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These books take us where we haven't been before, present unique ideas, fresh thoughts that never in remembered time have swept through our world view. It's even more of a feast when the author, enthralled with the discovery of a new perspective, sends forth that enthusiasm from the printed page.
Two such books are VISIONSEEKER by Hank Wesselman, Ph.D. and THE COSMIC SERPENT by Jeremy Narby, Ph.D., each an anthropologist honored in his field, schooled as a conventional scientist, and a torchbearer who lights up principles of mysticism and the correspondence between quantum physics and true shamanism.
For those of you who delighted in Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker (the first two of Hank Wesselman's autobiographical trilogy about his (literally) visionary travels in the future of Earth and his relationship with one of the people there), I am delighted to announce that April finds the third, VISIONSEEKER, ready for the reading. We have reviewed Dr. Wesselman's first two books here, so let it be said that the third continues to tumble "new" concepts into our lap. It's well worth the time of anyone who loves the exploration of consciousness. (About 325 pages, $23.95, Hay House.)
Thanks to Wesselman's reference to Narby's book, THE COSMIC SERPENT, I combed my "Read ASAP" stack and lo, I had placed the earth-colored book there many months ago. With a subtitle like "DNA and the Origins of Knowledge' and side-by-side dust jacket graphics of the double helix associated with DNA and a writhing, patterned serpent, it was just waiting for an excuse to be read. This book was published in 1998, a fact that you'll presently find fascinating.
If you're one who has dismissed research papers as boring, you have another think coming! Particularly when the author is Jeremy Narby, who like Hank Wesselman took courage in hand and wrote of his numinous experiences for all the world to see. In THE COSMIC SERPENT, he provides evidence that there is more to the so-called mystical than has been dreamt of in our scientifically-oriented philosophies.
The tradition of scientific inquiry has been extraordinarily serviceable. It has also been a blinding one. As in most fields, there have been/are reactionaries in science whose point of view could not include the sacred relationship of all that lives and grows. You may be familiar with the question posed in other writings about how indigenous tribes knew to use specific plants to remedy various ailments and conditions. After reading Dr. Narby's experiences with the Central American herbal potion ayahuasca, it's likely that you'll agree that the answer, "The plant told me," is not a poetic fancy. Narby's clarification of communication with the energy of plants will help you grok the more recent discoveries by Edward Bach, et al, of the use of flower essences as homeopathic treatment. Narby makes it very clear that it is not necessary to use a hallucinogenic to have such experiences. Indeed, some readers may have had a transcendent encounter with the consciousness of other natural beings. (Mine was with a California mountain, but that's another story.)
Dr. Narby's story begins with his interest in the fact that shamanic traditions and insight are similar no matter where on the planet they happen to be practiced. To make a thrilling story unforgivably short, Narby, before 1998, not only makes the personal discovery that DNA is extraordinarily similar among species, but also points out the parallel among the designs made by "primitive" societies worldwide, identifying this fact. Along the way, he realizes that shamans certainly have not been the madmen that the orthodox scientific community has held them to be. Just goes to show you the difference time and a more unconditional investigation can make.
To Narby's immense credit, the final third of The Cosmic Serpent is devoted to notes. Scholar that he is, he's no slouch when it comes to helping readers out with background notes and attention-grabbing supplementary material. (About 252 pages, $22.95, Tarcher.)
Isn't this a fascinating era? To watch as the sciences prove what the listeners/seers among us have heard for millennia is just so cool!
*****
New on the scene from Hazelden-Transitions Publishing is REFLECTIONS FROM A WOMAN ALONE by Corinne Edwards. This deeply personal chronicle of the months that followed the death of Corinne's husband will ring so true for women who, for one reason or another, find themselves alone.
Despite the depth of feeling it deals with, its lighter tone, expressed in prose and poetry, bears out the subtitle, "A Lighthearted Look at a Journey toward Wholeness." The look may be lighthearted, yet the depth of thought and heart with which it's written will help you prepare for times alone, and comfort you if that's where you are now.
As you read of Corinne's encounters with well-meaning friends and family, and later of her re-entry into the dating scene, the one reaction you'll not have is indifference. As one page followed the last, never have tears and laughter followed one another so quickly. The difficulties and the kindnesses are all here.
From the Introduction: "If there is one message in this book, it is this: The most powerful instrument women have is our intuitive talent for nurturing, whether in our homes or our businesses. We must broaden our vistas to include more women with our support. We need to help each other more. This is not a rally to exclude men. Bless them. We need them. But we could steal a page or two from their ol' boy network manual."
Reflections... is a primer for younger women and an understanding friend for the more experienced. It will help. (Hardcover, about 180 pages, $18.95, Hazelden.)
June Rouse is a published author and poet, free lance editor and rewriter, writing class and workshop facilitator, and the editor of The Monthly Aspectarian.
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