‘One Simple Idea’

     
In addition to Mitch Horowitz’s appearance at the Theosophical Society next month (see post below), he will speak at The Corner Bookstore on Thursday, January 9, just two days after the release of his new book One Simple Idea.

The Corner Bookstore
1313 Madison Avenue (on the corner of 93rd Street)
Manhattan

Will start at 6 p.m.

From the publicity:

From the millions-strong audiences of Oprah and The Secret to the mass-media ministries of evangelical figures like Joel Osteen and T. D. Jakes, to the motivational bestsellers and New Age seminars to the twelve-step programs and support groups of the recovery movement and to the rise of positive psychology and stress-reduction therapies, this idea–to think positively–is metaphysics morphed into mass belief. This is the biography of that belief.

No one has yet written a serious and broad-ranging treatment and history of the positive-thinking movement. Until now. For all its influence across popular culture, religion, politics, and medicine, this psycho-spiritual movement remains a maligned and misunderstood force in modern life. Its roots are unseen and its long-range impact is unacknowledged. It is often considered a cotton-candy theology for New Agers and self-help junkies. In response, One Simple Idea corrects several historical misconceptions about the positive-thinking movement and introduces us to a number of colorful and dramatic personalities, including Napoleon Hill and Norman Vincent Peale, whose books and influence have touched the lives of tens of millions across the world.
     

‘Theosophical Society to host Mitch Horowitz’

     
I still haven’t gotten around to reading Horowitz’s book Occult America, but I do have this lecture on my calendar. His new book, which will be released January 7, appears to be another take on Kabbalist thinking. I’ll report back after the lecture.

From the publicity:

The Secret History of Positive Thinking

A Presentation by Mitch Horowitz

Sunday, January 26

2 p.m.

New York Theosophical Society

240 East 53rd Street

Manhattan

Can the power of our thoughts shape our lives? From the essays of Emerson to the mega-sensation of The Secret, Americans have long wondered about the hidden potentials of the mind – particularly whether “the power of positive thinking” can bring us wealth, health, and happiness.

Mitch Horowitz

Most serious people view positive thinking as an immature or unrealistic response to life. But award-winning author and lecturer Mitch Horowitz asks us to look again. In this lively and intellectually substantive presentation, Mitch explores themes from his new book, One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (“brilliant” – Deepak Chopra), to seriously consider the remarkable history, astonishing impact, and compelling possibilities of positive thinking.

Rather than being a soft-headed philosophy based in bromides and page-a-day calendars, positive thinking, which began with mental-healing experiments of the mid-nineteenth century, has shown remarkable foresight in contemporary advances in neuroscience, addiction and OCD treatment, stress and recovery programs, and in today’s most intensely debated findings within quantum physics.

Surveying the history and growth of positive thinking, and the myriad forms it has taken, Mitch squarely considers the all-important question: Does it work? As he shows, a thoughtful consideration of the background, methods, and results of positive thinking make a blanket dismissal virtually impossible. He also looks critically at the internal contradictions and ethical dilemmas of positive-thinking philosophy – and considers how these shortcomings can be fixed or reformed to remake positive thinking into a persuasive and mature approach to life.

This journey through the positive-thinking revolution also highlights:

• How the now-familiar injunction to “think positive” bubbled up from occult and mystical subcultures of the mid-nineteenth century before becoming the closest thing America has to a national creed.

• How this once-outsider philosophy has revolutionized mainline faith – including today’s evangelical culture.

• The remarkable personas that shaped positive-thinking, such as philosopher William James, the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, and French therapist Emile Coué (who coined the world-famous but misunderstood mantra: “Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better.”)

• The iconic figures whose lives were impacted by positive-thinking philosophy, including suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Black Nationalist pioneer Marcus Garvey, and President Ronald Reagan.

This unforgettable presentation will give you a wholly new outlook on the history – and possibilities – of a belief system you only thought you knew.

