Books

TRANSPERSONAL HISTORY

TOWARDS A TRANSPERSONAL HISTORY OF THE SEARCH FOR PEACE 1945-2001
(PhD THESIS) : £22.09
This thesis contributes to the intellectual history of the period from 1945-2001 in the specific regard of the search for peace, among selected groups of intellectuals, academics and thinkers, during the cold war epoch. It concerns itself both with the quest for peace in relation to that complex, global, bipolar conflict, and also more generally. It examines this search in 4 specific fields of knowledge, namely historiography, philosophy, religious studies and theology, and psychology. The thesis also highlights a methodological lacuna that emerged during the course of the research. It was felt that a new meta-historical discipline, transpersonal history, might assist the work of trying to make sense of our epoch and, particularly, provide a useful historical special sub-discipline, which might hopefully help shed light on the causes of religious and inter-cultural conflicts, and their possible resolutions, in the post 9/11 world.

BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLOPAEDIA  A – Z OF TRANSPERSONAL THEORISTS, HISTORIANS, PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PHILOSOPHERS 1945-2001 : £29.94
This epochal study is the first attempt to create a biographical dictionary of the lives and works of selected transpersonal thinkers in the 20th century. Ranging widely across disciplines, the work includes philosophers, historians, psychologists, educators, artists, psychohistorians, religious experts, theologians, Christians, Sufis, Kabbalists, Buddhists, Hindus, humanists, mystics all of whom have shown an interest in trying to understand the spiritual or transpersonal side of human nature. Many of the leading Jungian thinkers of modern times are listed here. The work seeks to provide reference material for the development of a new sub-field of history, proposed by the author, namely “transpersonal history.”

TRANSPERSONAL HISTORY AND PEACE HISTORIOGRAPHY – EXPLORING THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PHILOSOPHY OF HISTORY: TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF THE FIELD : £15.00
This book is an initial attempt at an outline of the ways that transpersonal peace history can hopefully cross-fertilise with other fields of historical research and academic thought. Transpersonal history could be defined as the scientific and holistic study of the total contents of the set of all historical events, perceived and unperceived, which have ever occurred in the past history of humanity, including those subtle phenomena which are usually ignored in the historical record, including feelings, emotions, thoughts, motivations, ideas, insights, illuminations, enlightenments, spiritual breakthroughs, feelings of well being, feelings of love, altruism, peak experiences, parapsychological experiences, synchronicities, so called miraculous phenomena, healings, near death experiences, dreams, memories, feelings of happiness and wholeness and inner peace etc.

THE PHILOSOPHICAL INTERPRETATION OF HISTORY : £18.54
In this work the author examines each of the major philosophical schools East and West and compares and contrasts their views of ultimate historical reality. He searches for the notion of a Underlying Common Wisdom (UCW) and finds this in the idea of a transpersonal historiography, which he proposes as a methodology of historical work which can reconcile and harmonise the best of Eastern and Western philosophies of history.

TOWARDS A HISTORY OF THE INTERRELATIONS OF MARXISM AND ESOTERICISM : £11.99
The book takes a detailed look at the rise of freemasonry in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and examines the strange ambivalence of Marx and Engels’ attitude to freemasonry and related secret societies such as the carbonari. The work argues that the secret organisation of communist cells in fact owed a great deal to the earlier conspiratorial milieu of freemasonry and also finds considerable overlaps in their ideological orientations. The work attempts to chart a course which is neither anti-masonry nor pro-masonry, nor anti-Marxism nor pro-Marxism, and instead it is an early essay in transpersonal history, which seeks to uncover the deeper patterns behind history from both a spiritual and scientific perspective alike. The author is Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy.

HOLISTIC PEACE AND THE CREATIVE FORCE OF LOVE IN THE WORK OF MEDIAEVAL ANDALUSIAN SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS : £10.64
This work can be considered a pioneering essay by the author in the field of transpersonal history. The attempt was made to compare and contrast three deep esoteric systems, Kabbalah, Sufism, and Christian mysticism in the tradition of Ramon Lull, and to examine something of their historical origins in the context of the Andalusian miracle of the convivencia of cultures which took place in Mediaeval Spain. This was the crucial place where the Mediaeval University was born (through Abelard, who got his Aristotle from Spain); this was where Adelard of Bath had been to learn advanced Arabic mathematic techniques. In a sense, the whole of the modern world is a child of Andalusia…

DRUIDRY AND TRANSPERSONAL HISTORY
The aim of this Mt Haemus research is to examine Druid histpry in the light of developments in 20th century transpersonal psychology, including Jung, Maslow, Wilber and Grof and to assess their potential for contributing to the development of transpersonal history, which in turn can be used to re-examine Druid history. The paper builds on from the author’s doctoral thesis, which argued for the need for a new genre of historiography (like feminist history, or economic history) namely transpersonal history, arguing that we need an objective, scientific way of doing historical research, that can take cognizance of the subjective and spiritual dimensions of people’s lives, and the immense implications such inner experiences can have for outer events and circumstances.

