Personal Responsibility
I must, however, once more warn the student against treating any book as conveying absolute and incontrovertible truth. The books in the Temple Library, as well those listed below, are rich sources of ideas: but each idea should be considered and tested against the student's personal living experience before it is incorporated into the edifice of a personal philosophy of life.At the same time, I must advise against rejecting any new idea out of hand. Some of the ideas presented, often symbolically, may seem absurd to those who have all their lives been immersed in a culture of undiluted literal materialism, and it may then be necessary to suspend disbelief and try at least to entertain strange notions long enough to discover whether or not they might be accommodated within a wider mental perspective. So please read critically but tolerantly, and consider whether and how each new idea might fit into a coherent personal system of thought.
I myself have integrated many of the ideas presented in the Temple Library and in these references into my personal philosophy, but I still have reservations about accepting notions which seem inconsistent with those key ideas upon which my personal philosophy is founded. I am, of course, still learning: and it is quite possible that, given further enlightenment, I may advance to a higher level of consciousness from which some or all of these difficulties will be resolved. There have undoubtedly been occasions on which a stone, once rejected by the builders, has later become a capstone.
My sole intention is to make the sincere seeker for personal truth aware of a few signposts which will help him or her to explore the accessible Universe and establish a satisfying personal relationship with it.
Books M and N have been added to the List to coincide with the publication of Music as Meaningful Vibrations in August, 2006.
The book contains the material presented in three lectures delivered at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, in 1949, when the memory of World War 2, fought in defence of liberty against dictatorial usurpation, was still fresh in the minds of his hearers.
Lecture Titles:
The book was re-published by Humanities Press, New Jersey, in 1996. The following is an extract from the publisher's blurb:
"The concern for community, or persons in relation, has become one of the major preoccupations of many of the cutting-edge debates in contemporary philosophy and religion and is inspiring new directions in moral theory within those circles. Indeed, it can be said that Macmurray's work is really a 'philosophy of community'".
This edition of the book carries an introduction by A R C Duncan, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Chapter Headings:
Schurι's work, with its Endnotes, casts a particularly helpful light on the Mysteries referred to in some of the Masonic Lectures which form the backbone of the Ardue University course of study.
First published in Paris in 1889, The Great Initiates was republished in English translation by Steinerbooks in 1961. The publisher says:
The 1961 edition of the book carries an introduction by Paul M Allen.
Chapter Headings:
The authors tell a fascinating story ranging widely in space-time and uncovering many links between artefacts and astronomy, religion and ritual, nature and navigation. The book contains much food for contemplation, especially when read in connection with Albert Pike's Lectures.
Part One of the book consists of fourteen chapters constituting a history of the development of Freemasonry. A summary of conclusions at the end of each chapter helps the busy student to identify the main themes and concentrate his attention on those of immediate interest.
Part Two, The Masonic Testament, is a concise re-presentation in sixteen chapters of the history and principles of Freemasonry.
The book ends with a Time-Line, three informative Appendices, a comprehensive Bibliography, and a helpful index.
"The tradition of the Grail has not stood still, but is an evolving one, changing with each succeeding generation of seekers who set out upon the long and often difficult path of discovery. This new collection examines the lives and works of key figures who have changed our understanding of the Grail throughout the ages.
"Beginning with the unknown story-tellers of the Celtic cultures, who first told of the miraculous vessel, and proceeding to three of the greatest medieval writers on the subject Chrιtien de Troyes, Robert de Boron and Sir Thomas Malory, The Household of the Grail continues by way of Charles Williams, Dion Fortune and Carl Jung, among others, to the modern mythographer Joseph Campbell.
"Each essay sheds light on a different aspect of the Grail, and the whole compilation together forms an extraordinarily varied picture of this magical and fascinating symbol. As well as highlighting the work of some outstanding individuals who have each carried forward the vitality of the Grail tradition, this unique account will illuminate and extend our own understanding of the power and relevance of the Grail in our own world."