Mitch Horowitz is the author of One Simple Idea: How Positive Thinking Reshaped Modern Life (Crown, Jan. 2014). His previous book, Occult America (Bantam), received the 2010 PEN Oakland/ Josephine Miles Award for literary excellence. Mitch is vice-president and editor-in-chief at Tarcher/Penguin, the division of Penguin books dedicated to metaphysical literature. He frequently writes about and discusses alternative spirituality in the national media, including CBS Sunday Morning, Dateline NBC, All Things Considered, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, BoingBoing, Time.com, and CNN.com. He appears in recent mini-documentaries on the history of positive thinking; Ouija Boards; and occult New York.

Visit him at www.MitchHorowitz.com; on Twitter @MitchHorowitz; and on Facebook at Mitch Horowitz. He and his wife raise two sons in New York City.
     

‘The Light of Martinism’

     
The Traditional Martinist Order’s heptad in New York City will begin classes in January, starting a new two-year term of instruction in the Light of Martinism.

Louis Claude de Saint-Martin

What is Martinism? Well, ah, that’s a big question, but in this context, forget anything you have read on this website or elsewhere about Willermoz, Elu Cohens, CBCS, Ambelain, and other facts and figures. They are not misleading facts and figures, but they can confuse what is at hand here which, I believe, is Louis Claude de Saint-Martin and his teachings of how man can exist in harmony with deity, nature, and his fellow man. As I understand it, the Traditional Martinist Order adheres to what Saint-Martin himself intended: The work of meditation and spiritual alchemy toward Reintegration. There are no titles, jewels, or secret orders to covet; the reward is in mastering (read: living) the work itself.

Read more about it here.

I am not a member, but I am considering signing up, depending on what the meeting schedule looks like. I’m told it will be posted soon, and I’ll share it here when it becomes available. The New York City Heptad (a body of seven people), meets on Sixth Avenue in Chelsea.

Membership here. (The rest of the site is scheduled to launch on December 21.)
     

‘Anthroposophy: In the Midst of Life’

     
A new lecture series keeping current the teachings of Rudolf Steiner will begin in just over a week at the Anthroposophical Society of New York City.

From the publicity:

Eugene Schwartz

Rudolf Steiner spoke frequently about the importance of understanding the role of death and the dead, but the subject remains unpopular among American anthroposophists. Eugene Schwartz explores Steiner’s often surprising and sometimes counter-intuitive indications about the nature of life after death, and suggests how much help they may provide as we face the challenges of modern life.

In the Midst of Life:

Understanding Death in Our Time

A lecture by Eugene Schwartz

Saturday, December 7 at 7 p.m.

Anthroposophical Society of New York City

138 West 15th Street

Manhattan

Lecture 1: Man Becomes Cosmos

We begin with an overview of times and places when Rudolf Steiner spoke about death and its aftermath. We then explore the “first half” of our experience of life after death, in which the human microcosm expands into the heavenly macrocosm and reckons with the karmic consequences of the life just lived. Eugene will draw on hundreds of Rudolf Steiner’s lectures to present a comprehensive panorama of this transformative stage of existence.

Eugene Schwartz has been a Waldorf school teacher, an educator of teachers, and an educational consultant for 33 years. He has given nearly 2000 lectures on Waldorf education and anthroposophy. His articles, podcasts, and videos are here.

Future dates: January 11, April 5, and May 17, 2014. Admission: $20 for the public, and $15 for Society members.
     

‘Mystical Chord on the Solstice’

     

From the Rosicrucian Order:

Join us in celebrating the Winter Solstice with a Mystical Music Celebration with pianist, and long time Rosicrucian, Henry Butler.

