By Dana Micucci.

278 Pages | First Quest Edition 2011 |  Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835608985.

One Woman’s Journey around the World and into Her Truth.

‘And there was a new voice, which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do – determined to save the only life you could save’. – Mary Oliver ‘The Journey’.

Sojourns of the Soul is the quintessential armchair travel book for the spiritual seeker. Dana Micucci’s touching memoir chronicles seven sacred journeys that span 14 years of Micucci’s life, during which she explores the connection of inner growth to world travel that eventually leads to her own enlightenment. Unlike other inspirational travel books, Sojourns of the Soul provides a rare mix of in-depth wisdom and literary insights from the holistic view of an experienced female traveler.

From Chapter 3: ‘Egypt to Eternity’ (p. 101):

” ‘This mystery must be unveiled some day’, wrote H.P. Blavatsky in Isis Unveiled. ‘The answers are there. They may be found on the time-worn granite pages of cave-temples, on sphinxes, propylons, and obelisks . . . . They key was in the keeping of those who knew how to commune with the invisible Presence, and who had received, from the lips of mother Nature herself, her grand truths. And so stand these monuments like mute forgotten sentinels on the threshold of that unseen world’. “

By Daniel H. Caldwell.

451 Pages | First Quest Edition 2000 | Hardcover | Quest Books U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835607941.

‘A psychological enigma, a puzzle for future generations, a Sphinx!’

So reads the self-portrait of Helena P. Blavatsky (1831 – 1891), the leading esoteric author of the nineteenth century. Others called her ‘the lady with the magical eyes’. A world traveler and student of religions, Madame Blavatsky was among the first to bring Eastern Wisdom to the West. Her writing affected W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, L. Frank Baum (The Wizard of Oz), Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, Alexander Scriabin, and many others.

These first-hand accounts lead us into the fascinating world of Madame Blavatsky’s soirées, sites of the astounding phenomena that made her a cause célèbre. Famous as magnets for freethinking intellectuals, these gatherings were a forum for her unconventional ideas that anticipated the spiritual and ecological movements of today. But the depth of this enigmatic Sphinx – as related here by family, friends, and even enemies – transcends the fads of time.

From Chapter 1 – ‘Russia 1831 – 1849’ (p. 1):

” Helena was an exceptional child, who at an early age was aware of being different from those around her. Her possession of certain  psychic powers puzzled her family and friends. At once impatient of all authority, yet deeply sensitive, she was gifted in many ways. A clever linguist, a talented pianist, and a fine artist, she was yet a fearless rider of half-broken horses, and always in close touch with nature. At a very early age she sensed that she was in some way dedicated to a life of service and was aware of a special guidance and protection. “

By Glenn H. Mullin, Foreword by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

270 Pages | First Quest Edition 1994 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 0835607003.

The Tibetan tradition of mystical verse is brought stunningly to life by renowned translator Glenn Mullin through these spontaneous outpourings of the ecstasy of enlightenment. Step into the visionairy of the outspoken and unconventional Second Dalai Lama, who was ‘crazed’ by the wisdom of the nature of reality. Prefaced by a readable and comprehensive introduction to the life and times of this wise exponent of spiritual knowledge, these poems are shining, lyric illuminations of Buddhist life. Each is prefaced by a translator’s preamble.

From Chapter 11 – ‘A Prayer of Pure Aspirations’ (p. 193):

Part One: A Call to the Guru:

” Most kind root guru, who always rests

On a sun and moon above my head,

I, a humble disciple, call out to you

With emotion surging in the depths of my heart.

From wherever you may physically be in this world,

Send forth a mystical emanation to heed me.

Reveal your radiant countenance to me;

And may we never ever become parted. “

By Gary Lachman.

341 Pages | Second Quest Edition 2006 | Softcover | Quest Books, U.S.A. | ISBN: 9780835608480.

‘The Struggle with a Master of Mystery and Power’.

P.D. Ouspensky’s brilliant work, In Search of the Miraculous, was the first to interpret the psychology of G.I.Gurdjieff, the early twentieth-century esoteric master, who still commands a global following today. Yet, Gurdjieff once dismissively described Ouspensky as ‘nice to drink vodka with, but a weak man‘, and some consider their meeting the overwhelming catastrophe of Ouspensky’s life.

This book highlights Ouspensky’s own passionate mysticism, in stark contrast to Gurdjieff’s idea of ‘man as machine’. Ouspensky was an accomplished philosopher in his own right. What attracted him to Gurdjieff in the first place and why did he later reject him? Had Gurdjieff turned toward black magic? And why did Ouspensky continue teaching the ideas of a man he had repudiated?

The answers follow in a mystical adventure story, that will enthrall everyone interested in the farthest reaches of being human. This new edition includes an afterword on the author’s own work in Gurdjieff’s system.

From the Introduction (p. 1):

” The Seeker and the Sly Man

In 1915 a man of uncertain origin appeared in Moscow and gathered a core of devoted followers, students of his strange and unsettling system of esoteric doctrine and psychological development. In his mid-forties, with his shaved head, Mongol-like mustache, piercing eyes, and unnerving composure, he exuded an atmosphere of mystery, power, and knowledge, and those who had accepted him as their teacher followed his instructions without question. Eager to expand his operations, he placed an advertisement in in a Moscow newspaper announcing an unusual ballet entitled ‘The Struggle of the Magicians’. The advertisement attracted the attention of a brilliant writer, who was himself a student of the occult, as well as a theoretician of the higher dimensions of consciousness. Recently the writer had returned from an extended journey to the East, where he had unsuccessfully sought out traces of forgotten knowledge and lost wisdom and his lectures on his travels attracted thousands, eager for a taste of worlds beyond. 

Approached by a student of the mysterious teacher, after much solicitation, the writer agreed to meet with the master. Yet the earnest seeker of Wisdom was dismayed to find that the place of his encounter was not one he might have expected. For it was not in an incense-filled Ashram of a holy guru, but in a cheap back-street cafe, frequented by prostitutes and petty thieves, that the writer P.D. Ouspensky first met the remarkable man G.I. Gurdjieff. Thus was set in motion the long, complex and fascinating history of the esoteric teaching known as ‘The Fourth Way’. “