The publisher writes:
"With his philosophical and scientific training, Steiner brought a new systematic discipline to the field of spiritual research, allowing for fully conscious methods and comprehensive results. A natural seer, he cultivated his spiritual vision to a high degree, enabling him to speak with authority on previously veiled mysteries.
"A sample of his work is to be found in this book of edited texts, which brings together excerpts from his many talks and writings on the theme of The Holy Grail. This volume also features an editorial introduction, commentary and notes."
Steiner's works do not make easy reading for the great majority of present-day readers, but regular visitors to this site will probably include a few who will appreciate the depth of wisdom in this little book in which the editor has done a fine job in selection and presentation.
Contents:
Introduction: The Quest for the Renewal of the Mysteries in Christianity by the Editor.
Part One: THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY:
"Lynne McTaggart's book is a highly readable scientific detective story which reveals how the Field is responsible for many of the most profound human mysteries, from alternative medicine and spiritual healing to extra-sensory perception and the collective unconscious."
Contents:
"In The Presence of the Past Rupert Sheldrake's explosive scientific theory provides a new and radical solution to the conundrums of life. Dr Sheldrake's hypothesis is that memory is inherent in nature all natural systems from crystals to man inherit a collective memory of their kind. Thus, rabbits are rabbit-shaped not only because nature has a 'morphic field', in their case a rabbit-habit, that informs their growth and instinctive behaviour. According to Dr Sheldrake's theory of 'formative causation', this inherent memory depends on 'morphic resonance', a process that involves action at a distance in both space and time. Far from being stored as material traces within our brains, our own memories result from our tuning in to ourselves in the past."
Contents:
Introduction: The Habits of Nature
"Ouspensky describes Gurdjieff's teachings in fascinating detail, providing a stellar introduction to the universal view of both student and teacher, and inspiring great thinkers and writers of ensuing spiritual movements. In a new foreword, the highly acclaimed Marianne Williamson shares the influence of the book on her own life, providing a contemporary look at a timeless classic.
"P D Ouspensky was born in Moscow in 1878. A highly respected intellectual, he wrote The Fourth Dimension, Tertium Organum, and A New Model of the Universe, among others. In Search of the Miraculous was posthumously published in 1949, two years after his death."
As the book is written in the form of a narrative recounting the development Ouspensky's personal relationship with Gurdjieff, the book has to be attentively read in order to discern the full meaning of the ideas discussed therein.
Themes:
Among the many themes presented in Gurdjieff's lectures are:
After parting company with his "Master" in 1918, Ouspensky gave talks and lectures expounding the teachings. Verbatim extracts fron the talks and answers to questions given by Ouspensky between 1921 and 1946 are given in The Fourth Way The Teachings of G I Gurdjieff, published as an Arkana Paperback in 1986.
Paul Brunton, PhD, 1898-1981, was widely recognised as an authority on Eastern mystical philosophy. This book is the culmination of many years of research, study, and self-discipline. The author writes:
Contents:
The following is an extract from the publisher's blurb:
For the first time, Dr Weiss takes patients into the future in a responsible, healing way. Using dozens of case histories, he demonstrates the therapeutic benefits of progression therapy, just as he has shown that journeys into our past lives can cure physical or emotional wounds in the present.
Rudolf Steiner's work (translated by Christopher Bamford and published by the Anthroposophic Press) can safely be recommended. It is clear, comprehensive, and practical, thus making it particularly helpful to the student who works alone without the help of a school.
Contents:
Chapter VIII, entitled Mediation: Geometry becomes Music, is an essential introduction to the "science of mediation" and the relationship between form and sound.
The chapter headings are:
If you do not possess either of these, a very interesting FREE alternative, Wikipedia, may be consulted via the Web. Point your browser at Wikipedia Main Page
Further references may be suggested as we proceed, but the books mentioned above should provide highly nourishing mental sustenance.
