New Habits

Her first book examines happiness among Church of England nuns. When a friend announcing that she was going to becoming a nun (or more correctly a ‘religious’) the author decided to interview ten more young women who were making the same choice to join a range of different Christian communities ranging from enclosed contemplative communities to Franciscan communities. The interviews cover the women’s feelings about the vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience as well as describing other details of the daily life of a religious sister.

The book is included in the [http://www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents/ministry/workofmindiv/vrsc/ddo/ Diocesan Directors of Ordinands] recommended reading list for those exploring vocation.

The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment

”The Battersea Park Road to Enlightenment” is an exploration of the subject of happiness. In it she tries out many of the ‘New Age’ courses available in the UK that claim to offer routes to inner peace and personal fulfilment. The book explores Insight Seminars, Tai Chi a retreat in a convent, Astrology, Tantric Sexuality, Co-Dependent’s Anonymous, Colonic Irrigation, Rebirthing-breathwork, Past Life Regression with Roger Woolger various forms of massage including Stone Massage and Kahuna Hawaiian massage, Neuro-linguistic Programming, an Anger management workshop, and a workshop on Angels with William Bloom. The book was chosen as Radio 4’s Book of the Week and Isabel performed it herself for the series. The book went on to become a bestsell

For Tibet, with Love. A Beginner’s Guide to Changing the World

”For Tibet, with Love. A Beginner’s Guide to Changing the World” explores what one person can do to make a difference, in this case to the cultural imperialism of the Chinese Government in Tibet. The book was republished in 2005 reversing the title and subtitle so became ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Changing the World’ (which was also the title of the US edition). This second UK edition also had a different ISBN). In 2010 Bloomsbury brought out a new third edition, with a new preface under the original title. In this book Isabel travels to Lhasa explores how individuals and groups can use the media to raise awareness and influence public opinion and finally travels to Dharamsala to interview His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Men! Where the **** Are They?

Her book ”Men!” is a humorous examination of the widely experienced sociological phenomenon of their being many more single and available women over the age of 40 in our cities than men and answers the question “Where are all the interesting and available men?” The book considers the many factors that have produced this discrepancy including an interview with Simon Baron-Cohen, which details the differences between the male and the female brain. During a tour of Ireland to promote the book, she appeared on the renowned Gerry Ryan Show (the interview lasting a whole hour). Following Ryan’s untimely death, she declared that “making Radio with Gerry was better than having sex with most men”.

The Battersea Park Road to Paradise

Her new book ”The Battersea Park Road to Paradise”, (Five Adventures in Being and Doing) explores Feng Shui, Anthony Robbins, Vipassana, Advaita and Shamanism will be published in the UK and US in 2011.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Isabel Losada, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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The core message of the material is that God is within and that humanity is currently going through an unprecedented time of change where it is moving from a God-as-external consciousness to a God-is-within consciousness.

Other core concepts of the material are:

* Humans are eternal angelic beings living out finite physical lifetimes on Earth (human angels). The Earthly experience is only a small part of the soul’s evolution.

* Humanity is at a point in its collective evolution where it is going through an unprecedented time of change as it moves into a new era for humanity, what is being named the era of New Energy.

* This change occurs first and foremost on a personal level, as people go through an individual awakening process and become aware of their divine origins. In Tobias’ words, “you are God also!”. This also awakens people to the fact that they are the sole creator of their own life and experience (there are no victims!)..

* Humanity is transitioning from the age of the mind into the age of divine consciousness, moving beyond a dualistic existence and the limited human mind into a state of unity consciousness and divine intelligence.

* It only takes a small group of forerunners to break down the old paradigms and create the templates for the new ones. That is where so-called ‘Lightworkers’ or ‘Shaumbra’, as well as the new kids (Indigo children) come in, as they are the ones who choose to break out of the mold and clear the path for the rest of humanity to follow, setting a standard and offering

* The teachings and the work of the Crimson Circle is primarily aimed at this group of consciousness workers, guiding them through their own awakening process, stimulating them to take on their role as standard and guide for those who follow, and supporting them as so-called ‘new energy teachers’.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Geoffrey Hoppe, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Early history

The term “Telekinesis” was coined in 1890 by Russian psychical researcher Alexander N. Aksakof (also spelled Aksakov). The term “Psychokinesis” was coined in 1914 by American author-publisher Henry Holt in his book ”On the Cosmic Relations” and adopted by his friend, American parapsychologist J. B. Rhine in 1934 in connection with experiments to determine if a person could influence the outcome of falling dice. Both concepts have been described by other terms, such as “remote influencing”, “distant influencing” “remote mental influence”, “distant mental influence”, “directed conscious intention”, ” anomalous perturbation”, and “mind over matter.” Originally telekinesis was coined to refer to the movement of objects thought to be caused by ghosts of deceased persons, mischievous spirits, angels, demons, or other supernatural forces. Later, when speculation increased that humans might be the source of the witnessed phenomena not caused by fraudulent mediums and could possibly cause movement without any connection to a spiritualistic setting, such as in a darkened séance room, psychokinesis was added to the lexicon. Eventually, psychokinesis became the term preferred by the parapsychological community. Popular culture, however, such as movies, television, and literature, over the years preferred telekinesis to describe the paranormal movement of objects, likely due to the word’s resemblance to other terms, such as telepathy, teleportation, etc.

