Posts by seedsdrcorso

Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation by Mitch Horowitz

I saved this book for Thanksgiving weekend because I’d met the author years ago, and I knew it would be a treat. I was right.

Mitch Horowitz is the Editor in Chief for Tarcher/Putnam (full disclosure: they published my God’s Dictionary in 2002). Mitch has been writing for publications in the intervening years. Every article I’ve found has been illuminating and deftly written. This book is no exception.

Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation is a treasure trove of little-known and, at the same time, obvious facts. What Mr. Horowitz has done is link the mystical history of the United States into a coherent, fascinating narrative. Being of a mystical bent myself, his words confirmed ideas I’d long harbored though not articulated. I’m so glad he wrote it.

Our story starts in 1693 with German mystic Johannes Kelpius leading a group of outside-the-box thinkers to Philadelphia. Eventually, a psychic highway is established in upstate New York. This locus would be the genesis of much of the mysticism that created America.

Mother Ann Lee and her Shakers had a community there. Joseph Smith of Mormon fame started there. Freemasonry bounced through. The Poughkeepsie seer, Andrew Jackson Davis, was born there. Mesmerism had a hey-day there.

Fast forward historically. The Ouija Board reigned as the country’s best-selling novelty. People were both intrigued and horrified by it.

Wallace Wattles, author of the book that inspired The Secret, pioneered the science of right thinking. Phineas P. Quimby, the Maine healer, inspired thousands of spontaneous healings. (Among whom was Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity Village, who had been told to expect her own death quite soon.)

Early America was a spiritually rocking place. FWIW, it remains so to this day for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

Mary Baker Eddy studied with Quimby and created her own Christian Science. She trained Emma Curtis Hopkins who became known as the teacher of teachers when Eddy banished her. Ernest Holmes, who founded Religious Science; Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, who founded Unity; and Nona Brooks, who founded Divine Science, all studied with her.

The Sleeping Prophet Edgar Cayce was part of U.S. history as well. He did thousands of trance readings which helped people both to heal and to understand their past patterning.

Mr. Horowitz writes a well-deserved paean of praise about The Secret Teachings of the Ages author Manly P. Hall. His section on Fascism and the Occult is the clearest I’ve ever read. There’s a kind expose of Baird T. Spaulding, the author of Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East—a book series I never was able to take seriously. Now I know why.

“Most people, thought schools, or movements identified as New Age from the 1970s through the early twenty-first century shared these traits:

“1. Belief in the therapeutic value of spiritual or religious ideas.

“2. Belief in a mind-body connection in health.

“3. Belief that human consciousness is evolving to higher stages.

“4. Belief that thoughts, in some greater or lesser measure, determine reality.

“5. Belief that spiritual understanding is available without allegiance to a specific religion or doctrine.”

I agree with every statement, and if you’re reading this, you probably do too. This book is a must-read for anyone in America who takes their spiritual path seriously.

Bravo, Mitch Horowitz. The occult lives in the U.S.of A.

P. S. And what a perfect post for Winter Solstice!

Banquet

Seeds XI, 51

Seed: Banquet

Auntie Mame (Dennis) is one of my very favorite theologians. One of her best Mamisms is: “Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.” We deny ourselves a place at the table.

Ernest Holmes, founder of Science of Mind, wrote, “We are fed from the table of the Universe, whose board is ever spread with blessedness and peace.”

Banquet actually comes from French roots which mean table. The table of the universe is. The issue isn’t that. It’s whether we’re showing up at the table. There’s always a place set for anyone who shows up.

What comprises a banquet for you? Free time? Lovely gifts? Singing songs? Dancing with abandon? Reading a book? A day at a spa? What qualifies as banquet to you?

Whatever that is, pull up a chair. We’ve been waiting for you. Now, dig in.

Be joy,

Susan Corso

Dr. Susan Corso

Seeds are remarkable gifts. Sown in consciousness, they bring you to the most important part of your being—your Divine Spark.

Check out the Seeds Archive for past messages of inspiration.

 

When you have friends you would like added to the Seeds e-mail list, send their addresses to me at susan@susancorso.com.

For spiritual nourishment, please visit my website www.susancorso.com

and my blogs Seeds for Sanctuary, God’s Dictionary,

Ode Magazine, and The Huffington Post.

Follow me on Twitter @PeaceCorso

Roll Around Heaven—an all-true accidental spiritual adventure by Jessica Maxwell

Jessica Maxwell is a funny woman. She’s a nationally acclaimed travel writer who sees her father’s face in the sky soon after he dies. So does her sister who lives a thousand miles away. Thus is our Miss Maxwell “marched,” as she says, “into the divine principal’s office” and told to quit goofing off and start paying attention.

Spirituality is a delectable path. There are as many variations on it as there are souls. Ms. Maxwell’s is particularly juicy and more than a little hilarious. I could not put this book down.

From the vision of her papa’s benevolent face blessing her from the skies to her original spiritual teacher, the Holy Pig Farmer, we are allowed to share both adventures and misadventures as Jessica Maxwell gets her bearings on the spiritual path.

She had me in her Invitation introduction on page xi: “One can only hope that fear-wracked control-freak us-against-them extremists of all faiths come to their senses and recognize the truly radical promise of peace that is at the heart of every one of the world’s great religions.” She’s right, and it’s a statement that only someone who has been through a spiritual becoming can see.

Peace, dear one, is at the center of all spiritual seeking. I can assure you that Jessica has created a modicum of peace through her authentic seeking and finding. Let’s follow what her best friend refers to as “Lucille Ball Trips Over God.”

The Holy Pig Farmer, Lory Misel, guest spoke in a creative writing class for Jessica and that was it. He became her touchstone on the path. We all need one. His primary lesson? You are here to bless the world. We all are, dear one.

The Holy Pig Farmer meets Jessica at the level of spirituality, and at the level of religion. She needed it. “Grace,” he says, “is perfect peace.” Amen. Her journey starts to feel like a runaway train. One day she knows it’s time to get a divorce. Just like that. The spiritual path can be that way.

I loved it when Jessica had the same reaction I do to that dreadful bumpersticker, God is my Co-Pilot. I always want to pull them over and set things straight. Darling, I fantasize saying, scoot over. Let God be the pilot. Jessica writes, “(one would assume that, if anything, one is God’s copilot).” Amen, sister.

After her divorce, she ends up in a relationship that clears her karmic clock, and then, she ends up in a church with a friend where she eventually meets and marries her delicious soulmate.

“Peace,” she says. ” It always gets back to peace.” Yes, it does. Then, one day, she’s in Portland, Oregon and ends up having lunch with Deepak Chopra. It was a God job.

And so the journey continued, and, I’m sure, continues. Jessica Maxwell and her book are the real deal. Inspiring, encouraging, full of enough good humor and awkward learning to make anyone on the spiritual path laugh and keep going. That’s my kind of adventure.