Showing results by narrator "Matthew Schmitz" in All Categories

G. R. S. Mead has issued a translation of the whole body of extant literature, with extended prolegomena, commentary, etc. There is a wide difference of opinion as to the date at which this literature was produced. Mead believes that some of the extant portions of it are at least as early as the earliest Christian writings, while von Christ assigns them to the third Christian century. To affirm that they influenced New Testament usage would be hazardous, but they perhaps throw some light on the direction in which thought was moving in New Testament times.

Enheduanna, also known as En-hedu-ana or Enheduana, is widely regarded as the world's first known author and poet, as well as one of the earliest recorded female figures in history. She lived in ancient Mesopotamia during the 23rd century BCE, and held the esteemed position of high priestess in the city of Ur, which was a thriving center of Sumerian civilization.

"The Last Incantation" by Clark Ashton Smith tells the story of Malygris, an aging necromancer who has mastered all forms of magic but is plagued by ennui. In a bid to escape his despair, he attempts to summon his long-lost love, Nylissa, from the dead, only to discover that the reality of her presence does not fulfill his nostalgic desires, leading to a poignant lesson about the passage of time and the nature of memory.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media (altrusiangrace.com) and human-narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The tales you are about to listen to are older than cities. Older than memory. They come from a land where the sun was a god, the river a lifeblood, and every stone held a secret. In Ancient Egyptian Legends, M. A. Murray gathered the fragments of a long-vanished world and gave them voice again—stories once carved in temple walls, whispered by priests, or preserved in faded papyrus scrolls.

Few works in human history have shaped the course of warfare, strategy, and leadership as profoundly as The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Written over 2,500 years ago during China’s Warring States period, this timeless treatise transcends its origins as a military manual, offering wisdom that applies not only to warfare but to politics, business, diplomacy, and personal growth. At its core, The Art of War is a philosophy of strategy—one that emphasizes intelligence, adaptability, and the mastery of conflict through knowledge rather than brute force.

THE KYBALION—A Study Guide For Hermetic Philosophy—Full esoteric Text. The Kybalion is a book originally published in 1908 by "Three Initiates" that purports to convey the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. A modern Hermetic tract, it has been widely influential in New Age circles since the twentieth century. A central concept in the book is that there are "seven Hermetic principles, upon which the entire Hermetic philosophy is based". The ALL is ALL, the Universe is MENTAL.

Twenty Drawings is a brief but evocative art volume first published in 1919 that gathers twenty of Kahlil Gibran’s drawings, presented with an introductory essay by Alice Raphael. Rather than telling a conventional story, the book offers a visual meditation on beauty, the human form, spirituality, longing, and the dreamlike union of Eastern and Western artistic sensibilities that shaped Gibran’s work.

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered spiritual and philosophical texts in Hindu tradition, forming a part of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. It is presented as a dialogue between Lord Krishna and the warrior Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, moments before the start of a great war. Arjuna, faced with the dilemma of fighting against his own relatives and teachers, is overcome by doubt and despair. Seeking guidance, he turns to Krishna, who serves as his charioteer and divine teacher.

In the same way, to reach one's khudi or rooh, one needs to go through multiple stages which Iqbal himself went through, a spiritual path which he encourages others to travel. He notes that not all seeds reach the level of fragrance. Many die along the way, incomplete. In the same way, few people could climb this Mount Everest of spirituality—most get consumed along the way by materialism.

Dion Fortune is acknowledged as one of the most knowledgeable and level-headed writers on esoteric matters. In Sane Occultism, she is adamant that magic and occult studies, though often dealing with unseen forces, must still be grounded in reason, and she explains how claims of psychic ability and past lives can, and should, be verified. The book covers a vast swath of topics, from meditation and psychism, through numerology and astrology, to such "black" occult practices as psychic vampirism, blood sacrifice, and other aspects of the Left-Hand Path.