December 20, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center of New York City
2303 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard 
(near 135th Street)
Manhattan

Henry Butler

Through dialogue, vowel sound intonations, and a piano performance, Henry will deepen our understanding of what spiritually inclined musicians call the Mystical Chord. Considered the premier exponent of the great New Orleans jazz and blues piano tradition, Butler is a ten-time Pinetop Perkins (formerly W. C. Handy) Best Blues Instrumentalist Award nominee. A rich amalgam of jazz, Caribbean, classical, pop, blues, and R&B, his music is as excitingly eclectic as that of his New Orleans birthplace.
     

‘Builders of the Adytum’s Christmas Ritual’

     
Just forwarding an announcement from BOTA:

Courtesy BOTA

Builders of the Adytum members, their guests, and the general public are invited to participate in the Rev. Ann Davies’ beautiful and inspiring Christmas Ritual. Help us rejoice in the light and promise of this holy season!

Saturday, December 7
2 p.m.
71 West 23rd Street
12th Floor
Manhattan

For information about the Christmas ritual, contact Regional Coordinator Dottie at:
dottielvx (at) optonline.net

BOTA
is an international non-profit teaching and training order for those interested in the Western Mysteries such as Qabalah, Sacred Tarot, Spiritual Alchemy and Esoteric Astrology.
Visit the BOTA website and its Northeast Regional page here.
     

‘Winter Solstice at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center’

     
“At Christmas I no more desire a rose than wish a snow in May’s new-fangled mirth; but like of each thing that in season grows.”

Biron in Love’s Labour’s Lost

Shakespeare’s Biron is talking about the divine’s order of nature, as if echoing Ecclesiastes 3, but December brings a season rich in symbolism that demands an openness to unorthodox understandings. If you never before have observed a winter solstice, try to make time to visit the Rosicrucian Cultural Center for this ceremony and the programs to follow, and indulge a desire for a mystic rose at Christmastime.

From the publicity:

Join us in celebrating the Winter Solstice with the Festival of Light Ceremony: A sacred ritual whose origin dates back to antiquity; a special mystical musical presentation by professional pianist Henry Butler; and the Imperator’s Universal Attunement Exercise.

Saturday, December 21

Noon - Festival of Light Ceremony

1 p.m. - Spiritual Significance

of the Winter Equinox

3 p.m. - Imperator’s Universal

Attunement Exercise

Rosicrucian Cultural Center of New York City

2303 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard

Manhattan

As Number 6 used to say, “Be seeing you.”
     

‘Jung Mann’s Book Sale to Start Soon’

   

The Kristine Mann Library at the C.G. Jung Center will open its month-long book sale on Monday. Call (212) 697-7877 to confirm open hours, but the sale will run through November 30.

The event is renowned for its surprises and low prices. It is recommended you arrive sooner rather than later.

The library is located at 28 East 39th Street in Manhattan. Actually, I don’t know if this is confusing or the height of simplicity, but that address is home to:

C.G. Jung Center,
C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology,
C.G. Jung Institute of New York,
Kristine Mann Library,
and more.
     

‘NYU: Meditation in Four Faith Traditions’

     

AT CAPACITY AS OF NOV. 6

WAIT LIST WILL BE AVAILABLE

AT THE DOOR

I wish I had become aware of New York University’s Mindfulness Project and Center for Spiritual Life earlier. So much for my own mindfulness.

While I have yet to gather my notes and photos from the Mystical Union lecture of last Tuesday night for a Magpie post, let me share this announcement for an event coming in two weeks that sounds wonderful. From the publicity:

The Silent Center:

Mindfulness and Meditation

in Four Faith Traditions

Sunday, November 10

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

NYU Kimmel Center

60 Washington Square South, Room 802

Mindfulness and meditation have historically played a role in nearly every major religious tradition, and yet it is only in recent times that many of these traditions are reclaiming those practices, educating their communities, and incorporating them into their spiritual lives. What are the meditation practices in Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism? How do they differ in each tradition, and how are they similar? Why is a renaissance of these practices important now? Internationally renowned spiritual teachers from each tradition will engage us in this conversation, followed by Q&A.

