Vesica Institute for Holistic Studies

Awakening The Third Eye by Samuel Sagan

Spiritual Initiation in the Western Tradition by Robert J. Gilbert

Collected Information from the Western Spiritual Tradition Seminars. Deep overview not available elsewhere of Rosicrucian esoteric knowledge & work of Rudolf Steiner. By Robert J. Gilbert.

How to Know Higher Worlds: A Modern Path of Initiation
by Rudolf Steiner

This is the classic account of the modern Western esoteric path of initiation made public by Steiner in 1904. He begins with the premise that “the capacities by which we can gain insights into the higher worlds lie dormant within each one of us.” Steiner carefully and precisely leads the reader from the cultivation of the fundamental soul attitudes of reverence and inner tranquility to the development of inner life through the stages of preparation, illumination, and initiation.

Steiner provides practical exercises of inner and outer observation and moral development. By patiently and persistently following his guidelines, new “organs” of soul and spirit begin to form, which reveal the contours of the higher worlds thus far concealed from us.

Steiner in this important work becomes a teacher, a counselor, and a friend whose advice is practical, clear, and effective. The challenges we face in life require increasingly deeper levels of understanding, and Steiner’s text helps readers to cultivate the capacities for such insights and places them at the service of humanity.

This is Steiner’s most essential guide to the modern path of initiation he advocated throughout his life. It has been translated into many languages and has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. How to Know Higher Worlds has been admired by some of the most brilliant minds of our time. 288 pages

An Outline of Esoteric Science
by Rudolf Steiner

This masterwork of esotericism places humankind at the very heart of the vast, invisible processes of cosmic evolution. When we use the term “natural science,” don’t we mean that we are dealing with human knowledge of nature?

Steiner worked and reworked his Rosicrucian cosmology to make it increasingly precise and accurate. An Outline of Esoteric Science is as vital and relevant now as it was when first published in 1910 and remains the most comprehensive and effective presentation of a spiritual alternative to contemporary, materialistic cosmologies and a strict Darwinian view of human nature and evolution.

In this foundational work of spiritual science, we see how the creation and evolution of humanity is embedded at the heart of the vast, invisible web of interacting cosmic beings, through whom the alchemical processes of cosmic evolution continue to evolve. Included are descriptions of the physical-spiritual makeup of the human being; the relationships of the different "bodies" of the human being to sleep and death; and a detailed, practical guide to methods and exercises, including the “Rose Cross Meditation,” through which we can attain knowledge of the spiritual worlds.

The most remarkable and revolutionary aspect of this work is the central function that Steiner attributes to the Christ and his involvement in human and earthly evolution through the Mystery of Golgotha.

This is essential reading for all serious students of esoteric spirituality.  448 pages

The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians, First Freemasons
by Tobias Churton

In a breathtaking span of detailed research, Tobias Churton reveals, without resorting to mythology or pseudo-history, the most up-to-date knowledge on the development of Gnostic alchemy, the true origins of pre-Grand Lodge Freemasonry, and the mysterious Fraternity of the Rosy Cross (the Rosicrucians). Following the Hermetic spiritual and philosophical stream through 1,600 years of esoteric history, Churton introduces readers to great men of magic and wisdom—spiritual heroes and masters like Paracelsus, Caspar Schwenckfeld, Johann Valentin Andrae, and Elias Ashmole. The Golden Builders is an essential addition to any serious seekers’ library.
The Golden Builders is divided into three parts:
• Part 1 presents a broad survey of the Hermetic current and its transmissions from Hellenistic Alexandria to the time of Paracelsus.
• Part 2 focuses on the Rosicrucian movement as a vehicle of the Hermetic current, drawing on state-of-the-art research, such as the works of Spanish scholar Carlos Gilly.
• Part 3 concentrates mainly on one man, the English polymath, antiquarian, collector, alchemist, astrologer, and early Freemason, Elias Ashmole, after whom the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is named, and one of many Renaissance figures who carried the Hermetic current forward.
Debunking myths while revealing genuine mysteries, The Golden Builders is an enticing read that contains much spiritual wisdom. Explore the deeper meaning of magic and human existence, as revealed in the records and inspiring lives of the Golden Builders.

