Spirituality/Mysticism $18.95 U.S. S $23.95 Can. I L V A More than two thousand years before the resurrection of Jesus, initiates from spiritual traditions around the world were already practicing a secret mystical ritual in which they metaphorically died and were reborn into a higher spiritual state. During this living resurrection, they experi- enced a transformative spiritual awakening that revealed the nature of reality and the purpose of the soul, described as “rising from the dead.” Exploring the practice of living resurrection in ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, Persian, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Celtic, and Native American traditions, Freddy Silva explains how resurrection was never meant for the dead, but for the living—a fact supported by the suppressed Gnostic Gospel of Philip: “Those who say they will die first and then rise are in error. If they do not first receive the resurrection while they live, when they die they will receive nothing.” He reveals how these practices were not only common in the ancient world but also shared similar facets in each tradition: initiates were led through a series of challenging ordeals, retreated for a three-day period into a cave or restricted room, often called a “bridal chamber,” and while out-of-body, became fully conscious of travels in the Otherworld. Upon returning to the body, they were led by priests or priestesses to witness the rising of Venus, Sirius, or the Equinox sunrise. Silva describes some of the secret chambers around the world where the ritual was per- formed, including the so-called tomb of Thutmosis III in Egypt, which featured an empty sarcophagus and detailed instructions for the living on how to enter the Otherworld and return alive. He reveals why esoteric and Gnostic sects claimed that the literal resurrection of Jesus promoted by the Church was a fraud and how the Church branded all living resurrection practices as a heresy, relentlessly persecuting the Gnostics to suppress knowledge of this self-empowering experience. He shows how the Knights Templar revived these concepts and how they survive to this day within Freemasonry. Exploring the hidden art of living resurrection, Silva shows how this personal experience of the Divine opened the path to self-empowerment and higher consciousness, leading initiates such as Plato to describe it as the pinnacle of spiritual development. FREDDY SILVA is a leading researcher of alternative history, ancient knowledge, sacred sites, and the interaction between temples and consciousness. He has appeared on Discovery Channel, BBC, and Coast to Coast AM radio. He is the author of 5 books and lives in Portland, Maine. INNER TRADITIONS Cover design by Aaron Davis ROCHESTER, VERMONT Images courtesy of iStock www.InnerTraditions.com This Book Supports the www.HaciendaRioCote.com Reforestation Project LoArRe-FullCover-Final.indd 1 12/14/16 4:51 PM This page intentionally left blank. The Lost Art of Resurrection “Freddy Silva’s latest book is his most brilliant, scintillating, and inviting of all, a superb book on global initiation over thousands of years. In it he explores how ancient sacred cultures guided peo- ple to experience psychic death while alive—a ritual near-death experience. The Lost Art of Resurrection is a truly remarkable con- tribution to the quest of reviving lost wisdom and a must-read for anyone interested in spirituality and sacred sites.” Barbara Hand Clow, author of Awakening the Planetary Mind and Revelations of the Ruby Crystal “This is a breakthrough work that topples not only church dogma but a century of pyramidiots stumped by Egypt’s elusively empty sarcophagi. No mummy there! No, it’s all about the round-trip journey to the spirit world and what our ancestors were really doing in their secluded temples. Fabulously illustrated, this impor- tant book is as much about the cosmogony of the ancient wisdom- keepers as it is about the hidden chambers of the human mind.” Susan Martinez, Ph.D., author of The Mysterious Origins of Hybrid Man LoArRe.indd 1 12/14/16 4:52 PM Also by this Author First Templar Nation How the Knights Templar Created Europe’s First Nation-State The Divine Blueprint Temples, Power Places, and the Global Plan to Shape the Human Soul Secrets in the Fields The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles Chartres Cathedral The Missing or Heretic Guide LoArRe.indd 2 12/14/16 4:52 PM Lost Art The of Resurrection Initiation, Secret Chambers, and the Quest for the Otherworld Freddy Silva Inner Traditions Rochester, Vermont • Toronto, Canada LoArRe.indd 3 12/14/16 4:52 PM Inner Traditions One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 www.InnerTraditions.com Copyright © 2014, 2017 by Freddy Silva Originally published in 2014 by Invisible Temple Revised and expanded edition published in 2107 by Inner Traditions All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Silva, Freddy, 1961– author. Title: The lost art of resurrection : initiation, secret chambers, and the quest for the otherworld / Freddy Silva. Description: Rochester, Vermont : Inner Traditions, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016022426 (print) | LCCN 2016037526 (e-book) | ISBN 9781620556368 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781620556375 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Resurrection—Miscellanea. Classification: LCC BF1999 .S5195 2017 (print) | LCC BF1999 (e-book) | DDC 202/.3—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016022426 Text design and layout by Priscilla Baker This book was typeset in Garamond Premier Pro with Arno and Avenir used as display typefaces To send correspondence to the author of this book, mail a first-class letter to the author c/o Inner Traditions • Bear & Company, One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767, and we will forward the communication, or contact the author directly at invisibletemple.com. LoArRe.indd 4 12/14/16 4:52 PM To the Divine Virgin LoArRe.indd 5 12/14/16 4:52 PM Scratch a Christian and you will find a Pagan spoiled. Israel Zangwill LoArRe.indd 6 12/14/16 4:52 PM Contents A Scottish Faery Tale ix 1 A Noble Tradition Recently Suppressed 1 2 The Myth of Resurrection 5 3 What Is Initiation? 13 4 Early Followers of The Way 26 5 The Otherworld of the Celts 61 6 Secrets of the Beehive 82 7 Fifty Shades of Gnosticism 99 8 The Secret Bridal Chamber 119 9 What Happens in the Middle East Stays in Central America 129 10 Geezers of Nazareth 151 LoArRe.indd 7 12/14/16 4:52 PM 11 Inside the Great Pyramid and into the Otherworld 164 12 Egyptian Initiation 175 13 How to Travel to the Otherworld and Back. 186 Or, the Pyramid Texts 14 Pharaoh Has Left the Building 195 15 Green Men, White Knights 206 16 The Science of the Otherworld 225 17 The Metamorphosis of the Soul 237 Notes 245 Bibliography 256 Index 266 About the Author 275 LoArRe.indd 8 12/14/16 4:52 PM