Modern usage

As research entered the modern era, it became clear that many different, but related, abilities could be attributed to the wider description of psychokinesis and these, along with telekinesis, are now regarded as the specialties of PK. In the 2004 U.S. Air Force-sponsored research report ”Teleportation Physics Study”, the physicist-author Eric Davis, PhD, described the distinction between PK and TK as “telekinesis is a form of PK.” Psychokinesis, then, is the general term that can be used to describe a variety of complex mental force phenomena (including object movement) and telekinesis is used to refer only to the movement of objects, however tiny (a grain of salt, or air molecules to create wind) or large (an automobile, building, or bridge).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Psychokinesis, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Dualism

Although Kabbalah propounds the Unity of God, one of the most serious and sustained criticisms is that it may lead away from monotheism, and instead promote dualism, the belief that there is a supernatural counterpart to God. The dualistic system holds that there is a good power versus an evil power. There are two primary models of Gnostic-dualistic cosmology: the first, which goes back to Zoroastrianism, believes creation is ontologically divided between good and evil forces; the second, found largely in Greco-Roman ideologies like Neo-Platonism, believes the universe knew a primordial harmony, but that a cosmic disruption yielded a second, evil, dimension to reality. This second model influenced the cosmology of the Kabbalah.

According to Kabbalistic cosmology, the Ten Sefirot correspond to ten levels of creation. These levels of creation must not be understood as ten different “gods” but as ten different ways of revealing God, one per level. It is not God who changes but the ability to perceive God that changes.

While God may seem to exhibit dual natures (masculine-feminine, compassionate-judgmental, creator-creation), all adherents of Kabbalah have consistently stressed the ultimate unity of God. For example, in all discussions of Male and Female, the hidden nature of God exists above it all without limit, being called the Infinite or the “No End” (Ein Sof)—neither one nor the other, transcending any definition. The ability of God to become hidden from perception is called “Restriction” (Tzimtzum). Hiddenness makes cr

Later Kabbalistic works, including the ”Zohar”, appear to more strongly affirm dualism, as they ascribe all evil to a supernatural force known as the Sitra Achra (“the other side”) that emanates from God. The “left side” of divine emanation is a negative mirror image of the “side of holiness” with which it was locked in combat. [''Encyclopaedia Judaica'', Volume 6, "Dualism", p.& 244]. While this evil aspect exists within the divine structure of the Sefirot, the ”Zohar” indicates that the Sitra Ahra has no power over Ein Sof, and only exists as a necessary aspect of the creation of God to give man free choice, and that evil is the consequence of this choice. It is not a supernatural force opposed to God, but a reflection of the inner moral combat within mankind between the dictates of morality and the surrender to one’s basic instincts.

Rabbi Dr. David Gottlieb notes that many Kabbalists hold that the concepts of, e.g., a Heavenly Court or the Sitra Ahra are only given to humanity by God as a working model to understand His ways within our own epistemological limits. They reject the notion that a Satan or angels actually exist. Others hold that non-divine spiritual entities were indeed created by God as a means for exacting his will.

According to Kabbalists, humans cannot yet understand the infinity of God. Rather, there is God as revealed to humans (corresponding to Zeir Anpin), and the rest of the infinity of God as remaining hidden from human experience (corresponding to Arich Anpin). One reading of this theology is monotheistic, similar to panentheism; another reading of the same theology is that it is dualistic. Gershom Scholem writes:

Perception of non-Jews

Theologically framed hostility may have been a response to some medieval demonization of Jews which developed in some parts of Western and Christian society and thought, starting with the Patristic writings.

According to Isaac Luria and other commentators on the Zohar, righteous Gentiles don’t have this demonic aspect and are in many ways similar to Jewish souls. A number of prominent Kabbalists, e.g. Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu of Vilna, the author of ”Sefer ha-Brit”, held that only some marginal elements in the humanity represent these demonic forces. On the other hand, the souls of Jewish heretics have much more satanic energy, than the worst of idol worshippers; this view is popular in some Hasidic circles, especially Satmar Hasidim.

Some later Kabbalistic works build and elaborate on these ideas. One point of view is represented by the Hasidic work Tanya, which stresses the uniqueness of the Jewish soul, in order to argue that Jews have an additional level of soul. While a non-Jew, according to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, can achieve a high level of spiritually, similar to an angel, his soul is still fundamentally different in character, but not value, from a Jewish one. A similar view is found in Yehuda Halevi’s medieval philosophical book Kuzari.

On the other hand, many prominent Kabbalists rejected this idea and believed in essential equality of all human souls. Menahem Azariah da Fano, in his book ”Reincarnations of souls”, provides many examples of non-Jewish Biblical figures being reincarnated into Jews, and vice versa; the contemporary Habad Rabbi and mystic Dov Ber Pinson teaches that seemingly discriminatory statements in the Tanya and other Kabbalistic works are not to be understood literally.

Another prominent Habad Rabbi, Abraham Yehudah Khein, believed that spiritually elevated Gentiles have essentially Jewish souls, “who just lack the formal conversion to Judaism”, and that unspiritual Jews are “Jewish merely by their birth documents”. The great 20th century Kabbalist Yehuda Ashlag viewed the terms “Jews” and “Gentile” as different levels of perception, available to every human soul.

