Mysticism

A word originally derived from the Greek and having a wide range of meaning in modern religion and philosophy. A mystic may be said to be someone who has intuitions or intimations of the existence of inner and superior worlds, and who attempts to achieve conscious communion with them and the beings inhabiting these inner and invisible worlds.

From the theosophical or occult point of view, a mystic is one who has inner convictions often based on inner vision and knowledge of the existence of spiritual and ethereal worlds of which our outer physical world is but a manifestation; and who has some inner knowledge that these worlds or planes or spheres, with their hosts of inhabitants, are intimately connected with the origin, destiny, and even present nature of the world which surrounds us.

The average mystic, however, is one who lacks the direct guidance derived from personal teaching received from a master or spiritual superior.

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

Psychic

A general term describing a person with one or more paranormal abilities such as extrasensory perception, clairvoyance or telepathy.

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

Age

Astrology divides time into units called ages which correspond to the signs of the zodiac, each age lasting from 2000 to 2400 years. This progression outlines the evolution of the universe and mankind. We are now moving from the age of Pisces into the one associated with Aquarius.

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

Power Centers, Power Spots, Power Places, Sacred Sites

Places on the planet that have extra special energy. Power Centers include places like Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, Machu Picchu, Mt. Shasta, and the Vortexwa in Sedona. New Agers believe that Power Spots are directly connected with:

1)    Ancient civilizations

2)    Secret societies

3)    Flying saucers, and

4)    Planetary Chakras

New Agers like to visit Power Spots because they consider them places for

1)    Great Meditation and

2)    Great Sex

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

Queztalcoatl

(Aztec - "feathered-serpent")

 An Aztec god of the air or a sun-god and a benefactor of their race who instructed them in the use of agriculture, metals and the like.

According to one account, Quetzalcoatl was driven from the country by a superior god and on reaching the shores of the Mexican Gulf promised his followers that he would return. He then embarked on his magic skiff for the land of Tlapallan.

The Great Bird-Serpent is the most powerful figure in Mexican mythology, and it was known and accepted as a god in ancient Mexico and Central America. Accordingly, he dominated the great early American civilizations, from the land of the Incas in South America, to the Pueblo Indians of the our southwestern desert; from Teotihuacan (Mexico City) on the high plateau to Chichen Itza in Yucatan, he is a prevailing motif on ancient monuments.

Sometimes with his jaws open, bifid tongue, and articulated spinal column, he is easily recognizable. At others, he seems to have been coded in an almost infinite variety of formalized patterns derived from his famous scales, or feathers.

To the ancients, Quetzalcoatl became the force for understanding the universe, as it was known before the introduction of modern religion by the Conquistadors of Spain. The god Quetzalcoatl represented, to the ancient peoples of Central and South America, the very essence of life.

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

Neo-Paganism

The modern revival of paganism, emphasizing witchcraft (see Wicca), goddess worship, and nature worship.

(See also: Neo-Paganism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Islam

A world religion based on the teachings and life of Muhammad (570-632 AD) in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia (then Persia). Islam is the second largest world religion, and has recently become the third largest religious body in America.

Islam is composed of two major divisions - the mainstream Sunni (the largest) and the more radical Shi'ites.

The mystical tradition of Sufism includes many Sunnis and some Shi'ites.

The Arabic word Islam means Òsubmission to the will of GodÓ and a person who submits is called a Muslim.

The Quran (or, Koran), the Torah, the Psalms of the Old Testament, and the Gospel of the New Testament are regarded as holy books. However, only the Quran is considered uncorrupted.

While many Muslims exhibit tolerance towards other faiths, even today Islamic fundamentalism promotes jihad (holy war), against those of other religious and political views.

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

Ancient Astronauts

Astronauts from other planets which allegedly visited Earth in spaceships in ancient times. This theory claims to explain Fortean mysteries and the evidence of ancient sophisticated technology, and primitive societies feats of engineering.

Ancient astronaut writers say also that Man did not evolve only from earthly beings like Adam and Eve. A misreading of Genesis leads one to believe that a second strain not from this world but from a 'heavenly source', was added to the human gene-pool (Genesis chapter

Devotees of this theory like to quote the myths and legends of ancient or primitive peoples in an attempt to justify their case. According to the folklore and mythology of many peoples, the gods gave fire and the skills of agriculture to mankind. However, this fact alone does not mean that the gods of the ancients were extraterrestrial beings, and that our ancestors were so simple minded that they could not have discovered these things by themselves.

In 1968 Erich von DŠniken published a book, Chariots of the Gods?, in which he argued the ancient astronauts theory, presenting supposedly 'proof' of his claims. Zecharia Sitchin is a more modern author who claims to translated ancient Sumerian manuscripts which tell the story of Ancient Astronauts.

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

Esoteric Astrology

The school of astrology that deals with the relations of our solar system and our planet to other solar systems, of the exchange of interstellar and interplanetary energies.

