Vehicles of Consciousness: The Concept of Hylic Pluralism (Ochêma)
By J. J. Poortman.
Utrecht: Theosophical Society in the Netherlands, 1978. 4 volumes.
Want to borrow a bit of wisdom? Check out this not so hidden treasure. In the Olcott Library rest four volumes of excellent commentary on our vehicles of consciousness, authored by the highly respected Dutch scholar J. J. Poortman (who was Professor of Metaphysics in the Spirit of Theosophy at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands). Based on a lifelong study of parapsychology, this work meticulously surveys ideas about forms of matter subtler than the physical and about the bodies through which human consciousness interacts with those subtler worlds. Such ideas have been held from early times in primitive societies right up to the present day in the religions and philosophies of the world.
-CLARENCE R. PEDERSEN
January/February 2001