David Halperin argues that the collapse of Kabbalah’s influence among Western European Jews over the course of the 17th and 18th Century was a result of the cognitive dissonance they experienced between the negative perception of gentiles found in some exponents of Kabbalah, and their own positive dealings with non-Jews, which were rapidly expanding and improving during this period due to the influence of the Enlightenment.

However, a number of renown Kabbalists claimed the exact opposite. In their view, Kabbalah transcends the borders of Judaism and can serve as a basis of inter-religious theosophy and a universal religion. Rabbi Pinchas Elijah Hurwitz, a prominent Lithuanian-Galician Kabbalist of the 18th century and a moderate proponent of the Haskalah, called for brotherly love and solidarity between all nations, and believed that Kabbalah can empower everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike, with prophetic abilities.

The works of Abraham Cohen de Herrera are full of references to Gentile mystical philosophers. Such approach was particularly common among the Renaissance and post-Renaissance Italian Jews. A number of Italian Kabbalists, e.g. Yohanan Alemanno, David Messer Leon and Abraham Yagel, adhered to humanistic ideals and incorporated teachings of various Christian and pagan mystics.

A prime representative of this humanist stream in Kabbalah was Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh, who explicitly praised Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, as well as a whole range of ancient pagan mystical systems. He believed that Kabbalah can reconcile the differences between the world religions, which represent different facets and stages of the universal human spirituality. In his writings, Benamozegh interprets the New Testament, Hadith, Vedas, Avesta and pagan mysteries according to the Kabbalistic theosophy.

For a different perspective, see Wolfson. He provides extensive documentation to illustrate the prevalence of the distinction between the souls of Jews and non-Jews in kabbalistic literature. He provides numerous examples from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, which would challenge the view of Halperin cited above as well as the notion that “modern Judaism” has rejected or dismissed this “outdated aspect” of the religion. There are still kabbalists today, and many influenced by them, who harbor this view. It is accurate to say that many Jews do and would find this distinction offensive, but it is inaccurate to say that the idea has been totally rejected. As Wolfson has argued, it is an ethical demand on the part of scholars to be vigilant with regard to this matter and in this way the tradition can be refined from within.

However, as explained above, many well known Kabbalists rejected the literal interpretation of these seemingly discriminatory views. They argued that the term “Jew” was to be interpreted metaphorically, as referring to the spiritual development of the soul, rather than the superficial denomination of the individual, and they added a chain of intermediary states between “Jews” and idol worshippers, or spiritualized the very definition of “Jews” and “non-Jews” and argued that a soul can be re-incarnated in different communities as much as within a single one.

Orthodox Judaism

The idea that there are ten divine ”sefirot” could evolve over time into the idea that “God is One being, yet in that One being there are Ten” which opens up a debate about what the “correct beliefs” in God should be, according to Judaism.

Rabbi Saadia Gaon teaches in his book Emunot v’Deot that Jews who believe in reincarnation have adopted a non-Jewish belief.

Nachmanides (12th Century) provides background to many Kabbalistic ideas. His works, especially those in the Five books of Moses (Pentateuch) offer in-depth of various concepts.

Maimonides (12th Century) rejected many of the texts of the Hekalot, particularly ”Shi’ur Qomah” whose starkly anthropomorphic vision of God he considered heretical.

Rabbi Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon, in the spirit of his father Maimonides, Rabbi Saadiah Gaon, and other predecessors, explains at length in his book ”Milhhamot HaShem” that the Almighty is in no way literally within time or space nor physically outside time or space, since time and space simply do not apply to His Being whatsoever. This is in contrast to certain popular understandings of modern Kabbalah which teach a form of panentheism, that His ‘essence’ is within everything.

Around the 1230s, Rabbi Meir ben Simon of Narbonne wrote an epistle (included in his ”Milhhemet Mitzvah”) against his contemporaries, the early Kabbalists, characterizing them as blasphemers who even approach heresy. He particularly singled out the Sefer Bahir, rejecting the attribution of its authorship to the ”tanna” R. Nehhunya ben ha-Kanah and describing some of its content as truly heretical.

Rabbi Yitzchak ben Sheshet Perfet, (The ”Rivash”), 1326–1408. Although as is evident from his response on the topic (157) the Rivash was skeptical of certain interpretations of Kabbalah popular in his time, it is equally evident that overall he did accept Kabbalah as received Jewish wisdom, and attempted to defend it from attackers. To this end he cited and rejected a certain philosopher who claimed that Kabbalah was “worse than Christianity”, as it made God into 10, not just into three. Most followers of Kabbalah have never followed this interpretation of Kabbalah, on the grounds that the concept of the Christian Trinity posits that there are three persons existing within the Godhead, one of whom became a human being. In contrast, the mainstream understanding of the Kabbalistic ”Sefirot” holds that they have no mind or intelligence; further, they are not addressed in prayer and they cannot become a human being. They are conduits for interaction, not persons or beings. Nonetheless, many important poskim, such as Maimonidies in his work Mishneh Torah, prohibit any use of mediators between oneself and the Creator as a form of idolatry.

