Since the 1970s, I have travelled extensively through Nepal, Bhutan and India, where I met and studied with many spiritual teachers. One subject that has fascinated me throughout those decades is the extraordinary visual world of Tibetan thangkas. I have always been struck by their power, complexity and precision. After many years of study, I … Continue reading The Thangka Book: Sacred Images as Maps of Inner Experience
religion
Imagination as Interface: Western Esotericism and the Ultrasubjective Hyperspace
When the French scholar Antoine Faivre (1934–2021), one of the founders of the academic study of Western esotericism, tried to identify what was characteristic of esoteric thought, he did not define it by a particular doctrine, secret teaching or occult practice. Instead, he described a recurring form of thought. His model became highly influential in … Continue reading Imagination as Interface: Western Esotericism and the Ultrasubjective Hyperspace
TWIM- meditation: Four Stages, One Recognition: Reading the Ariya-Puggala Model From the Lab
The Theravada model of the four stages, stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, fully liberated, is one of the few contemplative maps specific enough to actually test something against. Ten fetters, removed in a fixed order, each with a description precise enough that a practitioner could in principle notice whether it is still operating or not. That specificity … Continue reading TWIM- meditation: Four Stages, One Recognition: Reading the Ariya-Puggala Model From the Lab
The Architecture of Higher-Knowledge Claims
Sri Aurobindo as a Case Study in Esoteric Textual Criticism Jan M. Keppel Hesselink, MD, MSc, PhD. Professor em. molecular pharmacology at University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany, Quinta Quixote international yoga and meditation center, Santa Catarina da Fonte do Bispo, Algarve, Portugal; magickjan7@gmail.com Abstract Esoteric texts can create an overwhelming impression of cognitive depth while yielding … Continue reading The Architecture of Higher-Knowledge Claims
The Persistent Promise of Higher Knowledge
Occult Training, Human Development, and the Problem of Definition In the preface to his Geschichte der Magie of 1844, the physician and magnetic practitioner Joseph Ennemoser formulates what may be read as the central premise of his entire work: “Die wahre Magie liegt in den geheimsten innersten Kräften unseres Geistes.” True magic, he argues, lies … Continue reading The Persistent Promise of Higher Knowledge
Can ancient magic still mean something in the twenty-first century?
In this experimental conversation, we explore whether old magical traditions contain a practical structure that can still be relevant today, once we strip away the archaic language, supernatural claims and historical cosmologies. https://youtu.be/Pwkavv_dYac?si=rRDj1OT_uSATQD5g This is a pilot dialogue for The Inner Laboratory, a project that approaches esoteric traditions as methods of inner investigation. Rather than … Continue reading Can ancient magic still mean something in the twenty-first century?
Sonic Mandalas
Breath, Vowels, Abraxas, and the Gestural Phonology of Altered States Some esoteric formulas are not meant to be translated. They are meant to be voiced. This is the point modern readers often miss. We approach ancient magical words as if they were damaged sentences. We ask which language they belong to, whether they are Greek, … Continue reading Sonic Mandalas
The Oldest Syllabus: The Mithras Liturgy and the Ancient Object of Esoteric Psychology
What I mean by esoteric psychology Readers of this blog know that I have been circling one idea for years, and lately naming it openly: esoteric psychology. The name needs a word of explanation, because it does not mean what it seems to mean. It is not the psychology of people who believe strange things. … Continue reading The Oldest Syllabus: The Mithras Liturgy and the Ancient Object of Esoteric Psychology
What is Esoterism Really? The Pendulum and the Commuter: Why Nobody Can Define Esotericism, and Why That Is Good News
For forty years, scholars have tried to define esotericism. Faivre proposed a form of thought with six components. Hanegraaff traced a history of rejected knowledge. Bergunder called the word an empty signifier that means whatever a given era needs it to mean. Asprem broke the whole thing down into cognitive building blocks. Each definition corrected … Continue reading What is Esoterism Really? The Pendulum and the Commuter: Why Nobody Can Define Esotericism, and Why That Is Good News
How will Esoteric Psychology evolve?
Old Esoteric Psychology and Works in the Interior Laboratory: towards a lived knowledge As many know, we are currently developing a blueprint for a new approach in esoteric psychology. Esoteric psychology is not a new term. It has been used for decades, often in relation to Alice Bailey, the seven rays, esoteric astrology, soul development, … Continue reading How will Esoteric Psychology evolve?
breath4balance 