BIOFEEDBACK

Biofeedback utilizes a system of sensitive instruments that relay information about the physical condition of the body. Used as a primary therapy, or in conjunction with other methods, biofeedback provides deep relaxation and stress management skills to prevent stress-related disorders and illness. These skills, including deep breathing and guided imagery, offer self-regulation and control over mental, emotional, and physical processes. The principles of biofeedback can be traced back to the 18th century.

(See also: BIOFEEDBACK , Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Book of the Dead

Also Egyptian Book of the Dead (known to the ancient Egyptians as The Book of Coming Forth by Day.

A collection of ancient Egyptian religious and magical texts, hymns and formulas concerned with the ensuring the safe passage of the soul (Ka) through Amenti (the Egyptian afterworld).

The Egyptians believed that knowledge of these formulas, hymns, and prayers enabled the soul to ward off demons attempting to impede its progress, and to pass the tests set by the 42 judges in the hall of Osiris, god of the underworld. The soul passing these tests was allowed to mingle with the gods. If it failed the tests, it was devoured by a monster that was part hippopotamus, part crocodile, and part lion.

The texts of the Book of the Dead also indicated that happiness in the afterlife was dependent on the deceased's having led a virtuous life on earth. Part of the Book of the Dead is believed to have originated in the predynastic period of Egyptian history. In the 5th and 6th dynasties the Book of the Dead was inscribed on the sarcophagi in the pyramids of the kings and therefore became known as the Pyramid Texts. By the 18th Dynasty it was inscribed on papyri, which were frequently from 50 to 100 feet long and illustrated in color. These papyri were placed in or near the coffins of the dead and were sometimes called Coffin Texts.

(See also: Book of the Dead , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Al Na'am: The 18th Mansion of the Moon, corresponding to part of the constellation Sagittarius.

Influence: Aids the hunter

Spirit: Egibiel

(See also: Al Na'am , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

Why Wicca is Not Celtic Paganism

There are many out there who believe that Wicca and its related forms of NeoPagism are a type of Celtic Paganism (and vice versa),  but this is simply not true. The following article is meant to be a comparison of Wicca and Celtic Paganism in order to demonstrate this, and to educate the public about Celtic Paganism. While Wicca certainly contains elements of Celtic mythology, folk magic and religious belief, its basic tenets and beliefs are radically different from those of Celtic Pagans.

Read more here: » Wicca and Celtic Paganism: Why Wicca is Not Celtic Paganism

Animalculists Thinkers of the 17th and 18th centuries who taught that the all future human offspring were carried in the male reproductive plasm of the earliest human ancestor or ancestors. The animalcule was the tiny human offspring thought to reside already completely formed in each human sperm. (MIE 213)

(See also: Animalculists , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Unitarianism

1)    The doctrine that God is exclusively one person. Unlike monarchianism or modalism, which view Jesus as a manifestation of the unipersonal God, or subordinationism, which views Jesus as a secondary divine being , Unitarianism views Jesus as a mere human being.

2)    The Unitarian movement that originated in late 18th-century New England and to the denominational body that merged with the Universalists in the 20th century to form the Unitarian-Universalist Association.

(See also: Unitarianism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Persian Heritage In Hindu Traditions

Many would be surprised to learn that no ancient Hindu temple was dedicated to Rama - neither in Ayodhya nor anywhere else.

There had been many old temples and shrines devoted to Vishnu and Shiva and a few to Brahma, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Hanuman, Kubera, Nagas, Kali and Durga as well as a huge number honouring numerous local tribal deities. Only 180 years ago Raja Ram Mohan Roy coined the word 'Hindu' to describe the huge variety of faiths and sects with similar but not identical philosophies, myths and rituals.

Read more here: » Islam and Hinduism: Persian Heritage In Hindu Traditions

Biofield

The electro-magnetic field created by all living organisms. Referred to as "animal magnetism" by Franz von Mesmer, an Austrian physician who investigated and popularized energy healing in the late 18th century.

(See also: Biofield , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Why did the ancient Mayan or pre-Maya choose December 21st, 2012 A.D., as the end of their Long Count calendar? This article will cover some recent research. Scholars have known for decades that the 13-baktun cycle of the Mayan "Long Count" system of timekeeping was set to end precisely on a winter solstice, and that this system was put in place some 2300 years ago. This amazing fact - that ancient Mesoameri- can skywatchers were able to pinpoint a winter solstice far off into the future - has not been dealt with by Mayanists. And why did they choose the year 2012? One immediately gets the impression that there is a very strange mystery to be confronted here. I will be building upon a clue to this mystery reported by epigrapher Linda Schele in Maya Cosmos (1994). This article is the natural culmination of the research relating to the Mayan Long Count and the precession of the equinoxes that I explored in my recent book Tzolkin: Visionary Perspectives and Calendar Studies (Borderlands Science and Research Foundation, 1994).