Rabbi Leone di Modena, a 17th century Venetian critic of Kabbalah, wrote that if we were to accept the Kabbalah, then the Christian trinity would indeed be compatible with Judaism, as the Trinity closely resembles the Kabbalistic doctrine of the ”Sefirot”. This critique was in response to the knowledge that some European Jews of the period addressed individual ”Sefirot” in some of their prayers, although the practise was apparently uncommon. Apologists explain that Jews may have been praying ”for” and not necessarily ”to” the aspects of Godliness represented by the ”Sefirot”.

Rabbi Yaakov Emden, 1697–1776, wrote the book ”Mitpahhath Sfarim” (Veil of the Books), a detailed critique of the ”Zohar” in which he concludes that certain parts of the ”Zohar” contain heretical teaching and therefore could not have been written by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Opponents of his work claim that he wrote the book in a drunken stupor. Emden’s rationalistic approach to this work, however, makes neither intoxication nor stupor seem plausible.

Rabbi Yihhyah Qafahh, an early 20th century Yemenite Jewish leader and grandfather of Rabbi Yosef Qafih, also wrote a book entitled ”Milhhamoth HaShem”, (Wars of the L-RD) against what he perceived as the false teachings of the ”Zohar” and the false Kabbalah of Isaac Luria. He is credited with spearheading the Dor Daim who continue in R. Yihhyah Qafahh’s view of Kabbalah into modern times.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz 1903–1994, brother of Nechama Leibowitz, though Modern Orthodox in his world view, publicly shared the views expressed in R. Yihhyah Qafahh’s book ”Milhhamoth HaShem” and elaborated upon these views in his many writings.

There is dispute among modern Haredim as to the status of Isaac Luria’s, the Arizal’s kabbalistic teachings. While a portion of Modern Orthodox Rabbis, Dor Daim and many students of the Rambam, completely reject Arizal’s Kabbalistic teachings, as well as deny that the ”Zohar” is authoritative, or from Shimon bar Yohai, all three of these groups completely accept the existence and validity of ”Ma’aseh Merkavah” and ”Ma’aseh B’resheet” mysticism. Their only disagreement concerns whether the Kabbalistic teachings promulgated today are accurate representations of those esoteric teachings to which the Talmud refers. Within the Haredi Jewish community one can find both rabbis who sympathize with such a view, while not necessarily agreeing with it, as well as rabbis who consider such a view absolute heresy.

Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Judaism

Since all forms of reform or liberal Judaism are rooted in the Enlightenment and tied to the assumptions of European modernity, Kabbalah tended to be rejected by most Jews in the Conservative and Reform movements, though its influences were not completely eliminated. While it was generally not studied as a discipline, the Kabbalistic ”Kabbalat Shabbat” service remained part of liberal liturgy, as did the ”Yedid Nefesh” prayer. Nevertheless, in the 1960s, Rabbi Saul Lieberman of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, is reputed to have introduced a lecture by Scholem on Kabbalah with a statement that Kabbalah itself was “nonsense”, but the academic study of Kabbalah was “scholarship”. This view became popular among many Jews, who viewed the subject as worthy of study, but who did not accept Kabbalah as teaching literal truths.

According to Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson (Dean of the Conservative Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in the American Jewish University)

However, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries there has been a revival in interest in Kabbalah in all branches of liberal Judaism. The Kabbalistic 12th century prayer ”Anim Zemirot” was restored to the new Conservative ”Sim Shalom” ”siddur”, as was the ”B’rikh Shmeh” passage from the Zohar, and the mystical ”Ushpizin” service welcoming to the ”Sukkah” the spirits of Jewish forbearers. ”Anim Zemirot” and the 16th Century mystical poem ”Lekhah Dodi” reappeared in the Reform Siddur ”Gates of Prayer” in 1975. All Rabbinical seminaries now teach several courses in Kabbalah—in Conservative Judaism, both the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles have fulltime instructors in Kabbalah and ”Hasidut”, Eitan Fishbane and Pinchas Geller, respectively. In the Reform movement Sharon Koren teaches at the Hebrew Union College. Reform Rabbis like Herbert Weiner and Lawrence Kushner have renewed interest in Kabbalah among Reform Jews. At the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, the only accredited seminary that has curricular requirements in kabbalah, Joel Hecker is the fulltime instructor teaching courses in kabbalah and hasidut.

According to Artson:

The Reconstructionist movement, under the leadership of Arthur Green in the 1980s and 1990s, and with the influence of Zalman Schachter Shalomi brought a strong openness to kabbalah and hasidic elements that then came to play prominent roles in the Kol ha-Neshamah siddur series.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Kabbalah, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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The approaches known collectively as “energy therapies” vary widely in philosophy, approach, and origin. The ways in which this energy is used, modified, or manipulated to effect healing also vary. For example, acupressure involves manual stimulation of pressure-points, while some forms of yoga rely on breathing exercises. Many therapies, in regards to the given explanation for their supposed efficacy, are predicated on some form of energy unknown to current science. In this case, the given energy is sometimes referred to as putative energy.

However “subtle energy” is often equated with empirically understood forces, for example, some equate the aura with electromagnetism. Such energies are termed “veritable” as opposed to “putative”. Some alternative therapies, such as electromagnetic therapy, use veritable energy, though they may still make claims that are not supported by evidence. Many claims have been made by associating “spirit” with forms of energy poorly understood at the time. In the 1800s, electricity and magnetism were in the “borderlands” of science and electrical quackery was rife. In the 2000s, quantum mechanics and grand unification theory provide similar opportunities.