The lectures here presented in book form were first written in twenty lectures and delivered during the month of November, 1908, in Columbus, Ohio, by Max Heindel. He also mimeographed them and distributed copies to all who attended his lectures in that city, and in other cities. After his lectures in Seattle, Washington, a friend, Mr. William M. Patterson, traveled with him to Chicago, Illinois, where he not only financed the publishing, but also assisted Mr. Heindel in proofreading both The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception and these Twenty Lectures.

The Book of Revelation holds many secrets, and can be interpreted in many ways from an unlimited amount of perspectives.

A Road to Self-Knowledge by Rudolf Steiner is a spiritual-guide structured as eight meditations, each focusing on successive layers of human being—from the physical body and etheric (life-force) body, through the elemental world and the "Guardian of the Threshold," to the astral body, the I- or thought-body, the nature of experience in supersensible realms, and finally the remembrance of one's repeated earthly lives.

Beyond the Wall of Sleep, written by H. P. Lovecraft in 1919, is a fascinating blend of science fiction, cosmic horror, and metaphysical exploration. First published in Pine Cones in 1919 and later in Fantasy Fan in 1934, the story reflects Lovecraft's early fascination with dreams, the human mind, and the mysterious realms that exist beyond physical reality. It serves as an example of Lovecraft’s ability to merge speculative ideas with an evocative, dreamlike narrative.

In “The Green Meadow,” an isolated narrator awakens in a strange, alien landscape between a sinister green forest and a distant, luminous meadow across blue water, with only fragments of memory and an overwhelming sense of cosmic dread. As the piece of land beneath him breaks away and drifts across the sea, he senses that the forest harbors hostile, sentient forces, while the radiant meadow exerts a terrible fascination and eerie promise of safety.

In “The Hoard of the Wizard-Beast,” the official Yalden discovers that the treasury of the strange city of Zeth has been emptied by corruption, and on the advice of the dubious oracle Oorn he is sent to recover the legendary treasure of the monstrous sorcerer Anathas, who dwells in the dreaded Cave of Three Winds. Armed with magical protections and driven by duty, greed, and youthful ambition, Yalden survives a hazardous journey across an alien wasteland and reaches the wizard-beast’s lair, where he finds an immense hoard of jewels and relics beyond a floor of blazing coals.

There are words spoken in the world, and then there are those whispered beyond it—words that do not merely inform but awaken. The Voice of the Silence is such a text, a sacred transmission from realms unseen, a guide for the soul that dares to walk the razor’s edge of enlightenment. It is not merely a book, but a portal—an esoteric key unlocking the path to self-transcendence. Written by Helena Blavatsky and drawn from the sacred wisdom of the East, this work calls to those who seek not mere knowledge, but direct experience of the divine.

Manly Palmer Hall (18 March 1901-29 August 1990) was a Canadian author, lecturer, astrologer, mystic and Freemason. Over his 70-year career he gave thousands of lectures and published over 150 volumes, of which the best known is The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928). In 1934 he founded the Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles. The Initiates Of The Flame—Few realize that even at the present stage of civilization in this world, there are souls who, like the priests of the ancient temples, walk the earth and watch and guard the sacred fires that burn upon the altar of humanity.

Brought to you by Altrusian Grace Media and narrated by Matthew Schmitz. The Madman: His Parables and Poems" by Kahlil Gibran is a poetic collection that delves into profound themes of identity, existence, and the nature of humanity, characteristic of Gibran's literary style in the early 20th century. This work reflects a philosophical exploration of the human condition through parables and poems, imbuing them with spiritual and metaphysical insights. Written during the early modern period, the book brings a unique blend of mystical thought and artistic expression.

F. Lamplugh’s The Gnosis of the Light presents an esoteric “apocalypse” as a roadmap of initiation, in which salvation is not secured by belief alone but by awakening to an interior radiance that reorders the whole person. Moving through dense, emblematic visions and hierarchies, the work depicts the soul’s ascent from the world’s entanglements into a realm of intelligible Light, where names, powers, and ritual images function as stages of purification and recognition rather than mere mythology.