A wide-ranging collection of colourful essays by,English author and philosopher John Michell. For,those readers only familiar with his better-known,writings on Earth Mysteries, unusual phenomena and,eccentric figures, much of the material here will,be a pleasant surprise. Divided into nine,sections, this collection of essays presents,Michell's thoughts on a wealth of heretical,topics, from Ancient echoes of a Golden Age to the,madness of modernity and the unfolding of the,Apocalypse.

What is Catholic Traditionalism? Under what historical and cultural circumstances has it appeared? Why do some devout, knowledgeable Catholics embrace the paradoxical position that remaining true to Tradition entails deserting the official, traditional structure of the Church? Most importantly, what steps can be taken to help restore unity in the Body of Christ? Matthew Arnold, a Catholic convert, answers these and other questions about Catholic Traditionalism. His moving first-hand account powerfully demonstrates how a faithful Catholic's legitimate desire for a reverently celebrated liturgy led him to tolerate the irregular situation of Holy Mass celebrated validly, but illicitly, outside the diocesan structure. His compelling testimony also explores how the licit celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass, can have a positive impact on the life and the liturgy of the Church. Told in the context of Arnold's personal witness and spiritual journey, this book concisely documents the century-long movement to reform the liturgy. This candid, poignant, and often humorous book exposes the spiritual peril at the heart of radical Traditionalism while remaining compassionate toward the legitimate aspirations of Traditional Catholics.

Prologue -- La Veinte: a Santa Monica barrio -- Rubén Ladrón de Guevara Sr., 1914-2006 -- 1742 22nd Street, Barrio La Veinte, Santa Monica -- Palm Springs / Cathedral City / Las Vegas -- Binnie -- La Gatita -- Las Vegas : breakup of the family -- Sue Dean -- Beverly -- Shindig! with Tina Turner and Bo Diddley, 1965 -- The Sunset Strip riots -- The southern belle -- LACC / The New Revelations Gospel Choir -- Miss Santa Barbara -- Frank Zappa / Ruben And The Jets / Rock 'n' Roll Angels / 1972-1974 -- Miss Pamela & the G.T.O.'s (Girls Together Outrageously) -- Miss Claremont -- Miss Chino -- The mutiny -- The movie star and Miss Blue Eyes -- We open for Zappa at Winterland, San Francisco, April, 1973 -- Con Safos the album -- Mexico / Hollywood / The Whisky / Eastside Revue / Zyanya Records -- La gypsy -- The Star Spangled Banner / America the Beautiful -- The Whisky / Con Safos the band, 1980 -- Miss Aztlán -- Gotcha -- Zyanya Records -- Cristina / Día de Los Muertos / Chicano Heaven -- Born in East L.A.--the movie -- HBO/Cinemax special -- Performance art : Mexico and France -- La quemada -- La rebel -- Jammin' with Johnny -- Arts 4 City Youth -- UCLA -- Journey to New Aztlán -- Miss San Francisco : the enchantress -- Miss Mongolia -- Metropolitan State Hospital -- Trinity Elementary School -- Teaching at UCLA -- Miss Tokyo -- Mexamérica the CD -- The Eastside Revue : a musical homage to Boyle Heights, 1922-2002 -- Boyle Heights, LA Times -- Collaborations with Josh Kun -- The Iraq war -- Collaborations with Nobuko Miyamoto / Great Leap / NCRR / MPAC -- Manzanar pilgrimage -- Yellow Pearl remix -- Minutemen protest in Baldwin Park -- Rock 'n' rights : rockin' for the mentally disabled -- Resistance & respect : Los Angeles muralism & graff art -- Miss Bogotá -- Word up! a performance and theater summit at the Ford, 2006 -- Meeting my Okanagan brothers from Westbank First Nation, B.C. Canada -- Epiphany at Joshua Tree -- Miss Altar in the sky -- Rubén Guevara & the Eastside Luvers -- The Tao of Funkahuatl -- The Tao of Funkahuatl the CD -- Mex/LA -- Opening for Los Lobos at the House of Dues -- Fifty years in show biz / The Madeleine Brand Show, NPR, 2011 -- Miss Beijing -- Miss Monterey Park -- End of ten year sex drought -- My 70th birthday party -- Platonic homegirls -- Joseph Trotter -- A Boyle Heights cultural treasure -- The new face of Boyle Heights -- ¡Angelin@s presente! -- Sara Guevara -- Confessions of a radical Chicano Doo Wop singer : the solo, multi-media theater piece -- The fall -- Reflections on L.A

Eight new essays examine key philosophical issues raised by Augustine in his 'Confessions' - a masterpiece of world literature. They explore a range of topics including what constitutes the happy or blessed life, the role of philosophical perplexity in the search for truth, and the problems that arise in the attempt to understand minds.