PHILOSOPHY

SOPHIAPHOBIA : £14.06
The author is proposing a revolutionary argument – that there might be some force or psycho-social blockage obstructing our evolution as so called Homo Sapiens, which gets in the way of our achieving our highest wisdom. Calling this force Sophiaphobia, the fear of wisdom, which is the opposite of Philosophy, the author examines what it is and where it comes from, speculating that it is operative in many levels and walks of society, not least inside the very institutions which are supposed to be promoting our education and intellectual welfare. The author also explores two related problems associated with Sophiaphobia, namely the questions of Recognition and of Philiaphobia, the fear of loving. This book should be required reading for all undergraduate and postgraduate University students and teachers, and for anyone interested in the intellectual and spiritual future of mankind.

SELECTED PHILOSOPHICAL AND HISTORICAL ESSAYS 1985-2005 : £39.14 (Hardback)
This collection of essays comprises a survey of the author’s academic and philosophical output over a period of 20 years. During the course of my intellectual adventures I have traveled to over 33 countries, and visited innumerable libraries, museums and cultural centres, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Fez, Moscow, Bethlehem, Scandinavia, Russia, India, the Philippines, USA, Canada etc.. I remain optimistic as a philosopher because of our imaginative capacity, our spiritual and intellectual resources, which we can and hopefully will draw on individually and collectively to heal our current situation.

PLAY

THE MEMORY OF LIGHT : £17.20
The essential premise of the play, that Dionysus can save the world from actual destruction, through effecting a dramatic catharsis, is surely at least worth a try. Joyism as so conceived has a long intellectual heritage, going back into the mists of the ancient world. Certainly under Dionysus’ direction it emerged on the stage with the comic plays of antiquity, not least the work of Aristophanes, who in his Frogs has Dionysus journeying to the Underworld with Heracles in a classic supernatural comedy. The Memory of Light is neither comedy nor tragedy, but includes elements of both, as a classic tragic-comedy. It is also a deliberate homage to the Miracle plays of the Middle Ages, in which Creation, Redemption and the Last Judgement were performed in the cycles of York and Chester, and which saw the rebirth of theatre in Britain, after the long dark ages.

EDUCATION

THE PERIODIC TABLE OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL TRADITIONS (TABLE AND BOOK) : £18.15
The Periodic Table of the World Religious and Philosophical Traditions is a new attempt to codify, categorise and present the entire gamut of human spiritual, intellectual and scientific searchings over the history of our species. Taking the idea of Mendeleyev, to group all the atomic elements in systematic order, the Table does the same with the universe of religious and philosophical teachings. It lists all known spiritual and scientific systems of thought, knowledge and belief according to one of 168 separate entries. The Table is intended for use in schools, colleges, Universities, seminaries, Mosques, Synagogues, Gurdwaras, temples, libraries and wherever people are interested in comparing and analysing the different belief systems of the planet. The purpose behind publishing the accompanying book to the Table itself, is to explain the motivations, history and reasons for its creation, as well as to give scientific explanations for the protocols and procedures that were adopted in devising the Table.

MULTILINGUAL DICTIONARY FOR MULTIFAITH AND MULTICULTURAL MEDIATION, PEACE AND GLOBAL PHILOSOPHY : £10.85
A research tool for all scholars and students and philosophers interested in languages and philology. It is the first ever published attempt to compile a comparative philosophical dictionary of terms for absolute concepts, which vary from culture to culture and religion to religion, of philosophically charged words such as God, Being, virtue, love, truth, beauty, power, existence, peace, knowledge, wisdom, mind, consciousness, magic, holy, spirit etc. It has a specific irenic purpose as a tool of inter-cultural understanding and reconciliation, on the propoposition that through studying one another’s words and concepts and ideas in their own vocabularies, rival spiritual and ideological systems might replace intellectual hostility and feuding with study, dialogue and mutual understanding.

UNIVERSAL CALENDAR OF SAINTS AND SAGES : £20.97
This unique reference calendar includes saints and sages for every day of the calendar year. Unlike other such Calendars, it includes saints and sages from every religion and faith tradition, including the following: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Paganism, Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Secular Humanism, Marxism, Freudian thought, Bahaism, Shintoism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Kabbalah, Sufism etc.

