Events

June 21st 2008

Master of the Mysteries

Saturday, June 21st, 12pm-3pm
Mystics And Magicians Buitl Our City:
"Master of the Mysteries" Reveals L.A.'s Occult Roots with Events and Lecture at PRS

Saturday, June 21st, 12:00pm-3:00pm
Master of the Mysteries book release party and lectures
Philosophical Research Society
3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027
phone 323.663.2167
tickets: $1

On June 21st the Philosophical Research Society will host special events to celebrate Los Angeles' rich occult heritage and one of its most influential philosophers, Manly P. Hall. Both are subjects of the new book "Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall" by Louis Sahagun (Process Books, pub date 6/21/08).

This historic celebration includes a slideshow and lecture on the life of Manly Palmer Hall by Louis Sahagun, author of “Master of the Mysteris”; a talk on Los Angeles’ Freemasonic heritage by of Rex R. Hutchens, PhD., author, historian and 33 degree Grand Cross former Grand Master of Arizona; and an appearance by Manly P. Hall’s surviving step daughter JoAnne O’Connor, followed by a book signing by the author, Louis Sahagun.

Tea and Manly Hall’s favorite snacks will be served.

In the early 20th Century and beyond, Southern California was home to one of America’s most powerful occult scenes. Alternative spirituality, Eastern gurus and esoteric societies including the Freemasons thrived while mystically-inclined civic leaders and artists shaped Los Angeles into one of the most vital urban centers in the world.

Manly P. Hall was a focal point of this vibrant culture, a charismatic, self-educated scholar who became one of the 20th Century’s most prolific writers and speakers on ancient philosophies, mysticism and magic. He amassed one of the largest occult libraries west of the Mississippi and founded The Philosophical Research Society in 1934 for the purpose of providing thoughtful persons rare access to the world’s wisdom literature. He was a confidante of celebrities and politicians and in 1990 he died—some say he was murdered—in what remains an open-ended Hollywood murder mystery

FEBRUARY 2008 to NOVEMBER 2008

SHAMANISM: Consciousness and Evolution

Maja D'Aoust
First Sunday of the Month
2:00pm to 3:00pm
February 2008 to November 2008
Admission: $5 per lecture

Maja D'Aoust, lecturer, PRS Librarian and Masters Degree Candidate at UPR, will examine the purposes, practices and implications of the world's oldest spiritual practices. The original purveyors of consciousness studies and transformational psychology were the Shamans. As the world's oldest spiritual pursuit, Shamanism contains within its disciplines the mysteries of accessing and coming into dialogue with the hidden parts of our individual and collective consciousness. In this lecture series we will uncover the history, practices and pertinence of the Shamans over time, bringing these concepts into the 21st century. In order to truly understand consciousness, psychology, healing and spiritual studies, we must examine the practices of their earliest students that we may grow and evolve from their teaching into the future.

Sunday, February 3 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

What is Shamanism? Who are the Shamans?; History of Shamanism: Global Phenomenon.

Sunday, March 2 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

The Initiatory Death & Shamanic Superpowers. How does one become a Shaman and what are they capable of?

Sunday, April 6 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

Techniques of Conscious Energy. Practices of the Shamans and methods of accessing spirit.

Sunday, May 4 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

DNA, Memory and Transformation. Storing and communicating with consciousness.

Sunday, June 1 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

Ancestors and Consciousness. Behavioral genetics; Getting past the past.

Sunday, July 6 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

Psychology and Shamanism. The roots of present practice.

Sunday, August 3 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

Healing the Mind, the Body and the Soul. Traditions of the witch doctor; The origins of medicine.

Sunday, September 7 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

Shamanism and Alchemy. The process of the transformation and evolution of the soul.

Sunday, October 5 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

The Shaman and the Devil. Demons and Spirit; Voodoo and mischievous magic.

Sunday, November 2 - 2:00pm-3:00pm. $5

The Shaman Today. Dangers of undisciplined teachings; Entheogen abuse.

JANUARY 2008 to OCTOBER 2008

CONCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF THE AFTERLIFE

James A. Santucci, Ph.D.
Sundays Once Monthly
11:00am to 12:00 noon
January 2008 to October 2008
Admission: $10 per lecture

"...tell me--when a man dies, and his speech disappears into fire, his breath into the wind, his sight into the sun, his mind into the moon...--what then happens to that person?" - Brhadarankyaka Upanishad 3.2.13

What happens when you die? Scholars and theologians throughout history have sought to answer this question. This lecture series will explore the afterlife as described by the major religious traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism), the Greek philosophers and religionists, the Eleusinian and Orphic Mystery schools, and the teachings of spiritualism and Theosophy.

Questions about heaven, hell, and purgatory will be explored; as will some of the phenomena associated with the afterlife, such as reincarnation, resurrection, the survival of the disembodied soul, and intermediate post-mortem states as described by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and the folklore surrounding vampires and zombies.

The possible communication with the dead as detailed in spiritualism will be contrasted with the more scientific method of "cross-correspondence," an important advance in establishing the possibility of life after death.

This lecture series will be recorded live for UPR's distance learning program. It is open to the public, as well as students of UPR.

Sunday, January 27 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Personal Immortality and Post-Mortem Survival. Introduction to beliefs, trends, and evidence of life after death.

Sunday, February 24 - 12:30pm-1:30pm. $10

Concepts and Definitions. From REBIRTH to XENOGLOSSY to NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES and RESURRECTION.

Sunday, March 23 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

The Soul. According to Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, William of Auvergne, and the Upanishads.

Sunday, April 27 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Conceptions of the Afterlife in the Jewish Tradition. Book of Daniel; the Pharisees.

Sunday, May 25 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Conceptions of the Afterlife in the Christian Tradition. Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, resurrection, martyrdom.

Sunday, June 22 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Conceptions of the Afterlife in the Islamic Tradition. The Martyr (shahid); Fana' ("annihilation"); Islamism.

Sunday, July 27 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Conceptions of the Afterlife in the Hindu Tradition. Karma and reincarnation.

Sunday, August 24 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Conceptions of the Afterlife in the Buddhist Tradition. Karma, rebirth, and afterdeath states.

Sunday, September 28 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Emanuel Swedenborg's Heaven and Hell.

Sunday, October 26 - 11:00am-12noon. $10

Spiritualism & Theosophy. Spirits, the Spirit World, the Ministry of Spirits; the Septenary Person, the Monad, Devachan, Karma.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: James A. Santucci, Ph.D. (Asian Civilizations, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia). Chair and Professor of Comparative Religion at California State University, Fullerton. Author of over 45 articles and five books, including: An Outline of Vedic Literature; La societa teosofica; and An Educator's Classroom Guide to America's Religious Beliefs and Practices.