Telepathy [from Greek tele far off, at a distance + pathos feeling]

The transference of thought or feeling from mind to mind independently of ordinary modes of communication. This very interesting and common fact may be noted as not only existing between human beings, and humans and animals, but likewise between animals and insects -- the last being one of the commonest phenomena of natural history -- and in the plant kingdom. People have always known that they talk to each other through the air, or through air vibrations, and that these strike the ear and are conveyed to the brain. The notion of transference from one mind to another across a distance is a physical conception, and its applicability to minds is questionable. Mind can hardly be regarded as physical, and though our brains are physical and separated by distances, the mind is not synonymous with the brain, for if it were telepathy would be impossible because brain does not physically touch brain in the transference of thought, therefore it is not brains which send and receive except as instruments, but it is minds which touch or interpenetrate along the inner planes.

We live in a common mental atmosphere, taking in and giving out thoughts and feelings, which must often pass from mind to mind, though we may not be aware of the fact. The undoubted fact of our having separate minds does not mean that these minds are closed systems, and not mutually penetrable. The experiments which are made to prove thought transference defeat their object to a great extent, because the mind of the transmitter is not concentrated on the idea to be transmitted, so much as on the idea that he is trying to transfer it. The most conclusive proofs, and curiously enough the most common, are unpremeditated, and actually are daily occurrences.

A thought entertained by one person may pass inwardly through planes of consciousness until it reaches a point where minds are no longer separate, and from thence it may travel outwardly to the brain of another person. It may even be said that what we require is not so much an explanation of thought transference as an explanation of why thoughts are so seldom transferred -- why our minds are so separate; and the explanation is the concentration of each individual's normal daily consciousness upon affairs immediately concerning himself. This clothes the individual in a mental shell of interests, around which rush the radiatory influences emanating from the thinker. Universality of sympathy therefore is the key to successful telepathic communication.

(See also: Telepathy , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Abhidheya- comes from the verbal root abhidha, which means "to set forth or explain,” and the word abhidheya literally means "that which is worthy of explanation.” The means by which krsna-prema can be achieved is the fundamental truth (tattva) that is most worthy of explanation. The means by which the ultimate goal is achieved, is the practice of sadhana-bhakti.

(See also: Abhidheya , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Somananda: (Sanskrit) Disciple of Vasugupta and author of Sivadrishti (ca 850­900), which was said to be a highly influential explanation and defense of the Kashmir Saiva philosophy.

See: Kashmir Saivism.

(See also: Somananda , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Homily

(Greek, "discourse") An address given during the Christian liturgy, often synonymous with sermon (Lat. , "speech"). In Catholic usage, the short explanation of the Gospel given by a priest or a deacon during the celebration of the eucharistic liturgy, required at each public Mass on Sunday and recommended at each weekday Mass.

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

ugghatitannu (uggha.tita~n~nu): Of swift understanding. After the Buddha attained Awakening and was considering whether or not to teach the Dhamma, he perceived that there were four categories of beings: those of swift understanding, who would gain Awakening after a short explanation of the Dhamma, those who would gain Awakening only after a lengthy explanation (vipacitannu); those who would gain Awakening only after being led through the practice (neyya); and those who, instead of gaining Awakening, would at best gain only a verbal understanding of the Dhamma (padaparama).

 (See also: Ugghatitannu , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Visualization

See Meditation Sutra for explanation.

The visualizations (in the Meditation Sutra) are distinguished into sixteen kinds (shifting from earthly scenes to Pure Land scenes at the third Visualization):

(1)  visualization of the sun,

(2)  visualization of water, (

(3)  visualization of the ground (in the Pure Land),

(4)  visualization of the trees,

(5)  visualization of the lake (s),

(6)  unified visualization of the (50 billion) storied-pavilions, trees, lakes, and so forth,

(7)  visualization of the (lotus throne of Amitabha Buddha),

(8)  visualization of the images of the Buddha (Amitabha) and Bodhisattvas (Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta),

(9)  visualization of the (Reward body of Amitabha Buddha, i.e., the form in which He appears in the Pure Land),

(10)             visualization of Avalokitesvara,

(11)             visualization of Mahasthamaprapta,

(12)             visualization of one's own rebirth,

(13)              (see below),

(14)             visualization of the rebirth of the highest grades,

(15)             visualization of the rebirth of the middle grades and

(16)             visualization of the rebirth of the lowest grades.