ENLIGHTENMENTS : £15.97
This book is the first yet published to examine in detail the teachings on enlightenment in the world’s great spiritual and philosophical traditions. It is based on over 30 years of teaching and research experience on the part of the author, an expert in comparative global philosophy and peace research. It is intended to help lay the foundations for a global pluralistic civilisation at peace with itself in which each person alive can develop their own spiritual awareness in a world free from dogmatic imposition.

RELIGION AND LITERATURE: CONTRIBUTIONS TO A DIALOGUE : £7.88
This essay considers the complex ways in which religion and literature overlap. It is written by someone deeply involved in the practice of literature, as a poet of many years, as well as a teacher and academic specialist in the history and philosophy of religions, especially in relation to peace and conflict. This succinct essay is the fruit of some 30 years of deep reflection and thought on a subject of profound importance to the direction humanity chooses to guide our lives today and in the future. Many of the great religions of mankind are based on texts – how are we understand their relative merits and significance ? What criteria can we use? Ethical or Aesthetic ? Religions also use analogy and metaphor to express their versions of truth, as does poetry and literature – but do religion and literature share a common understanding of truth, or differ in their expectations ?

WISDOM AFFAIRS: TOWARDS A CARTOGRAPHY OF ENLIGHTENMENT, ENLOVEMENT AND JOYISM FOR WISDOM LOVERS : £25.00
An exploration of the powers and dynamics of human relationships, as a vehicle for the advancement of wisdom, learning and enlightenment on planet earth. It is a manifesto for the liberation of mankind from false desires and towards the realisation of authentic nirvana and enlightenment within the context of human relational existence. All serious spiritual seekers and those who are not wishing to leave behind the path of personal relationships and love are invited to study its arguments and philosophy in depth, and to apply its teachings.

 

PEACE STUDIES

CLIO ENCOUNTERS THANATOS: ON THE HISTORY OF RESEARCH INTO PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION IN HUMAN BEHAVIOUR, WAR PSYCHOLOGY AND CONFLICT RESEARCH 1945-2001 : £15.97
This study is an attempt at an intellectual history of research into the most difficult and dark places of the human psyche, exploring how people can become mass killers, capable of acts of genocide, or torture. It surveys work in the various schools of psychology and psychoanalysis which have tried to make sense of the pathological dimensions of human nature, and gives a succinct account of the ideas and works of some of the leading theorists of the nature of the human psyche of the 20th century, including Lifton, Freud, Klein, Horney, De Mause, Isaacs, Frankl, Reich, Miller, Arendt, Thompson, Kristeva, Lacan, Keppe, Bion, Bowlby, Erikson, Loye. The work’s aim is not to choose which theory is the most useful or helpful, but rather to give an overall summary of each attempt to make sense of human nature, and to do so from a position of epistemological and transpersonal neutrality.

TOWARDS A EUROPEAN UNION MEDIATION SERVICE : £9.99
This book advocates a lasting solution to the ongoing problems of conflict on the borders of the European Union, and proposes that Europe establish a formal mediation service within its existing diplomatic structures, available in times of emergency, in all conflicts, great and small, that affect the lives of the citizens of the European continent as a whole, and not just members of the existing European Union. Similarly, the EUMS would be available as a neutral service to assist neighbouring non-European countries to resolve their disputes amicably and non-violently. The European Union can afford to create this service. The European Union cannot afford not to create it. This could be part of the peace dividend that we have all been waiting for ever since the ending of the cold war in 1990, and which the citizens of Europe have hitherto been tragically denied, especially in the Balkans.

TOWARDS A TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR THE MIDDLE EAST : £13.16
Towards a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Middle East has two main purposes, firstly to explain the background behind the launching of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the Middle East in 2008, and secondly to give something of the theoretical framework in which this project is being based. Unusual among peace institutes worldwide, the work of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy is dedicated not to the political or military or even economic aspects of peace building, although all such are important – but rather to the causal and metaphysical level of peace building – the building of peace in the collective imagination, the collective will and the collective intelligence of mankind’s warring tribes, nations and religions. It is concerned with the psychological healing and philosophical reconstruction of mankind’s inner life, alongside the outermost socio-economic factors.

THE HISTORY OF EDUCATIONAL IDEAS AND INSTITUTIONS AND THE SEARCH FOR PEACE 1945-2001 : £15.77
This crucial work documents the history of the peace education community in its attempts to generate the institutions of learning which can advance scholarship and understanding for peace, in a world riven with violence and terror. Mainly narrating developments from 1945-2001, the appendices give a glimpse of early decades of peace education work, dating back to the 1820′s, with the founding of the University of London, where much of the work was first researched.


