On 13 December 1974, just over forty years ago, a 77-year-old Englishman died unexpectedly, after digging a flower garden, on the grounds of Sherborne House, an impressive mansion in the Cotswalds of England. Formerly a private school, it was now […]
Secret Wisdom
Gematria: The Link Between Numbers & Letters
Count the numerical values Of the letters in Nero’s name, And in “murdered his own mother”: You’ll find the sum is the same. This piece of doggerel, written on a wall in Rome around 60 CE, points to a widespread […]
An Introduction to Western Sexual Mysticism
Very few people are aware that there are long-standing traditions of sexual mysticism in the West. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, many in the West became aware of Hindu and Buddhist forms of Tantra, but Tantric traditions […]
Revisiting Joseph Campbell: The Power of Myth
Perhaps myth first arose out of the answers parents give to their children’s questions. Many of these are unanswerable: Why is water wet? Why is fire hot? Where does everything come from? Who is God? Because people like to tell […]
Spirituality in Today’s Vietnam
The Vietnamese Buddha I have a great reverence for is Di Lac Phat, the Maitreya Buddha, the fat, laughing Buddha of the future. It is impossible to gaze upon his form for even a moment and not feel slightly amused, […]