The Great Work Of Your Life

An inspiring guide to finding your life’s purpose—what spiritual teachers call dharma—through mindfulness and self-exploration. Stephen Cope says that in order to have a fulfilling life you must discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of your self. The secret to unlocking this mystery, he asserts, can be found in the pages of a two-thousand-year-old spiritual classic called the Bhagavad Gita—an ancient allegory about the path to dharma, told through a timeless dialogue between the fabled archer, Arjuna, and his divine mentor, Krishna. Cope takes readers on a step-by-step tour of this revered tale and highlights well-known Western lives that embody its central principles—including such luminaries as Jane Goodall, Walt Whitman, Susan B. Anthony, John Keats, and Harriet Tubman, along with stories of ordinary people as well. If you’re feeling lost in your own life’s journey, The Great Work of Your Life may help you to find and to embrace your true calling. Praise for The Great Work of Your Life “Keep a pen and paper handy as you read this remarkable book: It’s like an owner’s manual for the soul.”—Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion “A masterwork . . . You’ll find inspiration in these pages. You’ll gain a better appreciation of divine guidance and perhaps even understand how you might better hear it in your own life.”—Yoga Journal “I am moved and inspired by this book, the clarity and beauty of the lives lived in it, and the timeless dharma it teaches.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart “A rich source of contemplation and inspiration [that] encourages readers . . . to discover and fully pursue their inner self’s calling.”—Publishers Weekly “Fabulous . . . If you have ever wondered what your purpose is, this book is a great guide to help you on your path.”—YogaHara

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Battle of Kurukshetra is the definitive struggle of its age. It marks the end of one great mythic era and the beginning of another. The battle of Kurukshetra ushers in the Dark Age, the last of the four great eras foreseen by the Seers of ancient India.

Everyone wants to feel loved, but most of us seek it from others. This book takes us on an inner journey to obtain love in a different way, a different kind of love. It is Divine love, which is power and virtue, the power to rule over our thoughts and emotions, and the virtue that enables us to receive this love as the life and light of understanding. This is happiness and delight from doing what is good. Obtaining the will for good and the understanding of truth is essential to be free of the pull of the mass mind that brings pain and suffering to mankind. The will for good is the feeling of delight, and the understanding of truth is the light of faith, which is awareness and enlightenment. The conjunction of love and faith in the body is warmth and light, and both are perceptible substances to a transformed mind. If you are reading this, then you are ready for change. If you are suffering, you are ready for healing. These two substances, the warmth of love, and the light of truth are pleasurable sensations that change and heal the body. And because they are spiritual they allow you to enter the affections of others, which brings understanding. Take this journey to a new intellectual light derived from charity called the Great Work.

Even though Jonathan Edwards is arguably America's greatest theologian, the content and value of his work remains a mystery to most. Stahle systematizes and summarizes Edwards's biblically grounded thought in contemporary language and makes Edwards accessible to pastors, students, and church study groups. Edwards's conceptions of the Trinity are explained in detail and shown to be the basis for the rest of his theology, including his ideas about sin, salvation, holiness, the purpose of history, Scripture, revivals of religion, heaven and hell, and the church. Reflection and study questions are provided to enrich comprehension and demonstrate the relevance of Edwards's theology for contemporary life. The wealth of this Puritan's personal piety and intellectual brilliance is no longer beyond the reach of twenty-first century Christians.

Fusing ancient Western spirituality, energy work, and psychology, The Great Work is a practical guide to personal transformation season by season. Learn to be truly holistic by incorporating key physical, emotional, and energetic practices into your life at times when the natural tides are in harmony with your process. The Great Work captures the core essence of each festival with eight key themes that span the annual cycle—a cycle that reflects human development and experience. Discover how Yule can alleviate a painful childhood, how Beltane can facilitate conscious relationships, and how Mabon can assist with determining your life's purpose. Find guidance through daily journal questions, elemental meditations, and the author's unique energy-healing technique of Hynni. With this invaluable resource for your journey of inner alchemy, you'll develop an intimate connection with the earth's impulse to create balance and harmony. Praise: "Tiffany Lazic weaves together psychology, myth, meditation and keen observation of the natural world, creating an invaluable and original resource for healing work of all kinds. Inviting and accessible to all readers."—Elizabeth Cunningham, author of The Maeve Chronicles "The Great Work presents inspiring insights and practical exercises that help unlock the alchemical mysteries at the heart of the Eightfold Path, and which facilitate a deep connection with the cycles of nature as they reveal their transformational powers in all of us."—Jhenah Telyndru, author of Avalon Within