Featuring: Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault (Christianity), Rabbi David Ingber (Judaism), Imam Khalid Latif (Islam), and Roshi Enkyo O’Hara (Buddhism). Moderated by Yael Shy, Co-Director of NYU’s Of Many Institute for Multifaith Leadership.

Made possible by a grant from the Trust for the Meditation Process, a charitable foundation encouraging meditation and contemplative prayer.

Co-sponsored by the Of Many Institute, the Mindfulness Project at NYU, the Contemplative Studies Project of the Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis, the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life, the Islamic Center at NYU, PLAN, and Congregation Romemu.

Free Admission. Light brunch will be served.

Advance registration is required, so click here.

‘Pioneering Spirituality in Higher Education’

     

New York Open Center offers a free program for Friday night in conjunction with California Institute of Integral Studies. A Conversation between CIIS President Joseph Subbiondo and President Emeritus Robert McDermott will begin at 6:30. Advance registration is required but, again, admission is free.

What is Integral Education? As CIIS phrases it:

Providing an integral education for a changing world, the Institute creates and integrates knowledge beyond the confines of traditional academic disciplines…. In exploring the interplay of mind, body, and spirit, integral education connects the spiritual and practical dimensions of intellectual life. The integration of the wisdom traditions presents an evolution of consciousness that has never been more relevant and crucial than it is today.

From Open Center’s publicity:

Join CIIS President Joseph Subbiondo and President Emeritus Robert McDermott for a conversation on “CIIS- Pioneering Spirituality in Higher Education,” moderated by Dean of Alumni Richard Buggs.

Established In 1968 by Dr. Haridas Chaudhuri and his wife, Bina, the California Institute of Integral Studies drew on the inspiration of the renowned philosopher Sri Aurobindo and is an internationally recognized leader in integral education. Originally focused on the integration of Eastern and Western studies, CIIS has grown to include programs that offer a broad array of multicultural perspectives and has an enrollment of 1,400 students. While expanding the range of its programs, CIIS has retained the intimacy of an academic community rare in U.S. higher education. Robert McDermott, CIIS president emeritus and professor of philosophy and religion and CIIS President Joseph Subbiondo will share perspectives on CIIS’ pioneering vision and innovative future endeavors.

Robert McDermott, Ph.D., Boston University (Philosophy, 1969), is CIIS president emeritus and professor of philosophy and religion. He taught at Manhattanville College (1964-71) and is professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Philosophy at Baruch College, CUNY (1971-90). His publications include Radhakrishnan (1970), The Essential Aurobindo (1974), The Essential Steiner (1984), and the Introduction to William James, Essays in Psychical Research (Harvard University Press, 1986). Robert’s essays have appeared in International Philosophical Quarterly, Cross Currents, Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Philosophy East and West. From 1978 to 1980, he was director of a National Endowment for the Humanities project for the review of audiovisual materials for the study of Hinduism and Buddhism. He is the founding chair of the board of Sophia Project (two homes in Oakland, CA, for mothers and children at risk of homelessness), and has been chair of the board and president of many other institutions.

Joseph L. Subbiondo has been president of CIIS since 1999 and brings a 30-year history of achievement in higher education, including appointments on several international academic committees; and he has been active on many accreditation teams for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Subbiondo’s publications include extensive writings on the history of linguistics. Among his publications are studies of the history of philosophical language, 17th century British educational reform, and the relation between language and the evolution of consciousness. Prior to coming to CIIS, he served as dean of the School of Liberal Arts at St. Mary’s College of California; vice president for academic affairs at the University of the Pacific; dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Santa Clara University; and as a professor of English and linguistics at four universities.

New York Open Center is located at 22 East 30th Street in Manhattan. Register in advance for this free event by emailing to registration(at)opencenter.org

‘The Brooklyn Mysteries’

   

Apropos of nothing, maybe just because it reminds me of this time of year, here is a photo of an untitled work by artist Martha Posner, made of honeysuckle and mixed media. I shot this photo a few years ago when the piece was one of the many works exhibited on the grounds of Boscobel, approximately across the Hudson from West Point.

