The Joyful Guide To Lachrymology

Lachrymology is a religion that tells the path a person must take to an enlightened life; it is the experience of sorrow, and of their tears healing in nature. Let it be said that the pains of living, be they physical or mental, are the means to a broadened understanding and appreciation of the sensical and metaphysical realms. This text explains the process by which Lachrymology considers cheerless feelings and thoughts and changes them to joy in a person who, as they cry, grow nearer to enlightened consciousness and righteousness, and are brought to their highest state of being.

Supplemental coursework serving as a companion to The Joyful Guide to Lachrymology.

Sam Harris, bestselling author of THE END OF FAITH takes on one of today's liveliest issues: whether or not we actually have free will.

“The Walt Whitman of Los Angeles.”—Joyce Carol Oates, bestselling author “He brought everybody down to earth, even the angels.”—Leonard Cohen, songwriter One of Charles Bukowski's best, this beer-soaked, deliciously degenerate novel follows the wanderings of aspiring writer Henry Chinaski across World War II-era America. Deferred from military service, Chinaski travels from city to city, moving listlessly from one odd job to another, always needing money but never badly enough to keep a job. His day-to-day existence spirals into an endless litany of pathetic whores, sordid rooms, dreary embraces, and drunken brawls, as he makes his bitter, brilliant way from one drink to the next. Charles Bukowski's posthumous legend continues to grow. Factotum is a masterfully vivid evocation of slow-paced, low-life urbanity and alcoholism, and an excellent introduction to the fictional world of Charles Bukowski.

A Perfect Union of Contrary Things is the authorized biography of musician and vintner Maynard James Keenan. Co-author Sarah Jensen's 30-year friendship with Keenan gives her unique insight into his history and career trajectory. The book traces Keenan's journey from his Midwest childhood to his years in the Army to his time in art school, from his stint at a Boston pet shop to his place in the international spotlight and his influence on contemporary music and regional winemaking. A comprehensive portrayal of a versatile and dedicated artist, A Perfect Union of Contrary Things pays homage to the people and places that shaped the man and his art. Until now, Maynard's fans have had access to only an abridged version of his story. A Perfect Union of Contrary Things presents the outtakes, the scenes of disappointment and triumph, and the events that led him to take one step after the next, to change direction, to explore sometimes surprising opportunities. Included are sidebars in his own words, often humorous anecdotes that illuminate the narrative, as well as commentary by his family members, friends, instructors, and industry colleagues. The book also features a foreword by Alex Grey, an American visionary artist and longtime friend of Keenan. Accompanying the text are photos of Keenan from childhood to the present. Maynard's story is a metaphor for the reader's own evolution and an encouragement to follow one's dreams, hold fast to individual integrity, and work ceaselessly to fulfill our creative potential.

The very first book about the Anglo-American metal band Tool explores not only their uncompromising music but also their unsettling, self-made image based on mythological symbols and arcane theories. The quartet of master musicians – Maynard James Keenan, Danny Carey, Justin Chancellor and Adam Jones – emerged from the club scene in Los Angeles in 1990 alongside their friends Rage Against the Machine, grabbing the concept of heavy music and then completely redefining it. With a sixties-style commitment to art and agit-prop, they have now attained a level of artistic complexity and depth which makes their enduring success a miracle in today’s culture of bland, corporate entertainment. Their rise to glory has been one of the stranger rock tales of our time. Joel McIver leaves no detail omitted as he delves into the mystery behind Tool’s music

Nothing in This Book Is True, But It’s Exactly How Things Are is an account of humankind’s function within the grand celestial battle between internal and external knowledge. Author Bob Frissell gives a compelling account of our planetary ascent into higher consciousness, presenting a big-screen view of the Earth through the experience of the Ascended Masters, Thoth, Babaji, and Drunvalo Melchizedek. Pulling in all manner of conspiracy theories from the Secret Government to the Philadelphia Experiment, Frissell proposes both a core transdimensional shift based on the Mayan calendar and a personal Rapture mediated through the connected, affirmed breaths of rebirthing that his teacher Melchizedek used to travel from the other side of the universe to here—breathing your own spacecraft (merkaba) out of and around your aura in order to travel through the astral realms. The 15th anniversary edition of this cult classic is revised and expanded with new illustrations and 50 pages of important new information on the Lucifer Rebellion, the solar storm, and the final three breaths of the merkaba meditation.