"Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit." -- Virgil

***NATIVE SPIRITUALITY***

The turtle is something of a totem I've had since I was a kid and had a lingering, if mild, obsession with them. Alot of stuff out there is BS and exploiting the Native traditions, so I make it my business to explore thoroughly any claims. You will find nothing here from Carlos Castaneda, Jose Arguelles, or other armchair shamans.
Scandals in the House of Birds: Shamans and Priests on Lake Atitlán by Nathaniel Tarn with Martin Prechtel One of the more unusual examples of repatriation of pillaged native artifacts.
Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest, Publisher: Konemann A good introduction to this prodigious civilization.
Ma Kalak: Mayan Meditation Artist: Alux. (Mariposa) Interesting modern synthesis of the traditional music of Yucatan.
Wisdom of the Maya: An Oracle of Ancient Knowledge for Today by Ronald L. Bonewitz, Ph.D. The author makes an honest attempt that he grounds in context for making a divination deck based on Mayan cosmology without forcing it into something like the Tarot. He's done his research well.
*Xultun Tarot* by Peter Balin Although this is an attempt to mesh two completely alien cosmologies, it manages to do so without becoming an eclectoplasmic pastiche. I actually learned to read Tarot with this deck as it appealed to me greatly, perhaps some ancestral stirrings? In any event, it is well made and should be used in conjunction with Balin's "The Flight of Feathered Serpent" listed below. Seek this out at your local dealer.
The Flight of Feathered Serpent by Peter Balin The companion to the Xultun Tarot is a good introduction to Mayan cosmology using the Tarot as a basis for understanding. Bonewitz work is more scholarly, but this is good for wading into the water.
Black Elk Speaks The visions of a man who put aside the wanton devastation wreaked on his people just long enough to make a great epiphany. His powerful realization of the unity of all human beings ranks right up there with the transfiguration of Krishna and Peter realizing the divinity of Jesus. See what a real Oglala Sioux warrior and pipe carrier was like.
George Catlin & His Indian Gallery It was a given in many circles in the 19th Century that the aboriginal peoples of this continent would be either extinct or assimilated to oblivion. Although possessed of the romantic notion of these tribes as "noble savages," George Catlin, in his own small way, contributed to that being thwarted. His gallery is a stunning example of the social power of art.
The Wisconsin: River of a Thousand Isles Originally produced for Wisconsin Public Television, this episodic documentary details the history of the river and the first to settle around it.
Indian Mounds of Wisconsin by Robert A. Birmingham & Leslie E. Eisenberg When I lived in the Midwest, I was right in the heart of the mound building community that stretched along the Ohio River Valley to the Mississippi. This is a good history of that bygone era when earth, sod and wood were made into wondrous monuments.

NATIVE SPIRITUALITY

The turtle is something of a totem I've had since I was a kid and had a lingering, if mild, obsession with them. Alot of stuff out there is BS and exploiting the Native traditions, so I make it my business to explore thoroughly any claims. You will find nothing here from Carlos Castaneda, Jose Arguelles, or other armchair shamans.

Scandals in the House of Birds: Shamans and Priests on Lake Atitlán by Nathaniel Tarn with Martin Prechtel One of the more unusual examples of repatriation of pillaged native artifacts.

Maya: Divine Kings of the Rain Forest, Publisher: Konemann A good introduction to this prodigious civilization.

Ma Kalak: Mayan Meditation Artist: Alux. (Mariposa) Interesting modern synthesis of the traditional music of Yucatan.

Wisdom of the Maya: An Oracle of Ancient Knowledge for Today by Ronald L. Bonewitz, Ph.D. The author makes an honest attempt that he grounds in context for making a divination deck based on Mayan cosmology without forcing it into something like the Tarot. He's done his research well.

Xultun Tarot by Peter Balin Although this is an attempt to mesh two completely alien cosmologies, it manages to do so without becoming an eclectoplasmic pastiche. I actually learned to read Tarot with this deck as it appealed to me greatly, perhaps some ancestral stirrings? In any event, it is well made and should be used in conjunction with Balin's "The Flight of Feathered Serpent" listed below. Seek this out at your local dealer.

The Flight of Feathered Serpent by Peter Balin The companion to the Xultun Tarot is a good introduction to Mayan cosmology using the Tarot as a basis for understanding. Bonewitz work is more scholarly, but this is good for wading into the water.

