Books

The Archaic Revival: Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of HistoryCited by the L.A. Weekly as "the culture's foremost spokesman for the psychedelic experience," Terrence McKenna is an underground legend as a brilliant raconteur, adventurer, and expert on the experiential use of mind-altering plants.In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.

Soul Orientation connects you to your soul essence, your true nature of being. The book plants the seeds for a lifetime journey to awaken energetic sensory development so that readers can come into reflective relationships with their true selves, others, and the Universe. Our technology and lifestyle have walled us into an abyss, separating ourselves from the inner mechanisms of our human DNA's energetic evolution. This abyss causes many of us to lose connection and, with our purpose eluding us, we are left feeling empty, mentally and emotionally restless, wandering.

Soul Orientation and Embodied Practice provide the internal guidance system, through the whisper of our sensing nature of being, and begin to gently guide us through the abyss. Once we sense what is, we no longer lose our way, our soul, or our soul essence. Then, we are in a reflective relationship, dancing through and with the Universe.

Start your journey to unlock your soul essence and begin an amazing pure experience.

This book is divided into two halves. The first half is the story of Shulgin's life, from childhood to modern times. It is a moving and beautiful tale of one man's attempt to make sense of the world and his place in it. Intertwined in this personal experience is a budding love affair with a woman who could only be rated as amazing. The second half consists of Shulgin's recipes and notes on the synthesis of every compound in the Phenethylamine category that he has ever made. Overall, this book will change the way you feel about psychedelics, and the reasons that people use them. The story is at times inspiring, at times heartbreaking, and always genuine. Highly recommended as an introduction to the spirituality behind psychedelics and some of the issues involved with them.

A fascinating, detailed journey through the traditional healing practices of West Africa by a beloved shaman and scholar Malidoma Patrice Somé. Through The Healing Wisdom of Africa, readers can come to understand that the life of indigenous and traditional people is a paradigm for an intimate relationship with the natural world that both surrounds us and is within us. The book is the most complete study of the role ritual plays in the lives of African people--and the role it can play for seekers in the West.

First published in 1951, "Shamanism" soon became the standard work in the study of this mysterious and fascinating phenomenon. Writing as the founder of the modern study of the history of religion, Romanian emigre--scholar Mircea Eliade (1907-1986) surveys the practice of Shamanism over two and a half millennia of human history, moving from the Shamanic traditions of Siberia and Central Asia--where Shamanism was first observed--to North and South America, Indonesia, Tibet, China, and beyond. In this authoritative survey, Eliade illuminates the magico-religious life of societies that give primacy of place to the figure of the Shaman--at once magician and medicine man, healer and miracle-doer, priest, mystic, and poet. Synthesizing the approaches of psychology, sociology, and ethnology, "Shamanism" will remain for years to come the reference book of choice for those intrigued by this practice.

Breaking Open the Head is a passionate, multilayered, and sometimes rashly personal inquiry into this deep division. On one level, Daniel Pinchbeck tells the story of the encounters between the modern consciousness of the West and these sacramental substances, including such thinkers as Allen Ginsberg, Antonin Artaud, Walter Benjamin, and Terence McKenna, and a new underground of present-day ethnobotanists, chemists, psychonauts, and philosophers. It is also a scrupulous recording of the author's wide-ranging investigation with these outlaw compounds, including a thirty-hour tribal initiation in West Africa; an all-night encounter with the master shamans of the South American rain forest; and a report from a psychedelic utopia in the Black Rock Desert that is the Burning Man Festival.

Breaking Open the Head is brave participatory journalism at its best, a vivid account of psychic and intellectual experiences that opened doors in the wall of Western rationalism and completed Daniel Pinchbeck's personal transformation from a jaded Manhattan journalist to shamanic initiate and grateful citizen of the cosmos.

In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment.

World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us. For him a ringing telephone can be a signal to call us back to our true selves. Dirty dishes, red lights, and traffic jams are spiritual friends on the path to “mindfulness”—the process of keeping our consciousness alive to our present experience and reality. The most profound satisfactions, the deepest feelings of joy and completeness lie as close at hand as our next aware breath and the smile we can form right now.

Lucidly and beautifully written, Peace Is Every Step contains commentaries and meditations, personal anecdotes and stories from Nhat Hanh’s experiences as a peace activist, teacher, and community leader. It begins where the reader already is—in the kitchen, office, driving a car, walking a part—and shows how deep meditative presence is available now. Nhat Hanh provides exercises to increase our awareness of our own body and mind through conscious breathing, which can bring immediate joy and peace. Nhat Hanh also shows how to be aware of relationships with others and of the world around us, its beauty and also its pollution and injustices. The deceptively simple practices of Peace Is Every Step encourage the reader to work for peace in the world as he or she continues to work on sustaining inner peace by turning the “mindless” into the mindFUL.

A GUIDE TO RECOVERING THE POWER OF ANDEAN INDIGENOUS WISDOM TO REPAIR OUR PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH MOTHER EARTH. 

In the face of the climate change crisis, what if technology is not what rescues us, but rather a radical transformation of our culture?

Could it be that the wisdom we need to reinvent our culture has existed for hundreds of years--like the wisdom that belongs to the Indigenous Andean people, who live in union with Mother Earth still today?