250 pages

An Esoteric Cosmology: Evolution, Christ & Modern Spirituality
by Rudolf Steiner

A congress of the Federation of European Sections of the Theosophical Society was held in Paris in May 1906. Rudolf Steiner attended with a number of students and presented a series of lectures to a small circle of friends, mostly society members. Edouard Schuré was present and made succinct notes of those talks, the result of which is An Esoteric Cosmology: Evolution, Christ, and Modern Spirituality. In is foreword, Schuré describes his initial impressions of Rudolf Steiner and the force of his vision: “These priceless lectures mark a significant phase of Rudolf Steiner’s thought—that of the spontaneous burst of his genius and its first crystallization.” Indeed, his notes record perhaps the first general outline and summary of what would become Anthroposophy, or spiritual science.

At the time of these lectures, most members viewed Theosophy as a kind of Europeanized Indian philosophy. Thus, one purpose of these lectures was to outline Steiner’s Christ-centered spiritual science in contrast to the more Eastern orientation of Theosophy. He carefully connected the essence of spiritual science to the role of the Christ in human evolution, as well as to the Rosicrucian and Christian mystery traditions, the primary carriers of the esoteric Christian stream. To accomplish this, Steiner presented the roots of Christianity in the ancient mysteries and in the evolution of the whole universe itself.

The miracle of these lectures, perhaps, is that Steiner was able to condense such a grand cosmology into these eighteen lectures, and that Edouard Schuré was able to capture their essence in the relatively brief notes that constitute this book. A few years later, the substance of these lectures were expanded and presented in Rudolf Steiner’s Outline of Esoteric Science. These lecture notes will prove invaluable for all those who wish to better understand that book, as well as Rudolf Steiner’s Christian cosmology and perspective on esoteric Christianity and the Christian mysteries. 132 pages

David's Question What Is Man? (Psalm 8:4) — Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy, and the Holy Scriptures: An Anthroposophical Commentary on the Bible
by Edward Reaugh Smith

If, ultimately, there is only one reality, then neither religion nor science can be fulfilled until they come together on a higher plane. In this second volume of his authoritative, anthroposophical commentary on the Bible, Edward Reaugh Smith shows that there is no difference between true science and the divine intelligence sought by true religion. The model for such a union of science and religion is the spiritual science developed by Rudolf Steiner. In this union, what the senses show us about the physical world—when keenly observed and allowed to speak for itself instead of being abstracted into theories—become images of the spiritual world: “As above, so below.”

Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the Bible, the author shows us that anthroposophy provides unique insights into the biblical account.

Included are essays on:
* Evolution
* Creation and Apocalypse
* The Four Elements
* As Above, So Below
* Fire (where Earth and Heaven meet)
* Light (the first form of corporeality from which all else follows)
* Blood (the meeting point of inner and outer worlds)
* What Is Man (how beings of the higher worlds work in forming the earthly vehicle for the human being)
* Plus Numerous Charts & Tables, an extensive bibliography, and an index of scriptures cited.
This is an important resource for anyone who wants to dig into the deepest meanings of biblical scriptures. 560 pages

The Burning Bush : Rudolf Steiner, Anthroposophy and the Holy Scriptures : Terms & Phrases
by Edward Reaugh Smith

Even more significant for Christianity in the long run than the twentieth-century Dead Sea and Nag Hammadi discoveries is the growing American awareness of the works of Rudolf Steiner.

Virtually unavailable until the end of the twentieth century, English translations from the German archives are gradually coming into print. No Bible commentary has yet reflected the remarkable spiritual insights of anthroposophy.

Now, ten years after first encountering a written comment about Rudolf Steiner, The author combines his own extensive traditional biblical knowledge with years of concentrated study and reflection on hundreds of assembled works by Steiner. Because of its radical newness, The Burning Bush, as an introductory volume, deviates from the ordinary commentary mode. It presents a series of essays on terms and phrases of critical importance to a deeper comprehension of the Bible's message. 775 pages. Softcover

The Fourth Dimension
Sacred Geometry, Alchemy, and Mathematics
Rudolf Steiner

The point, line, plane and solid objects represent the first three dimensions, but a kind of reversal of space is involved in the ascent to a fourth dimension. Steiner leads us to the brink of this new perspective—as nearly as it can be done with words, diagrams, analogies, and examples of many kinds. In doing so, he continues his lifelong project of demonstrating that our objective, everyday thinking is the lowest rung of a ladder that reaches up to literally infinite heights.

The talks in this series and the selections from the question-and-answer sessions on many mathematical topics over the years are translated into English for the first time in The Fourth Dimension. They bring us to tantalizing new horizons of awareness where Steiner hoped to lead his listeners: 256 pages