Deepest thoughts and musings of a 1960s countercultural icon • Includes 108 of Michell’s most insightful, erudite, witty, and occasionally scathing essays on diverse topics ranging from sacred practices of the Stone Age to the evils of the metric system to the madness of modernity • Describes principles to live in tune with the divine order of the world and discover the “paradise of the philosophers” of ancient times. • Includes an introductory overview by Joscelyn Godwin of Michell’s entire career A countercultural icon of the 1960s, John Michell (1933-2009) was perhaps best known for his books on sacred geometry, Earth mysteries, and unusual phenomena. He was also beloved and reviled for his radical, idealistic, yet classically traditional views on a wide range of heretical topics, from sacred practices of the Stone Age to the evils of the metric system to the madness of modernity and the unfolding apocalypse. Carefully selecting 108 of Michell’s most insightful, erudite, witty, and occasionally scathing essays from his column in the monthly magazine The Oldie, esoteric scholar Joscelyn Godwin presents a colorful collection of Michell’s writings and rants that cover nearly every aspect of society, history, and traditional wisdom. In these short essays, Michell takes on agribusiness, Darwinism, superstition, Stonehenge, the insanity of modern society, UFOs, Jesus, fairies, the Grail legend, among many other topics. No matter how small the topic under consideration, Michell always takes a larger view on it, illuminating it with light from above. Godwin’s artful selection and ordering of essays reveals Michell’s overarching grand view of the world at large. We glimpse the heart of Michell as idealistic Platonist and radical traditionalist, absorb his common sense lessons for living in tune with the divine order, and are reminded that the elusive “paradise of the philosophers” of ancient times is still within reach for those with the strength of vision to see it.

Does Buddhism require faith? Can an atheist or agnostic follow the Buddha’s teachings without believing in reincarnation or organized religion? This is one man’s confession. In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western readers. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author’s unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker. Drawing from the original Pali Canon, the seminal collection of Buddhist discourses compiled after the Buddha’s death by his followers, Batchelor shows us the Buddha as a flesh-and-blood man who looked at life in a radically new way. Batchelor also reveals the everyday challenges and doubts of his own devotional journey—from meeting the Dalai Lama in India, to training as a Zen monk in Korea, to finding his path as a lay teacher of Buddhism living in France. Both controversial and deeply personal, Stephen Batchelor’s refreshingly doctrine-free, life-informed account is essential reading for anyone interested in Buddhism.

Confessions is the ; honest and heart-rending ; account of a woman who was born into a Catholic family, ; attended parochial schools and fully embraced the beliefs ; of her faith, but ran into major roadblocks in college. ; Amidst the radical feminist college environment of the ; 1960's, she lost her faith, and her morality, jumping ; aboard the bandwagon of "free love." She indulged ; in a series of love relationships in college, all of which ; crashed and burned. Despite the obvious contradiction ; between feminist teachings and her own experience, Murray ; still believed she had to free herself from the yoke of ; tradition. Attaining a doctorate in philosophy, with ; an emphasis on the feminist writings of Simone de Beauvoir, ; Murray taught philosophy in college. For many years, she ; launched a personal vendetta against God and the Catholic ; Church in the classroom, trying to persuade students that ; God did not exist, mocking values Catholics hold dear, and ; touted feminism as the cure for many social ills. When she ; discovered she was pregnant, Murray followed the route that ; feminists offer as a solution for unmarried women. Much to ; her surprise, her abortion was a shattering emotional ; experience, which she grieved over for years. It was the ; first tragic chink in her feminist armor. After her ; marriage in 1982, she anguished over the decision to have ; children, but became an advocate of the ; "child-free" movement, believing children were ; burdens and life could be happy life without them. Later in ; her forties, Murray experienced a mysterious series of ; events in which it seemed that "someone" was ; inviting her back to God. The mysterious calls came from ; different ports, including nature, books and other people. ; Gradually, she realized that the One seeking her was ; Christ, and the place He was calling her to was the ; Catholic Church. Eventually realizing it was only in the ; Church that she would find what she was seeking - the ; person of Christ and his love and mercy - Murray returned ; to the Church, and finally found healing and forgiveness ; for the abortion. Lorraine Murray's Confessions are ; a revelation. They reveal the nasty truth behind women's ; "liberation". Her experiences, and the lessons she ; learns from them, serve as a timely warning of the folly of ; feminism and the destructive impact that feminism has on ; those who fall under its malignant spell. - ; Joseph Pearce, author The Quest for ; Shakespeare "Confessions of an ; Ex-Feminist is the gripping story of millions of women ; who lost their religious and intellectual anchors during ; the tsunami of the fatal sixties and seventies. It is a ; movingly honest confession of how pride, arrogance, ; immaturity, ambition, craving to be "liberated", ; blinds the female soul. Abortion kills babies and wounds a ; woman's soul to its very core. But a prodigal daughter ; found her way back home, crushed by guilt, driven by ; repentance, and discovers that God's mercy is boundless. ; She is now given the crucial mission of shouting on roof's ; tops: feminism is the arch enemy of women. This book should ; become a vade mecum of young girls". - ; Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, author The Privilege ; of Being a Woman "Lorraine Murray's ; absorbing and poignant book traces her passage from the ; heart of the Catholic Church to the epicenter of the sexual ; revolution and back again. With candor, humor and a knack ; for storytelling, Murray reveals the mysterious ways God ; worked in her soul and leaves readers richer for having ; shared her journey." “/DIV>