- Nabhipedasana: (Sanskrit)
- The upward ankle-twist posture in yoga
- Nada: (Sanskrit)
- The Universal Sound. Vibration
- Nadabrahma: (Sanskrit)
- The perfect, blissful tone.
- Nadi: (Sanskrit)
- A channel within the astral body
- Nadishodhana: (Sanskrit)
- The purification of the nadis
- Naga: (Sanskrit)
- Ancient hooded serpent, associated with Kundalini and the
chakras.
- Nahash: (Hebrew
- serpent)
- In Hebrew this word is associated with magic and
enchantment. It is related to and pronounced almost the same as
the Sanskrit word naga. Most authorities agree that, as it is
used in the first of Genesis, this word cannot mean simply a
snake. It is the ego which indeed winds about the heart of a man
and envelops it in its coils, having nothing to do with a
serpent except as a metaphor. In various usages one may read it
as ego or as kundalini or as something not quite one nor the
other.
- Nakshatra:
- In Vedic astrology, a division of the Zodiac into 27 parts.
There were originally 28 parts but one seems to have been
dropped. Each Division is ruled by a planet and is further
divided into Padas or quarters. The nakshatra contains 9
navaa.nshas and forms the base position for lunar Dasha systems
- Namaste: (Sanskrit)
can be translated as obeisance to you.
- Among many Hindus, the greeting of choice. The two hands
pressed together and held near the heart with the head gently
bowed as one says, "Namaste".
The hands held in union signify the oneness of an apparently
dual cosmos, the bringing together of spirit and matter, or the
self meeting the Self.
- Nataraja:
- Lord of the dancers, a name of Shiva
- Natarajasana: (Sanskrit)
- The Lord of the Dance posture in yoga
- Nation of Islam:
- A sect of Islam originating
in America composed of black Americans. Followers, sometimes
called Black Muslims, believe that Allah (God) appeared in 1930
to the last great prophet Elijah Muhammad, in the person of
Wallace D. Fard. Elijah Muhammad borrowed many beliefs from
traditional Islam but introduced important differences. Most
notable was the focus on black oppression and equating Satan and
evil with the white race. Malcolm X became a notable leader of
the movement in the 1960s and the focus on black supremacy and
militancy escalated. Malcolm X later converted to traditional
Islam and rejected radical black supremacy and was subsequently
murdered. The current leader of the Nation is Islam is Louis
Farrakhan.
- National Spiritualist Association of Churches:
- A national spiritualist organization headquartered at
Cassadaga, FL:
- Native American Spirituality:
- The religious beliefs, practices, and rituals associated
with Native Americans. Early Native American beliefs, though
diverse, often shared common religious ideas. Many believed in
a "Great Spirit," that nature in all of its forms possesses
spirits, and that all life is interconnected. Seasons and moons
often were viewed as marking times of evocation for spirits and
prosperity. Some New
Age believers
promote revival of Native American spirituality, seeing obvious
parallels with their own views.
- Natural Law Party:
- A political party started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the
father of Transcendental
Meditation (TM).
- Nature Spirits:
- Various types of beings that are said to be the "soul" of
natural forms. Belief
in the existence of nature spirits is common to all cultures
throughout history. They are usually attached to a specific
place, such as a tree, river, plant or mountain. They come in a
variety of shapes and temperaments. Some are described as human
in form, others are like animals or are half-human, half animal;
some are helpful, others deceitful or malevolent. They are
normally invisible to humans, except to those with the gift of clairvoyance.
Elementals are a sub-class of nature spirits that are a part of
the life force of all things in nature. They are ruled byarchangels and
are generally regarded as benevolent. The Neoplatonic Greeks categorized
elementals according to the four elements: Earth elementals aregnomes;
air elementals are sylphs; Water elementals are undines; and
Fire elementals are salamanders. In the Middle Ages interest in
these main groups was revived and alchemists and magicians sought
to control and manipulate the forces of nature and the universe.
Other elementals include elves,
who live in the woods, and household spirits such as brownies,
goblins and bogies. Fairies are
also sometimes included in this category.
- Naturopathy:
- A healing system acknowledging
the body's natural healing power. Fosters health through
education and the use of natural substances such as herbs,
foods, air and sunshine
- Neanderthal:
- A species of Palaeolithic man inhabiting
Europe during the Mousterian period. It was named for the
Neander Valley in Germany, near D�sseldorf, where in 1856 one
of the earliest skulls was found. They occupied parts of Europe
and the Middle East from 100,000 years ago until about 35,000 to
40,000 years ago, when they disappeared from the fossil record.