If this is true, how do we learn to remake our culture into one that reverses climate change and sets us on a more responsible path? Transforming ourselves and our culture will require a complete recalibration of our minds. Our values, our beliefs, our ways of nourishing ourselves, and even our language must change if we are to confront the climate emergency, restore Mother Earth, and redefine human happiness. We are survivors of a damaged time. But the Andean people believe that a new time has arrived. The Spirit of the Glacier Speaks provides an opportunity to embrace this time and embody a more sustainable culture. 

Tap into your sixth sense and become a better, more confident tarot reader.

Most all tarot books present card-by-card interpretations as well as an instruction on how to read spreads. This book takes the next logical step inward by presenting the art of reading in a workbook format, and helps you learn to interpret the cards intuitively.

The book falls into two parts. The first part concerns learning about the cards, and includes exercises for each card that teaches you to trust your interpretation of the card. The second part helps you develop that ability, a skill that Reed calls "intuition." All the exercises, stories, card meanings, and techniques really serve one purpose: to go beyond learning Tarot to living it.

It's not enough to memorize the meanings of the cards, and you can't do a reading with a workbook at your side forever. In order to deliver a meaningful, accurate tarot reading, you need to hone your intuition. Without a comfortable connection to your sixth sense, the tarot readings lack finesse and becomes nothing more than cookie-cutter interpretations. When you're fluent in your intuition, you can develop better readings and unique interpretations for each person.

In this book, Reed teaches by example. She presents the basics of intuitive tarot reading--reading without any questions, any backstory, anything to go on. This book is filled with exercises to hone your intuition and sharpen your interpretation skills.

In Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World, Shaman Durek, a sixth-generation shaman, shares life altering shamanic keys allowing you to tap into your personal power. Through new information you will banish fear and darkness from your life in favor of light, positivity, and strength.

Shaman Durek's bold and sometimes controversial wisdom shakes loose our assumptions about ourselves and the very world around us. He ultimately teaches us how to step fearlessly out of this Blackout (the age of darkness we are currently experiencing) and access a place of fierce empowerment by use of tools and techniques of timeless Shamanic tradition. This transformation is both personal and collective; as individuals step out of darkness and begin to experience the light, we bring our loved ones and communities out of the shadows as well.

Shaman Durek inherited a rich legacy of ancient wisdom and now shares this knowledge for a modern context. He advises everyone from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Nina Dobrev to innovative executives such as Bullet-Proof Coffee founder Dave Asprey.

Spirit Hacking shatters readers' complacency, giving them tools to navigate the tumultuous times in which we find ourselves. We will emerge from this period happier, lighter, and more vibrant than ever before.

What is a beastie? Beastie [bee-stee]: The overarching spirit of any species of insect, reptile, bird, mammal, or mythical creature that exists or has ever existed; also known as an animal totem or spirit animal.

As more and more people seek help with the challenges of modern life, many of us are looking to the wisdom of nature for guidance--especially when it comes in the form of spirit animals. In a quirky and delightful style, Sarah Seidelmann's The Book of Beasties introduces us to the power of animal totems, or "beasties," inviting us to explore why certain animals show up in our lives and what teachings they may be trying to share. Whether you're a long-time shamanic practitioner or simply curious about what secret messages your favorite animal might have for you, The Book of Beasties is an ideal resource for discovering the wild and wonderful world of spirit animals.

Packed with information, illustrations, and traditional and modern insights into the unique qualities of different beasties, The Book of Beasties teaches you about:

- Guest Beasties: how certain beasties enter your life to give you messages or assistance you need just when you need them
- Core Beasties: meet the guiding beasties who are your lifelong companions, friends, and helpers
- Beastie Relationships: tips and techniques for deepening your relationship with beasties and becoming more receptive to their support
- Beasties A-Z: an expansive compendium of individual beasties and their unique qualities--including bats, wolves, elephants, salmon . . . even unicorns and dragons

Now, even if you can't get out into the wilderness or undertake a long apprenticeship, you can learn to practice the art of shamanism. Uniquely suited for use in today's world, Hawaiian shamanism follows the way of the adventurer, which produces change through love and cooperation - in contrast to the widely known way of the warrior, which emphasizes solitary quests and conquest by power. Here, in the first practical guide to applying this ancient healing art to our modern lives, you'll learn how to:

Interpret and change your dreams
Heal yourself, your relationships, and the environment
Cast the shaman stones to foretell the future
Design and perform powerful rituals
Shapechange
Make vision quests to other realities

The Journey of the Colorful Stars tells that every life circumstance and experience, good or bad, is meant to help us pay our karmic debts, learn important lessons that our soul chose to take on during this lifetime, and to ultimately find our soul mission. Barriers have to be removed so that our vision about life aligns with our spiritual essence. Then we remember who we are and what we came here for. Summarizing the author's first 33 years of life, this book depicts a progressive spiritual awakening and gives transformational, universal tools that can be used by all of us.

The Cosmovision provides a path for discovering profound aspects of ourselves and the Cosmos. It is a path with a heart.

This user’s guide to Buddhist basics takes the most commonly asked questions—beginning with “What is the essence of the Buddha’s teachings?”—and provides simple answers in plain English. Thubten Chodron’s responses to the questions that always seem to arise among people approaching Buddhism make this an exceptionally complete and accessible introduction—as well as a manual for living a more peaceful, mindful, and satisfying Life. Buddhism for Beginners is an ideal first book on the subject for anyone, but it’s also a wonderful resource for seasoned students, since the question-and-answer format makes it easy to find just the topic you’re looking for.