The Knights Templar
The Mystery of the Warrior Monks

Rudolf Steiner

Softbound

$22.00

During the early twelfth century, the Knights Templar were established, allegedly, to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. In the process, the knights became famous for their pioneer banking system, crusading zeal, and strict vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty. As membership grew to around 15,000, they came to be seen as a threat by Philippe le Beau of France, who disbanded the group in 1307 and tortured their leaders for confessions of heretical practices. King Philippe accused the order of heresy, sodomy, and blasphemy.

Recent fictional works and popular histories have created a renewed interest in the mysterious Knights Templar, with numerous contradictory and fantastic claims made about them, thus adding to the enigma surrounding the warrior monks of France.

In this unique collection of lectures and writings by Rudolf Steiner, a new perspective emerges. Based on his spiritual perceptions, he speaks of the Templars’ connection to the esoteric tradition of St. John and the Holy Grail and their spiritual dedication to Christ. He describes a secret order within the Templars and their strange rituals. He also sheds light on the Templars’ attitude toward the Roman Church and the spiritual forces that inspired their torture and confessions.

Myth of the Nativity
The Virgin Birth Re-examined

Andrew Welburn

Hardbound

$40.00

“Behold, a virgin shall conceive...” The story of the conception and birth of Jesus is one of the most mysterious events recorded in the Gospels, surrounded as it was by great signs and miracles. But how should we interpret what we call the Virgin Birth?

In this carefully researched study, Andrew Welburn says that we must look again at the stars, angels, and other signs, and penetrate the minds of the Gospel writers to find the real meaning of this most significant event. He suggests that at least three ancient traditions converge in the narrative of the Virgin Birth, each providing a layer of meaning that is, for the most part, lost to our modern viewpoint.

He concludes that the Virgin Birth remains a miracle through the fact that it makes us deeply question our view of the world and the spiritual realities behind it.

Contents:

• Memoirs of Joseph and Mary?
• The Shocking Truth
• Jesus as Noah
• A Near Miss and the Wrong Virgin
• The Christmas Gospel
• The Son of God
• Virgin Birth: The Mystery
  

Surpassing Wonder
The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds

Donald Harman Akenson

Softbound

$25.00

This is one of the best, most enriching books I've read in years. Akenson has managed to produce an account of the creation of the Bible (and its recreation at various points) and the Talmuds that is at once loving, humorous, deeply considered and consumately scholarly. In short, he has given us a book that is truly worthy of its subject.

Further, what you will find in terms of a gathering of facts is nothing short of astonishing. Did you know, for instance, that the New Testament of the King James Bible is 90% the work of a single man? I didn't. And consider further: that one man (who was ultimately strangled and burned as a heretic for his translation activity) ". . . taught all those who would hear, how to listen to words as music." He gave us the English language at its best, and taught us all to speak, influencing Shakespeare and Bacon along with the rest of us.

But that is far from the only thing that amazes in Surpassing Wonder. Akenson's accounts of the editing and writing of the different parts of the Hebrew Bible, at different times and in answer to different historical/cultural needs, is marvelous in its descriptive portrayal of what I would term "the ongoing conversation of human beings with God and the earth."

He moves into the intertestamental period, which I can remember professors characterizing as a time in which nothing much that was important happened in the way of religious development, and shows it to have been a period in which all manner of religious ideas were brought forth, discussed, argued and defended. It was truly a "free marketplace of ideas" and what it brought forth was nothing less than modern Rabbinic Judaism and its sister religion, Christianity. Of course, Akenson also covers the development of these two religions from their common source.

I could go on and on, because what I've mentioned here barely scratches the surface of what you'll discover in this book. The title perfectly describes the feeling its contents evoke. Breathtaking!

Christianity as Mystical Fact

Rudolf Steiner
Translated by Andrew Welburn

$16.95

Rudolf Steiner clearly presents a vision of the relationship of Christ to the world that is both creation centered and universal. We hope that the understanding possible through these thoughts will transform discord between "Christians" and "non-Christians" into renewed understanding, moving us beyond our apparent differences toward a celebration of every possible way of seeing Love alive in the Earth today.

Plato Prehistorian
10,000 to 5,000 B.C.
Myth, Religion, Archeology

Mary Settegast

Hard Bound

$36.00

Plato Prehistorian unfolds like a great novel - interesting, captivating, with one historical 'cliffhanger' leading us to the next; amazing fact after amazing fact. Beginning with the premise that Plato's accounts of the Atlantean Deluge and subsequent invasion of the Mediterranean regions deserve serious consideration, Mary Settegast embarks on a journey of discovery that takes us from the caves of Lascaux to the temples of Çatal Hüyük, demonstrating correspondences both to Plato's tale and to the mystery religions of antiquity. She then traces the mid-seventh millennium impulse that revitalized the spiritual life of Çatal Hüyük and spread agriculture from Iran to the Greek Peninsula - at precisely the time given by Aristotle for the legendary Persian prophet Zarathustra, for whom the civilization of the earth was a religious imperative. Ultimately, her outstanding, rigorous scholarship offers us a new understanding of our spiritual and cultural history, a history that is still shaping the world we live in. Beautifully illustrated with hundreds of drawings by the author. Highly readable, highly recommended.

Man as a Social Being
and the Mission of Conscience

Karl König

Softbound

$29.95

These lectures about the deeper aspects of contemporary social questions lead the reader ever deeper into the Christian spiritual background of man as a social being, culminating in the majestic lextures on teh esoteric objectives and meaning of the central even of human evolution, the resurrection of Christ. The approach to the social questions König addresses, and the spiritual dimension of his thought, have enormous value for all of us.

