Highways of the Mind: The Art and History of Pathworking [Paperback]

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1987

Pathworking is a term given to a specific kind of guided visualization exercise in which the mind is projected into a series of situations and landscapes that can be viewed on a mental screen. Tracing them from the earliest cave paintings, through the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Bardic tradition and the story-tellers of Ireland, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki shows pathworkings to be a part of a much greater structure in the make-up of man, pertaining to his hopes and dreams and his ability to make those dreams come true. Used with purpose and by trained minds, the pathworking becomes a series of controlled thought patterns - and thought is the basis of creation.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is a third generation psychic who has worked with magic since childhood. She studied under the late W. E. Butler and with him was a founding member of the Servants of the Light School of Occult Science, of which she is the Director of Studies. She travels the world lecturing on all aspects of the occult and is the author of many books, including The Ritual Magic Workbook and The Singing Stones. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Aquarian Pr; 1 edition (October 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850305543
• ISBN-13: 978-0850305548
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,017,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highways is a self-guided tour, June 14, 2000

By 

Mark Stavish, The Institute for Hermetic Stud... (Wyoming, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Highways of the Mind: The Art and History of Pathworking (Paperback)

"Highways of the Mind" is an excellent book on the nature and structure of pathworking. Where many books give specific Qabalistic, Celtic, or Egyptian style tours of the Inner Planes, "Highways" explains in detail the process whereby they are created, as well as how and why they work. At the end of reading "Highways of the Mind", the reader is left with the confidence that they not only understand pathworkings, but are also able to create them on their own, regardless of their chosen tradition or pantheon. This is an ideal book for beginners as well as advanced readers in esotericism.

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, November 11, 2011

By 

Allan Sherwood (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Highways of the Mind: The Art and History of Pathworking (Kindle Edition)

With such an engaging title, Highways of the Mind sounded to me as if it would contain everything needed to do Pathworking. I purchased it and hungrily began reading it for knowledge about a topic with which I've only just become acquainted.

It does not have everything.

What it has: 1) imaginative and descriptive applications of creativity, often taken from the author's own life. 2) Fluffy filler about parts of the world's history and their connection to creativity and the mystical Pathworking field of experience. 3) Way in the last quarter of the book, some guided imagery examples are floweringly written. They are decent, affording the book the 2nd star.

What it does NOT have: 1) descriptions of the sephiroth, where from the term Pathworking comes. 2) How to make your own way through the paths--i.e. descriptions of where, how and why one would travel, likely scenes, etc. 3) any description of the progression of these worlds, as one moves further on their path of Light.

At the very least, I thought it would contain examples of pagan/occult or Christian rites/ traditions rooted in Pathworking. Sometimes, the examples do come close to this.

My opinion: Rent this from the library. The first third is a decent read, but it is repetitive, and the guided imagination examples are in Chapter 11, as I recall.