Visionary Worlds: The Making and Unmaking of Reality(SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions)

Considers the role and significance of imagination and the myth-making processes that engage human beings in constructing a viable, living world of meaningful relations, beliefs and social interactions.

Table of Contents:
Prologue 1 Creating the World Myths of Beginning History, then Civilization Patterns of Truth Falsehoods, then Denials 2 Destroying Illusion Time Is Not Lineal Space Is Not Empty Life Is Not Suffering Dreams Are Not Fantasy 3 Chaos and Confusion Fear, Isolation, Death Anger, Jealousy, Violence Love, Passion, Possession Ecstacy, Joy, Trauma 4 Recreating the World Recalling the Past Foreseeing the Future Forgetting the Present Unweaving the Woven 5 Accepting the Unacceptable Neither Self Nor Selflessness Both-and-or-Other Neither Ignorance Nor Knowledge Made, then Unmade Afterword Notes Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Lee Irwin is Director of the Religious Studies Program at the College of Charleston.

Review :
"We need a trans-global vision, and it is this kind of vision that the author presents. It's a brilliant poetically-rational argument for the need to bridge the countless 'two culture splits' that fragment the global human community (from competing spiritual paths to the more recent religion-science debates). Instead of bemoaning the lack of absolute certainty or embracing the dark vision of an utterly meaningless cosmos, the author shows us ways in which we can grasp the opportunities offered by the 'horizon of becoming as a dynamic transformation in which plurality is a healthy necessity for growth and evolution.'"--Ingrid H. Shafer, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma "The book is interesting to read, especially the pervasive elucidation of the visionary power of the human spirit in the 'affirmation of the mysterious, mystical, and vastness' of the deeper possibilities of being and the deconstruction of limited horizons, dogmatic theory, and absolute beliefs. The topic is a "The work is useful for personal growth and development, especially conveying understandings about a higher order vision based on cooperation, reflection, non-violence, and justice. Irwin envisions 'new patterns of relatedness with all life, all sentient beings, all planetary worlds.' This viewpoint is useful for raising the consciousness of human beings, thus, promoting personal growth and nurturing a higher quality of life." -- Ermel Stepp, Marshal University