Synopses of lectures:

• In his lectures on 'The Threefold Structure of the Social Organism' and 'The Threefold Social Order' König starts with a march through history, including Ancient Rome and Greece, the Knights Templar, the French Revolution, the 19th and 20th Centuries. Next he relates the social order to the threefold human being, the higher senses and the Christ impulse.
• In his lectures, 'On Community Building', König turns to the Karlstejn Castle near Prague and the Goetheanum Building near Basel in order to enter into secrets of community building.
• The lectures about 'Man as a Social Being and the Mission of Conscience', given during Advent, Christmas, the Holy Nights and Epiphany and aided by verses from the Calendar of the Soul, describe the growing voice of conscience. König also refers to Zarathustra, Buddha, Krishna and the Damascus Event.
• The Easter lectures about 'Re-awakening and Resurrection' make us aware that the Risen Christ is the core of the pulse beat and breath with which man encompasses the depths of the earth and the spheres of life surrounding it.

Egyptian Myths and Mysteries

Lectures by Rudolf Steiner

Softbound

$14.95

In Egyptian Myths And Mysteries, Rudolf Steiner emphasizes the astonishing and special relationship between our own time and that of ancient Egypt -—how, in the natural rhythm of the ages, the so-called third Post-Atlantian (Egyptian) epoch is mirrored by the fifth (present) epoch. In this sense, it is particularly relevant to look today with fresh eyes at ancient Egypt. The evolution of Western civilization has been permanently influenced by Egyptian myths by way of the Greek mysteries.

Due to other influences, however, this heritage has degenerated —thinking has "mummified," and myth has all but disappeared. It has become necessary in our time, therefore, to revive the seed of goodness passed down to us from ancient Egypt. Through true imagination, we have the task of renewing human knowledge of the creative forces in nature, as the Egyptians attempted through the Osiris-Isis myth, and the Greeks through the myth of Demeter. This is what Rudolf Steiner attempts in this lecture cycle. Steiner discusses experiences of Egyptian initiations, esoteric anatomy and physiology, the stages of evolution of the human form, and much more. The final lecture is on the Christ impulse as the conqueror of matter.

Ancient Saturn to Atlantis
A Teenagers' Travel Guide to the Evolution of the World and Man in the Light of Rudolf Steiner's Spiritual Science - a Creative Approach

Alan Whitehead

$16.95

Where A Will to Be Free is an effort to present Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom to teenagers, Ancient Saturn to Atlantis serves up an invigorating rendition of Steiner's Outline of Esoteric Science. Teens will find this to be rollicking ride through the evolution of our world and of humanity (adults will also love it, but for heaven's sake, don't let the teens know!). In the process, they'll also find themselves inspired by the grand vision, the wonder and the purpose of it all. An unexpected treasure!

When the Drummers Were Women
A Spiritual History of Rhythm

Layne Redmond

$18.95

Layne Redmond's historical exploration of the spiritual technology of drumming is much more than just an account of the role of rhythm in spiritual awareness. It is also a richly illustrated unveiling of evolutionary changes in human consciousness that reaches into the farthest moments of prehistory. What comes clear in Redmond's discoveries is that human awareness was born into a Mother/Hunter culture that was later supplanted by a Father/Farmer culture. The two cultures have not yet reconciled, yet it is clear that modern human wholeness requires the rightful restoration and honoring of both senses of reality. A breathtaking book, both empowering and healing.

Gilgamesh - Man's First Story

Bernarda Bryson

Softbound - elegantly illustrated

$19.95

This is a powerful - and powerfully beautiful - retelling of one of the oldest stories known to humanity. Bernarda Bryson tells this story with simplicity and grace - retaining as she does the uniquely Sumerian view of the world, some of the poetic responses, and above all, the heart and soul of this story that combines in equal measure the elements of both transcendent victory and deep tragedy. This retelling was written for children, but I can't think of any adult who wouldn't enjoy it as well. Ms. Bryson is rightly remembered as an author whose sensitivity was matched by her literary skill - and who used the fullness of her capacities in the making of this book.

The story of Gilgamesh was first written down about 3000 BC in Sumeria. It tells of a great flood and of one man, befriended by the gods, who survived by building an ark. In the feats of Gilgamesh and his companion, Enkidu, a monster who turns into a gentle man who loves and respects the King, are found the sources of great mythological heroes: Hercules, Jason and Theseus.

In addition to its vital importance in the history of literature, Gilgamesh is an exciting and often amusing tale - setting jealous god against jealous god, god against man, and man against man in remarkable battles of wit and strength.

A must for fifth graders - wonderful for the rest of us!

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight
Waking Up to Personal and Global Transformation

Thom Hartmann

$12.95

Thom Hartmann begins with a stark accounting of our modern suicidal destruction of natural resources and looks for a genuine healing. His search takes him back 6000 years to the time when the matriarchal/hunter societies were conquered by the patriarchal/farmer societies. (See both Plato Prehistorian and When the Drummers Were Women). Hartmann harnesses our highest hopes toward an overcoming of our darkest fears and proposes that we each take up the challenge of transforming our own viewpoints and hearts. To assist us, he suggests we look to the wisdom of the ancient, displaced mother/farmer spirituality.

The Power of Limits
Proportional Harmonies in Nature, Art, and Architecture

György Doczi

$24.95

image size deceptive - actually an oversize trade paperback

The Power of Limits (finally back in print!) is an exposition of the rhythms and harmonies of natural and artistic forms. I have used its contents for meditative contemplation for many years now, and have not come even close to exhausting the insights and revelations Doczi's remarkable book contains. Whenever I get frustrated at how slowly postive change comes about, I reach for The Power of Limits so that I can be reminded of the grace and beauty that limitation brings the world. Steiner defined art as "the impress of the spirit upon matter." Doczi shows us what that means.