This simple, yet eloquent parable celebrates the richness of the human spirit. A young Spanish shepherd seeking his destiny travels to Egypt where he learns many lessons, particularly from a wise old alchemist. The real alchemy here, however, is the transmuting of youthful idealism into mature wisdom. The blending of conventional ideas with an exotic setting makes old truths seem new again. This shepherd takes the advice Hamlet did not heed, learning to trust his heart and commune with it as a treasured friend. Enjoyable and easy to read, this timeless story validates the aspirations and dreams of any spiritual seeker.

From caffeine-dependent goats to nectar addicted ants, the animal kingdom offers amazing examples of wild animals and insects seeking out and consuming the psychoactive substances in their environments. Author Giorgio Samorini explores this little-known phenomenon and suggests that, far from being confined to humans, the desire to experience altered states of consciousness is a natural drive shared by all living beings and that animals engage in these behaviors deliberately. Rejecting the Western cultural assumption that using drugs is a negative action or the result of an illness, Samorini opens our eyes to the possibility that beings who consume psychedelics--whether humans or animals--contribute to the evolution of their species by creating entirely new patterns of behavior that eventually will be adopted by other members of that species. The author's fascinating accounts of mushroom-loving reindeer, intoxicated birds, and drunken elephants ensure that readers will never view the animal world in quite the same way again.

From Publishers Weekly In bestsellers like A Separate Reality and Journey to Ixtlan , Castaneda recounted his purported adventures with Mexican Yaqui Indian sorcerer don Juan Matus. Here he tells how, under don Juan's tutelage, he gained control over his dreams and used dreaming as a launching pad to a pervasive but unseen realm of ancestral spiritual forces, good and evil. He goes through tunnels, enters into the consciousness of trees, meets scouts, emissaries and form-changing blobs of energy. Aided by don Juan's companions and fellow apprentices, Castaneda penetrates a realm of "inorganic beings" who set traps for him and attack him, as if to illustrate don Juan's teaching that consciousness is compelled to grow through life-or-death confrontations. For believers, Castaneda's quest offers a tantalizing glimpse of alternate worlds beyond the rational parameters of our mundane reality.

This extensive tome teaches you everything you need to know to accomplish successful, planned out-of-body travel; how to exit the body, how to get around on the astral plane, and how to get back in with solid, provable memories of the event. Bruce writes very clearly and uses down-to-earth terminology so that you learn not only how to create a "real-time double" to astrally project but also about the physics of the nonphysical world. Out-of-body experiences can be so confusing that enjoying them or employing them usefully can be a serious challenge. Fortunately, Bruce now brings his 25 years of interdimensional experience to the aid of astral explorers the world over, and everywhere else too.

If you are looking for a serious and intensely personal take on the magic of our universe, the plant world and indigenous deep spirituality then here is one of the best reads I have found. I have read many books on this and related subjects by strong and informative writers such as McKenna, Pinchbeck, Calvo, Luna, and Strassman, and I heartily recommend this warm and human exploration of the mystery of our universe and consciousness.

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Black Elk Speaks is the story of the Lakota visionary and healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) and his people during the momentous twilight years of the nineteenth century. Black Elk met the distinguished poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881-1973) in 1930 on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and chose Neihardt to tell his story. Neihardt understood and conveyed Black Elk's experiences in this powerful and inspirational message for all humankind.

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'The book' is a fantastic introduction to key tenets of the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. Alan Watts exposits with convincing arguments the problems with our perspective of the self(the same thought that 'Hermann Hesse illustrates in Steppenwolf), the correct interpretation of the Blakean vision of 'Good and Evil being parts of the same coin', the problems that we carry through the rest of our lives because of the conditioning of the senses and intellect and finally the answers and route to salvation that this great philosophy shows. And to read this book, there is no need to know any history/jargon of vedanta which are major deterrents to people who do not want to get into sanskrit terms, chronology etc.