 (K.K. Tanaka, The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Doctrine.)

The 13th Visualization has been summarized as follows: If one cannot visualize the (Reward body of Amitabha Buddha), focus on the small body, which is sixteen cubits high (the traditional height of Shakyamuni while he dwelt on earth); contemplate an intermingling of the (Reward) and small bodies. (1oji Okazaki, p.52.) Visualizations 14-16 refer to the nine lotus grades (of rebirth), divided into three sets of three grades each.

 (See also: Visualization , Buddhism, Body Mind and Soul)

Rasa -

(1) the spiritual transformation of the heart which takes place when the perfectional state of love for Krsna, known as rati, is converted into liquid emotions by combination with various types of transcendental ecstasies. In Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (2.1.5) bhakti-rasa  is defined: "When the sthayibhava, or the permanent emotion of the heart in one of the five primary relationships of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental affection, or conjugal love, mixes with vibhava, anubhava, sattvika-bhava, and vyabhicaribhava, thus producing an extraordinary taste in the heart of the bhakta, it is called bhakti-rasa.”

The explanation of bhakti as rasa is the unique contribution of Srila Rupa Gosvami. The common view is that rasa applies to the emotional experience of poetry or drama. This theory of rasa originated from the natya-sastra of Bharata Muni, a famous work on Sanskrit poetics and drama. Rupa Gosvami’s explanation of how rasa is generated is exactly in accordance with Bharata Muni’s definition; yet he has explained the experience of rasa in terms of bhakti, or love for Krsna. Thus, there is both a transcendental and secular conception of rasa.

(2) the state of aesthetic consciousness.

(See also: Rasa , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Loss of a Sensory Ability or of a Motor Ability

Usually, this is a very symbolic event in a dream. A 34-year-old man reports: I dream of being in a situation where I need to act resourcefully to help a stranger avoid danger. Suddenly, I go blind for no apparent reason! It is very frustrating.

Becoming suddenly impaired in this way is different from being injured in a physical accident. The lights just seem to go out without explanation. With a dream like this, it is questionable whether or not the dreamer feels competent to fulfil his duties in waking life. However, this can also refer to his reluctance to accept the challenge of the hero self.

Seeing oneself as a hero is kind of daunting, and the fact that it is your dream doesn't mean that you will necessarily and easily assume that role. Suddenly, the awareness of caring for those to whom you have no obligation is quickened. It's a hassle. Many of us can barely fulfil responsibilities to the people around us in ordinary situations. Another scenario for loss of a sensory ability is to exchange it for something or someone else. The old saying, "I'd give my eye teeth for..." articulates the human willingness to exchange one ability or attribute for something else of value. There are many times when our minds use the principle of exchange to help us verify the relative worth of relationships or objects.

There can also be a distinct martyr image attached to this kind of loss. This is especially true when the dream includes loss of ability through some potentially painful means. The loss may be seen as an exchange for something that was gained during the dream or in waking life.

Source: iVillage, http://www.ivillage.co.uk

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Loss of a Sensory Ability or of a Motor Ability , Meaning of Dreams about Loss of a Sensory Ability or of a Motor Ability , Dream Interpretation Loss of a Sensory Ability or of a Motor Ability )

A Theosophical definition of Mudra :

Mudra

(Sanskrit) A general name for certain intertwinings or positions of the fingers of the two hands, used alone or together, in devotional yoga or exoteric religious worship, and these mudras or digital positions are held by many Oriental mystics to have particular esoteric significance.

