Kirjahaku

This book is an invitation to reacquaintance with the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also a book of theotropics. As the tiny heliotrope "by nature" orients its face to the sun, so each of us orients our face toward the Beloved. The deeper wisdom is not systematic. Spiritual traditions communicate expressions of wisdom that may blend as harmoniously as the fragrances of a flower garden. This book is about seeing the presentations of our life as occurring under the watchful care of the Blessed Mother. It is, in this sense, a phenomenology of Marian spirituality. The descending Age to come--whose premonitions are already occurring--can be regarded as an Age of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This book is about the generosity at the heart of the cosmos that is mirrored in the hearts of all beings whatsoever in their original and undefended state. The Blessed Virgin is regarded as both Life-Giving Spring and fire that does not consume. For children of the Mother, she is reality as well as the metaphor that contains many other metaphors. She is the reality from which arise answers to many questions--a closing of the circle of what is possible in anyone's life. The book is structured as a mosaic of reflections unfolding from attention to the ancient Greek icon of the "Life-Giving Spring" (Zoodochos Pighi), an instance of which is shown on the cover of this book. As a phenomenology, the book makes reference to the imaginal realm as identified principally by the Iranologist, Henry Corbin. This book touches on hierophanies of the Virgin Mary as well as on particular locales, such as Glastonbury, Walsingham, and Medjugorje, and on the significance of pilgrimage. A Perennials Study Group publication Other titles by the same author: * Taliesin's Harp: A Poetics of the Divine-Humanity* The Anthropocosmic Vision: For a New Dialogic Civilization* From Glory to Glory: The Sophianic Vision of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov

Intended for the interested general reader as well as for persons with informed acquaintance with the life and work of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov (d. 1944), this book provides an introduction to the "layers" of Bulgakov's multi-dimensional sophiology. Beyond this, the text proposes this sophiology as a useful interpretive lens for engaging with the range of contemporary concerns, both local and global, in trans-disciplinary ways. All this is done with reference to the best of recent English-language Bulgakov scholarship up through the first decade of the twenty-first century. The late Orthodox spiritual writer, Philip Sherrard, wrote about "a single unified science." Such a science can only exist insofar as it is rooted in the wisdom/glory of God. Bulgakovian sophiology is therefore approached, in this study, from within a larger context than is usually accorded to it. This approach includes reference to what is sometime called The Great Tradition or the perennial wisdom. It is suggested that Bulgakov is best thought of as a visionary Christian writer and Christian humanist, and that his sophiology will continue to be relevant into the future because it is, in essence, a Christian expression of the unitive vision which both acknowledges and transcends modern (and postmodern) discernment of "difference." Within the context of Christian Orthodoxy, Bulgakov's sophiology connects with the contemporary search for a more open, comprehensive, and progressive Orthodoxy rooted in liturgical practice and patristic spirituality. It is also suggested that sophiology, more broadly, is best understood as a particular approach, as opposed to a specific method, to understanding and addressing resistances (within ourselves) to the reign of heaven in the world today and in the years to come. As one student of Fr. Bulgakov is said to have characterized his theology/sophiology--it is "nothing but the experience of the Kingdom of God " A companion volume to this text, The Anthropocosmic Vision: For a New Dialogic Civilization, was published in September 2017. The focus of the companion volume is humanity and its possible futures in light of Holy Wisdom. A Perennials Study Group publication

At this critical juncture in the history and self-understanding of Western civilization, this is an opportune time to reflect upon who we are as human beings, where we have come from, and where we are going-in the largest possible scope of vision. This text is offered as one such reflection, making particular reference to the Synergic Anthropology of the Russian philosopher, Sergey S. Horujy. This book is written at a transitional time for America and Europe and indeed for the world. Within this change there is an undercurrent of political feeling that looks to Russia or identifies with certain conceptualizations of (Orthodox) Christian Russia (or "Holy Rus"). The current regime of oligarchs in Russia capitalizes on this. A key quality or characteristic of this relationship, from both sides, is one of resentment-resentment that is maximized for use in weaponized public rhetorics. We are witness, as an expression of this, to resurgent nationalisms, including a "white nationalism," which is trans-national in its formation. More than ever, it is important to see humankind in its telos-its divine potential for unfolding, much as a flower blossom unfolds, in freedom and love. If it has the surface appearance of a scholarly work, this new text is offered more as an unfinished hymn-a melody-touching on intellectual and spiritual traditions ranging from hesychast practice, to Maximus the Confessor and Mikhail Bakhtin, intending contexts that are global, cosmic and open. The focus of this book is humanity and its possible futures in light of Holy Wisdom. This title is conceived as a companion volume to the author's earlier study, From Glory to Glory: The Sophianic Vision of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov, published in 2016. A Perennials Study Group publication

It is important at this stage of planetary history--at this stage in the evolution of consciousness--to elevate a hopeful vision toward which, as planetary community of communities, we may direct our aspirations. In what direction, in our heart-of-hearts, do we wish to travel together? It is suggested here that what is most needed is not so much programmatic as melodic--a discerned melody with which we may harmonize our thoughts and actions. In this, we come to understand the role and function of imagination as a mode of perception--the "place" of revelation. This text is the third and concluding volume in a series of extended reflections on humankind--its formation, its potential and its future. Whereas the first volume is concerned with Fr. Sergius Bulgakov's sophiology and the second volume with the synergic anthropology of the Russian philosopher, Sergey Horujy, this present volume is concerned with what is called the divine-humanity and the divine melody that draws it into being. Referring to the work of Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, Rudolf Steiner and others, this present text offers an appealing presentation of what is possible in the next stages of planetary evolution. In these reflections on the iconic potential (iconicity) of language, what is offered is a consideration of the "paradise consciousness" associated always and everywhere with intimations of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A Perennials Study Group publication Other titles in this series: * The Anthropocosmic Vision: For a New Dialogic Civilization, published in 2017* From Glory to Glory: The Sophianic Vision of Fr. Sergius Bulgakov, published in 2016 Praise for From Glory to Glory: "Thompson's work is more than an accessible introduction to a complicated theologian; it is a rich philosophical inquiry that captures the essence of Bulgakov's vision, and thus the fears and hopes of a generation." -Madonna Sophia Compton