PRIMARY INFLUENCES
While Staircase Press is open to influence from all faith traditions (ANCIENT and new) and modern scientific research, our publishing efforts revolve mainly around the ideas of two extraordinary individuals — Emanuel Swedenborg and George Gurdjieff. Both men claimed that a new paradigm shift was about to replace the current worldviews concerning science, theology, worship and our understanding of reality. They are all the same.
EMANUEL
SWEDENBORG
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) was a scientist who turned theologian. From 1710–1745 he studied all the branches of science in his time and even invented new ones. He was the first anatomical investigator to formulate a neuron theory of the brain, which included deeper layers of neural scaffolding (substrates) that today’s neuroscientists are now speculating. From 1745 to his death in 1772, Swedenborg responded to a higher calling and left behind his scientific projects. Instead, he created a complete systematic theology based on direct Divine revelation and exploration of the Spiritual World. Interestingly, Emanuel Swedenborg’s scientific discoveries perfectly complement his later spiritual discoveries and may well hold the key to unifying all knowledge.
GEORGE
GURDJIEFF
George I. Gurdjieff (1866?–1949) was born in the Caucasus of the Near East. As a young boy he met many amazing individuals who were the surviving repositories of various ancient knowledge. Around 1915, Gurdjieff burst upon the European scene with an innovative system for tapping one’s spiritual potentials by “combining the wisdom of the East with the energy of the West.” His ideas included a universal science that embraced both the laws of nature and the laws of spiritual salvation. Gurdjieff’s system, called the “Harmonious Development of Man,” is viewed by this publisher as highly complementary to the scientific and theological ideas of Emanuel Swedenborg.