Taxi Scene; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqzNYlYCz-Q
Mysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or awareness. Mysticism may be dualistic, maintaining a distinction between the self and the divine, or may be nondualistic. Differing religious traditions have described this fundamental mystical experience in different ways: Self-nullification (making oneself bittel, known as abnegation of the ego) and focus upon and absorption within Ein Sof Ohr: God's Infinite Light (Hassidic Schools of Judaism). Complete non-identification with the world (Kaivalya in some schools of Hinduism, including Sankhya and Yoga; Jhana in Buddhism) Liberation from the cycles of Karma (Moksha in Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism, Nirvana in Buddhism) Deep intrinsic connection to ultimate reality (Satori in Mahayana Buddhism, Te in Taoism) Union with God (Henosis in Neoplatonism and Brahma-Prapti or Brahma-Nirvana in Hinduism, fana in Sufism, mukti in Sikhism) Theosis or Divinization, union with God and a participation of the Divine Nature (Eastern Orthodoxy) Innate Knowledge (Sahaja and Svabhava in Hinduism; Irfan and Sufism in Islam) Experience of one's true blissful nature (Samadhi Svarupa-Avirbhava in Hinduism and Buddhism) Seeing the Light, or "that of God", in everyone (Hinduism, Quakerism, Sikhism).
Entheogens have been traditionally used by many from various religions and cultures throughout the majority of every region of the world to help assist one with mysticism.
"Handbook of Medicinal Herbs", 2nd Edition.
By the time this second edition is published, the first edition of the Handbook of Medicinal Herbs will have been out more than 15 years. The second edition is designed to present most of the old information plus new
information on the more important of those original 365 herbs. I submitted the first edition under the original unpublished title,Herbs of Dubious Salubrity. I intentionally left out many of the completely safe culinary herbs, spices, and food plants that are clearly medicinal. I also intentionally omitted some strictly dangerous herbs, such as foxglove, that were too unhealthy for use in unskilled hands. I did include several obscure hallucinogenic plants of dubious salubrity.I did, or should have, dropped some of these because they have little medicinal importance. Some poorly documented species, such as Mimosa hostilis and Phoradendron leucarpum, for example, were retained with fragmentary entries, so as to at least mention species from the first edition that might better have been dropped. Now I think I have the most important herbs well covered here.
In edition two, which I will refer to frequently as my Herbal Desk Reference (HDR), I have tried to concisely corral the data on some 1000 herbs in as little space as possible, striving to make a reliable, referenced resource to parallel the PDR for Herbal Medicines. I use the three-letter abbreviation, HDR, to indicate the second edition of my Handbook of Medicinal Herbs because I compare and contrast it to other important sources, which are also represented by three-letter abbreviations. (See the reference abbreviation appendix.) With this edition, I have tried to cover most of the widely mentioned medicinal plants, whetherthey are extremely salubrious or extremely toxic. Without counting them, I estimate we include more than 1000
of the most important herbs, including the more important herbs from the young Native American and the European traditions.
(including most of those approved by Commission E (KOM), and almost all of those included in the PDR for Herbal Medicine (PHR for the first edition, and PH2 for the second edition)). Unlike Commission E and the Herbal PDR, which seem to stress European and American traditions, I include proportionately more herbs from the older African, Ayurvedic, and Chinese traditions as well, not wanting to slight any major medicinal plant from any major tradition.
"Psychic Self Defense"
"It is with a sense of the seriousness of the issues involved that I set myself to the task of writing a book on psychic attack and the best methods of defense against it. The undertaking is beset with pitfalls. It is hardly possible to give practical information on the methods of psychic defense without at the same time giving practical information on the methods of psychic attack. It is not without reason that initiates have always guarded their secret science behind closed doors. To disclose sufficient to be adequate without disclosing sufficient to be dangerous is my problem. But as so much has already been made known concerning the esoteric teachings, and as the circle of students of the occult is becoming rapidly wider every day, it may well be that the time has now come for plain speaking. The task is not of my seeking, but as it has come into my hands, I will do my best to discharge it honourably, making available the knowledge which has come to me in the course of many years' experience of the strange by-ways of the mind which the mystic shares with the lunatic. This knowledge has not been attained without cost, nor, I suspect, will the divulging of it be altogether free from cost, either.
I have endeavoured to avoid, as far as possible, the use of second-hand material. We all know the person who has a friend whose friend saw the ghost with her own eyes. That is not of very much use to anybody. What we need is to have the eye-witness under cross-examination. For this reason I have not drawn upon the vast literature of the subject for illustrations of my thesis, but have preferred to rely upon cases that have come within the range of my own experience and which I have been able to examine." - Dion Fortune
"In the last 30 years medicines prescribed by doctors have changed beyond all recognition. Our better knowledge of the nature of diseases and their management has led to the replacement of many old remedies by new ones specifically designed for each illness.
Yet it would be a mistake to assume that, to keep up with modern medicines, doctors have always had to turn to new drugs. One drug - very old in terms of our current prescription lists - has continued to flourish, and has even expanded its uses. It is highly effective, has a very good safety record, and is, after almost a hundred years, still the most trusted home remedy for pain, worldwide. It is also very cheap. It is aspirin.
Everyone has known for years that aspirin is a fast and reliable painkiller that also reduces inflammation and cools fevers. More recently it has become just as well known as a help to people with heart complaints such as angina, coronary thrombosis and after coronary bypass surgery. It is becoming better known, too, in prevention of stroke. Among other diseases in which active research about aspirin is showing great promise - and in which it is now being increasingly used - are toxaemia of pregnancy, diabetes, bowel cancer and dementia.
How such an old drug can turn out to be so useful in so many crucial diseases makes a fascinating story. Astonishing advances in medical care need not depend entirely on the invention and introduction of new medicines!"
http://www.aspirin-foundation.com/what/intro/story.html
Reviews:
Summaries can only suggest the riches for the student of medieval mysticism and spirituality to be found... a collection which delights and instructs. JOURNAL OF ENGLISH & GERMANIC PHILOLOGY The strength of this volume lies not only in the expansion of its geographical remit, but also in its embracing of some of the more neglected spiritual traditions and texts.
"[While tied to a large bomb]
John McClane: Hey fuckhead. Yeah, you, fuckhead. There's just one thing I gotta know. You got any aspirins? 'Cause I've had a bad fucking headache all day long.
Simon Gruber: [laughs and throws him a bottle of aspirin] Must be your lucky day. Keep the bottle!"
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