What is the "soul"?

The stimulus response model by Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920) as the basis of modern psychology basically states that because a researcher can hook a patient up to electrodes and inject them with chemicals and elicit identical responses, the…

In the last three blog posts at ehbritten.org Marc Demarest delves into a new research tool that addresses precisely the kinds of questions discussed by Joe, Govert, June, and others in a recent thread.  Having seen a few of his search results, from the POV of the Church of Light I wanted to see how Hermetic/Hermeticism and astrology, the two keywords most relevant to us, compare to Theosophy and Spiritualism, two source…

The Next Earth Summit: Rio Plus 20

Rene Wadlow *

         The United Nations, its Specialized Agencies and programmes, member governments and Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are preparing their policies and evaluations to be discussed at the next Earth Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012: 20 years after the original 1992 Rio conference that drew up guidelines for…

The constitution, no doubt, of the Society is broad enough to include minds more sceptical than my own in regard to the alleged sources of its vitality and influence. But let any one try to realise this nominal freedom, and he will find himself, not only in an uncongenial element, but in an attitude of controversy with his ostensible leaders, with the motive forces of the Society. That is not consistent with the sympathetic subordination or co-operation which is essential to…

Marc Demarest shared his notes on Seth Pancoast and a report on a George Felt group research project, an

seth%20pancoast%20notes.pdf

george%20henry%20felt%20chronology.pdf

for the "Invisible Founders" discussion.

He has also…

I used to write a considerable amount, but I ceased the more I realized how little I knew and began to think less of my thoughts. Ego, is a strange thing. Anyhow, it will be good for me to do some introspection, so here's an introduction...

"Son Liu Strahz Danya" is pseudonym; a (silly) phonetical nod to my Ukrainian-Rusyn heritage. I once thought to legally change my name to it as I thought assigning names with predetermined meaning to children before they developed as a…

As I just posted on my Modern Theosophy blog, I resigned my membership this morning. 

Just thought you'd all want to know. Here's my full explanation: http://www.moderntheosophy.com/2011/member-theosophical-society/

Lately I've been thinking about the original founders of the Theosophical Society listed in Colonel Olcott's account, and how little we know about most of them.  Googling "founders of the Theosophical Society" leads largely to repeated assertions that one, two or three are the Founders and none of the rest count.  Thanks to Marc Demarest, Emma Hardinge Britten is emerging from historical obscurity (although we can't quite say that…

 (The Chevalier Louis visits an underground temple in India, and participates in rites of an occult brotherhood)

In all I gazed upon, there was no minutiae of detail; all was colossal, distinct, magnificent, whilst every design, however vast its size, was executed in a style of the most perfect workmanship. The light diffused from the gorgeous planisphere of the roof was soft yet brilliant, and by an arrangement since explained to me,…

The following excerpt is from a recent essay Patrizia Norelli-Bachelet wrote for chapter 11 of her book, The Magical Carousel - a zodiacal odyssey, which describes the 11th sign of the zodiac, Aquarius. The introduction is written to help people recognize that the current uprisings from oppressed peoples in the Middle East, India and elsewhere, are all part of the 'Aquarian wave' or impulse towards freedom and…

I don´t know if there is a problem with giving this information here, but for those who do not know, I inform that the Theosophy Forum, due to a problem with the domain name, is only available now through this URL:


http://z14.invisionfree.com/Theosophy/index.php

Regards,
Paulo

Just want to take a minute and introduce myself properly to the group.  I did not always feel like I do today.  I will not bore everyone with too many details, let us just say that my anger was born during my preteen/ teenage years.  Hating the whole concept of "God" and anyone who tried to control me, whether physically or emotionally.  I set off on my path…

Recently I discovered how the ancient concept of the gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas or balance/harmony, activity, inertia) can be applied to psychological processes. My work on the self-help introduction involved study of material that immensely helped me to integrate these concepts into the decision making process.

Attached you will find a study on the gunas, seen here as qualities of mind, expressed…

I just noticed this new title from McFarland on Google Books.  It includes 35 mentions of Blavatsky due to the suspicion that has fallen on one individual who was associated with the TS.

For most of a decade I took a break from subjects related to esotericism, and focused on my own family history and that of mixed ancestry groups and communities of the US Southeast.  For five years I've been involved with the board of the Melungeon Heritage Association, planning and organizing annual scholarly conferences.  The week after our fifteenth annual gathering, the first in the Carolinas, I was interviewed in Durham along with filmmaker Julie Williams Dixon about…

Hi everyone, I'm back after a hiatus of several months, absorbed in various work that I'll post about over time.  The Church of Light convention and history preconference were delightful, and my research on the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor's history well received.  But Emma Hardinge Britten, and Marc Demarest as her biographer, were the stars of the preconference and returning her major works to print is worth celebrating not just for CofL members or Spiritualists and occult historians but…

Arnaud Desjardins: Cultural Bridge-builder Toward the East Moves On

Rene Wadlow

            Arnaud Desjardins (1925-2011) was a leading figure in introducing the broader French public to the philosophies and religious practices of Asia.  His films devoted to Tibetan Buddhist leaders, Indian religious teachers, Japanese Zen philosophers, and Afghan Sufis were widely shown on French television in the 1960s and early 1970s when…

"The aim of occultism is identically the same as that which is expressed in more or less imperfect language in every exoteric religion. It is union with the Divine. This can only be accomplished in one way, and that is by working with and for the Divine purpose in creation, and since that purpose is good and not evil, is life and not death, is unity and not division, we can only progress according to the energy we exert on the side of those forces which make for righteousness. "

Grounding Our Thoughts

What is grounding? How does one acquire and maintain it during our daily lives?  Most people are familiar with the term "grounding" when dealing with electricity.  We will use the simple example of a lightning rod.  The lightning rod is attached to the house in order to…

"It is your spiritual perception, and ability to create love and balance wherever you go and with whom ever you meet. Living in harmony with all life is a high level of consciousness, and shows that you have achieved a state of Unconditional Love. That Dear Ones is your goal, and you will get there and merge with…