Black Elk Speaks The visions of a man who put aside the wanton devastation wreaked on his people just long enough to make a great epiphany. His powerful realization of the unity of all human beings ranks right up there with the transfiguration of Krishna and Peter realizing the divinity of Jesus. See what a real Oglala Sioux warrior and pipe carrier was like.

George Catlin & His Indian Gallery It was a given in many circles in the 19th Century that the aboriginal peoples of this continent would be either extinct or assimilated to oblivion. Although possessed of the romantic notion of these tribes as "noble savages," George Catlin, in his own small way, contributed to that being thwarted. His gallery is a stunning example of the social power of art.

The Wisconsin: River of a Thousand Isles Originally produced for Wisconsin Public Television, this episodic documentary details the history of the river and the first to settle around it.

Indian Mounds of Wisconsin by Robert A. Birmingham & Leslie E. Eisenberg When I lived in the Midwest, I was right in the heart of the mound building community that stretched along the Ohio River Valley to the Mississippi. This is a good history of that bygone era when earth, sod and wood were made into wondrous monuments.

***CONFUSED? BOXED-IN? ILLUMINATE YOURSELF WITH MIND FOOD!***

These are books which have given me insight, wisdom, courage, and occasionally laughter through the years. It's a list that will definitely increase over time and I am happy to hear recommendations. So as not to get boring or predictable, this list rotates titles from time to time.
Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson I dislike Star Wars, but I can't help thinking of Obi-Wan Kenobi's words, "You've taken the first step into a larger universe," after reading this book. I won't say any more.
*Adventurous Religion by Harry Emerson Fosdick* I urge you dear reader to hunt for this gem though it may be long out of print. Fosdick made his reputation by getting kicked out of the Presbyterian church for his radical (for the 1920s) essay "Shall The Fundamentalists Win?" Sadly, the jury is still out on that question. His view? We'd better pray they don't!
The Fringes of Reason editors of Whole Earth Review Your one stop reality check for paranormal claims. What makes this different from the preachy and acrid rantings of people like James Randi is that it is full of humor and balance. It has essays on the unlikely origin of modern UFO myths, the fallibility of science ("Every system of knowledge is also a system of ignorance"), the allure of the Orwellian myth of The Hundredth Monkey, and the debasing of native spiritual traditions by New Age hucksters. Great resources for conspiracy buffs, monster hunters, and unusual natural phenomena are included.
The Mothman Prophecies This book established John Keel's reputation for diving into the strangest of subjects and still maintain a journalist's sensibility. His investigation of the strange events in West Virginia leading up to the Point Pleasant bridge disaster in the early 60's remain a classic in the annals of bizarre literature. Ends with a fittingly pointed question by Charles Fort. Still haunting though I only read it nearly 30 years ago.
Politics of the Imagination: The Life, Work and Ideas of Charles Fort by Colin Bennett & John Keel. A great biography of the man who made the weird and outlandish a part of daily life. Good to read BEFORE you try any of Fort's books in order to prepare for his prankster style and impermeable logic.
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron. John Lennon said that life is what happens to you when you are making other plans. If it should happen to pull the rug out from under you, then this insightful book by this prominet Buddhist monk is what you may need. I particularly liked the short but effective chapter "Three Methods for Dealing with Chaos."
Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Karen Rauch Carter Feng Shui without all the mystic claptrap. Very practical and innovative and especially good if you are on a budget . Looked through many books but this is the only one I bought.
QiGong Empowerment by Master SHou You-Liang & Wen Ching-Wu The most comprehensive guide to Chinese energetic medicine and the practices associated with it. Great resource and guide but one would still need coaching for some of the practices illustrated within such as Iron Shirt and Buddhist Esoteric Chi Kung. Includes meridian charts, Chinese characters and terminology, and the historic origins of these arts.
The Cosmic Pulse of Life by Trevor James Constable A bizarre rant from a cranky but ultimately humanitarian contrarian believer in the otherworldly, even if couched in the guise of quack science. Central to his thesis is an idea that exudes great charm and that has fascinated me since childhood: that most UFOs are essentially giant flying amoeboids. To read this is to also get a first person history of the occult underground in Southern California during the post WW2 years. I'm surprised that Constable never ran into John Whiteside Parsons but I doubt they would have gotten along. Filled with interesting diagrams and stories.
They Have A Word For It by Howard Rheingold Some words express things that defy easy translation but are important to encapsulate as words. This is a dictionary more akin to emotions and states of being than a lexicon in alphabetical order. A solution that ends up making things worse is thus schlimmbesserung in German. What more could you want?
An Underground Education by Richard Zacks I am an advocate of a warts-and-all approach to history. No subject should be immune, especially with the cultural superiority most are conditioned to in the United States. This is history as it should be: juicy, shocking, ironic, thought-provoking, depressing, and stirring outrage for justices denied.