Insofar as the proposed properties of “subtle energy” are not those of physical energy, there can be no physical scientific evidence for the existence of such “energy”. Therapies that purport to use, modify, or manipulate unknown energies are therefore among the most controversial of all comp

Vitalism and spirituality in the age of electricity

The successes of the era of the Enlightenment in the treatment of energy in natural science was intimately bound up with attempts to study the energies of life, as when Luigi Galvani’s neurological investigations led to the development of the Voltaic cell. Many scientists continued to think that living organisms must be constituted of special materials subject to special forces – a view which became known as vitalism. Mesmer, for example, sought an animal magnetism that was unique to life.

As microbiologists studied embryology and developmental biology, particularly before the discovery of the genes, a variety of organisational forces were posited to account for the observations. From the time of Driesch, however, the importance of “energy-fields” began to wane and the proposed forces became more mind-like. Sometimes, however, as in the work of Harold Saxton Burr, the electromagnetic fields of organisms have been studied precisely as the hypothetical medium of such organisational “forces”.

The attempt to associate additional energetic properties with life has been all but abandoned in modern research science, but, despite this, spiritual writers and thinkers have maintained connections to these ideas and continue to promote them either as useful allegories or as fact.

Some early advocates of these ideas were particularly attracted to the history of the unification of electromagnetism and its implications for the storage, transference, and conversion of physical energy through electric and magnetic fields. Potentials and fields were viewed after the work of James Clerk Maxwell as physical phenomena rather than mathematical abstractions. Aware of this history, spiritual writers positivistically adopted much of the language of physical science, speaking of “force fields” and “biological energy”. Concepts such as the “life force”, “physiological gradient”, and “élan vital” that emerged from the spiritualist movement would inspire later thinkers in the modern New Age movement.

* Vitalism – Johannes Reinke, Entelechy of Driesch

* Élan vital of Henri Bergson

* Recapitulation theory of Ernst Haeckel

* Morphic field of biologist Rupert Sheldrake

* L-field of Harold Saxton Burr

* Kirlian Photography of Semyon Davidovich Kirlian – The Body Electric

* Odic force of chemist Carl von Reichenbach

* Psychoenergetics of Professor William A. Tiller

* Animal magnetism of Franz Anton Mesmer

* Vril of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton

* Walter Kilner

* Somatotype and Constitutional Psychology of William Sheldon

Modern western psychotherapies

These are therapeutic approaches that depend on the idea of “energy”. The following are mostly neo-Reichian therapies that aim to release emotional tension from the body;

* Body Psychotherapy and Somatic psychology

* Orgone energy and Vegetotherapy of Wilhelm Reich

* Bioenergetic analysis of Alexander Lowen

* Rebirthing-Breathwork of Leonard Orr

* Rolfing therapy of Ida Pauline Rolf

* Orgonomy, the American College of Orgonomy

* David Boadella

* Gerda Boyesen

* Integrative Body Psychotherapy IBP

* Myron Sharaf

Parapsychology

These pages do not cover all of parapsychology, but only those that are concerned with some “energy”. Some effects studied in that discipline, such as telepathy and dowsing at a distance, are by nature attempting to go beyond normal time-space, so these are excluded.

* Parapsychology

* Paranormal phenomena

* Aura

* Out-of-body experience – as in Astral projection

* Reincarnation – rebirth in a new physical body

* Apparitional experiences – phenomena attributed to ghosts and haunted places, also spirits, fairies, angels, daemons and demons

* Ectoplasm – a type of energy-field referred to by Victorian spiritualists

* Radiesthesia – perception of biofields

* Radionics – study of action at a distance using electronic equipment

Chinese vitalism

The traditional explanation of acupuncture states that it works by manipulating the circulation of qi energy through a network of meridians. There is no scientific evidence for these so, to the extent that acupuncture is regarded as efficacious in western medicine, its effects are usually described as palliative and obtained physiologically by blocking or stimulating nerve cells and causing changes in the perception of pain in the brain. However the idea of qi is not confined to medicine, as it appears throughout traditional east Asian culture, for example, in the art of Feng Shui, in Chinese martial arts and spiritual tracts.

* Qi in Taoism – Qigong – Jing Qi Shen – Internal alchemy

* Meridian of Acupuncture – Shiatsu

Indian vitalism

* Prana, Doshas, Chakra, Kosha, Kundalini in Indian Ayurveda and Yoga

* Subtle body – the Etheric Body and Astral Body in Theosophy

Spiritual Healing

Introduction

Spiritual Healing is a subject which is of interest to both academic and medical organisations. While it has been shown to work, Hodges and Scofield suggest it involves a currently undetectable form of energy.

Ancient beliefs and practices

As noted in the section comparing Spiritualism with the Occult religion, spirits were contacted to obtain powers, but only for healing. Shamanism can be considered an early form of Spiritual Healing in that a belief in spirits was incorporated into healing practices, by people now known as ”Witch Doctors”. By the Middle Ages, healing had become associated with witchcraft, the punishment for which included burning at the stake. During the course of 600 years from approximately 1200 A.D., at least 4 million women were killed. From the 1700s onward, healing of the body, mind and spirit were considered separate practices having previously been done on a holistic basis.