They are found both in the Buddhist statues of northern Asia, especially those belonging to the Yogachara school, and also in India where they are perhaps particularly affected by the Hindu tantrikas.

There is doubtless a good deal of hid efficacy in holding the fingers in proper position during meditation, but to the genuine occult student the symbolic meaning of such mudras or digital positions is by far more useful and interesting. The subject is too intricate, and of importance too small, to call for much detail of explanation here, or even to attempt a full exposition of the subject.

See also: Mudra , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Aboriginal Dreaming

An English expression adopted by Australian Aborigines to convey ideas that, though related in their thought, are not usually denoted by a single word in any of their languages.

One sense is that of a primordial epoch, the Dreaming or Dreamtime, when beings with remarkable powers arose from the ground, descended from the sky, or appeared from over the horizon. They gave the earth its shape by creating physical features (often from parts of their own bodies), fixed life in species form, established human culture, and gave everything its name.

These creative beings, who in their totality are the ultimate explanation of all things, are themselves called Dreamings (roughly equivalent to the anthropological term totems).

Their significance to the Aborigines is not merely historical but personal and social, for each individual and group gains a distinctive identity through its association with one or more Dreamings. In many regions it is held that such beings reincarnate themselves as humans, or that they left relics behind that, to this day, are sufficiently potent to impregnate women.

This sense of oneness, in which past and present, spirit being and human being, are somehow fused, is also seen in ceremonies in which the actors wear designs and make movements symbolic or mimetic of what the Dreamings did in the Dreamtime. By extension, from these two senses of Dreaming, the Aborigines form other expressions, such as Dreaming-place (a site at which a Dreaming was active and left something of itself) and Dreaming-track (an imagined path along which a Dreaming traveled from place to place in the primordial epoch).

Contrary to what is sometimes suggested, the term has no necessary connection with the verb to dream, even though present-day revelations to humans by Dreamings normally occur while the recipient is in a dream or trance state.

See Astral World.

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

Ghosts

Some believe that the ghosts in their dreams are real representations of the dead. This is an unlikely explanation of this dream. More likely the ghost is representing a part of you that is unclear and that you do not understand. At times, ghosts represent those things that unattainable or fleeting. Demonic type of ghost images may represent your negative tendencies, unpleasant parts of personality or your "shadow." Old superstition based dream interpretations say that dreaming of friendly ghosts is a lucky omen, and that you should be receiving unexpected good luck. On the other hand, if you were very frightened by the ghost in your dream, then others will try to impose their will on you and you must be vigilant in order to stand up to it.

Source: Dream Lover Incorporated, http://www.dreamloverinc.com

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Ghosts , Meaning of Dreams about Ghosts , Dream Interpretation Ghosts )

A dictionary of Parapsycology. Please note that words in grey are hyperlinked to a corresponding archive with articles related to that particular topic.

Fourfold Classification There are many different ways of dividing the constitution of the universe or of any integral entity within it, such as a human being. Several philosophical and religious systems employ a fourfold division, as is found in certain Hindu systems. Subba Row, a Vedantist as well as a theosophist, pointed out that the fourfold classification of the human principles in some Hindu systems is not only applicable to man, but likewise to the universe and solar system. The Taraka-Raja-Yoga system -- perhaps the most subtlety philosophical of the Brahmanical yoga schools -- divides the human constitution into three upadhis (bases) plus the atman or essential self, as follows: atman, karanopadhi, sukshmopadhi, and sthulopadhi.

Subba Row's fourfold classification follows:

Universe -- Solar System -- Man

Parabrahman -- Brahman, Paramatman -- Atman

Beyond Brahman -- Cosmic Monad -- Essential Self

Mulaprakriti -- Sutratman -- Karana-sarira

Primordial Thread-Self -- Causal Vehicle or Root-Substance -- Essential Egoity

Isvara -- Hiranyagarbha -- Sukshma-sarira

The Logos -- Golden Egg -- Subtle Vehicle or Personal Monad

Daiviprakriti -- Visvanara -- Sthula-sarira

Light of the Logos -- Subtle Essence of Physical Vehicle -- Manifested Universe

In these three columns there are correspondences reading right to left which apply to three vastly differing scales of magnitude both in quality and in explanation. Thus the last term in the first column is daiviprakriti, which really means spirit-matter in manifestation, and therefore is a gross body of the universe, although in the human case this is equivalent to the sthula-sarira or gross physical body.

