Needless to say, there is no simple solution to the problem you describe. The Path is a "path" because it must be traversed, jagged rocks and all, and this entails a combination of resolution and patience: resolution, lest we be tempted to give up; and patience, lest...

What is the Intellect? Permit me to quote by way of answer a short paragraph from the introduction to my recently published Schuon Reader. I don't mean to suggest that this is the best possible response to your question—far from it—but it has the potential...

To what extent (if at all) can we affect our own emotions? My answer depends on who we are. If "we" is a name for all our many inward layers and levels—"My name is legion," said the demoniac (Mark 5:9)—then obviously our current emotional state will be...

This post is part of a series, beginning here. "I have a question regarding Schuon's claim that Vajrayana (or Kashmir Shaivism) is incompatible with the Western psyche. Isn't it the case that Tibetan Buddhism ultimately derives from an Indo-Aryan spiritual current,...

This post is part of a series, beginning here. "I have a question regarding Schuon's claim that Vajrayana (or Kashmir Shaivism) is incompatible with the Western psyche. Isn't it the case that Tibetan Buddhism ultimately derives from an Indo-Aryan spiritual current,...

This post is part of a series, beginning here. "I'm puzzled by the emphasis placed on exoteric, collective religion by the Traditionalist authors. Is formal membership in an exoteric tradition really necessary for all men? Didn't the Vedic rishis, the Buddha, and Lao...

This post is part of a series, beginning here. "I wish to ask why certain traditions are restricted, according to Traditionalist authors. Just for example, let's say I read the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and the Tantric literature of...

The questions you raise appear to be "in the air" at the moment, prompted in part by this recent post of mine. I've had two other inquiries besides your own in just the last week or so on more or less the same subjects: why Guénon, Schuon, and other...

You ask what I think is the most "interesting" or "unusual" Orthodox icon. Singling out just one holy image is a trifle absurd, as I'm sure you realize! But if you pressed me on the subject, I might direct your attention to an icon called To Thauma en to Adein,...

I'm pleased to announce that Splendor of the True: A Frithjof Schuon Reader has at last been published. As I noted in a post on this weblog when I submitted the manuscript to SUNY Press back in February 2012, the book was already several years in the making at that...