The Man Who Could Fly: St. Joseph of Copertino and the Mystery of Levitation [Hardcover]

St. Joseph of Copertino began having mystical visions at the age of seven, but it was not until he began practicing his faith as a Franciscan priest that he realized the full potential of his minds power over his bodyhe was able to levitate. Throughout his priesthood St. Joseph became famous for frequent levitations that were observed on hundreds of occasions and by thousands of witnesses, including many skeptics. Michael Grosso delves into the biography of the saint to explore the many strange phenomena that surrounded his life and develops potential physical explanations for some of the most astounding manifestations of his religious ecstasy. Grosso draws upon contemporary explorations into cognition, the relationship between the human mind and body, and the scientifically recorded effects of meditation and other transcendent practices to reveal the implications of St. Josephs experiences and abilities.Michael Grosso has taught humanities and philosophy at Marymount Manhattan College, City University of New York, and New Jersey City University. He is affiliated with the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, is on the Board of Directors of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association, and is a past editor of the journal for that association. His published books include The Final Choice: Playing the Survival Game (1985); Frontiers of the Soul: Exploring Psychic Evolution (1992), The Millennium Myth: Love and Death at the End of Time (1995), Soulmaking: Uncommon Paths to Self-Understanding (1997), and Experiencing the Next World Now (2004).

Grosso, former humanities and philosophy teacher at Marymount Manhattan College, canvasses the spiritual awakenings of St. Joseph of Copertino, the 17th century Italian friar who was purportedly could levitate, dedicating ample space to his troubled childhood. After an introduction that grounds St. Josephs miraculous feats in contemporary arguments against strict scientific, materialist viewlƒ/