Shambhala: The Fascinating Truth Behind the Myth of Shangri - la

Preface

This book is primarily about Shambhala, said to be a hidden paradisial center of wisdom in the highlands of Central Asia; but it also entails an extremely ancient concept of the earth that is organically related to the central theme. This subtheme proposes that both the World Mountain and the World Tree of mythology are poetic images of a geophysical feature of the earth that can only be perceived clairvoyantly and that is unique to Shambhala. It envisions the planet as a living psychospiritual being whose body has an energetic structure our modern culture has not as yet recognized or understood, but which was once known to early races.

Clearly such a concept, which unites the physical and the psychic, cannot be validated through the usual channels of academic research or the amassing of factual information, but must rely on the more allusive methods that illuminate as best they can extremely new fields of psychospiritual study. But that limitation may soon be overcome.

Most scientific enquiry at present is restricted to a narrow band of thought whose parameters are tacitly defined and enforced by collective agreement, ensuring that the outcome never rises above a certain prescribed ceiling. But there is evidence of a growing countermovement, creative and idiosyncratic, which is determined to break the mold. Already some theoretical scientists are prepared to take seriously the phenomena of the psychic world, approaching them as a valid aspect of reality that may be included among the scientific possibilities to be rationally debated, even if it means working with radically new paradigms.

This is an important augury. It means that as a race we may be on the brink of a breakthrough into wider dimensions of thought that will transcend the old mental barriers, dimensions in which it is possible to ascend to transcendental levels without losing our scientific foothold. The day has not yet arrived but is surely approaching when it will be accepted that everything in the universe, including our planet, has its degree of life, consciousness and psychic potential, and that indeed this in the only basis on which human being with their rich religious, culture and social life can interact as they do with a physical world. The credo that conscious Life is sovereign in the universe is, I believe, already sounding its birth-note, and it is this credo that has inspired the following pages.

Back Of Book

somewhere beyond Tibet, lics a paradise of universal wisdom and ineffable peace known as Shambhala. Called by some Shangri-la, this mythical kingdom of jewel lakes, wish-fulfilling trees, and speaking stones has fired the imagination of both actual explorers and travelers to the inner realms. This fascinating look behind the myth shows Shambhala to be a "real" place, always accessible to the pure of heart.

"Victoria LePage had applied the wisdom of this legend to humanity's hunger for a new centering principle. In an era badly in need of inspiration, Shambhala offers readers a route for transforming the planet as well its inhabitants."

-Stanley Krippner, Ph. D., Professor of Psychology, Saybrook Institute,
coauthor of Personal Mythology and Spiritual Dimensions of Healing.

"The myth of Shambhala, the lost Central Asian kingdom - cum - paradise, has fascinated and inspired [people] for over a thousand years. Victoria LePage examines the plethora of 'lost paradise' legends and the spiritual implications behind them. Her insights make for fascinating and illuminating reading."

-Glenn H. Mullin, author of Death and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition,
mystical Verses of a Mad Dalai Lama, and The Practice of Kalachakra

"A well - researched, well - written, and utterly fascinating account. This highly recommended book contains more of the pieces [of the Shambhala puzzle] than any other publication to date."

-Georg Feuerstein, Ph. DI, co - author of
In Search of the Cradle of Civilization, author of Holy Madness,
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Yoga, and many other books.

VICTORIA LEPAGE began her study of Shambhala almost fifty years ago. Her researches led her to studies of the Hindu - Buddhist and Sufi traditions and to long visits to central Java, where the Shambhala tradition is strong. She lives in Australia. This is her first book.

Part One : The Mountain

PART TWO : THE TREE