Alpha and Omega. A. and Ω Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and ending of all active existence; the Logos, hence (with the Christians) Christ. See Rev. xxi, 6., where John adopts "Alpha and Omega" as the symbol of a Divine Comforter who "will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely". The word Azot or Azoth is a medieval glyph of this idea, for the word consists of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, A and Ω of the Latin alphabet, A and Z, and of the Hebrew alphabet, A and T, or aleph and tau. (See also "Azoth".)

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SPIRITUALISM

Traffic with the dead. As for my contacts with the dead, which I keep to a minimum, they have not been particularly interesting. They are quite ordinary and highly personal. It is not generally considered a clean habit to traffic with the dead. Both Crowley and HPB consider spiritism to be next door to necrophilia, if not an overt and particularly nasty sexual perversion.

Most spirits move on rather quickly past the closer shores of the so-called astral plane, which I prefer to call "Telluria," since it lies so near the borders of our own world. The newest shades are the strongest, but shortly thereafter they fade like old photographs. They are not alive, remember. If death has been recent and if no one has summoned the spirit and if the spirit has not contacted any living person, chances are that we may obtain at least one good "conversation." That generally just about uses up the astral envelope.

Warning -- If you have persistent and prolonged contact with the same spirit, that is highly suspicious. It very well may not be the departed, but some intruding entity. That is particularly likely if someone other than a friend or member of the family of the departed is acting as medium. A few unfortunate wraiths are drawn neither forward nor back and cling to our world for very sick reasons. In the rare case that the spirit whom you have contacted is dependable and reasonable then it is surely an advanced being of some kind. But here again, there are many kinds of "advanced beings" -- few of which indeed are former earthlings.

(See also: SPIRITUALISM, Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul, )

Will. In metaphysics and occult philosophy, Will is that which governs the manifested universes in eternity. Will is the one and sole principle of abstract eternal MOTION, or its ensouling essence. " The will", says Van Helmont, "is the first of all powers. . . . The will is the property of all spiritual beings and displays itself in them the more actively the more they are freed from matter." And Paracelsus teaches that "determined will is the beginning of all magical operations. It is because men do not perfectly imagine and believe the result, that the (occult) arts are so uncertain, while they might he perfectly certain." Like all the rest, the Will is septenary in its degrees of manifestation. Emanating from the one, eternal, abstract and purely quiescent Will (Atma in Layam), it becomes Buddhi in its Alaya state, descends lower as Mahat (Manas), and runs down the ladder of degrees until the divine Eros becomes, in its lower, animal manifestation, erotic desire. Will as an eternal principle is neither spirit nor substance but everlasting ideation. As well expressed by Schopenhauer in his Parerga, " in sober reality there is neither matter nor spirit. The tendency to gravitation in a stone is as unexplainable as thought in the human brain. . . If matter can - no one knows why -  - fall to the ground, then it can also - no one knows why - -think. . . . As soon, even in mechanics, as we trespass beyond the purely mathematical, as soon as we reach the inscrutable adhesion, gravitation, and so on, we are faced by phenomena which are to our senses as mysterious as the WILL."

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Combine Spirituality and Psychotherapy: Eclectic integrative system developed and practiced by author Bernard Green, Ph.D. It includes consciousness expansion, Eastern psychotherapy (see Eastern psychology), nutritional psychology, psychosynthesis, Simonton techniques (see Simonton method), and Sufi psychology (see Sufi healing).

(See also: Combine Spirituality and Psychotherapy, Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Sanjna (Sanskrit). Spiritual Consciousness. The wife of Surya, the Sun.

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Vajracharya (Sanskrit). The spiritual acharya (guru, teacher) of the Yogacharyas, The "Supreme Master of the Vajra".

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Aparoksha (Sanskrit) Direct perception.

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Anastasis (Ancient Greek). The continued existence of the soul.

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Anjana (Sanskrit). A serpent, a son of Kasyapa Rishi.

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Annapura (Sanskrit). See "Ana".

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Astrolatry (Ancient Greek). Worship of the Stars.

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Aurnavabha (Sanskrit) An ancient Sanskrit commentator.

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Attavada (Pali). The sin of personality.

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Avastan (Sanskrit) An ancient name for Arabia.

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Avasthas (Sanskrit) States, conditions, positions.

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Apavarga (Sanskrit). Emancipation from repeated births.

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Anugraha (Sanskrit). The eighth creation in the Vishnu Purana.

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Anumitis (Sanskrit). Inference, deduction in philosophy.

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Archobiosis (Ancient Greek). Primeval beginning of life.

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Arka (Sanskrit). The Sun.

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Adhi (Sanskrit). Supreme, paramount.

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Adi (Sanskrit) The First, the primeval.

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