The List
A. Conditions of Freedom by John Macmurray
Early in the Summer of 1954, after I had graduated in Pure Science at Edinburgh University and was about to commence study for a Diploma in Education, Professor John Pilley sent each of his prospective students a list of six books he recommended be read before beginning the formal course. One of these books, Conditions of Freedom, by John Macmurray, then Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University, had a profoundly beneficial influence on my subsequent life, and I strongly recommend it to all lovers of liberty. I believe it is still in print.
B. Interpreting the Universe by John Macmurray
As the title implies, this book is directly relevant to the concept of a University as a forum for dispassionate study of the Universe.
"John Macmurray argued that philosophers should learn to think from the standpoint of action, which involves participation in real life, and not from the perspective of the pure thinking self for whom the world is an object. At the heart of all his work was his attempt to reverse modern philosophy's commitment to an 'egocentric' starting-point, with the self understood primarily as thinker withdrawn from action and participation in the world. Macmurray did not reject the work of philosophy as a reflective activity, but he tried to recast its role in the service of more fulfilling and more basic personal communion with the world and, ultimately, with God.
C. The Great Initiates by Edouard Schurι
Since time immemorial, human beings have contemplated the Universe and sought to understand its meaning and their own place in it. The striving continues, but it is helpful to revue what is known of the living tradition, as well as the history, of the struggle and gain some recognition of the constructive contributions of some of the great names of the past.
"The Great Initiates encompasses long centuries of human existence and reflects our great search the greatest search of all the quest for the spirit. This book describes the motivation behind external history, the growth of religious striving, the rise and fall of cultures, and indicates their importance for us today. It reflects the lives and deeds of human beings of extraordinary stature. In these pages one witnesses spiritual adventure of a depth and intensity rarely experienced by creative human beings, even in their most exalted moments. This aliveness, this freshness, this excitement of discovery, which breathes through The Great Initiates, may well explain its continuing popularity after over a century."
D. The Book of Hiram by Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas
First published by Random House in 2003, this book is the fruit of fourteen years' research into the traditions and history of Freemasonry by two men who are themselves Freemasons.
E. The Household of the Grail edited by John Matthews
This book was published by The Aquarian press in 1990. Of all the books in the List, it most clearly mirrors the overall tenor of this Web site. The following is taken from the publisher's blurb.
"The Holy Grail has become an almost universal symbol of search and aspiration. Derived from the cauldrons of ancient Celtic myth, it later became identified with the cup used by Jesus in the Last Supper and which caught his blood in the Deposition from the Cross.
F. The Holy Grail by Rudolf Steiner
This little book is published in the "Pocket Library of Spiritual Wisdom" series by Sophia Books, an imprint of the Rudolf Steiner Press. It is sub-titled The Quest for the Renewal of the Mysteries, and is a selection from the writings and lectures of Rudolf Steiner edited by Andrew J Welburn.
"The wisdom contained in this book is not derived via the usual methods of scholarly and historical research. Neither is it based on theory or speculation. Rudolf Steiner acquired his original contribution to human knowledge from metaphysical dimensions of reality which are hidden to most people but visible to anybody who is prepared to develop spiritual means of perception.
FROM THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES TO THE HOLY GRAIL
Part Two: THE HIDDEN STREAM
G. The Field by Lynne McTaggart
This book was first published by HarperCollins in 2001. The blurb says:
"During the past few decades, science has begun to prove what ancient myth and religion has always espoused: that there may be such a thing as a life force. Frontier scientists all over the globe have produced extraordinary evidence to show that an energy field the Zero Point Field connects everything in the universe, and we ourselves are part of this vast dynamic cobweb of energy exchange.
H. The Presence of the Past by Rupert Sheldrake
This book was published by William Collins in 1988 and issued in Fontana Paperbacks in 1989. The cover blurb says:
"Why are rabbits rabbit-shaped? Once blue-tits began pecking the tops off milk bottles, why did the habit spread magically across Europe? After Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, why did it begin to be broken everywhere?