Read more here: » 2012: The how and why of the Mayan end date in 2012 AD

The New Age movement is hardly novel! Its philosophy is rooted in ancient traditions, often based on mystical experiences, each within a different context.

Part I of II, written by Michael Rogge

Read more here: » New Age Spirituality: The roots of the New Age Movement Ð Part I

Amish

Christian sect founded by Swiss Mennonite, Jacob Amman, who came to America in the 18th century, noted for a traditional, non-technological lifestyle

(See also: Amish , Body Mind and Soul)

Olivia Mathis from Australia describes her experiences from attending Samskarashuddhi and Mukti 3 at The World University of Consciousness after The Oneness Festival August 2003. Olivia also received a diksha for Enlightenment from Kalki, The Founder of The Golden Age Foundation.

Read more here: » Enlightenment: Diksha for Enlightenment by Olivia Mathis

Positivism In general, a philosophy based on physical phenomena and ignoring underlying antecedent causes; specifically, the system of Auguste Comte (1798-1857), miscalled the Religion of Humanity. He held that all speculative thought passes through three phases -- theological, metaphysical, positive: in the first, living beings having individual free will are regarded as the cause of phenomena; in the next, unverifiable abstractions are resorted to; positivism contents itself with a general description of phenomena.

The universe is not composed of individuals with volition, but of an ordered organism -- humanity -- governed by necessary laws. The civilized community is a true organism, a great being, and should be an object of worship. In conformity with the last, Positivist churches continue to exist, with definite organization and procedure. As stated in Isis Unveiled (1:79), negativism might be a better term, since the system denies more than it affirms. Its rejection of individuals in favor of humanity certainly is a lapse into the rejected metaphysical stage of speculation, which Comte showed he had no true comprehension of.

As a philosophy, holding that knowledge is based exclusively on the methods and discoveries of physical or positive science, it labors under great disadvantages. That speculation does pass through these and other stages is evident from the history of philosophy; but that positivism represents more than a passing phase is impossible to believe. It is one of the subtle forms of materialistic European philosophy so popular -- and among certain minds still in vogue -- during the 18th and 19th centuries.

(See also: Positivism , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

In the series, Evolving Towards Enlightenment I-V, Carl Johan Calleman explains the links between the Mayan Calendar Enlightenment and the significance of the year 2012.

Read more here: » Mayan Calendar: Evolving Towards Enlightenment - II

Illuminati (Latin) The enlightened, adepts; a title assumed in Europe by different bodies of mystics at different times, claiming to have attained the faculty of direct vision of divine truth, and also applied popularly to later bodies, such as Swedenborgians and Rosicrusians.

Its most recent and common use is in reference to a secret society, partly religious, apparently partly political, which arose in Germany toward the end of the 18th century, spread its influence over other countries, had degrees of initiation, and entered into relationships with Masonic lodges.

(See also: Illuminati , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

There’s a reason why religions have mythologies. Because it’s much easier for individuals to identify with heroic tales than with dry metaphysics.

And contrary to what we might believe, all mythology is not frozen in times gone by. It is being created around us every day, in the Harry Potter books, in the movies of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Generations from now, our descendants may well look back and say Lucas and Spielberg were the Homers and Virgils of our age - storytellers who narrated tales extremely well, but slipped in a larger message.

(See also: Spiritual Mythology , God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Spiritual Mythology: The Metaphysics of Minority Report  

Compassion: Cultivating Positive Emotions

All major traditions in the world agree that negative emotions cause both physical and mental suffering. To be happy and free of suffering we need to cultivate positive attributes like compassion, generosity and loving-kindness. Buddhism acknowledges that outer circumstances are often beyond our control.

Read more here: » Compassion: Cultivating Positive Emotions

Throughout human history, records have been kept of unexplained mental events. In early writings, particularly from the Egyptians, Tibetans and Greeks, we learn about the belief that the soul was able to fly and existed as a double of the physical body. The experience of seeing one's double has recently been called autoscopy or autoscopic hallucination by the scientific community. However, the phenomenon has been known throughout history and across many cultures.

Read more here: » Remote Viewing: History of Remote Viewing

The New Age movement is hardly novel! Its philosophy is rooted in ancient traditions, often based on mystical experiences, each within a different context.

Part II of II, written by Michael Rogge

Read more here: » The roots of the New Age Movement Ð Part II

There is much evidence in existence to support the notion that we all possess the potential to incubate dreams - in other words, conjure up dreams to order. Whether they are romantic encounters, dreams that furnish solutions to problems, or even lucid dreams, with time and effort, they can be evoked. Ancient civilizations were well aware of the potential of dream incubation. The Egyptians, for example, built temples called Serapeums, named after Serapis, the god of dreams. It wasn't unusual for the expectant dreamer to undergo various procedures including cleansing, purging, offering up prayer and so forth, in order to experience the desired dream.

Read more here: » Dream incubation: To evoke a specific dream