Symbols, Meaning, and The Sacred Quest: Spiritual Awakening in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Stories - Softcover
"Metaphor and myth come alive and are full of wonder. Arcane ritual points beyond itself and disturbing Bible and Qur'an stories show a deeper, more mysterious, and profoundly inspirational meaning." - Louisa Gilder, author of 'The Age of Entanglement'
"This magnificent book really requires the reader to think and ponder because it is so rich with new ideas and perspectives." - Stanley Krippner, Alan Watts Chair in Consciousness Studies at Saybrook University
"This fascinating book takes us to the inner sanctum of spiritual meaning. It demonstrates the absurdity of religious hatred and bigotry, and is filled with amazing insights into scriptural passages that have perplexed generations of scholars. I was especially moved by the author's exploration of the Sacred Feminine." - Rev. Janet McKinstry, pastor, author and artist
Every religion has two aspects: an outer exoteric aspect, which gives the masses of followers a common story to be proud of, a comforting feeling of security that God loves them and will take care of them, hope for the future, and some moral and ethical rules to keep their souls out of trouble; and (2) an inner esoteric aspect, for the adepts and disciples, which teaches a method for attaining 'enlightenment' and returning to a state of pure bliss and communion with divinity.
Hidden within the symbolism of western mythology and scripture, one can still find the esoteric teaching.
Among contemporary people, myths tend to be dismissed as childish fantasies or the unscientific gropings of primitive minds. This is why followers of western religions have typically insisted that their scriptures are not myths at all, but must be taken as literally true. This, however, merely takes away much of the effectiveness and power of religions, rendering them spiritually useless, often rather foolish, and frequently dangerous. But the mythological vision of the world has always been, and still remains, a Crucial way of experiencing and understanding reality. This is not because myths offer pseudo-explanations for natural phenomena or historical events. It's because myths reflect our deepest psychological and spiritual truths. They bypass the censoring mechanism of our mundane Reason and open the heart and mind to higher dimensions of consciousness.
We have to stop reducing the vast meaning and awesome power of symbolism and mythology to mere questions of literal fact or fiction. When understood symbolically, all great myth and scripture provide an "instruction manual" for the evolution of a soul that is journeying from this material level of illusion (which, for example, the Hebrew mystics called 'Egypt') back to an enlightened state of communion with divinity (i.e., 'The Promised Land').
Symbols, Meaning, and the Sacred Quest (as well as its companion volume, Love, Wisdom and God, which is about Greek mythology, philosophy, and the Eleusinian Mysteries), will open your eyes, it will entertain you, and most importantly it will take you on a great journey.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Genesis: The Descent of the Soul
The Initiation of Moses
The Return to the Promised Land
Path of the Five Souls
The Mysteries of Christ
The Prophet of Islam
"This magnificent book really requires the reader to think and ponder because it is so rich with new ideas and perspectives." - Stanley Krippner, Alan Watts Chair in Consciousness Studies at Saybrook University
"This fascinating book takes us to the inner sanctum of spiritual meaning. It demonstrates the absurdity of religious hatred and bigotry, and is filled with amazing insights into scriptural passages that have perplexed generations of scholars. I was especially moved by the author's exploration of the Sacred Feminine." - Rev. Janet McKinstry, pastor, author and artist
Every religion has two aspects: an outer exoteric aspect, which gives the masses of followers a common story to be proud of, a comforting feeling of security that God loves them and will take care of them, hope for the future, and some moral and ethical rules to keep their souls out of trouble; and (2) an inner esoteric aspect, for the adepts and disciples, which teaches a method for attaining 'enlightenment' and returning to a state of pure bliss and communion with divinity.
Hidden within the symbolism of western mythology and scripture, one can still find the esoteric teaching.
Among contemporary people, myths tend to be dismissed as childish fantasies or the unscientific gropings of primitive minds. This is why followers of western religions have typically insisted that their scriptures are not myths at all, but must be taken as literally true. This, however, merely takes away much of the effectiveness and power of religions, rendering them spiritually useless, often rather foolish, and frequently dangerous. But the mythological vision of the world has always been, and still remains, a Crucial way of experiencing and understanding reality. This is not because myths offer pseudo-explanations for natural phenomena or historical events. It's because myths reflect our deepest psychological and spiritual truths. They bypass the censoring mechanism of our mundane Reason and open the heart and mind to higher dimensions of consciousness.
We have to stop reducing the vast meaning and awesome power of symbolism and mythology to mere questions of literal fact or fiction. When understood symbolically, all great myth and scripture provide an "instruction manual" for the evolution of a soul that is journeying from this material level of illusion (which, for example, the Hebrew mystics called 'Egypt') back to an enlightened state of communion with divinity (i.e., 'The Promised Land').
Symbols, Meaning, and the Sacred Quest (as well as its companion volume, Love, Wisdom and God, which is about Greek mythology, philosophy, and the Eleusinian Mysteries), will open your eyes, it will entertain you, and most importantly it will take you on a great journey.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Genesis: The Descent of the Soul
The Initiation of Moses
The Return to the Promised Land
Path of the Five Souls
The Mysteries of Christ
The Prophet of Islam
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About the Author:
Andrew Cort is an author, speaker, attorney, teacher, and doctor of chiropractic. He is currently enrolled in All Faiths Seminary and will be ordained as an interfaith minister in June, 2014. His many books encompass Spirituality and Religion, Mythology, Holistic Healing, Education, Tolerance, and how these all relate to our contemporary culture.
In addition to academic studies in theology, literature, science, law and mathematics, he has studied the work of many spiritual traditions - from the Bible, Plato, the Qur'an, Dante, etc., to contemporary teachers including Joseph Campbell, G.I. Gurdjieff, Rudolf Steiner, Paul Brunton, Sri Aurobindo, and many others.
He lives in Woodstock, NY.
Review:
In addition to academic studies in theology, literature, science, law and mathematics, he has studied the work of many spiritual traditions - from the Bible, Plato, the Qur'an, Dante, etc., to contemporary teachers including Joseph Campbell, G.I. Gurdjieff, Rudolf Steiner, Paul Brunton, Sri Aurobindo, and many others.
He lives in Woodstock, NY.
"Andrew Cort delves into the often murky waters of scriptural interpretation and comes out with this luminous gem." - Andrew Bowen, author or 'Triune'
"A journey through philosophy, theology, numbers, music and symbology that gives new life to ancient text." - Rabbi Ari Rosenberg
"A journey through philosophy, theology, numbers, music and symbology that gives new life to ancient text." - Rabbi Ari Rosenberg
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherCreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- Publication date2011
- ISBN 10 1467926701
- ISBN 13 9781467926706
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages444
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Symbols, Meaning, and The Sacred Quest: Spiritual Awakening in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Stories
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Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
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ISBN 10: 1467926701
ISBN 13: 9781467926706
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