The Subtle Energies of Spirit: Explorations in Metaphysical and New Age Spirituality

Abstract

If a quintessential metaphysical catechism were to be named, one of the major textual candidates would be H. Emilie Cady's Lessons in Truth-a basic for the Unity School of Christianity, a staple in its bookstores, and an often-cited work in its metaphysical communications. First published in 1894, the book features chapters that originated in a series of articles contributed to Unity publications from 1892 by Cady, a practicing physician. Exact records of how many copies have been published are not available, but the back cover of the 1967 edition offers one piece of evidence, announcing that the print order came to 60,000 copies per printing for many years and that this particular edition is the forty-fourth. Over thirty years later now, it is not unreasonable to estimate that some 3 million copies of the text have been printed. This work stands out not only because of its classical status but also because its slightly old-fashioned title Lessons in Truth conjures, in an especially marked way, the sense of belief in a fixed order of the universe that evocations of metaphysics initially convey. In this reified ontology there is a realm of absolute truth and reality, substantial and unchanging.

Mind Within Matter: Science, the Occult, and the (Meta)physics of Ether and Akasha

“…For Albanese, the least common denominator of metaphysical discourse is best articulated through the language of “energy” and “flow.” She briefly notes that this energetic model generally conforms to scientific theories of ether in the nineteenth century before adopting the paradigms of quantum physics in the twentieth (Albanese , 310–11; , 505–08). On the other hand, Hammer examines the “atomic metaphysics” of later Theosophists such as Alice Bailey, observing with regard to her synthesis of ether as a fundamental form of matter that constitutes the energetic substratum of grosser atom forms, that “[i]t is as if a linguistic revision of the term ‘matter’ would exorcise materialism” (Hammer , 269).…”

“…In this new age of electromagnetic theory, the spiritual telegraph of the medium became the mental radio of the channel. The language of energy and light as representative of the spiritual is overwhelmingly characteristic of New Age metaphysics (Albanese ). Here we begin to see a transition in registers.…”

Experiential cartography and the significance of “untranslatable” words

“…This literature shows us that language can even disclose and create new realms of experience that might not be perceived or accessed by people who are unfamiliar with that particular language. For instance, various Eastern philosophies, and related branches of practice-from medicine to martial arts-have developed lexica pertaining to subtle forms of "energy" in and around the body, from the Chinese notion of qi (Jonas & Crawford, 2003) to the Sanskrit concept of chakras (Albanese, 1999). Whatever these energies' "actual" ontological status, such energies may not necessarily be universally experienced or perceived.…”

Intercessory Rote Prayer, Life Longevity and the Mortality of Roman Catholic Bishops: An Exploratory Study

“…Did it restore the petitioner's psychic balance?” (Comstock, 1987 , p. 693). Also, analyzing practical efficacy of prayer is common (Albanese, 1999 ; Ly et al, 2018 ).…”