Quest News is produced to introduce you to our staff and faculty and as well to pass on exciting information about the upcoming Esoteric Quest Conference and Post Conference Tour. Our main conference will explore The History and Renewal of the American Soul. The Quest will be taking place August 24-28 just outside of Woodstock, in Phoenicia, New York. The conference will be followed by an optional journey to Esoteric Upstate New York and the Hudson Valley where we will discover Iroquois Nations, Feminists, Utopians and 21st Century Esotericists. Please see http://www.esotericquest.org/ for more information.
Early Bird Deadline is Approaching!
Our early bird is this Thursday, May 21st! Take advantage of this $200 discount and register now!To register click here or contact Andrea Lomanto at 212-219-2527 x101 or quest@opencenter.org .
Faculty Spotlight
Louis Sahagun is the author of “ Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly P. Hall” . He is a senior staff writer at the Los Angeles Times where he covers religion, politics, the environment, law enforcement, and race relations. He is also current president of the L.A. chapter of Latino Journalists of California Association.
Manly P Hall was an extraordinary influential figure in 20th century American esotericism, he influenced figures as diverse as Cecil B. DeMille and Elvis Presley. Tell us about his early life and how he came to write his book, Secret Teachings of All Ages.
When Hall was born on March 18, 1901, his parents were already living part. His father, dentist William S. Hall, moved away from Ontario when Hall was three years old and was never heard from again. His mother, Louise, handed him over to his grandmother when he was two years old, then went off to work as a chiropractic healer in the Alaska gold fields. Over the next 18 years, Hall bounced from town to town with his peripatetic grandmother. Together, by lamplight, they read classics and adventure novels, which is where Hall first encountered words and concepts such as “Hindu” and “Buddha.” Hall, who had dropped out of school in the 6th grade, turned his back on a business career in New York City 's Wall Street after his grandmother died suddenly. While in New York , he had a fascinating, life-changing relationship with escape artist Harry Houdini. He came to California in 1919 to be reunited with his mother, who was living in Santa Monica at the time. At the Santa Monica Pier, Hall — six feet four inches tall and wide in the center, with piercing blue eyes and chiseled features worthy of a Barrymore — befriended a diminutive horse-and-buggy doctor and Civil war veteran in his early 70s who enthralled him with talk of auras, the magnetic fields of the body and reincarnation. Hall went on to become the metaphysical equivalent of the American Dream. Within a decade, Hall would take over a prominent Los Angeles church with an incredibly diverse congregation of 600 people — single tax enthusiasts, socialists, spiritualists, utopians, Rosicrucians, healers — and then transform himself into a world-renowned philosopher and student of the occult. At 21, Hall was ordained a minister of that church. Among his followers were heiresses of a wealthy California oil dynasty who later subsidized his journeys to spiritual centers around the world, and the founding of his Philosophical Research Center in Los Angeles . In 1928, at the age of 27, he published his magnum opus, An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy. Overnight, the book, which is also known as The Secret Teachings of All Ages, catapulted him to the top of the list of America 's scholars of mysticism and magic. Seven years in the making at a stunning production cost of $150,000, the 13-inch by 19-inch book is a summation of the more than 600 volumes of occult traditions and ancient history in his library at the time. He dictated portions of the book four hours each day to a stenographer at the southwest Los Angeles home of an older married couple who were devoted followers. Legendary publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst wrote Hall to tell him that he had discovered a single typographical error in the index; Madam Helena Blavatsky's first name was spelled Helen.
Manly P. Hall came to LA in the 20's, what kind of a world did he find in California in terms of its receptivity to esoteric matters?
Fascination with astrology, sorcery and ancient philosophy flourished in Southern California , the birthplace for an entire subculture of mystically-inclined newcomers such as Hall. He called the region the spiritual “greenhouse of America ,” and he hoped to be its high priest. Back then, many civic and business leaders, judges, architects, physicians, engineers and entertainment industry figures were members of Masonic lodges or other esoteric schools whose Neoclassical temples were among the most imposing buildings on the landscape surrounded by orange groves and oil derricks.
In Hollywood , developer Charles E. Toberman, for example, motivated Sid Grauman to create the Egyptian, Chinese and El Capitan theaters. Toberman built the Hollywood Bowl and Max Factor Building , among others. The founder of the Broadway department store was a Mason, as was famed film director Cecil B. DeMille.
Other than the Secret Teachings of all Ages, what other books captured the essence of Manly P. Hall's work?
