Darkness Visible
Awakening Spiritual Light through Darkness Meditation
Published on 16. November 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-1-59477-061-6 (ISBN)
Description
The first book to examine the spiritual and therapeutic practice of retreat in physical darkness to explore inner light
* Shows how experiencing complete darkness over prolonged periods helps in developing mental clarity and creativity
* Draws upon many indigenous and spiritual traditions that use this technique
The use of ceremonial darkness is a classic and cross-cultural method for exploring hidden aspects of unconscious and super-conscious states, accessing invisible landscapes, and embracing the deeper recesses of the self. In Darkness Visible Heaven and Buxton examine the spiritual and therapeutic practice of taking retreat in physical darkness.
For millennia mystics and sages have used darkness as a spiritual tool for breaking with their pasts, prior conditioning, and the limited reality of their societies. Spiritual seekers from many traditions--Celtic, Eastern, indigenous North and South American, Tibetan, and African--have used darkness as a tool for spiritual enlightenment. Heaven and Buxton show how experiencing complete darkness, even for only a period of hours, brings about a remarkable clarity and mental stillness and thus provides a springboard for creativity, intuition, and spiritual development. They include exercises that explore lucid levels of dream consciousness, drawing both from their experience as teachers of this method and from the many cultures that include this practice in their spiritual traditions. Darkness Visible shows how deprivation of sight can truly teach us to see.
* Shows how experiencing complete darkness over prolonged periods helps in developing mental clarity and creativity
* Draws upon many indigenous and spiritual traditions that use this technique
The use of ceremonial darkness is a classic and cross-cultural method for exploring hidden aspects of unconscious and super-conscious states, accessing invisible landscapes, and embracing the deeper recesses of the self. In Darkness Visible Heaven and Buxton examine the spiritual and therapeutic practice of taking retreat in physical darkness.
For millennia mystics and sages have used darkness as a spiritual tool for breaking with their pasts, prior conditioning, and the limited reality of their societies. Spiritual seekers from many traditions--Celtic, Eastern, indigenous North and South American, Tibetan, and African--have used darkness as a tool for spiritual enlightenment. Heaven and Buxton show how experiencing complete darkness, even for only a period of hours, brings about a remarkable clarity and mental stillness and thus provides a springboard for creativity, intuition, and spiritual development. They include exercises that explore lucid levels of dream consciousness, drawing both from their experience as teachers of this method and from the many cultures that include this practice in their spiritual traditions. Darkness Visible shows how deprivation of sight can truly teach us to see.
Reviews / Votes
". . . we learn about ourselves and the powers of the 'other world' by surrendering to the beauty and opportunity for greater vision afforded us in darkness. . . . Ross Heaven and Simon Buxton have nurtured the most fertile ground for the development of true spiritual sightedness." * Malidoma Patrice Some, author of Of Water and the Spirit: Ritual, Magic, and Initiation in the * "A shaman is a man or woman who sees in the dark. Gifted storytellers Ross Heaven and Simon Buxton blend cross-cultural stories of initiations in darkness to bring a powerful -initiation to our modern world . . . inspiring us to open up to new perceptions made -possible by using our other senses." * Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self Through Shamanic Practice * "Darkness Visible soars. A colossal book!" * John Perkins, New York Times bestselling author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, The World Is * "A valuable asset to personal and public libraries, this work opens the door to the wondrous dark chamber we enter every time we close our eyes to pray, meditate, chant or dream." * Publishers Weekly, Religion Bookline, Dec 7, 2005 * "These gentlemen have come up with a new form of spiritual experiential magic that will change most people's views of reality." * Magical Blend, Oct 2006 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Rochester
United States
Publishing group
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-59477-061-6 (9781594770616)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2005
Destiny Books
€8.89
Available for download
Persons
Ross Heaven (1960-2018) was a therapist and workshop leader in personal development and healing whose books include Vodou Shaman, Spirit in the City, and The Journey to You. Simon Buxton, author of The Shamanic Way of the Bee, is the founder/director of The Sacred Trust in England, dedicated to the teaching of practical shamanism for the modern world. He lives in England and teaches Darkness Visible workshops internationally.
Content
Forewords
Inviting the Darkness In
by Malidoma Some
Journeying Farther Than the Eye Can See
by Sandra Ingerman
Prefaces
Entering Darkness and Seeing the Light
Ceremonial Darkness in the Haitian
Vodou Tradition
by Ross Heaven
If Honey, Then Also Sting
Darkness and the Path of Pollen
by Simon Buxton
1. God in a Time of Darkness
The Spirit beyond the Light
-Try This-
Close Your Eyes
Inviting the Darkness: The Interior Stars
Playing God
Forgiving God
2. The Tunnel at the End of the Light
The Practice of Darkness
-Try This-
Awakening the Senses
The Spirit of Nature
The Cave of Souls
3. The Mythological Mind
The Impact of Darkness on Those
Who Enter There
-Try This-
Initiation into Darkness
Hearing the Truth
Future-Seeing
4. The Landscape of Myth and Emotion
The Psychology of Darkness
-Try This-
The Voices Within
Active Imagining: Using Darkness for
Positive Change
The Flow of Things
5. Entering the Dark World
Initiation into Darkness
-Try This-
The Wise Elder
Dying to Live
Rebirth
6. The Stories of Our Lives
Exploring the Dark Self
-Try This-
Your Conception/Life Story
Who Are You?
Earth's Embrace
7. What's Your Name, What's Your Number?
The Question of Identity
-Try This-
What's Your Name?
The Ancestral Chain
Temple Dreaming
A Blessing for Yourself
8. Welcome Home
Coming out of Darkness into Darkness
-Try This-
The Meaning of Life
The Sadness of the World
The Crossroads Commitment
9. Beginning to See the Light
Life after Darkness
Notes
Bibliography
Resources: Darkness Visible and Other Workshops
Inviting the Darkness In
by Malidoma Some
Journeying Farther Than the Eye Can See
by Sandra Ingerman
Prefaces
Entering Darkness and Seeing the Light
Ceremonial Darkness in the Haitian
Vodou Tradition
by Ross Heaven
If Honey, Then Also Sting
Darkness and the Path of Pollen
by Simon Buxton
1. God in a Time of Darkness
The Spirit beyond the Light
-Try This-
Close Your Eyes
Inviting the Darkness: The Interior Stars
Playing God
Forgiving God
2. The Tunnel at the End of the Light
The Practice of Darkness
-Try This-
Awakening the Senses
The Spirit of Nature
The Cave of Souls
3. The Mythological Mind
The Impact of Darkness on Those
Who Enter There
-Try This-
Initiation into Darkness
Hearing the Truth
Future-Seeing
4. The Landscape of Myth and Emotion
The Psychology of Darkness
-Try This-
The Voices Within
Active Imagining: Using Darkness for
Positive Change
The Flow of Things
5. Entering the Dark World
Initiation into Darkness
-Try This-
The Wise Elder
Dying to Live
Rebirth
6. The Stories of Our Lives
Exploring the Dark Self
-Try This-
Your Conception/Life Story
Who Are You?
Earth's Embrace
7. What's Your Name, What's Your Number?
The Question of Identity
-Try This-
What's Your Name?
The Ancestral Chain
Temple Dreaming
A Blessing for Yourself
8. Welcome Home
Coming out of Darkness into Darkness
-Try This-
The Meaning of Life
The Sadness of the World
The Crossroads Commitment
9. Beginning to See the Light
Life after Darkness
Notes
Bibliography
Resources: Darkness Visible and Other Workshops