Healing today

Spiritual healing is based on the belief that a healer is able to channel ”healing energy” into the person seeking help (”patient”) by different methods. This may sometimes be perceived as a feeling of heat, as noted in an article in ”The Times” newspaper about Spiritual Healing in the British National Health Service. The article also comments that, unlike faith healing, the religion of the patient or healer is not relevant. The Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine contained a discussion paper reviewing the effectiveness of spiritual healing. ”Figure 1” explained how research into the growth of cress seeds was conducted, some of which had been damaged (”stressed”) by soaking in saline solution. This showed the benefit after 5 days when healing was used on damaged seeds (”growth stage 7”) compared to those which had been damaged but not healed (”growth stage 5.5”).

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By: Bobby Parrish
What is an angel and when did they first exist?

For Christians and most other religious cultures and traditions, angels have been known to exist since the beginning of time and creation.

Many people have established the concept that angels are spiritual beings with their place in Heaven, whose primary purpose is to act as messengers and some as soldiers of God.

Based on Biblical scriptures, God speaks in the language of light whereas humans speak in the language of sound, which is a supreme power that can prove damaging and destructive to man, and this is where angels come in.

Angels are believed to play their roles similar to that of voltage step-down transformers that carry lower levels of energy which are tolerable to humans, especially with the language used by angels to communicate with man.

This is mainly because God, in His perfect form and being, is too powerful for man to comprehend and man’s sinful nature does not allow him to come in contact with God who is blameless and sinless.

There are at least 30 types of angles commonly known to man, especially from several traditional religions aside from Christianity.

Many followers and those who are deep into the study of angels have classified angels into several categories, which according to them is based on an order of spiritual hierarchy, the most common of which are Archangels, Principalities, Seraphim, Powers, Dominions and Cherubims.

The reasons for this classification, according to them, is that each one operates at different and varying frequencies and angels relay these messages to humans who best understand or comprehend these frequencies.

Other followers also believe that angels also have different spiritual levels and according to them, these spiritual beings reside in Heaven. These theorists believe that like us humans on earth, there also exists different animal species that cohabit the earth with us and this theory of coexistence is how these advocates base their beliefs on.

Another group of angel followers claim that no more than 30% of angels that exist have wings, as commonly depicted in many works of art and popular descriptions.

According to a study group that conducted an intensive study of angels based on documentary and alleged historical data, led them to conclude that only 30% of angels have wings, while 70% of them do not have wings.

The 30% of angels that have wings are of the lowest order of angels are believed to be the ones communicating with humans to give either warnings or deliver a message from Heaven.

Meanwhile, some traditional philosophers and scholars believe that angels communicate to people regarding worldly matters, but do not necessarily make themselves visible to everyone on earth.

They also believe that while angels have often provided guidance and have made their presence felt in many people, they basically do not function as guardian angels, as what is popularly known.

Can humans see angels?

Many spiritual researchers claim that since angels are subtle spiritual beings that take on the exist in spirit form, they are ideally not visible to the ordinary human eye.

They in claim that angels can only be seen with the help of advanced and activated extrasensory perception or ESP and the manner by which angels communicate with humans is through the introduction of thoughts and concepts in the human mind.

Although we have these ideas about what is an angel all about, it will still be considered just as a diverse school of thought will still remain to be a mystery.

Bobby Parrish owns Bluff City Press, a general information and opinion blog and is a contributor to several general information blogs and article directories. He is also a Black Belt in Kajukenbo Karate and writes about several martial arts disciplines. Aditionally, he owns Pepper-Spray-Online.com, a non-lethal self defense company. He can be reached at bobby@bluffcitypress.com

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There are many energy beings available to assist us in our spiritual growth. Some of the groups of helpers are the Angels, the Master Teachers, and Spirit Guides. What are Spirit Guides and how do they differ from some of the other helpers?

Spirit Guides are helpers who are here to assist us to obtain information that exists in the Universe. They can be very helpful and can empower our lives greatly when we learn to acknowledge them and begin to communicate with them, allowing them to assist us in our endeavors and on our path to spiritual awakening.

Just like when we go to a vacation spot far away and are unfamiliar with the terrain, a knowledgeable tour guide is an invaluable asset to have. The tour guide knows his way around the area, knows the short cuts and the best routes to take to get there, knows the sites that most likely you will find enjoyable and that are worthwhile visiting. They have the knowledge or know-how to get information that you need to make your experience better.

Spirit Guides are like these tour guides, except they know where to access and retrieve data and information available in the Universe. Kind of like a librarian in the Great Universal Library of the Akashic Records. They know how to access all of the information or knowledge that is in these records, and can easily bring it to us. Whether or not we can always understand the information being given to us may depend on our own level of awareness and our own ability to interpret what information our Spirit Guide brings to us.

That’s why it is ver

To begin communicating with your Spirit Guides you will need to set aside some quiet time when you can calm your mind from all the normal day-to-day distractions. Turn off the television, the phone, and anything else that can distract you from your goal of making contact with your Spirit Guide.

Begin by doing some deep breathing. You will find that by taking slow and deliberate breaths, in and out, you will feel your energy shift. Breathe in deeply. Hold that breath in for a count of seven, then slowly exhale. If you will do a series of deep breathing like this it will greatly increase your ability to get into the right space for communicating with your Spirit Guide.

