Blog Mystic and Esoteric - Esoterism - Misticism - Religions - Beliefs

 Perceptions of Religious Imagery in Natural Phenomena Perceptions of Religious Imagery in natural phenomena , sometimes called simulacra, are sightings of images with spiritual or religious themes or import to the perceiver. The images perceived, whether iconic or aniconic, may be the faces of religious notables or the manifestation of spiritual symbols in the natural, organic media or phenomena of the natural world.   The occurrence or event of perception may be transient or fleeting or may be more enduring and monumental. The phenomenon appears to approach a cultural universal and may often accompany nature worship, animism, and fetishism, along with more formal or organized belief systems. Within Christian Traditions , many instances reported involve images of Jesus or other Christian figures seen in food; in the Muslim world, structures in food and other natural objects may be perceived as religious text in Arabic script, particularly the word Allah or verses

Mystical Experience and Union with the Divine William James, who popularized the use of the term " Religious Experience " in his The Varieties of Religious Experience, influenced the understanding of Mysticism as a distinctive experience which supplies knowledge of the transcendental. He considered the "personal religion" to be "more fundamental than either theology or ecclesiasticism", and states: In Mystic States we both become one with the Absolute and we become aware of our oneness. This is the everlasting and triumphant mystical tradition, hardly altered by differences of clime or creed. In Hinduism, in Neoplatonism, in Sufism, in Christian mysticism, in Whitmanism, we find the same recurring note, so that there is about mystical utterances an eternal unanimity which ought to make a critic stop and think, and which bring it about that the mystical classics have, as been said, neither birthday not native land.

 Merkabah - Merkavah Mysticism or Chariot Mysticism Merkabah - Merkavah Mysticism or Chariot Mysticism , is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE - 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 1, or in the hekhalot ("palaces") literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces and the Throne of God.   The main corpus of the Merkabah literature was composed in Israel in the period 200–700 CE, although later references to the Chariot tradition can also be found in the literature of the Chassidei Ashkenaz in the Middle Ages. A major text in this tradition is the Maaseh Merkabah (Works of the Chariot). The noun Merkabah "thing to ride in, cart" is derived from the consonantal root r-k-b with the general meaning "to ride". The word "chariot" is found 44 times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible – most of them referring to normal chariots on earth,[3] and although th

Invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb invocare "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: Supplication, Prayer or Spell. A form of Possession. Command or Conjuration. Self-Identification with certain Spirits. Invocation as Supplication or Prayer As a supplication or prayer it implies to call upon God, a god or goddess, a person, etc. When a person calls upon God, a god, or goddess to ask for something (protection, a favour, his/her spiritual presence in a ceremony, etc.) or simply for worship, this can be done in a pre-established form or with the invoker's own words or actions. An example of a pre-established text for an invocation is the Lord's Prayer.

Illuminationism or Divine illumination Illuminationism is a doctrine in theology according to which the process of human thought needs to be aided by God. It is the oldest and most influential alternative to naturalism in the theory of mind and epistemology. According to Divine illumination , the process of human thought needs to be aided by divine grace. It is the oldest and most influential alternative to naturalism in the theory of mind and epistemology. It was an important feature of ancient Greek philosophy, Neoplatonism, medieval philosophy, and the Illuminationist school of Islamic philosophy.

Adoration Adoration  (Latin) is respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion. The term comes from the Latin adōrātiō, meaning "to give homage or worship to someone or something". In Eastern countries, adoration has been performed in an attitude still more lowly. The Persian method, introduced by Cyrus the Great, was to kiss the knee and fall on the face at the prince's feet, striking the earth with the forehead and kissing the ground. This striking of the earth with the forehead, usually a fixed number of times, was a form of adoration sometimes paid to Eastern potentates.

Western Esotericism Western Esotericism also Western hermetic tradition, Western mysticism, Western inner tradition, Western occult tradition, and Western mystery tradition,  is a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions found in Western society, or refers to the collection of the mystical, esoteric knowledge of the Western world. This often includes, but is not limited to, philosophy and meditation, herbalism and alchemy, astrology and divination, and various forms of ritual magic.

Esoteric Buddhism  Vajrayāna (Bengali: বজ্রযান; Devanagari: वज्रयान; Sinhala: වජ්‍රායන; Malayalam: വജ്രയാന;Oriya: ବଜ୍ରଯାନ; Tibetan: རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ་, rdo rje theg pa; Mongolian: Очирт хөлгөн, Ochirt Hölgön;Chinese: 密宗, mì zōng) is also known as Tantric Buddhism, Tantrayāna, Mantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Esoteric Buddhism and the Diamond Way or Thunderbolt Way. Vajrayāna is a complex and multifaceted system of  Buddhist  thought and practice which evolved over several centuries. According to Vajrayāna scriptures "Vajrayāna" refers to one of three vehicles or routes to enlightenment , the other two being the  Hinayāna  and  Mahayana . Note that Hinayāna (or Nikaya ) is not to be confused with  Theravada  (a practice lineage); although is sometimes equated to it.

Esoteric Christianity Esoteric Christianity is an ensemble of spiritual currents which regard Christianity as a mystery religion, and profess the existence and possession of certain esoteric doctrines or practices, of which the public is unaware (or even to which they may be denied access) but which are understood by "enlightened", "initiated" or highly educated people.

Esoteric Cosmology - Planes of Existence and Consciousness Esoteric Cosmology is an intrinsic part of an Esoteric or Occult System of Thought. Esoteric Cosmology maps out the Universe with Planes of Existence and Consciousness according to a specific worldview usually from a Doctrine. Esoteric Cosmology almost always deals with at least some of the following themes: emanation, involution, spiritual evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence or higher worlds (and their emanation and the connections between them), hierarchies of spiritual beings, cosmic cycles (e.g., cosmic year, Yuga), yogic or spiritual disciplines and techniques of self-transformation, and references to mystical and altered states of consciousness.

Types of Karma According to Jainkarma theory, there are eight main types of karma (Prikriti) which are categorized into the ‘harming’ and the ‘non-harming’; each divided into four types. The harming karmas (ghātiyā karmas) directly affect the soul powers by impeding its perception, knowledge and energy, and also brings about delusion. These harming karmas are: darśanāvaraṇa (perception obscuring karma), jñānavāraṇa (knowledge obscuring karma), antarāya (obstacles creating karma) and mohanīya (deluding karma). The non-harming category (aghātiyā karmas) is responsible for the reborn soul's physical and mental circumstances, longevity, spiritual potential and experience of pleasant and unpleasant sensations.

Karma - Causality, Ethicization and Rebirth  Karma (Sanskrit: कर्मIPA: [ˈkarmə]; Pali: kamma) is the executed "deed", "work", "action", or "act", and it is also the "object", the "intent". Understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect (i.e., the cycle calledsaṃsāra). The concept originated in Bharata Khanda, also known as Ancient India, originally used in "Sanātana Dharma", and later religions such as Jainism,Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, Shintoism and others. Halbfass explains karma (Karman) by contrasting it with another Sanskrit word kriya. The word kriya is the activity along with the steps and effort in action, while karma is (1) the executed action as a consequence of that activity, as well as (2) the intention of the actor behind an executed action or a planned action (described by some scholars as metaphysical residue left in the actor). A good action creates good karma, as does