Notes on the Mysterium Tremendum by Hugh Major

Two Kinds of Mystery, Three Kinds of Epiphany...

...Miracles and Reality

...Irrational Reasoning

"Our journey in consciousness is too profound and multifarious to fit into one theory or be accounted for by one system of thought"

Notes on the Mysterium Tremendum studies the universe as inner experience as well as outer reality and examines the conditioning which has separated the two. It covers aspects of science, philosophy, art and the natural world in some depth, and balances this against a breadth of content and approach. The issues explored are becoming more relevant as we confront an unsustainable economic future and a barren spiritual one.

The thinking subject is the thing at issue - a complex, sometimes contradictory being on a desperate quest in this diverse, coordinated, beautiful and dangerous arena called the world - the Mysterium Tremendum.

A prize winner in the 2010 Ashton Wylie Unpublished Manuscript Award, Notes on the Mysterium Tremendum was described by the judges as "A deeply reflective collection... very thoughtful and intelligent reflections on life and its mysteries and day to day happenings..."

Hugh Major writes that "The closer we look at ourselves and our interconnection with the natural world, the more amazement and joy can be extracted from it." Notes on the Mysterium Tremendum helps the reader experience and maximise the amazement, and enhance the joy.

About the Author

Hugh Major studied English and Philosophy at Auckland University and he has taught these subjects at secondary schools, as well as English and Drama in both Scotland and Japan. He has also taught mask-making and the culture and history of masks at Auckland College of Education.

He studied painting at La Bottega d'arte Fiorentina, the studio of Gabrielle Panerai in Florence, and also with Dr David Cranswick at the Great Western Studio in London.

Hugh has exhibited in Yokohama and Auckland and was a finalist in four of the Adam Portraiture Awards between 2002 and 2008, administered by the National Portrait Gallery in Wellington, as well as for the Gallipoli Art Prize in Sydney, in 2011.

He has been a finalist in the Ashton Wylie Awards for writing in the Mind, Body and Spirit genre, with both Light Station in 2008 then Notes on the Mysterium Tremendum in 2010, the latter being a prizewinner in the Unpublished Manuscript category.

Hugh lives in Matakana, New Zealand, with his partner Kirsty, and their art studio can be found at www.whitecloudstudio.co.nz

Paperback | 148 x  210mm | 978-0-9582966-7-0 | 6 July 2012 | Non-fiction, Mind-body-spirit  | 226 pages |