It’s been several weeks already, so I better tell you about the Eleusinian Mysteries ceremony I attended at Observatory in Brooklyn last month, before what’s left of my mind loses the beautiful details.

Courtesy The Daily Green

Actually I won’t describe it in too much detail because it should be experienced; it was very well presented and, except for my own allergic reaction to a certain fruit—that I kept to myself—everything went off without a hitch. Ms. Pam Grossman began by leading us through an opening ritual, and concluded by leading us through a closing ritual, both of which I think would be recognizable and appreciated in most esoteric circles. Wholesome ones, anyway. In between those was a harmonious mix of readings and hands-on transmissions all intended to channel, if not recreate somewhat, the Eleusinian initiatory rites of ancient Greece.

The evening’s activities engaged the four cardinal directions, and several others; involved the four classical elements, and beyond; and a variety of ritual elements gratified the five physical senses, and then some. It all can succeed in, to phrase it basically, changing one’s state of mind. That is essential to receiving an initiation, which that night, was presented in the form of the story of Demeter, the central mythological figure in the Eleusinian Mysteries. You can read the essence of this here.

Courtesy deviantART

Longtime Magpie readers have come to expect detailed descriptions of special occasions, but I have to treat this differently since I was only a visitor accepting an invitation. If Ms. Grossman will host this event again next fall, I surely will publicize it here and encourage you to check it out. It’s really worth your time.
     

‘NYU: Perspectives on Mystical Union’

     
And speaking of New York University and neuroscience, an interesting discussion is scheduled for next Wednesday night, hosted by the Mindfulness Project at NYU.

From the publicity:

What is Non-Duality?
Perspectives on Mystical Union

from Philosophy, Psychology and Neuroscience

Wednesday, October 16

6:30 to 8 p.m.

238 Thompson Street, Room 475

Anecdotal reports of contemplative experiences often describe a sense of unity that transcends self-object dichotomy and subsumes the multiplicity of phenomena in a unified field of awareness/consciousness. This talk will explore different perspectives on nonduality. The neuroimaging data will be discussed in light of experiential meditation, and the different models for the neural correlates of nondual awareness will be presented, including the recent research from our lab at NYU (Josipovic et al., 2012; Josipovic, 2013).

Zoran Josipovic, Ph.D., is the director of Contemplative Science Lab in the Psychology Department at NYU, and adjunct assistant professor for cognitive and affective neuroscience. He is the founding director of Nonduality Institute in Woodstock, New York. His research interests are states of consciousness cultivated through contemplative practice; what these states can tell us about the nature of consciousness and its relation to authentic subjectivity; and the relevance they have for understanding the global and local organization in the brain. Zoran is a long-time practitioner of meditation in the nondual traditions of Dzogchen, Mahamudra and Advaita Vedanta.


Reservations are required, so click here. I do not know why the flier says Room 451 and the press release says Room 475, but we’ll figure it out when we get there.
     

‘A temple in Syria’

     
Amid all the horrible news of death and destruction in Syria today comes updated word of a most curious ancient temple archeologists have been excavating and studying. The ’Ain Dara temple in northern Syria is, according to the Biblical Archaeology Society, practically a twin of the ancient center of Israelite life: Solomon’s Temple.

I don’t think I’ve ever reproduced anyone else’s entire article before on The Magpie, but this is worthwhile. ©Biblical Archaeology Society, 2013. (In the past I have recommended subscribing to its magazine, and do so again. Click here.)

Searching

for the Temple

of King Solomon

For centuries, scholars have searched in vain for any remnant of Solomon’s Temple. The fabled Jerusalem sanctuary, described in such exacting detail in 1 Kings 6, was no doubt one the most stunning achievements of King Solomon in the Bible, yet nothing of the building itself has been found because excavation on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, site of the Temple of King Solomon, is impossible.

