Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav
Swedenborg by Gary Lachman

Swedenborg

An Introduction to His Life and Ideas

An Introduction to His Life and Ideas

By Gary Lachman

By Gary Lachman

By Gary Lachman

By Gary Lachman

Best Seller
Paperback $16.95

Apr 12, 2012 | ISBN 9781585429387

Ebook $8.99

Apr 12, 2012 | ISBN 9781101580349

All Formats
+
    Swedenborg by Gary Lachman
    Paperback $16.95
    Apr 12, 2012 | ISBN 9781585429387

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (1) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.95

      Apr 12, 2012 | ISBN 9781585429387

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Apr 12, 2012 | ISBN 9781101580349

      Available from:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About Swedenborg

    A clear and concise overview of the life and work of the immensely influential but little understood eighteenth-century mystic-scientist Emanuel Swedenborg.

    “Lachman identifies all the roles Swedenborg inhabited (spiritual thinker, psychic, scientist, inventor, statesman, traveler, and possibly even spy) and does an exceptionally good job of suggesting why this little-known polymath deserves more substantial critical attention.” – The Independent on Sunday (UK)


    It is difficult to imagine modern Western alternative spirituality without the influence of Swedish scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).  Every movement in alternative spirituality – from mental-healing and Spiritualism to New Age mysticism and the twelve-step recovery movement – owes an immeasurable debt to the ideas he exploded upon the Western world.

    Yet Swedenborg’s work can be challenging for modern readers. His influence, everywhere at once, is difficult to get a handle on. Now, however, Gary Lachman provides an accessible, lively, and masterful introduction to the life and ideas of this spiritual giant.  Lachman takes us to Swedenborg’s roots as brilliant rationalist and scientist who, well into mid-life, began to experience visions of other realms. From this point Swedenborg produced an extraordinary range of writings based on his out-of-body experiences, in which he related encounters with angels, other-planetary beings, and “the world of spirits.”

    As Lachman explores, Swedenborg’s work opened up a radically liberal and refreshing ideal of religion. The great mystic saw humanity, and all of nature, as phenomena emerging from the “spiritual world,” and man as a vessel for divine influences.  This vision inspired Western seekers to see man as a product of spiritual phenomena, and thus a being intimately connected with the cosmos. From this perspective grew bold new ideas about channeling, spiritual healing, mystical experience, mediumship – a litany of concepts that prefigured the revolutions in alternative and therapeutic spirituality.

    About Swedenborg

    A clear and concise overview of the life and work of the immensely influential but little understood eighteenth-century mystic-scientist Emanuel Swedenborg.

    “Lachman identifies all the roles Swedenborg inhabited (spiritual thinker, psychic, scientist, inventor, statesman, traveler, and possibly even spy) and does an exceptionally good job of suggesting why this little-known polymath deserves more substantial critical attention.” – The Independent on Sunday (UK)


    It is difficult to imagine modern Western alternative spirituality without the influence of Swedish scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772).  Every movement in alternative spirituality – from mental-healing and Spiritualism to New Age mysticism and the twelve-step recovery movement – owes an immeasurable debt to the ideas he exploded upon the Western world.

    Yet Swedenborg’s work can be challenging for modern readers. His influence, everywhere at once, is difficult to get a handle on. Now, however, Gary Lachman provides an accessible, lively, and masterful introduction to the life and ideas of this spiritual giant.  Lachman takes us to Swedenborg’s roots as brilliant rationalist and scientist who, well into mid-life, began to experience visions of other realms. From this point Swedenborg produced an extraordinary range of writings based on his out-of-body experiences, in which he related encounters with angels, other-planetary beings, and “the world of spirits.”

    As Lachman explores, Swedenborg’s work opened up a radically liberal and refreshing ideal of religion. The great mystic saw humanity, and all of nature, as phenomena emerging from the “spiritual world,” and man as a vessel for divine influences.  This vision inspired Western seekers to see man as a product of spiritual phenomena, and thus a being intimately connected with the cosmos. From this perspective grew bold new ideas about channeling, spiritual healing, mystical experience, mediumship – a litany of concepts that prefigured the revolutions in alternative and therapeutic spirituality.

