Jacob Atabet

DIVDIVA spiritual thriller by the bestselling author of Golf in the Kingdom /divDIV/divDIVAs publisher, writer, and researcher, Darwin Fall has gathered a wide range of evidence for human nature’s supernormal capacities—but his photographs and case stories can only take him so far. He needs living proof. So when a mysterious man named Jacob Atabet disturbs morning mass at a Catholic church in his neighborhood, Fall thinks he may have found just what he’s looking for, setting in motion a quest that leads him to push beyond the limits of his own imagination./divDIV /divDIVDefying categorization, Michael Murphy artfully maneuvers through the shoals of fiction, science, self-knowledge, and invention./div/div

Jeffrey Kripal here recounts the spectacular history of Esalen, the institute that has long been a world leader in alternative and experiential education and stands today at the center of the human potential movement. Forged in the literary and mythical leanings of the Beat Generation, inspired in the lecture halls of Stanford by radical scholars of comparative religion, the institute was the remarkable brainchild of Michael Murphy and Richard Price. Set against the heady backdrop of California during the revolutionary 1960s, Esalen recounts in fascinating detail how these two maverick thinkers sought to fuse the spiritual revelations of the East with the scientific revolutions of the West, or to combine the very best elements of Zen Buddhism, Western psychology, and Indian yoga into a decidedly utopian vision that rejected the dogmas of conventional religion. In their religion of no religion, the natural world was just as crucial as the spiritual one, science and faith not only commingled but became staunch allies, and the enlightenment of the body could lead to the full realization of our development as human beings. “An impressive new book. . . . [Kripal] has written the definitive intellectual history of the ideas behind the institute.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Kripal examines Esalen’s extraordinary history and evocatively describes the breech birth of Murphy and Price’s brainchild. His real achievement, though, is effortlessly synthesizing a dizzying array of dissonant phenomena (Cold War espionage, ecstatic religiosity), incongruous pairings (Darwinism, Tantric sex), and otherwise schizy ephemera (psychedelic drugs, spaceflight) into a cogent, satisfyingly complete narrative.”—Atlantic Monthly “Kripal has produced the first all-encompassing history of Esalen: its intellectual, social, personal, literary and spiritual passages. Kripal brings us up-to-date and takes us deep beneath historical surfaces in this definitive, elegantly written book.”—Playboy

[Headline, in boldface and/or small caps; do in 2 lines maximum] The healthier we are in body, mind, and culture, the more we can happily interact with the Spirit of Earth or Gaia, who needs our attention now. [Main text] Health, how to keep it, regain it, or even optimize it, concerns many today. But we usually think of health in personal terms, human terms. What about the health of the Earth? To be healthy rather than sick has planetary implications, and Healthy Gaians shows you ways of improving your health to help improve the planet's. Welcome to a diverse anthology of 70 articles on human health drawn from a journalistic career spanning 25 years. Here are bodywork, cancer, the immune system, vaccinations, eurythmy, chakras, Jungian psychology, intuition, conflict resolution, healing with art, music, sound, and color, singing to the dying, dreams, water rejuvenation, the poetics of the elements, near-death experiences, the purpose of evil, myth-living, and quantum-shamanic adventures. You'll get familiar with lots of natural health modalities such as herbalism, acupuncture, flower essences, and bionutrient fortification. And meet a stimulating group of health pioneers, such as R.D. Laing, William Irwin Thompson, Barbara Walker, Fred Alan Wolf, Robert Sardello, Caroline Myss, M.F.K. Fisher, Kyriacos Markides, and Rowena Kryder, among others. Each gives innovative ways to free ourselves from the ill-health constraints of body, mind, and culture as part of the larger process of becoming healthy Gaians-exactly what the planet needs from us. There are many ways to better health. The important thing is to start getting healthy so you can help the planet in its time of need. Then the Earth can start sending back the good health vibrations to you now you're back in the health loop. [Note: Be sure to note boldface two-line headline at top; this is 250 words but the book's format will be large and it will fit easily without crowding.

This is a revised and expanded edition of Barbara and Gerry Clow’s classic 2004 text. This sequel to the bestselling underground classic The Pleiadian Agenda outlines their theory of the nine dimensions of human consciousness and how those nine dimensions have become essential to our evolutionary survival. Incorporating the research and insight of the Swedish biologist Carl Calleman, the Clows demonstrate how recent scientific discoveries validate their theories. The existence of the nine dimensions of human consciousness can be proved by science. The most controversial aspect of this book is their exploration of the Mayan prophecies. Counter to much of the prevailing opinion, the fulfillment of the prophecies will not result in the Apocalypse, but will usher in a new and expanded era of human consciousness. They also assert that the beginning of this new era begins not on December 21, 2012—but on October 28, 2011—making the time of the great shift in consciousness just around the corner. Provocative and informative, the Clows have provided an explanation and roadmap for the future. It will be embraced by all who are interested in the evolution of human consciousness.

DIVDIVGolf in the Kingdom author Michael Murphy’s Cold War thriller, based on true events/divDIV /divDIVSomeone is tracking Darwin Fall, a scholar whose expertise in supernormal powers is second to none. As Darwin begins a search of his own for the legendary Soviet spy Vladimir Kirov, he uncovers a secret network of spies, scientists, and rogue agents working together to harness the occult powers that could put “an end to ordinary history.”/divDIV /divMichael Murphy, a master of fusing fact and fiction, deftly uses his characters to blur the lines between the ordinary and the mysterious, between what is real and what is possible. /div

Yoga. Humanistic Psychology. Meditation. Holistic Healing. These practices are commonplace today. Yet before the early 1960s they were atypical options for most people outside of the upper class or small groups of educated spiritual seekers. Esalen Institute, a retreat for spiritual and personal growth in Big Sur, California, played a pioneering role in popularizing quests for self-transformation and personalized spirituality. This “soul rush” spread quickly throughout the United States as the Institute made ordinary people aware of hundreds of ways to select, combine, and revise their beliefs about the sacred and to explore diverse mystical experiences. Millions of Americans now identify themselves as spiritual, not religious, because Esalen paved the way for them to explore spirituality without affiliating with established denominations The American Soul Rush explores the concept of spiritual privilege and Esalen’s foundational influence on the growth and spread of diverse spiritual practices that affirm individuals’ self-worth and possibilities for positive personal change. The book also describes the people, narratives, and relationships at the Institute that produced persistent, almost accidental inequalities in order to illuminate the ways that gender is central to religion and spirituality in most contexts.