Advancing to higher levels of ritual magic with purpose and power requires an exaltation of consciousness-a spiritual transformation that can serve as an antitode to the seeming banality of modern life. Based on Kabbalistic techniques, the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and an Hermetic tradition spanning nearly two thousand years, this innovative new work introduces the history of the Golden Dawn and its mythology, the Tree of Life, Deities, demons, rules for practicing magic, and components of effective ritual. A comprehensive course of self-initiation using Israel Regardie's seminal Golden Dawn as a key reference point, Kabbalah, Magic and the Great Work of Self-Transformation guides you through the levels of the Golden Dawn system of ritual magic. Each grade in this system corresponds with a sphere in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life and includes daily rituals, required reading, written assignments, projects, and additional exercises. Knowledgeable and true to tradition, author Lyam Thomas Christopher presents a well-grounded and modern step-by-step program toward spiritual attainment, providing a lucid gateway toward a more awakened state. Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Magick/Shamanism Book

Karen Kellock On Mental Illness and the Hero's Path: ​​​​​​​SEASON OF TREASON: Every fairy tale, myth or story of victory starts with overcoming evil or sinning. It is a season, tho' a wretched one--but also a season of favor and remuneration later on: winning. In my season of treason all were against me and I couldn't trust anyone like Job see. The people I met/things I experienced were atrocious but in fearful denial I feigned acceptance. It was a land without justice nor lines. It was utter nonsensical emptiness and I was terrified. It was evil powers with a downed hedge, but things always even out in the end. Remember that and it'll all turn around friend. The Creative Act is a literal structure in nature. It seeds, germinates, and blossoms to full potential. All it takes is a creative discoverer to put it all together.

Medieval alchemists called the search for immortality, "The Great Work." To achieve the Great Work, they said, one needed to possess the Philosopher's Stone. Eldon Racozi, a mysterious businessman with a large bankroll knows what it is like to own a piece of the Stone and then run out of it. Born in Maine during the American Revolution, Racozi has used a piece he obtained through Masonic contacts to keep him alive, until today. Afraid he is dying without his stone, he becomes convinced there is still one more piece buried deep beneath a gothic cathedral in France. To retrieve it, however, he must design and dig a 250-foot tunnel under the cathedral. With the help of New York architect Brenda MacKenna, he pursues his last chance for everlasting life against final death and danger.

An inside look at sex magic in Eastern and Western Mystery traditions • Details the sex magic practices of P. B. Randolph, Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare, Julius Evola, and Maria de Naglowska • Includes a complete overview of love magic in the Middle Ages, with accounts of the use of potions, powders, spells, and enchantments • Explores sex magic techniques of the East, including Taoist sexual alchemy Magic, almost in its entirety, is connected to sexuality. It is through the natural magic of love that sex magic operates, harnessing the forces that join lovers together. In this extensive study of sex magic in the Eastern and Western Mystery traditions, Sarane Alexandrian explains how there is a sex magic connected with every religion, spiritual belief system, and initiatory society. Exploring sexual practices in folk magic, high magic, alchemy, and religion, the author begins with a complete overview of love magic in the Middle Ages, including accounts of the use of potions, powders, spells, and enchantments, and he reveals how these techniques related to the religious practices of the time. He introduces the Taoist sexual alchemy practices of Mantak Chia, the secret tantric practices of the Tibetan bons, sexual shiatsu, and a Vietnamese practice called “mouth moxa.” Examining the sacred sexuality that arose in Western initiatory orders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Alexandrian details the development of P. B. Randolph’s white sexual magic and the black sexual magic of Aleister Crowley, as well as explaining the practices of Austin Osman Spare, Julius Evola and the Ur Group, and Maria de Naglowska. He reveals the scientific principles underlying sex magic and how successful results are guaranteed by the influences of the heavenly bodies and the radiant powers of color, number, scents, and physical movements, which intensify the activity of the human bioelectric field. Alexandrian also details the tantra practices of Margot Anand, the sexual rituals of Wicca, and magical “sex aids,” including talismans and jewels. Providing complete practical information, the author explains how, through sex magic, a couple can extract from each other what they are missing by way of virility and femininity, multiplying their energies tenfold and merging the carnal and spiritual worlds to experience transcendent adventures in the deepest depths of reality.

How can we find our true calling and choose the right path in the midst of disruption, conflict and tragedy? The Dharma in Difficult Times is for anyone who seeks to live a more fulfilled life - for everyone who wants to pursue their passion, genius and authentic calling. It continues the message of Stephen Cope's previous book, The Great Work of Your Life, which gave readers a road map for the journey to their true calling. As well as showing us how to find our true purpose in difficult times, it shows how times of crisis can actually create the conditions for us to step forward as our best selves. Stephen takes the ancient yogic text, the Bhagavad Gita - which itself lays out a systematic programme of self-realisation - and builds on that foundation using the teachings, thoughts and life stories of major figures in the arts, sciences, religion and more. Stephen's work has been described as 'deep, richly engaging and wise' (Jack Kornfield), 'a rich source of contemplation and inspiration' (Publishers Weekly) and 'like an owner's manual for the soul' (Dani Shapiro).