Visionary Sound Arts Interface

DARVTEXTS Return to Main Page I performed live readings of various spiritual, mystical and metaphysical texts from throughout time and all traditions on my radio show, "Adventures In Consciousness." Over the years, various callers contacted me requesting information about these texts, and especially my advice regarding good things to read. Living up to promises and assurances, I am including a short section here on the texts which have the most personal meaning for me. My primary spiritual text is Tarot. I carry a copy with me nearly always. I prefer the Crowley/Harris deck, but also often carry the standard Rider/Waite. This is my sacred picture book. Pictures of the Crowley/Harris Thoth Tarot deck The Qabalistic Tarot by Robert Wang (publisher: Samuel Weiser, 1987) is in my opinion the single best text for anyone with no previous exposure. Apparently out-of-print. That said, I will tell you the spiritual texts that have opened me up: The Heart of Awareness - A Translation of the Ashtavakra Gita Thomas Byrom (Shambhala: Boston, 1990.) This is a Nondualist classic from Advaita Vedanta, i believe. Read this aloud all the way through! This is my sacred reading book. See On-Line Copy of "The Heart of Awareness" The Jewel In The Lotus edited by Raghavan Iyer (Concord Grove Press: New York, 1983) A wondrous compilation of potent spiritual thinking from all traditions. This book now has a website where you can read selections chosen for day of year! Jewel In The Lotus website Unbounded Light - The Inward Journey compiled & edited by William E. Williams (Nicolas-Hays: York Beach, ME., 1992.) The best collection of personal accounts of interaction with the Inner Light that i have in my possession. Starseed - The Third Millenium: Living in the Posthistoric World by Ken Carey (HarperCollins: New York, 1992.) Highly inspiring piece of channelled writing which was very significant for me during one phase of my life. Helped me reorient to Life. Savitri by Sri Aurobindo (Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust: Pondicherry, India, 1950, 1972.) An epic poem beautifully describing cosmic reality, according to Aurobindo's Integral Vision. See it on-line: Savitri The True and Invisible Rosicrucian Order by Paul Foster Case (pub:Samuel Weiser) unpacks the Tree of Life and the Rosicrucian mythos in a fascinating and wise way. Love's Body by Norman O. Brown (Vintage Books: New York, 1966.) Perhaps one of the most revolutionary books of the 20th Century! The Transmutation of Freudianism into a Christic-Dionysiac vision. Written aphoristically, this text is teeming with brain bombs that could rend your veil of illusion. The Cosmic Game by Stanislav Grof (NY: State University of New York Press, 1998.) a truly amazing book which discusses cosmic reality and our experience of it in detail Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson (New Falcon Publications, 1993) perhaps the best single book for getting a basic understanding of the levels of consciousness. Ayahuasca by Ralph Metzner, ed. (New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999) numerous personal accounts of experiences in astral realities and encounters with light. The Atman Project by Ken Wilber (Wheaton, Ill.: Theosophical Pub. House, 1980) Extremely dense read that probably requires some background in psychology, but helped me understand the deep structure. The Ever-Present Origin by Jean Gebser (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1986.) a lengthy book on the evolution of the consciousness of the species. Structures of Consciousness by Georg Feuerstein (Lower Lake, Calif.: Integral Publishing, 1987.) A synopis of Gebser's theories as presented in Ever-Present Origin. Memories and Visions of Paradise by Richard Heinberg (Wheaton, Ill.: Quest Books, 1989, 1995) This is the best book i've ever found on the subject of the myths of Paradise from around the world. Explores, at length, paradisal/oneness consciousness.) Awakening - A Sufi Experience by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 1999) Has wonderful Lightwork meditations. Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Bihar School of Yoga, India, 1996) A truly inspiring manual on the chakras and kundalini, which offers a number of simple kriyas to awaken the chakras. Blurb on Kundalini Tantra book The Beginner's Guide To Constructing The Universe by Michael S. Schneider A very creative overview of the recurrence of number in natural and human-made structures. Great text for studying the symbolism of numbers and sacred geometry Fusion Anomaly citation The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby A profound look into the relationship between DNA and the planetary lore on snake/serpent symbolism Synopsis at Fusion Anomaly The Mystical Mind by Eugene d'Aquili and Andrew B. Newberg (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.) An imminently readable text on the neurophysiology of mystical experience. This text really demonstrates that science is on the verge of having to admit that our brains are constructed to have mystical perceptions. The authors, of course, leave reductionists with an "out" by saying that the neurology may be "generating" these experiences, rather than having valid perceptions. It's clear that this hedging is purely to gain acceptance from a scientistic materialist audience. See the Mystical Mind excerpt New Chakra Healing by Cyndi Dale (LLewellyn, June 1996.) After mulling it over for some time, I've decided that this is the book I would first recommend to any educated person who is interested in learning about chakras and is looking for one text that can convey the generalized energy-body system. Not only does it present the typical seven chakra system, it includes the esoteric chakras AND a vertebrae-by-vertebrae spinal chakra system. The book also presents a level of wisdom that is high-grade among books in this field. For an example of this, view the excerpt that is available at Amazon: The Revolving Door: The Human Energy System Sounding The Inner Landscape by Kay Gardener (Rockport, Mass. :Element,1997, orig. 1990) Why it took me so long to remember to put this book on my list is a mystery. Suffice it to say that i find this a must read for anyone interested in sound healing. Her studies of the intervals and scales in affecting consciousness is quite interesting. The whole book covers a wide range of knowledge on the use of sound to induce alternate states of awareness and healing. Radical Nature by Christian de Quincey (Montpelier, Vt.: Invisible Cities Press, 2002) Hands down best read i've ever found on the mind/matter debate. De Quincey is a "panpsychist" philosopher who takes the reader on a tour- de-force of the main schools of thought regarding the relationship of mass and consciousness. With incisive and devastating lucidity, he demonstrates, to my satisfaction at least (and, of course, we know i have a natural bias,) that it is "inconceivable" that consciousness simply "emerged" from nonconscious matter, that subjectivity miraculously was produced by a completely objective universe. Taking on the materialists as well as the idealists, he makes an excellent case for panpsychism. The Antipodes Of The Mind by Benny Shanon (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002) A dense, upper-division university level cognitive psychology text subtitled, "Charting The Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience." This is the best delineation of the actual experience of psychedelia yet written. And wonderfully enough, it focusses on the the effects of the entheogen that naturally occurs in the human body! Shanon personally has had over 300 experiences and has collected an enormous database of testimonial reports of other drinkers of the sacred brew. This is the kind of research that any scientist who respects psychology as a "science" has to appreciate. Shanon not only has the skill, both as a writer and researcher, to engage the reader in the quest for understanding about a unique experience available on the planet, but also is able to convey the wisdom aspect which is so hard to put into words. I will certainly be reading this book repeatedly. Hope these little blurbs might help one of you find some new lights to steer by. See You In The Dreamtime! Return to Main Page