It is likewise to be noted that the Vedantist classification of the principles, whether of a universe or an individual, is six in number: the essential self or atman, and five kosas emanating from it; the main reason for the Taraka-Raja-Yoga fourfold division lies in the fact that the atman of a person may be used in any one of the three upadhis independently as it were of the others, without the person's running the risk of killing himself. In this way they form a natural division of the human being.

Comparing this fourfold classification of the human constitution with the sevenfold division commonly set forth in theosophical literature: atman (the essential principle of selfhood and therefore the highest) is the same in both; karana-sarira is equivalent to buddhi and the higher manas; sukshma-sarira comprises manas and kama; while sthula-sarira takes in the three lower principles -- prana, linga-sarira, and sthula-sarira. The reason for the two classifications is that Subba Row fastened "attention on the monads, looking upon the universe as a vast aggregate of individualities; while H. P. B. for that time of the world's history saw the need to give to the inquiring Western mind . . . some real explanation of what the composition of the universe is as an entity -- what its 'stuff' is, and what man is as an integral part of it. Now the seven principles are the seven kinds of 'stuff' of the universe. . . . (however)

we must not have our minds confused with the idea that the seven principles are one thing, and the monads are something else which work through the principles as disjunct from them" (FSO 443-4).

See also PRINCIPLES.

(See also: Fourfold Classification , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Magical Powers

One of the great things about dreams, especially lucid dreams where you are aware of dreaming and can practically control the outcome, is that you can acquire unusual powers. These may include almost any conceivable ability needed to solve the problem at hand. The problem is that you may lose them without explanation at a critical moment. The acquisition of magical powers may come from a number of sources. You may simply conjure them from within yourself. You may be given an article of clothing that contains special powers, or you may find a rock or other object that projects power into you. The implication is that you can solve problems with available resources. However, this may simply be a wish-fulfilment dream to dispose of problems without working them through.

The loss of powers is often a reality-check dream. While you may think you have power in your dream to do great and glorious things, the truth in waking is that problems do not always solve themselves. There may be a level at which your mind is concerned about your waking bravado in certain situations.

The magic you experience could be a sign that you are struggling against the most reasonable outcome of a particular situation. Often, we are unable to appreciate the logic or simplicity of a given situation because of our desire to over analyse it.

Are the magical powers you have in your dream physical or mental?

What do you use these powers to accomplish?

Source: iVillage, http://www.ivillage.co.uk

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Magical Powers , Meaning of Dreams about Magical Powers , Dream Interpretation Magical Powers )

Supernatural:

Events that have no natural explanation. Commonly refers to acts of the divine but can also include extraordinary acts caused by negative forces.

(See also: Supernatural , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

analogy: An explanation of a thing made by comparing it point by point with another thing. For example, in the analogy of the potter, the potter represents God and the clay represents the primal substance, or "matter."

(See also: Analogy , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

TAROT, IMPLEMENTS OF

The best explanation of the sacred objects on The Magician's table can be found in Paul Christian's Histoire de la Magie (Kirkup and Shaw translation, page 95): "The goblet signifies the mixture of passions contributing to happiness or misfortune, according to whether we are their masters or their slaves. The sword symbolizes labor, the striving that overcomes obstacles and the tests that pain makes us undergo. The shekel is the image of aspirations fulfilled, works accomplished, the apex of power attained by perseverance and will-power."

