The sacred consciousness that prevailed in antiquity is the key to unlocking our future
• Shows how scientific consciousness, which gives primacy to the sense of sight, estranged us from the participatory spiritual consciousness of antiquity
• Explores the vital importance of the imagination in reconnecting us to the spirit world
The Future of the Ancient World sheds new light on the evolution of consciousness from antiquity to modern times. The twelve essays in this book examine developments in human consciousness over the past five thousand years that most history books do not touch. In ancient times, human beings were finely attuned to the invisible world of the gods, spirits, and ancestors. Today, by contrast, our modern scientific consciousness regards what is physically imperceptible as unreal. Our experience of the natural world has shifted from an awareness of the divine presence animating all things to the mere scientific analyses of physical attributes, a deadened mode of awareness that relies on our ability to believe only in what we can see.
In these richly illustrated and wide-ranging essays that span the cultures of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and the early Christian period, Jeremy Naydler shows how the consciousness that prevailed in ancient times may inspire us toward a future in which we once again reconnect with invisible realms. If the history of consciousness bears witness to the loss of visionary and participatory awareness, it also shows a new possibility--the possibility of developing a free and objective relationship to the spirit world. Naydler urges us not only to draw inspiration from the wisdom of the ancients but to carry this wisdom forward into the future in a renewed relationship to the spiritual that is based on human freedom and responsibility.
By:
Jeremy Naydler
Imprint: Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 397g
ISBN: 9781594772924
ISBN 10: 1594772924
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 24 July 2009
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Part One Beyond What the Eyes Can See 1 The Restitution of the Ear In Quest of the Mind’s Ear The Rise of the Eye Visual Totalitarianism Rehabilitating the Ear 2 The Heart of the Lily The Depiction of Plants in the Middle Ages The Scientific Perception of the Lily The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness The Lily as Epiphany The Heart of the Lily 3 The Soul of the Weather An Epistemological Prelude The Wind Spirits of Antiquity Esoteric Meteorology of the Renaissance Measuring the Gods The Demise of the Visionary Faculty The Weather Abstracted Return to Experience 4 The Reality That Is Not There Locational Space The Kingdom We Do Not See Nonlocational Space Space in Premodern Cosmologies Space in Modern Cosmology Pathways into Nonlocational Space Part Two Deepening Our Foundations: The Gods and Ancient Egypt 5 Ancient Egypt and the Soul of the West The Inward Migration to Ancient Egypt The Drive to Solidify the World A New Alignment 6 On the Divinity of the Gods The New Dawn of Polytheism God and the Gods Gods and Humans Soul and Spirit 7 The Artist as Priest Reflections on the Sacred Art and Culture of Ancient Egypt Isfet and Maat The Art of Animating Images Art and Magic Portraying the Imaginal The Artist as Priest The Responsibility of the Artist 8 Ancient Egypt and Modern Esotericism The Fascination with Ancient Egypt The Imaginary versus the Imaginal The Hidden Realm The Three Tasks Part Three The Path of Consciousness 9 Being Ancient in a Modern Way Divination in the Light of the History of Consciousness The Yearning to Reconnect Extispicy in Ancient Mesopotamia Extispicy in Ancient Greece and Rome The Decline of the Divinatory Consciousness The Rise of the Autonomous Moral Agent Being Ancient in a Modern Way 10 The Future of the Ancient World Meaning in History Gods in the Psyche Gods in Nature Ancient Consciousness of the Gods The Soul Comes of Age Future Return 11 Christ and the Gods Between Polytheism and Monotheism The Gods and the Psyche The Judaic Path to Monotheism The Greek Retreat from the Gods The Logos Incarnate Polytheistic Perspectives on Christ Gods and Angels Return to Source 12 Pathways into the Future from the Deep Past The Cosmological Context: Reflections on an Old Hindu Myth Ancient Star Wisdom: The Path to Cosmic Union Commitment to the Earth: Aristotle, Christ, and Modern Spirituality Notes Bibliography Illustration Sources Index
Jeremy Naydler, Ph.D., is a philosopher who specializes in the religious life of ancient cultures. He is a Fellow of the Temenos Academy and author of Temple of the Cosmos, Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Texts, and Goethe on Science. He lives in Oxford, England.
Reviews for The Future of the Ancient World: Essays on the History of Consciousness
This collection of essays is packed full of gems and amazing insights, and it's certainly a book I will re-read and use for reference. --Lesley Crossingham, New Dawn Magazine, September 2010