CONFUSED? BOXED-IN? ILLUMINATE YOURSELF WITH MIND FOOD!

These are books which have given me insight, wisdom, courage, and occasionally laughter through the years. It's a list that will definitely increase over time and I am happy to hear recommendations. So as not to get boring or predictable, this list rotates titles from time to time.

Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson I dislike Star Wars, but I can't help thinking of Obi-Wan Kenobi's words, "You've taken the first step into a larger universe," after reading this book. I won't say any more.

Adventurous Religion by Harry Emerson Fosdick I urge you dear reader to hunt for this gem though it may be long out of print. Fosdick made his reputation by getting kicked out of the Presbyterian church for his radical (for the 1920s) essay "Shall The Fundamentalists Win?" Sadly, the jury is still out on that question. His view? We'd better pray they don't!

The Fringes of Reason editors of Whole Earth Review Your one stop reality check for paranormal claims. What makes this different from the preachy and acrid rantings of people like James Randi is that it is full of humor and balance. It has essays on the unlikely origin of modern UFO myths, the fallibility of science ("Every system of knowledge is also a system of ignorance"), the allure of the Orwellian myth of The Hundredth Monkey, and the debasing of native spiritual traditions by New Age hucksters. Great resources for conspiracy buffs, monster hunters, and unusual natural phenomena are included.

The Mothman Prophecies This book established John Keel's reputation for diving into the strangest of subjects and still maintain a journalist's sensibility. His investigation of the strange events in West Virginia leading up to the Point Pleasant bridge disaster in the early 60's remain a classic in the annals of bizarre literature. Ends with a fittingly pointed question by Charles Fort. Still haunting though I only read it nearly 30 years ago.

Politics of the Imagination: The Life, Work and Ideas of Charles Fort by Colin Bennett & John Keel. A great biography of the man who made the weird and outlandish a part of daily life. Good to read BEFORE you try any of Fort's books in order to prepare for his prankster style and impermeable logic.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron. John Lennon said that life is what happens to you when you are making other plans. If it should happen to pull the rug out from under you, then this insightful book by this prominet Buddhist monk is what you may need. I particularly liked the short but effective chapter "Three Methods for Dealing with Chaos."

Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life by Karen Rauch Carter Feng Shui without all the mystic claptrap. Very practical and innovative and especially good if you are on a budget . Looked through many books but this is the only one I bought.

QiGong Empowerment by Master SHou You-Liang & Wen Ching-Wu The most comprehensive guide to Chinese energetic medicine and the practices associated with it. Great resource and guide but one would still need coaching for some of the practices illustrated within such as Iron Shirt and Buddhist Esoteric Chi Kung. Includes meridian charts, Chinese characters and terminology, and the historic origins of these arts.

The Cosmic Pulse of Life by Trevor James Constable A bizarre rant from a cranky but ultimately humanitarian contrarian believer in the otherworldly, even if couched in the guise of quack science. Central to his thesis is an idea that exudes great charm and that has fascinated me since childhood: that most UFOs are essentially giant flying amoeboids. To read this is to also get a first person history of the occult underground in Southern California during the post WW2 years. I'm surprised that Constable never ran into John Whiteside Parsons but I doubt they would have gotten along. Filled with interesting diagrams and stories.

They Have A Word For It by Howard Rheingold Some words express things that defy easy translation but are important to encapsulate as words. This is a dictionary more akin to emotions and states of being than a lexicon in alphabetical order. A solution that ends up making things worse is thus schlimmbesserung in German. What more could you want?

An Underground Education by Richard Zacks I am an advocate of a warts-and-all approach to history. No subject should be immune, especially with the cultural superiority most are conditioned to in the United States. This is history as it should be: juicy, shocking, ironic, thought-provoking, depressing, and stirring outrage for justices denied.

COMING SOON: VIRTUAL SHRINES