(See also: TAROT, IMPLEMENTS OF , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

Solomon, King of Israel and Judah shelomoh (Hebrew) [from shalom prosperous cf Arab zuleima, Greek Salomon Latin solomo, genitive solomonis, French Salomon]

Peace, prosperity; according to orthodox Biblical chronology, he lived 993-953 BC, the youngest son of David whom he succeeded through the influence of his mother Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan. Throughout the East, especially in Arabia and thence in Europe, there are many legends of his wisdom and magical powers, and notably with regard to his seal, the six-pointed star or double interlaced equilateral triangles (Solomon's seal); his meeting with the Queen of Sheba and his answering of the questions and riddles propounded by her and others; and his judgments. Solomon is said to have gotten "his secret learning from India through Hiram, the king of Ophir, and perhaps Sheba" (IU 1:135, 136n).

If the exoteric literal account in the Bible is accepted, Solomon in his later years showed himself as very far from wise, indulging in licentiousness and idolatry (1 Kings 11); further, he began his reign with the murder of Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei and his last recorded act was that he sought to kill Jereboam.

In Freemasonry, King Solomon is especially honored as the builder of the Temple and as the first of the Three Grand Masters -- the other two being Hiram, King of Tyre, and Hiram Abif -- all of whom were concerned with the building of the Temple. The evil ending of Solomon's life, according to the Biblical account, is almost overlooked in Masonic ritual and literature. In the Jewish Encyclopedia ("Solomon"), according to one writer, Solomon is represented as "the wise king par excellence"; and "in Arabic literature, Solomon is spoken of as 'the messenger of God' "; according to another writer in the same work, however, "a critical sifting of the sources leaves the picture of a petty, Asiatic despot, remarkable, perhaps, only for a love of luxury and for polygamous inclinations." Only by interpreting the Bible esoterically can we arrive at the truth regarding King Solomon; and such interpretation fully corroborates the characterization of "the wise king par excellence"; and fully supports both Masonic ritual and tradition in regarding King Solomon as the first and chief of the Three Grand Masters.

What then is the explanation of the otherwise contradictory statements in the Bible regarding Solomon? Even from a historical and ethnological standpoint one may find a clue, for along purely exoteric lines there is nothing foreign in Solomon's "idolatry" and his worship of other deities. The same racial strain ran through all the surrounding peoples as in Israel, and the respective worships, gods, and goddesses were all closely interrelated, derived from the same Babylonian concepts, appearing under different names -- Blavatsky shows the identity of the mystery gods of the Phoenicians, Chaldeans, and Israelites (SD 2:3). The gods and goddesses of the nations surrounding the Jews were all theologically interrelated, aspects or permutations of the same basic idea; and, as worshiped by the people, all were variants and, in their exoteric forms, degradations of the original conception on which every great theogony and cosmogony was built (cf SD 2:535 et seq).

As for Solomon's 700 wives and 300 concubines, these "are merely the personations of man's attributes, feelings, passions and his various occult powers: the Kabbalistic numbers 7 and 3 showing it plainly. Solomon himself, moreover, being, simply, the emblem of Sol -- the 'Solar Initiate' or the Christ-Sun, is a variant of the Indian 'Vikarttana' (the Sun) shorn of his beams by Visvakarman, his Hierophant-Initiator, who thus shears the Chrestos-candidate for initiation of his golden radiance and crowns him with a dark, blackened aureole -- the 'crown of thorns.' (See The Secret Doctrine for full explanation.) Solomon was never a living man. As is described in Kings, his life and works are an allegory on the trials of Initiation" (BCW 10:162-3n).

Solomon the Wise is a type-figure, and the legendary story of his life, wisdom and glory, and temptations and apparent fall, is a variant of the traditional history of certain wise ones recounted in every world-religion. Even granting that a king names Shelomoh reigned over Judah and Israel, the Biblical account and the many traditions of his life are an allegory of initiation.

(See also: Solomon, King of Israel, Judah, Shelomoh , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

A dictionary of parapsychology. Please note that words in grey are hyperlinked to a corresponding archive with articles related to that particular topic.

Hypothesis:

Scientific term for wild guess, hunch, tentative explanation or possibility to be tested.

(See also: Hypothesis , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)