The Traveler's Guide to Damanhur


Book Description

Ecotourism, spa retreats, and spiritual travel are more popular than ever, catering to increasing numbers of travelers who want to learn and grow while vacationing. Damanhur, Italy’s famous center for art, culture, peace studies, and community building, is poised to become a major destination for such tourists. The Traveler’s Guide to Damanhur is divided into three parts, each focusing on a different aspect of visiting Damanhur and its renowned Temples of Humankind. Part one covers practical information on Damanhur and the essentials of traveling in the surrounding Piedmont region of Italy, including details on transportation, lodgings, places to visit, restaurants and wineries, shopping; classes, workshops, festivals, and other public events; and recommended spa treatments and massage therapists. In part two, the history of the Damanhurian community is given a fun treatment in a comic book insert that puts it in a mythic context, linked to Earth and the Galaxy.




Enabling Urban Alternatives


Book Description

This book asks how thinking, governing, performing, and producing the urban differently can assist in enabling the creation of alternative urban futures. It is a timely response to the ongoing crises and pressing challenges that inhabitants of cities, towns, and villages worldwide are faced with in the midst of what has been widely dubbed as ‘an urban age’. Starting from the premise that current urban development patterns are unsustainable in every sense of the word, the book explores how alternative patterns can be pursued by the wide variety of actors – from governments and international institutions to slum-dwellers and social movements – involved in the on-going production of our shared urban condition. The challenges addressed include exclusion and segregation; persisting poverty and increasing inequality; urban sprawl and changing land use patterns; and the spatial frames of urban policy. As such the book appeals to urban scholars, policy makers, activists, and others concerned with shaping the future of our cities and of urban life in general. Additionally, it is of interest to students in urban planning, architecture and design, human geography, urban sociology, and related fields.




Spiritual and Visionary Communities


Book Description

Exploring religious and spiritual intentional communities active in the world today, Spiritual and Visionary Communities provides a balanced introduction to a diverse range of communities worldwide. Breaking new ground with its focus on communities which have had little previous academic or public attention, the authors explore a part of contemporary society which is rarely understood. Communities studied include: Israeli kibbutzim, Mandarom, the Twelve Tribes, ’The Farm’ and the Camphill movement. Written from a range of perspectives, this collection includes contributions from members of the groups themselves, former members, and academic observers, and as such will offer a unique and invaluable discussion of religious and spiritual communities in the U.S., Europe, and beyond.




Spiritual and Visionary Communities


Book Description

Exploring religious and spiritual intentional communities active in the world today, Spiritual and Visionary Communities provides a balanced introduction to a diverse range of communities worldwide. Breaking new ground with its focus on communities which have had little previous academic or public attention, the authors explore a part of contemporary society which is rarely understood. Communities studied include: Israeli kibbutzim, Mandarom, the Twelve Tribes, ‘The Farm’ and the Camphill movement. Written from a range of perspectives, this collection includes contributions from members of the groups themselves, former members, and academic observers, and as such will offer a unique and invaluable discussion of religious and spiritual communities in the U.S., Europe, and beyond.




Stories of an Alchemist


Book Description

Alchemy has been discussed for millennia and many are the texts that one can consult, all complex, occult, and suggesting experiments that are difficult to implement. Tradition handed down the image of the alchemist as a solitary researcher who, surrounded by alembics and distillers tries to turn lead into gold, manipulating toad tails, bat wings and other strange elements. His quest, a metaphor for human evolution. But centuries pass, times change and disciplines and the ways to achieve goals are transformed, too. The alchemical laboratory, full of bottles, retorts and dusty tomes, jealously protected from the light and the curiosity of the uninitiated is no longer needed. We are in the Age of Aquarius and the alchemical laboratory is us. We are in the Age of Aquarius and the alchemical laboratory is us. Everyone is the Alchemist at work, the laboratory and the element that gradually changes and becomes the result of the Great Work. All at the same time. Falco Tarassaco’s research of redefines the paradigm of alchemy, bringing it up to date and making it accessible to men and women of today. Alchemy means self-transformation with a desire to achieve spiritual results and more knowledge, acting on the laws governing time, matter and thought. The objective is to balance and learn to use the precious elements inside each one in order to become Magicians, aware creators of our spiritual path and our evolution.




Damanhur


Book Description

The Damanhur Federation, situated in Valchiusella, North-West Italy, is one of Europe’s longest-lasting spiritual-esoteric communities. Nevertheless, there has hitherto been nearly no scientific study of this group, with the exception of a handful of specialised-journal articles. This collection fills that gap by collating the various scholarly contributions which over the years have dealt with Damanhur, aiming to present the phenomenon to a public of specialists, students and people who are just curious in a volume focusing on the multidisciplinary nature of the community as a whole. We consider the various spheres making up the social, cultural, spiritual and organisational life of Damanhur through analysis and interpretation of its historical evolution and more recent changes which have affected the community since its founder’s death. The contributions combine field research with theoretical reflection, making use of both qualitative (discursive interviews and participant observation) and quantitative (questionnaires) methods.




Damanhur


Book Description

Damanhur in Italy has for nearly 45 years been an experiment in human consciousness and in this fully illustrated book Jeff Merrifield outlines the exciting discoveries that the community is making. Short steps for humans, a giant leap for humankind. For more than four decades the spiritual-artistic community of Damanhur has grown from humble beginnings to become a prime mover in terms of spiritual research and the ecological protection of the planet. A group of people which has remained a stable and active entity over all those years, they have developed a sociological tool to enhance their shared experiences, the concept of a Superindividual, where groups of people or even whole communities become as one, and function and create as one. The best news is, Damanhur is opening out to the world. It will no longer be a closed and introspective collective, but will be sharing its discoveries with humanity at large. Already, groups of indigenous peoples are treading a path to Damanhur, sharing shamanic knowledge and forming mutual bonds on a mission to save the planet and make the world a better place. An ambitious and exciting programme of new building has already started in and around the now famous Temples of Humankind. At the same time, Damanhur is going out into the world, establishing active centres around the globe, as far afield as Iceland and Australia, not as clones of the Italian version, but as thriving vibrant entities in their own right. It's an inspiration to families, to workplaces, to other communities and to movements like Extinction Rebellion. How do we transform society from the ground up? How can we both flourish as individuals and work together in community for a common cause? This book will show you how.




A day in the life of Damanhur


Book Description

Forty years of Damanhur story, told by those who experienced them in person. The story of the day of a Damanhurian, to understand how you live, you think, it grows into what is now the largest secular spiritual community in Italy.







EGYPT GUIDEBOOK-Volume 2


Book Description

For the curious visitor, Egypt is a land of mystery and magic. So much to admire and so much to awaken our curiosity, as its history unfolds through an endless series of pyramids, tombs, temples, mosques, souks and museums. How to make the most of this immense patrimony in the limited time available during a visit to the country? A good guidebook is indispensable, and here it is at last, and it makes fascinating reading. Ellen Grady lays out before us the shimmering tapestry that is Egypt, following every colourful thread and describing its intricate weave with affectionate expertise. Medieval cities, the infinite deserts, the inscrutable Nile, all emerge in their splendour to be admired, and at last, understood. Swirling patterns of gods and hieroglyphs reveal at last their hitherto incomprehensible design. The protagonists emerge to tell us their stories; kings and pharaohs, explorers and adventurers, scholars and sycophants. Besides the admirable description of monuments and places of interest, you will find all the background history you need.