Pomegranates" with
Tree Of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic, and Middle Pillar: The Balance Between Mind & Magic: formerly The Middle Pillar...a prerequisite for any serious student of the magick of the Golden Dawn.
And I thought Freud was full of hot air........2007-05-03
Why occultists do what they do, I have no idea. This stuff boils down to Gnosticism. Philosophically, Gnosticism boils down to the elimination of the subject object relationship. The cabalistic tree of life is symbolized by the menorah. The light of the candles symbolizes the light on the tree of life when one becomes illuminated. Those who are illuminated are called "illuminati." And "Lucifer" is the god of these men because they identify the bearer of light as "light bearer." Hence, the worship of Lucifer. Ultimately, like in Genesis, they believe that the tree of life will open their eyes and they will be like gods. And so, it turns out that Genesis, not Israel Regardie, is able to shed light on this hermetic nonsense. It is unfortunate that Israel Regardie's mouth wasn't hermetically sealed since he had nothing important to say. It is also unfortunate that his ears where anxious to listen to Lucifer rather than Jesus Christ. But, such is the path of the fool.
Very complicated read.......2005-10-21
This book is excellent on the topic of the Kaballa but it is a very complicated read if someone doesn't have a varied background in many different kinds of cultures and their different beliefs. The book will use examples and relate things to the different cultures but won't explain what it means. For example, it may say that something is related to Shiva, but won't tell what Shiva is. (Shiva is from Hinduism) So, if you don't have an understanding of HInduism, you won't know what is being talked about. Keep a dictionary by your side while reading this book!
Level headed mysticism.......2005-04-23
In what is certainly an oxymoron for the genre, Regardie introduces the associative language of Kaballah and Tarot without manipulating the reader through false promises of enlightenment. His thumbnail character assessments of various figures in the history of occult literature are variously incisive, inspiring, and cautionary. The structure of the book easily permits the volume to double as a reference. There is no better guide for the curious.
'Pomegranates' is a charmer . . ........2003-12-21
( revised 5/31/'04)
--Note: the five stars is for Regardie's original content, and not necessarily for the content provided in this edition, in footnote or otherwise, by the Cicero's...--
A charming book, especially for the western magic afficianado, as Regardie was. . .
However, for the beginner, let him or her be steered DIRECTLY to Regardie's primary qabalistic masterpiece, 'The Art of True Healing,' where basic western qabalistic magic is applied to marvelous and practical effect. The Marcus Allen edition is quite suitable, and but little modifies Regardie's original text.
However, with that said . . .
Regardie gives a useful list of some qabalistic books in an essay from a now out of print title, 'Foundations of Practical Magic.' Hopefully, this volume will be soon reprinted.
It may be useful for some to note that Regardie, in later years, did not have a particularly high regard for 'Pomegranates,' at least in its earlier edition. It may be even more useful to note, that in his final years, he felt that 'The Mystical Qabalah' book by Dion Fortune, was the best basic introductory book on the subject of qabalah; especially, apparently, for those interested in pursuing the Golden Dawn material.
I rather enjoy the original printing of Llewellyn's edition of 'Pomegranates,' released in the mid-80s. It was much more portable than this edition. It including the original essay he wrote for the 70s edition/reprint. However, it is now out of print.
I'm such a fan of Regardie's however, that I will probably get this edition also. Especially since the Cicero's, like Pat Zalewski, were apparently friends of Regardie.
Now doubt Regardie's effort is more useful in any edition, than the many glitzy/flashy qabalah books that have leaked onto the market, obscuring the subject for some looking for the western magic view on the subject. That is to say, being from Regardie, 'Pomegranates' would still be useful, with or without any comments by the Cicero's.
Fan ? Yes, a truly grateful fan. I have 20-plus years experience with the Golden Dawn material, and recommend all of Regardie's writings very highly. The benefits will accrue to you, as they have for me.
Book Description
Gardens for the Soul is a truly inspiring approach to garden design. Garden designer and plantswoman Pamela Woods' unique approach teaches you how to create a garden that reflects your spiritual beliefs and inner emotions. She invokes the power and beauty of ancient symbols, like Celtic wheels and spirals, with Eastern practices, such as feng shui, to create gardens that are relaxing, meditative and, above all, beautiful.
Beginning with a discussion of what makes a garden spiritual using historical examples and her own modern designs, Pamela then discusses how to analyze and channel the energies in your garden using techniques such as feng shui, dowsing and basic common sense. She also looks at ancient symbols and systems, for example, The Tree of Life, the medicine wheel, mandalas, spirals and labyrinths, and how to incorporate them into your own garden. Pamela then explores how shapes and forms in nature are reflected throughout the universe, in history and in science, and how to draw upon these universal patterns as inspiration for your gardens. Inspirational chapters explain how plants can possess healing powers and symbolic mysticism and explore how to appreciate the foundations of your garden--tending the earth itself, incorporating wildernes and understanding the seasons that nurture your garden.
Simple graphic illustrations, helpful plans and John Glover's evocateive photography combine with spiritual theories and practical garden advice to help you create a space that is full of peace and resonance--an extension of your own soul and somewhere you will feel completely at home.
Customer Reviews:
Bizarre.......2006-10-09
What a bizarre book. I checked it out from the library expecting beautiful photographs of stunning gardens and equally lovely descriptions. Not here! Instead, there are lush photographs and bizarre psychobabble. Of course, I am a scientist, and have a hard time dealing with this type of nonsense at the best of times.
Don't waste either your time or money. The photographs are beautiful, but the the written portion seems to consist solely of Ms. Woods's silly spiritual ramblings.
wonderful and inspiring.......2005-07-20
Gardens for the Soul is a wonderful and inspiring book filled with beautiful pictures.
If you are looking for a "how to build a pond, steps 1, 2, 3" kind of book, this is not the right one for you.
Pamela Woods has a vast knowledge of various ancient systems and symbolism which she incorporates in her garden designs in a subtle and yet powerful way. The book doesn't go into each option in debth, that would explode the size of the book is not aimed. The author gives the reader rather a different view of gardening. Whatever your spiritual inclination there is a way to incorporate it in a garden design to make it a garden for the soul. This book is so inspiring that you might feel that building a sacred garden is your purpose of life where you can be at peace with yourself and the world. A very different gardening book. Enjoy!
Books:
- The Gardener's Year
- The Last Season
- The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family
- The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook
- The Master Book of the Water Garden: The Ultimate Guide to the Design and Maintenance of the Water Garden
- The Mini Zen Gardening Kit (Miniature Editions)
- The New York Times Practical Guide to Practically Everything: The Essential Companion for Everyday Life
- The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals
- The Organic Lawn Care Manual
- The Well-Designed Mixed Garden: Building Beds and Borders with Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Annuals, and Bulbs
Books Index
Books Home
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