The most significant feature of Neanderthal anatomy, as with all
others hominids,
is the skull. Specimens vary, but typical features include a
wide, vaulted cranium, heavy 'beetle brow' ridges above the
eyes, a big jaw, and large teeth. Neanderthals may have looked
faintly apelike, but their brain capacity was as large as, and
in some cases larger than, that of modern human beings. As a
whole, Neanderthals seem to have been tough and stocky
individuals.Many believe that the Neanderthal is the ancenter of
Sasquatch.
- Near-death experience (NDE):
- Any paranormal or supernatural experience had when a person
is near death, including experiences when a person thinks he or
she has died and returned from death. Reports of NDEs have
become numerous in recent decades due to advances in medical
technology that make it possible to revive people from comas and
other critical conditions. Many patients report having out-of-body
experiences (OBEs) while
they were unconscious or comatose.
- Necromancy:(from Greek words meaning "dead' and
'divination'),
- A form of divination by communication with the dead, one of
the "black
arts". The classic case of necromancy is the witch
of Endor, described in the Bible (1 Samuel 28), who summoned
the spirit of Samuel in the presence of Saul. Necromancy can
be divided into two main branches: divination by means of ghosts,
and divination from corpses, both of which represent related
forms of forbidden knowledge. The second method led to the
disinterment of corpses and rifling of graves for the grisly
charms which magicians and witches considered necessary for the
effective performance of the magical arts. To
evoke the dead the magician needed to obtain the help of
powerful spirits, both for his own protection and to compel the
corpse or ghost to submit to his will. A spell from ancientGreece calls
upon the powers of the mighty Kore, Persephone, Ereshkigal,
Adonis, Hermes and Thoth,
to bind the dead. According to a ritual described by Seneca, the
Roman dramatist, the summoning of the dead involved not only a
burnt sacrifice but a blood-drenched altar.
- Necronomicon: {Latin
- literally: :Book of Dead Names"'
- The Necronomicon,
or under a purported original Arabic title
of Kitab
al-Azif, is a fictional grimoire
appearing in stories by the horror writer H.
P. Lovecraft and his followers.
It was first mentioned in Lovecraft's 1924 short
story "The
Hound" written in 1922, though
its purported author, the "Mad Arab" Abdul
Alhazred, had been quoted a year
earlier in Lovecraft's
The Nameless City. Among
other things, the work contains an account of the Old
Ones, their history, and the
means for summoning them. Other authors such as August
Derleth and Clark
Ashton Smith also cited the Necronomicon in
their works. Lovecraft approved of other writers building on his
work, believing such common allusions built up "a background of
evil verisimilitude."
Many readers have believed it to be a real work, with
booksellers and librarians receiving many requests for it;
pranksters have listed it in rare book catalogues, and a student
smuggled a card for it into the card
catalog of the Yale
University Library. Capitalizing
on the notoriety of the fictional volume, real-life publishers
have printed many books entitled Necronomicon since
Lovecraft's death.
- Neo-Orthodox Christianity:
- Development associated with the strong reaction of Swiss
theologians Karl Barth and Emil Brunner against the barrenness
of liberal
Christianity. They felt that Scripture, although a flawed,
fallible, human product, could still be used by God to
accomplish His purposes. Thus the Bible becomes inspired
in its proclamation when the Holy Spirit quickens faith and
obedience in its hearers. .
- Neo-Paganism:
- The modern revival of paganism,
emphasizing witchcraft (see Wicca), goddess worship,
and nature worship.
-
Nestorianism( from Nestorius), Patriarch
of Constantinople).
- The
Christian doctrine that Jesus was two distinct persons, one
human and one divine, closely and inseparably united. God begot
Jesus as God, but Mary bore him as a man. Its
name comes from its leading proponent, Nestorius, Patriarch of
Constantinople. Nestorianism was rejected as a heresy by the Council
of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.,
which held that Christ consisted of only one person with two
natures, one human and one divine. Nestorian churches exist
today within Eastern Orthodox Cathollic Church..
- Nettles, Bonnie Lou:
- See Heaven�s
Gate.