Epilogue
Notes
Glossary
Research on Morphic Resonance
Index
I. In Search of the Miraculous by P D Ouspensky
This is a Harvest Book originally published by Harcourt Inc in 1949. The 2001 edition carries a Foreword by Marianne Williamson.
The publisher says:
"Since its original publication, this has been hailed as a primer of mystical thought as expressed through the Work, a combination of Eastern philosophies. G I Gurdjieff, the influential spiritual leader, introduced the Work to the West, attracting many students, among them P D Ouspensky, an established mathematician, journalist, and eloquent and persuasive proselyte.
J. The Wisdom of the Overself by Dr Paul Brunton
This book was published by Rider and Company in 1943 and has since been reprinted and re-published many times.
"It may well be that these pages will appeal only to those who have the perseverance to get over their first fright at unfamiliar forms of thought and who are prepared to force their way, however slowly, through a subtle metaphysic to the subtler truth about this God-dreamed universe which it seeks to express. For the intellectual study of the way to what transcends intellectual experience cannot be an easy activity, But if any cannot comprehend this teaching in all its completeness, let not this fact depress them. Its profundities and difficulties exist and are admitted but its surfaces and simplicities also exist and are within their grasp. Let them take the latter therefore and leave the rest unworriedly for future growth, whether it be within the present incarnation or a later one. Even their faith and interest will alone suffice to bear good fruit. And even those who feel they have neither the external conditions nor the internal inclination to undertake such a quest may feel heartened merely to know that the Overself is, that life is significant, that the world makes a rational whole, and that righteous conduct is worth while."
K. Same Soul, Many Bodies by Dr Brian Weiss
First published in the USA in 2004 by FREE Press and in the UK in 2004 by Piatkus Books Ltd., this book is listed here not only because it gives an account of past-life regression under hypnosis but also suggests that hypnosis may also offer glimpses into future lives.
In Same Soul, Many Bodies, the bestselling author of Many Lives, Many Masters has not only regressed his patients into the past, but also progressed them into the future. He has discovered that our futures are variable the choices we make now will determine the quality of our life when we return.
L. How to Know Higher Worlds by Rudolf Steiner
Regular readers of the Ardue site would be surprised and disappointed if this list did not include a source of guidance on how individuals might train themselves to be better mystics. Good books on this subject are scarce because attempting to express mystical concepts in language designed by and for a narrowly physical world can be both misleading and psychologically dangerous. Book 2 in the Temple Library is too "advanced" for beginners, and the works of Dr Paul Brunton are insufficiently concise to appeal to the busy persons practical mystics are almost certain to be.
This book, published by Thames and Hudson, London, will prove a most valuable aid to the student who is interested in Hermetic Philosophy. The publisher's blurb rightly says: "This is an introduction to the geometry which, as modern science now confirms, underlies the structure of the Universe. The thinkers of ancient Egypt, Greece and India recognised that numbers governed much of what they saw in their world and hence provided an approach to the divine creator. Robert Lawlor sets out the system that determines the dimension and form of both man-made and natural structures, from Gothic cathedrals to flowers, from music to the human body. By also involving the reader in practical work (for which only a straight-edge, a pair of compasses and graph paper are needed) he leads with ease from simple principles to a grasp of the logarithmic spiral, the Golden Proportions, the squaring of the circle, and other ubiquitous ratios and proportions."
This book, published by Floris Books, Edinburgh, is a collection of essays representing a fresh understanding of Pythagorean and Platonic traditions. It will appeal to minds liberated by quantum physics from the tyranny of material form and mechanism.
And Finally...
I have found both Microsoft Encarta Encyclopaedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica, both available on CD or DVD, provide useful background to, and amplification of, some of the Degree lectures.