COLLECTED POEMS

VOLUME ONE 1971-2005 : £20.57
This volume of poetry represents the author’s poetic oeuvre covering a long time span, from 1971 to about1998, and covers a wide ranging attempt to articulate the unsayable. The poems comprise a testimony, from one individual, to the living power of the Muses as inspirers and guardians of insight and wisdom, to harness our ability of seership and higher knowing in the struggle for planetary peace and wisdom in a time of confusion and tragedy.

VOLUME TWO 1971-2005 : £20.62
This 2nd volume of poetry represents the author’s poetic oeuvre covering a more recent time span, from the 1990′s to 2005, and covers a wide ranging attempt to articulate the mysteries of existence. The poems are a testimony to the living power of the Muses as inspirers and guardians of insight and wisdom, to harness our ability of seership and higher knowing in the struggle for planetary peace and wisdom in a time of confusion and tragedy. The author believes that it is time for the poets of the world to stand together and raise their combined voices in inspired warning and guidance, to give hope and vision and courage to all those working for peace and social and civil justice, for an end to persecution, oppression, poverty and violence of every kind. It includes a sequence of poems entitled A Shropshire Lass, which are a conscious re-invocation of A.E. Houseman’s A Shropshire Lad in a more contemporary key.

VOLUME THREE 2005-2008 : £17.09
This is the third volume of Thomas Daffern’s Colected poems and covers writings from 2005 to 2008 written in diverse places worldwide.

 

A SHROPSHIRE LASS
A Shropshire Lass is a sequence of poems written in Shropshire and the Welsh Marches, at the gateway of the 3rd millennium. They are an invocation to the beauty of the landscape, the wisdom of the eternal feminine, the mysteries of love, as well as a lament for the inescapable limitations and tragedies of temporality and human frailty. 

DRUID OBSERVATIONS ON A CYCLE OF POEMS 2004 – 2006 : £11.88
This study is a detailed commentary on a sequence of poems, written in Wales, Europe and Asia from 2004-2006. Many of the poems were of a Druidic nature and draw on the universal imagery of the wisdom traditions of the Celtic imagination. A philosopher, historian and expert in world religions and theologies, the poet is able to relate the complex imagery of his poems to the universal language of soul which infuses the world’s living spiritual traditions, whatever outer names they bear. The poems have an irenic purpose and drive behind their haunting imagery – to transform a world based on fear, violence and conflict, to one of love, beauty and transcendental wisdom, through the magical incantations of the Word.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

 MUSINGS – VOLUME 1: £16.35
An autobiosophy of half of life dedicated to poetry, philosophy, education, peace and spirit

 

MUSINGS – VOLUME 2 1981-1990: £13.81
The intellectual autobiography of half a life of study, writing, teaching & research, dedicated to the achievement of intercultural and inter-philosophical peace and spiritual understanding, this volume documents an important period of the author’s life in Canada and in London, working on a comprehensive study program in response to the threats to global peace and security occasioned by the cold war and ongoing international conflicts.

MUSINGS – VOLUME 3 1991-1992: £13.85
This volume documents a crucial period of the author’s life in London and the UK, working on a peace studies project at the University of London and its follow through phase, during the first Gulf War. Having been elected as coordinator of International Philosophers for Peace in Moscow in 1990, it was with a growing sense of unease and dismay that he witnessed the breakdown of international relations both in the Middle East and the Balkans region. The International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy was launched during this time to try to marshal the world’s leading minds in the cause of conflict resolution and peace-making, and inter-philosophical dialogue, at a critical time in our planetary history. This work documents in full the story of these developments.

MUSINGS VOLUME 4 - AN AUTOBIOSOPHY OF HALF OF LIFE DEDICATED TO POETRY, PHILOSOPHY, EDUCATION, PEACE AND SPIRIT: £19.97
This is the 4th volume of autobiographical reflections on a life lived for the advancement of peace through philosophical discourse, as well as through poetic and visionary spiritual work for interfaith harmony. This volume covers the momentous events leading up the start of third millennium and gives a critical perspective on world events through the eyes of a transpersonal thinker and historian.

MUSINGS VOLUME 5 – 2000-2008: £22.60
This is the 5th volume of autobiographical reflections on a life lived for the advancement of peace through philosophical discourse, as well as through poetic and visionary spiritual work for interfaith harmony. This volume covers the momentous events of the start of third millennium and gives a critical perspective on world events through the eyes of a transpersonal thinker and historian.

To order, please contact the Muses Press at:
Le Musee de la Paix, 13 Grande Rue, Betete, La Creuse, Limousin, Aquitaine, 23270, France
or in the UK at 213 Ham Road, Worthing, West Sussex, England BN11 2QB, United Kingdom
Tel. +33 (0)5 8756 5489 +44 (0)7500 238523  Email:  thomasdaffern@gmail.com  or iipsgp@educationaid.net

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