- Networking
- An informal, decentralized
organization created by like-minded individuals who are
interested in address-ing specific problems and offering
possible solutions. All of this takes place outside of
conventional institutions.
- Neuro-Linguistic
Programming (NLP)
- A system developed
by Richard Bandler and Dr. John Grinder toCalled
�software for the brain,� it is supposed to be faster and more
powerful than traditional clinical counseling and can work
without the subject�s conscious knowledge
- Neuromuscular Therapy:
- A form of deep massage using
pressure to certain trigger points on the body to release
emotions and relieve pain by breaking the stress-tension-pain
cycle.
-
New Age:
- A term coined by Alice Bailey
in the first part of the 20th Century to decribe the age to
follow the Piscean - The
Age of Aquarius, beginning between Jan 1, 1981 and May 5 2012.
Also, the philosophical and/or religious systems arising form or
believing in the coming of a new age.
-
New Age Community Church:
- A New Age church founded by Rev. Dr. John Rodgers in 1971.
with three congregations, West Valley, Blessed Circle and the
mother church. Publishers of the Omega Directory. Founders of
the New Age Seminary Program and Psychic Massage.
- New Age Medicine:
- See Holistic
Health
- New Age Movement
- A loose organization of people,
many of them "Yuppies," who espouse a variety of beliefs,
primarily that the world has entered the Aquarian Age. As a
rule, they reject Judeo-Christian orthodoxy. Among them may be
found environmentalists, ESP cultists, spiritists, Pagans, and
others using magical rites. (See New
Age)
- New Age Music:
- Music composed to facilitate altered
states of consciousness and meditation.
Stephen Halpern's Spectrum
Suite, is the finest example of this genre. Also, a light
jazz, instrumental music category.
- Newbrough, John:
- See OAHSPE.
- New Church:
- See Swedenborg
Foundation
- New Life Foundation:
- Organization founded by Vernon Howard to promote his
teachings. Located in Pine AZ
- New Thought:
- One of the branches of the mind
sciences; though related to Christian
Science, New Thought usually maintains the reality of matter
and is more liberal and pluralistic in its views. Teaches that
the Christ is
only a principle that was embodied in Jesus and other religious
figures
- New World Order:
- The belief that: as the new Age of Aquarius unfolds, a new
order of things will come into being.. This will be a utopia in
which there is world government, and end to wars, disease,
hunger, pollution, and poverty. Gender, racial, religious and
other forms of discrimination will cease. People's allegiance to
their tribe or nation will be replaced by a concern for the
entire world and its people. Probably derived from the writings
of Alice A. Bailey. Said by some Christians to be an anti-Christ
world dictatorship.
- New World Translation:
- Official Bible translation published by the Watchtower
Bible and Tract Society. The beauty of the King James
Version has been sacrificed for accuracy's sake.
- Nichiren Shoshu of America (NSA):
- Former name of Soka
Gakkai International (SGI).
- Nirvana:
-
Hindu state of
enlightenment or liberation
from earthly things; bliss, freedom
of the personal soul from the physical world..
- NLP: (See
Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
- Nostrodamus, Michel: (1503-1566)
- French physician and astrologer whose predictions of the
future have fascinated
people for centuries. Nostradamus
acquired fame as a doctor by treating victims of the plague, but
he eventually turned more to astrology and
metaphysics. In 1555 he completed the Centuries,
a book of more than 900 predictions about the fate of France,
the world, and celebrated persons of his time. The title of the
book refers to the fact that the contents are arranged in
sections of 100 verses each. An expanded version was published
in 1558. His prophecies are
written as four-lined rhymed verses (quatrains) in vague, often
cryptic language. The fact that they are written in a French
dialect that has not been spoken for 400 years complicates
interpretation of his predictions. Some interpreters say the
verses can be applied to anything, or nothing, whereas others
claim that various verses foretold the Great Fire of London in
1666, the deaths of several monarchs, details of the French
Revolution, the rise of Napoleon and Hitler and World War II. Because
Nostradamus included very few dates in his prophecies and
because, additionally, he did not organize them into a
chronological order, the verses have been constantly
reinterpreted since their publication. The Centuries remains
a classic of the occult literature and hundreds of studies of it
have been published.
- Numerology:
- The divination art of numbers
based upon qualitative values given to letters of the alphabet
which are interpreted in shaping one's destiny as well as
offering guidance in daily living.Often associated with
the Kabbalah,
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