The Theosopohists say that people that got farthest in this respect were the Chaldeans of some 30 000 years ago. They further claim that in future individuals who acquired this knowledge in Chaldea will incarnate again and once more present mankind with the esoteric ÔastrologyÕ, thereby reviving the long-lost knowledge.

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

Jesus

1)    The leader of group of religious radicals in Jerusalem. (approximately 25 AD)

2)    An avatar who attained a high level of attunement which enabled him to become a bodily vehicle for the Christ for a period of three years.

3)    An aspect of God, according to the Jesus cults. The name ÒJesusÓ corresponds with the Hebrew ÒJoshuaÓ and means ÒJehovah is salvation. Ó

(See Jesus)

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

Parapsychology

The study of ESP and other supernatural phenomena dating to the foundation of the English Society of Physical Research in 1882 and continued through laboratory research at Duke University Parapsychology Laboratory, Stanford Research Institute and elsewhere.

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

Wicca

(Anglo-Saxon, "wise one. ")

An earth or pagan religion and magical system dedicated to the Goddess and God which uses ceremonies or rituals to achieve communion with the natural forces. The religion founded in England in 1938, often referred to as Witchcraft. A common creed is, ÒDo what you will, and harm none. Ó Modern Wicca owes much to the influence of Gerald B. Gardner

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

Agnosticism

The claim that no one has knowledge of God or the origin of the universe. Some agnostics make the claim on a personal level, while allowing that such knowledge may exist but has never been known by themselves.

Others assert that such knowledge cannot be had by anyone. Agnostics avoid the charge of dogmatic atheism by acknowledging the theoretical possibility of GodÕs existence. Yet virtually all live as if the non-existence of God was an established fact, and are thus practical atheists.

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

Clairvoyance

The paranormal ability to ÒseeÓ psychic information, including historical or future events or other phenomena, that cannot be discerned naturally through the five material senses. Also called ESP or "Double Sight".

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

Baphomet

The Sabbatic Goat, also know as the Great God Pan, Abraxas, Thanateros, or the Horned God. The most popular rendering was drawn in the 19th century by Eliapha Levi. Often used as a symbol of Satan, especially in Satanism, and depicted as a GoatÕs Head symbol, an upside down five-pointed star (cf. pentagram), or a man with horns and goat-legs.

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

Nirvana

Hindu state of enlightenment or liberation from earthly things; bliss, freedom of the personal soul from the physical world.

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

Pantheism

The belief that all that exists is God and all that exists is God. This God is an all-encompassing, impersonal principle or force of which everything is a part. A central doctrine for most eastern religions and New Age groups. This leads naturally to the concept of the divinity of the individual, that we are all Gods. They do not seek God as revealed in a sacred text or as exists in a remote heaven; they seek God within the self and throughout the entire universe. (see also Panentheism)

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

King Solomon

(Hebrew- peaceable) Third king of Israel (965-925 BC), son of David by Bathsheba, built the famous first temple of Israel and established the great empire of the Jews, (the kingdom of God). the legend is told in I Kings 3 that God offered the young Solomon, either wisdom or wealth, he chose wisdom. God was so pleased that he gave him both wisdom and wealth. The wisdom of Solomon has become proverbial.

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

Alien Abduction

Kidnapping by non-human beings. The first reported claim of alien abduction was in Brazil in 1957 and since then there have been reports from all over the Western world - in Europe including the UK, Australia, South Africa, Russia, and North America. Although peopleÕs experiences vary quite widely, the following features recur

• Light, especially a beam which draws the person up, and sometimes vibration.
• A spacecraft of some kind.
• Humanoid beings, especially small gray ones with large black eyes, who communicate by telepathy.
• Medical tests being performed and eggs or sperm removed so that human/alien offspring can be produced.
• Lost periods of time and inexplicable small wounds.
• Very few accounts are complete but sometimes the full story is recovered through hypnosis.

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

Poltergeist

(German - rattling ghost"} The term is applied to a variety of invisible entities which manifest in an unruly and disturbing manner, often involving unexplained noises, the moving or throwing of objects, vile smells, strange shrieks, as well as such curious phenomena as apports. While some occurrences may appear to involve actual spirits or ghosts, the disturbances may also derive from subconscious psychokinesis on the part of an individual.

Poltergeist phenomena have been reported around the world throughout history. Before the nineteenth century, these occurrences were blamed on the Devil, demons and witches. In the 1930s the psychologist and psychic researcher Nandor Fodor suggested the theory that poltergeist disturbances were caused not by spirits but by individuals suffering intense repressed anger, sexual frustration, and hostility. This psychological dysfunction theory has been supported by other research indicating that in a significant number of reported disturbances, the agent was a child or teenager possibly unconsciously unleashing hostility without fear of punishment.

Psychological profiles of agents show that mental and emotional stress, personality disorders, phobias, obsessive behavior and schizophrenia are linked to supposed poltergeist phenomena, and in some cases psychotherapy has eliminated the poltergeist disturbances.

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