Hall was the most prolific occult philosopher of the 20th century. His output includes more than 50 books, hundreds of essays and 8,000 public lectures, which introduced untold thousands to the works of sages and seers from Plato to George Santayana. Standouts, in my opinion, include First Principals of Philosophy , a practical primer course on logic, ethics and epistemology; Journey in Truth: Idealistic Philosophy from Orpheus to St. Augustine , a very readable survey of constructive philosophy, and Meditation Symbols in Eastern and Western Mysticism: Mysteries of the Mandala , which echoes themes of his Secret Teachings of All Ages .
How does his legacy continue today through the Philosophical Research Society?
PRS was founded in 1934 with a goal of providing rare public access to the depth and breadth of the world's philosophical literature, and establishing a school of wisdom teachings. The public is welcome to explore Hall's spacious, wood-paneled library, which hasn't changed in 70 years. Today, the library's 30,000 volumes serve the newly formed University of Philosophical Research , which offers a Master's Degree Program in Consciousness Studies.
Your book Master of the Mysteries is the first book to cover the life and career of MPH. What were the most fascinating facts that emerged for you as your research progressed on the book?
Over the eight years I spent digging into the complex truth about Hall and his myth, it was one surprise after another. Some of the most intriguing facts that emerged were about the suspicious circumstances surrounding Hall's tragic and bizarre death, which police believe was a homicide; about his first wife, the sultry astrologer Fay Bernice Hall, who committed suicide in 1941; about the oil clan heiress who donated millions of dollars to call and his causes; about Hall's work as a confidential informant for federal investigators who were trying to take down a Los Angeles cult in the late 1930s that was bilking followers out of millions of dollars; about Hall's close relationships with influential leaders including his close friend and fellow astrologer California Gov. Goodwin Knight, and about the distressingly weird fantasies projected on Hall by his followers and closest friends and about Hall actively encouraging young men to join the military and fight for their country during World War II and The Vietnam War. I've always been intrigued by men and women who, without formal education, training or influential family ties carved out high-profile careers that changed the world around them. Among them, writer Henry Miller; impressionist painter Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin, Bob Dylan, Labor Leader Henry Bridges and Manly Palmer Hall.
At the conference Louis will be presenting a plenary - Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly P. Hall and a workshop - Esoteric Los Angeles
Upcoming Events
Esoteric Quest Open House!
Re-Scheduled for Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 from 6-7:30pm
Join Conference Director, Ralph White for a fun, inspiring, and informational session about this year’s Esoteric Quest.
Location: The NY Open Center, 83 Spring Street, NY NY.
Please RSVP at either 212-219-2527, x: 101, or at quest@opencenter.org.
Early Bird Price Deadline for Esoteric Quest Conference
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
For more information please call 212-219-2527 x 101 or see www.EsotericQuest.org
Judy Gorman Performance
Saturday, May 23rd, 8:30pm
Theatre for the New City, 155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Streets)
(212) 254-1109
A Series of Talks on Inner America at the NY Open Center
The History and Renewal of the American Soul
As a prelude to the Open Center 's summer conference An Esoteric Quest for Inner America, we are offering a series of talks on the deeper spiritual history of this country beyond the normal bounds of conventional religion. At a time when the potential for social, political and cultural renewal is great, join us for an investigation into some half-forgotten dimensions of American spiritual life.
The Esoteric World of Madame Blavatsky
Michael Gomes
A trailblazing pioneer of the mod-ern esoteric revival, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky brought together eastern and western traditions to help form a truly American synthesis. One of the first women leaders in esotericism, she opened up what had been a male-dominated field as no one before. Her editor, Michael Gomes, will provide a guide to her world, especially her New York days when she wrote her first book, Isis Unveiled , and her ideas about fulfill-ing human potential.
Date: Monday, June 1, 8pm
Michael Gomes , one of the world's experts on H. P. Blavatsky, has edited a number of her writings, including an abridgement of The Secret Doctrine to be published later this year. He is director of the Emily Sellon Memorial Library in New York .
The Psychic Highway
Mitch Horowitz
In the 19th century, a roughly 25-mile-wide stretch of land that snakes through central New York, a place so famous for its spiritual passions that it came to be called the "Burned-Over District," produced within a few decades Spiritual-ism, Mormonism, Seventh-Day Advent-ism, the Shakers, "spirit channeling," and American variants of Mesmerism, Utopianism and Suffragism. This evening explores the strange history and pro-found impact of the Burned-Over District on America and the world.