Fortunately, several Iron Age temples discovered throughout the Levant bear a striking resemblance to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. Through these remains, we gain extraordinary insight into the architectural grandeur of the building that stood atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount nearly 3,000 years ago.

The black basalt ruins of the Iron Age temple discovered at ’Ain Dara in northern Syria offer the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. Photo: Ben Churcher

As reported by archaeologist John Monson in the pages of BAR, the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon is the recently discovered ’Ain Dara temple in northern Syria. Nearly every aspect of the ’Ain Dara temple—its age, its size, its plan, its decoration—parallels the vivid description of the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible. In fact, Monson identified more than 30 architectural and decorative elements shared by the ’Ain Dara structure and the Jerusalem Temple described by the Biblical writers.

The ’Ain Dara temple and the Biblical Temple of King Solomon share very similar plans. Images: Ben Churcher

The similarities between the ’Ain Dara temple and the temple described in the Bible are indeed striking. Both buildings were erected on huge artificial platforms built on the highest point in their respective cities. The buildings likewise have similar tripartite plans: an entry porch supported by two columns, a main sanctuary hall (the hall of the ’Ain Dara temple is divided between an antechamber and a main chamber) and then, behind a partition, an elevated shrine, or Holy of Holies. They were also both flanked on three of their sides by a series of multistoried rooms and chambers that served various functions.

Even the decorative schemes of ’Ain Dara temple and the temple described in the Bible are similar: Nearly every surface, both interior and exterior, of the ’Ain Dara temple was carved with lions, mythical animals (cherubim and sphinxes), and floral and geometric patterns, the same imagery that, according to 1 Kings 6:29, adorned the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible.

It is the date of the ’Ain Dara temple, however, that offers the most compelling evidence for the authenticity of the Biblical Temple of King Solomon. The ’Ain Dara temple was originally built around 1300 B.C. and remained in use for more than 550 years, until 740 B.C. The plan and decoration of such majestic temples no doubt inspired the Phoenician engineers and craftsmen who built Solomon’s grand edifice in the tenth century B.C. As noted by Lawrence Stager of Harvard University, the existence of the ’Ain Dara temple proves that the Biblical description of Solomon’s Temple was “neither an anachronistic account based on later temple archetypes nor a literary creation. The plan, size, date and architectural details fit squarely into the tradition of sacred architecture from north Syria (and probably Phoenicia) from the tenth to eighth centuries B.C.”

Gigantic footprints belonging
to the resident deity were carved
at the temple’s entrance.
Photo: A.M. Appa

Certain features of the ’Ain Dara temple also provide dramatic insight into ancient Near Eastern conceptions of gods and the temples in which they were thought to reside. Carved side-by-side in the threshold of the ’Ain Dara temple are two gigantic footprints. As one enters the antechamber of the sanctuary, there is another carving of a right foot, followed 30 feet away (at the threshold between the antechamber and the main chamber) by a carving of a left foot. The footprints, each of which measures 3 feet in length, were intended to show the presence (and enormity) of the resident deity as he or she entered the temple and approached his or her throne in the Holy of Holies. Indeed, the 30-foot stride between the oversize footprints indicates a god who would have stood 65 feet tall! In Solomon’s Temple, the presence of a massive throne formed by the wings of two giant cherubim with 17-foot wingspans (1 Kings 6:23–26) may indicate that some Israelites envisaged their God, Yahweh, in a similar manner.

‘Rosicrucian Order relocates to 23rd Street’

     
The Rosicrucian Order, having left the Gramercy Park area a few weeks ago, will begin meeting in the Flatiron tomorrow. Some new place on 23rd Street.

A full program of events is scheduled for Saturday, beginning at 3 p.m. on the tenth floor inside what is named the Colonial Room. At six o’clock, the doors will open for a social gathering, where members and non-members alike are welcome to come, ask questions, etc.

71 West 23rd Street. Never heard of it.