    Also by Gary Lachman

    Dark Star Rising
    Beyond the Robot
    The Secret Teachers of the Western World
    Aleister Crowley
    Jung the Mystic
    See all books by Gary Lachman

    Also by Gary Lachman

    Dark Star Rising
    Beyond the Robot
    The Secret Teachers of the Western World
    Aleister Crowley
    Jung the Mystic
    See all books by Gary Lachman

    About Gary Lachman

    Gary Lachman is the author of many books on consciousness, culture, and the Western esoteric tradition, including Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work, A Secret History of Consciousness, and Politics and the Occult. He writes for several journals in… More about Gary Lachman

    About Gary Lachman

    Gary Lachman is the author of many books on consciousness, culture, and the Western esoteric tradition, including Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Work, A Secret History of Consciousness, and Politics and the Occult. He writes for several journals in… More about Gary Lachman

    Product Details

    Category: Philosophy | Historical Figure Biographies & Memoirs

    Paperback | $16.95
    Published by TarcherPerigee
    Apr 12, 2012 | 208 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 | ISBN 9781585429387

    Category: Philosophy | Historical Figure Biographies & Memoirs

    Ebook | $8.99
    Published by TarcherPerigee
    Apr 12, 2012 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9781101580349

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Buy other books like Swedenborg

    ‹ ›
    The Future of Man
    The Future of Man
    Teilhard de Chardin
    The Religion of Tomorrow
    The Religion of Tomorrow
    Ken Wilber
    The Heart of Awareness
    The Heart of Awareness
    The Tao of Joy Every Day
    The Tao of Joy Every Day
    Derek Lin
    Jesus and the Lost Goddess
    Jesus and the Lost Goddess
    Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
    The Heart of the Shaman
    The Heart of the Shaman
    Alberto Villoldo
    Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance
    Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance
    George Saliba
    The Psychology Of Buddhist Tantra
    The Psychology Of Buddhist Tantra
    Rob Preece
    The Collected Works of Ken Wilber, Volume 5
    The Collected Works of Ken Wilber, Volume 5
    Ken Wilber
    Madame Blavatsky
    Madame Blavatsky
    Gary Lachman
    A History of Religion in 5½ Objects
    A History of Religion in 5½ Objects
    S. Brent Plate
    Roots of Yoga
    Roots of Yoga
    Greening of the Self
    Greening of the Self
    Joanna Macy
    The Wisdom of Yoga
    The Wisdom of Yoga
    Stephen Cope
    Integral Meditation
    Integral Meditation
    Ken Wilber
    Daughters of Isis
    Daughters of Isis
    Joyce A. Tyldesley
    Krishnamacharya
    Krishnamacharya
    A.G. Mohan
    The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi
    The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi
    Mahatma Gandhi
    Dreaming Yourself Awake
    Dreaming Yourself Awake
    Brian Hodel and B. Alan Wallace
    Hindu Myths
    Hindu Myths
    Anonymous
    Buffalo Woman Comes Singing
    Buffalo Woman Comes Singing
    Brooke Medicine Eagle
    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism
    The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Taoism
    Chadwick Hansen and Brandon Toropov
    Religious Worlds
    Religious Worlds
    William E. Paden
    Saint Young Men Omnibus 4 (Vol. 7-8)
    Saint Young Men Omnibus 4 (Vol. 7-8)
    Hikaru Nakamura
    Zen beyond Mindfulness
    Zen beyond Mindfulness
    Jules Shuzen Harris
    His Holiness The Dalai Lama
    His Holiness The Dalai Lama
    His Holiness The Dalai Lama
    Ayahuasca Visions
    Ayahuasca Visions
    Luis Luna and Pablo Amaringo
    Sky Shamans of Mongolia
    Sky Shamans of Mongolia
    Kevin B. Turner
    Wizard of the Upper Amazon
    Wizard of the Upper Amazon
    F. Bruce Lamb
    Zen Buddhism
    Zen Buddhism
    Daisetz T. Suzuki and William Barrett
    Be As You Are
    Be As You Are
    Sri Ramana Maharshi
    The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
    The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
    Swami Vivekananda
    Be the first to know!
    More from Gary Lachman and book picks sent right to your inbox
    More from Gary Lachman and book picks sent right to your inbox
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook
    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices
    Read it first. Pass it on!

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!