Date: Monday, June 8, 8pm
Made In America : The Hidden History of 'Positive Thinking'
Mitch Horowitz
From the essays of Emerson to the mega-sensation of The Secret , Americans have long been fascinated with the invisible powers of the human mind-especially the question of whether thought can shape circumstance. This talk explores the history of "positive thinking" as it developed in America by considering the fascinating and unlikely careers of pioneers from Phineas Quimby and Mary Baker Eddy to Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale, and beyond.
Date: Monday, June 15, 8pm
The Transformation of Spiritual Movements in America in the 19th Century
John Patrick Deveney
When Spiritualism originated in upstate New York in the mid-19th century, there was very little in America to help students achieve personal spiritual development. By the end of that century, it was virtually impossible to open a magazine without messages from gurus, sages and masters. This talk discusses the transformation that led from Spiritualism, Mesmerism and antiquarian occultism to what we might call the occult New Thought amalgam with its ideas of per-sonal development and unfoldment of the innate powers in the human.
Date: Monday, June 22, 8pm
John Patrick Deveney is the author of Paschal Beverly Randolph: A Nineteenth Century Black American Spiritualist, Rosicrucian and Sex Magician and, with Joscelyn Godwin and Christian Chanel, The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor . He has published extensively on the early history of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy.
Ancient Secrets: The Roots of Western Esotericism
Leonard George, PhD
Our world is being swept by an urge for deep change, a call to explore the inner life. But this call to explore the esoteric dimension is nothing new. Our ancestors heard it too. For millennia they probed and mapped the soul's secret landscapes.In this special series we journey in imagination back to the schools and sages of Egypt , Syria , Greece and Rome .
The Quest of Corvus: Wisdom-Paths of the Ancient World
Rome , 300 AD. Imperial armies have unified the Mediterranean world but dangers lurk everywhere. The old answers seem tired and irrelevant. In this turbulent era, just as in our own time, many seek a sacred dimension. What would it have been like to set out on an esoteric quest then? This evening we follow the itinerary of Corvus, citizen of the Empire, as he surveys his spiritual options.
Date: Friday, June 12, 7pm
The Lynx and the Ibis: Philosophy and Hermetica as Wisdom-Paths The Wisdom-quest runs like a golden thread through the philosophical schools, from the Presocratics to the Neoplatonists. The lynx, thought to have the most powerful gaze of any creature, became the emblem for those who strove to see the Goddess of Truth who is veiled by appearances. In Alexandria , the Egyptian wisdom of the ibis-headed Thoth was fused with Greek philosophia into a vision of transformation under the aegis of the fabled Hermes Trismegistus. The disciples of Hermes learned how to find an inner shepherd who would guide them toward enlightenment.
Date: Saturday, June 13, 10am-1pm
The Pine-Cone and the Laurel : Mysteries and Oracles as Wisdom-Paths From Plato and Aristotle to Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, many of antiquity's deepest minds were initiates of the Mysteries. In these rites, held at holysettings like Eleusis and Samothrace , seekers privately enacted sacred myths in order to be reborn into the Divine Life. Mystery-elements found their way into the meditation known today as the Mithras Liturgy-a visualization of the soul's flight to heaven's edge to meet the god on high. Equally old and revered were the Oracles like the Delphic sibyl. In Late Antiquity the oracle-deities spoke from places like Didyma, Claros and Apamea, proclaiming the dawn of a new consciousness and teaching new ways to live a cosmic life.
Date: Saturday, June 13, 2:30-5:30pm
Leonard George, PhD , is a psychologist, educator, writer and broadcaster based at Capilano University in British Columbia . He has lectured across North America and Europe, and gave the opening address at the Open Center 's Esoteric Quest for the Mysteries and Philosophy of Antiquity on the isle of Samothrace . He has written two books and dozens of articles on such topics as Iamblichus and the Chaldean Oracles.
To register for any of the above events please call the New York Open Center at 212-219-2527 or see www.opencenter.org
Help Us Spread the Word:
Please help us get the word out about our upcoming conference. You can help in the following ways:
Postcards : we have some extra postcards announcing the conference. If you can help us distribute some or know of a good location for them please let us know by writing to: quest@opencenter.org .
List Serves/ Links : Do you know of some good list serves that we should send our information to? Or do you know of a good organization we can link to? Again, please let us know at quest@opencenter.org .
Website : Please send your friends to our website at www.EsotericQuest.org .
Newsletter : Did you enjoy this newsletter? If so please forward it to a friend.
The Esoteric Quest is presented by The New York Open Center http://www.opencenter.org, is a non-profit holistic learning center offering evening events, full-day workshops, ongoing classes, advanced trainings, and graduate degree opportunities. 