Now silently say a prayer. Ask for protection and ask for guidance. Ask humbly that your Spirit Guide begin to communicate with you. Use words like “please” and “thank you”.

When you ask humbly and sincerely, you will find success. If you are unsure if you are getting anywhere, just be patient, and give thanks. Ask your Spirit Guide to show you a sign, or ask them to give you their name, or to send you a message.

Sometimes you will get an immediate response. Sometimes it takes longer to recognize the messages you are getting. Don’t give up. Just keep asking every day and you will soon find that guidance is being given to you.

You might start to experience a series of coincidences. That is really your Spirit Guide trying to communicate with you. Pay attention to those coincidences. You will soon be able to notice small signs along the way as you go about your daily routine. That is spirit communicating with you.

Spirit Guides differ in purpose from Angels and Master Teachers in that Spirit Guides help assist us to obtain, perceive and interpret data and knowledge. Angels assist us by bringing us protection, healing and transformational energies. Master Teachers transfer knowledge of the Higher Laws and Mysteries, bringing illumination and profound wisdom.

Copyright © 2005 Sherry Sims

With a strong background in Alternative Healing methods since 1987, Sherry brings all of those tools to the table and integrates them into her powerful Tarot Readings, EFT Clearing Sessions and Hypnosis Healing work. Her background includes Tarot, Angel and Spirit Guide Communication, Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy, EFT aka Emotional Freedom Technique, Reiki, Pranic Healing, Intuitive Coaching and Counseling, Aura Interpretation and Balancing, and Law of Attraction Work.

Sherry has worked with thousands of people to bring balance and healing to their lives through one-on-one sessions, group presentations, workshops, distance healing and telephone consultations. She has written numerous articles and has appeared on television and radio, as well as having participated in countless Health Expos and Self-Help Events. Her uplifting and empowering presentation style is light-hearted and joyful, and makes transforming your life easy and fun.

For more from Sherry Sims visit http://www.Psychic-Coach.com and http://www.Success-CDs.com

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By: Joe Hurley
“You are a divine being. You have access to a higher dimensional state of awareness. You can access the higher dimensional awareness and use this wisdom to awaken and heal.”

Approaching new ways of thought.

Yes, it is possible to resolve many body symptoms by taking a very proactive approach to healing. The biggest hurdle we must take is to expand our awareness of the process. We must open up to a new way of thought.

1. The physical body is not truly solid. The physical body is really made up of slow moving particles operating within our physical vibrational fields.

2. Vibrational fields are intelligent! They communicate information at all times.

3. Many physical symptoms are vibrational fields communicating conflict. Symptoms are energy sources of information that are not at peace and not in alignment with each other. This can create dis-ease.

To summarize: Many physical symptoms are intelligent energies that are in conflict, out of alignment and are in a state of disharmony.

Approaching new ways of communication.

So what is the conflict about? Remember that we are not just communicating on the slower moving vibrational levels of physical reality. We are also communicating on the higher levels of mental, emotional and spiritual reality.

1. Use the language of intuition to translate the two conflicting energies out of physical discomfort and into something that makes sense to the intellect. Focus on the intent and let go of the struggle and effort and then let the information come up.

2. Like with any conflict mediation, after the two parties have been clearly listened to and heard, then we can draw wisdom into the situation from a new perspective. Get a new perspective from the higher aspect of self or from an outside source that is clear.

3. With the new perspective from the higher self, intuition, angels, guides, spirit and God, you begin to see and know the larger picture. You begin to see how you fit into the larger unfolding dynamic of multidimensional reality.

4. From the larger picture, there is unlimited wisdom and love. From the larger picture all the divine energies are here and available to help you and be with you. Connect with these energies and open to the information and the experience. Step into a new way of being that is more comfortable. Allow healing, abundance, and joy. This is your time.

Joe Hurley

Author Bio

Joe Hurley is an author, healing energy consultant, and multidimensional communication specialist from Seattle, Washington. His books include: When Spirits Dance, How To Be A Divine Presence In Everyday Life, Parables of Light, Beyond Illusion, Divine Heart Presence, and The Four-Step Guide To Self-Healing. For his free self-healing guide, newsletter, blog and other articles, please visit his website: http://www.TheDivineHeart.com

A place for heart wisdom, healing, and pure unconditional love.

Copyright 2007 Joe Hurley All Rights Reserved

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By: Laura Bartolini Mendelsohn

Can prayers really help you get healing? Are angels or spiritual guides just fantasy or are they really at the other end of your whisper for help?

Laura, a shy 17 year old, could not wait to get home from the world renowned Hospital For Special Surgery that excruciatingly hot day in New York, July 1970. As soon as she arrived, she leapt to her bedroom throwing her face on her pillow, sobbing uncontrollably. No amount of pounding fists or furious tears could change her fate. The doctors had recommended an operation, which would put her in a body caste for a year and would force her to learn to walk again! She was devastated.

She had been diagnosed with scoliosis and a severe lower back injury, which could cause her to lose the ability to walk later in life. She had heard about scoliosis, but now she was the one burdened with this deformity beneath baggy clothes and a “great personality.”

On that hot July day Laura decided, “No way. I am not going to have this scary operation.” She decided to live with her twisted body and lower back pain well into young adulthood, accepting her “ugly” fate stoically.

