Mysticism in the Theater introduces theater makers to the power and possibility of using historical mystical ideas to influence all aspects of a production. Historical mysticism represents ideas developed by recognized spiritual thinkers in all religions and time periods: individuals who stilled their ego, and perceived the unity of all, hidden within the apparent multiplicity of existence. This unique manner of spiritual inlay allows theatrical presentations to find the height of artistic expression: art at the intersection of our historical moment and the eternal. This study introduces theater makers to the history of mystical inspiration within performance work and develops strategies for inserting mystical ideas into their productions. The book ties this model into theatre’s history, as mystical ideas and quotes have been inserted into productions from Greek theatre through Shakespeare and into the present day. This book explores how teachings and ideas of specific historical mystical thinkers might influence all aspects of contemporary theatrical productions including writing, directing, acting, stagecraft/set design, lighting design, costume design, sound design, and choreography.

A MASTERPIECE of illuminative writing, Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing is mandatory reading for anyone following a spiritual path. Part exposé and part how-to manual, this is the first book to explain why failure seems to be the rule in the search for enlightenment, and how the rule can be broken. :: Book One of Jed McKenna's Enlightenment Trilogy. Contains Bonus Material.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Preface -- Introduction: What Is Neot Smadar? -- 1 A Search for Religious Experience -- 2 Washing Dishes -- 3 The Oasis of Neot Smadar: An Overview -- 4 A School for Self-Inquiry -- 5 The School after the Death of Yossef -- 6 The Art of Listening -- 7 Everyday Mysticism -- 8 Constructing the Art Center: Communal Project as Ascetic Practice -- 9 At Work in Neot Smadar: Making Wine, Milking Goats, Learning the Lesson of the Bolt -- 10 The Extended Family: Sociality in Neot Smadar -- 11 A Wedding Gift for Dani -- Conclusion: Looking Forward -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z

More than two decades have passed since Chicago published the first volume of this groundbreaking work in the Religion and Postmodernism series. It quickly became influential across a wide range of disciplines and helped to make the tools of poststructuralist thought available to religious studies and theology, especially in the areas of late medieval and early modern mysticism. Though the second volume remained in fragments at the time of his death, Michel de Certeau had the foresight to leave his literary executor detailed instructions for its completion, which formed the basis for the present work. Together, both volumes solidify Certeau’s place as a touchstone of twentieth-century literature and philosophy, and continue his exploration of the paradoxes of historiography; the construction of social reality through practice, testimony, and belief; the theorization of speech in angelology and glossolalia; and the interplay of prose and poetry in discourses of the ineffable. This book will be of vital interest to scholars in religious studies, theology, philosophy, history, and literature.

An interdisciplinary study of the supernatural and the occult in fin-de-siècle France (1870-1914), the present volume examines the explosion of interest in devil-worship, magic and mysticism both from an historical perspective and through analysis of key literary works of the period.

This is the true story of encounters with enlightened beings known in the East as Bodhisattvas, who have attained the Rainbow Body, yet who can and do appear in whatever form they are needed to assist humanity. These are the Gods of ancient myth, known in the West as Ascended Masters. Here are the adventures of one individual as the Masters bring him face to face with his own Higher Self-the I AM Presence.