In her late twenties, she began experimenting for a healing, trying different, unorthodox treatments, since the medical establishment had no hope for her.

At one point she even bought a bar on which to hang upside down from special “gravity boots.” Every day she would hang there for 30 minutes or so hoping gravity would be her ally and readjust those crooked bones.

One day as she hung upside down she decided to pray for a solution from God. Perhaps it was the extra blood rushing to her head, but until that moment, she had never had the inspiration to ask in prayer for help.

Shortly after she began those prayers, she started having dreams of being a ballerina. She had so many of them she began to get the message. Ballerina’s all had magnificently straight spines!

It was difficult starting ballet at 28 years old but after each lesson, she would feel and look straighter, taller and more symmetrical. One day after about a year into this, her mother exclaimed, “You are getting straighter! This is a miracle!” Laura already knew it was working and smiled secretly to herself.

Her spine continued to improve. Laura moved from being the quiet girl to being a sought out social butterfly. She even became an avid ballroom and Latin dancer, an entire social life and artistic expression blossoming around it. She had been led by her dreams after praying for help, to a healing and it had worked!

I can testify this story is real, because it is about myself.

We all have access to the power of spirit. However, your spiritual resources are not going to rally to your support until you firmly and deliberately ask for it.

Try this little exercise. Identify a challenge you are now having in your life. Now get into a relaxed state, either through deep breathing and a quieting of your mind, or just before falling off to sleep at night. After you relax, ask a higher power, God, to help you solve the problem. See it being solved; see yourself shining and exuberantly happy with a solution.

Keep a journal next to your bed at night. If you are awakened with a dream write down what you saw. Within these dreams you might have found the answer to your problem. The answer might come from reading an article, which prompts a solution. You might speak to a friend who tells you a story about someone who had a similar concern and how they solved it. The answer can come from anywhere. But you have to ask for guidance, and then remain open and alert to receiving the answer.

Laura Bartolini Mendelsohn

Author Bio

Laura Bartolini Mendelsohn, Spiritual Counselor, Writer and Teacher, helps people solve problems and create success with wise guidance from spirit. Order your FREE Report now, “Intuitive Magic 360″ from her website http://www.angelwisdomcoaching.com/ .

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?Discomfort is not a problem to be solved, not an enemy to be fought, not a monster to escape from; but instead an energetic relationship within, to be owned with courage and grace, and transformed through total acceptance, divine wisdom, and love.?

Joe Hurley

We all experience discomfort at one point or another in our lives. And many people have been experiencing some intense discomfort lately. In this article, I focus on the subject of healing discomfort.

As an energy sensitive person, I sense disharmony in very acute ways. I sense disharmony both internally within myself and externally within the dynamics around me.

Earlier in life, I became lost in the discomfort I sensed. I became so lost that I adopted an identity of being a victim. Thank goodness those days are gone. Today, I have expanded my consciousness and my identity beyond the role of victim and beyond any role that I choose to play. Today, from an expanded place of consciousness, I have much more freedom and choice with regard to the energy dynamics that I choose to work with, play with, and create.

Today, when I sense disharmony and discomfort, I take the time to really face it, sense it, listen to it and learn from it. And then, I shift. Instead of getting stuck in it, I open up to my higher self and I ask for divine wisdom.

Sometimes, I get clear information immediately to help me. Other times I get nothing, but hours later when I am not thinking about it, the wisdom and support that I need to resolve the disharmony comes in to heal the discomfort

There are many gifts that come from the higher frequencies of divine awareness. My favorites are the energies of courage, grace, wisdom, and love. These are the tools of lighter consciousness that always come when I ask for help. These are the energies of light that are available to all of us when we choose to open and heal.

We are each beings of light consciousness. When we accept the lighter and higher vibrational parts of our self, we heal, and we begin to create the loving joyful life that we truly desire.

If you are experiencing discomfort right now then turn and look at it directly. Listen to it. Sense it. Feel it. Hear what it saying and know it completely.

Discomfort is communicating to you. Open to this communication. You may not like the dynamic now, but open to the wisdom of the communication and respect the source of your discomfort. Discomfort exists for a reason. As you understand this, you gain the key to healing your discomfort.

If you get confused by your discomfort or lost in your reaction to your discomfort, then remember to open to the wisdom and love of your higher consciousness. And remember to let go of control. Let the clarity and support come in ways never before imagined.

There is an unlimited supply of courage, grace, wisdom, and unconditional love flowing through your fields to help and support you. These energies are free and available to you, right now. These energies are you.

With courage, you can face anything. With divine wisdom, you can become clear in any situation. With grace you can let go and accept unconditional love within any dynamic.

Simply take a moment and ask your divine energies to guide you, inspire you, and heal you. Give permission, open, and receive.

This is your time.

Joe Hurley is an author, healing energy consultant and multidimensional communication specialist from Seattle, Washington. His books include: When Spirits Dance, How To Be A Divine Presence In Everyday Life, Parables of Light, Beyond Illusion, Divine Heart Presence, and The Four-Step Guide To Self-Healing. For his free self-healing guide, newsletter, blog and other articles please visit his website: www.TheDivineHeart.com A place for heart wisdom, healing, and pure unconditional love. Copyright 2007 Joe Hurley All Rights Reserved

Joe Hurley

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