While psychedelics of all sorts are demonized in America today, the visionary compounds found in plants are the spiritual sacraments of tribal cultures around the world. From the iboga of the Bwiti in Gabon, to the Mazatecs of Mexico, these plants are sacred because they awaken the mind to other levels of awareness--to a holographic vision of the universe.

Breaking Open the Head is brave participatory journalism at its best, a vivid account of psychic and intellectual experiences that opened doors in the wall of Western rationalism and completed Daniel Pinchbeck's personal transformation from a jaded Manhattan journalist to shamanic initiate and grateful citizen of the cosmos.

From remotest antiquity to the present era of designer drugs and interdiction, drugs have played a prominent role in the cultural, spiritual, and social development of civilizations. Antonio Escohotado demonstrates how the history of drugs illuminates the history of humanity as he explores the long relationship between mankind and mind-altering substances. Hemp, for example, has been used in India since time immemorial to stimulate mental agility and sexual prowess. Aristotle's disciple Theophrastus testifies to the use of datura by the ancient Greeks and further evidence links the rites at Eleusis to the ingestion of a hallucinogen. Similar examples can be found in cultures as diverse as the Celts, the ancient Egyptians, the Aztecs, and other indigenous peoples around the world. 

The erotic sentiments described in the Hindu love classic the Kama Sutra constitute the most famous work on sex ever created. Written almost 2,000 years ago, the Kama Sutra deals with all aspects of sexual life, including the principles and techniques of sexual pleasure and how to best achieve ecstatic expression of life's beauty. Gathered from museums and private collections around the world, these rare images clearly illustrate all 64 sexual positions and the erotic instructions set forth in the Kama Sutra. The result is a dazzling and sensuous reading experience through which the teachings of the Kama Sutra spring to life.

The Final Talks were written shortly before Nisargadatta's death in 1981 and translated directly to English with no changes. In a question and answer format the visitors and devotees accompanied this great master during his final teachings. His message uncompromisingly remained the same to the end, to dwell only on our beingness, giving it no attributes, dwelling prior to our thoughts.

Covering a groundbreaking psychedelic substance that is actually found in human cerebrospinal fluid, Rick Strassman tells a first-person story of his research on the profoundly mysterious substance dimethltryptamine (DMT). We learn the political, medical, and ethical obstacles that surround the creation of Strassman's research program in 1990's America. Also explored are a far-ranging array of puzzling questions: foremost, WHY does this tryptamine compound exist naturally within the brain? Is DMT flooded into serotonin receptors to help mediate trauma, meditation, and near-death experiences? If so, why? And could DMT yield a framework for defining consciousness? The topics are explored through the vivid experiences of research volunteers at the University of New Mexico and the sincere, contemplative hypotheses of the author. This is a nicely crafted book which nimbly treads a thin line between restraint and enthusiasm, between cold objectivity and speculation. At the end, the reader is left with many intriguing puzzle pieces. "The Spirit Molecule" is perhaps the first title to break ground on what might be a Pandora's Box of the upcoming century.
- Reviewer: A reader from Norman, OK

In the traditions of every culture, plants have been highly valued for their nourishing, healing, and transformative properties. The most powerful plants--those known to transport the human mind into other dimensions of consciousness--have traditionally been regarded as sacred. In The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants Christian Ratsch details the botany, history, distribution, cultivation, and preparation and dosage of more than 400 psychoactive plants. He discusses their ritual and medicinal usage, cultural artifacts made from these plants, and works of art that either represent or have been inspired by them.

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Includes essays by Albert Hofmann, R. Gordon Wasson, Jack Kornfield, Ann Shulgin, Alexander Shulgin, Robert Jesse, Thomas Riedlinger, Eric Sterling, Rick Strassman, Thomas Roberts, Dale Pendell, Terence McKenna, David Steindl-Rast, and more.

This is a work of responsible advocacy. Forte and his dozen principal contributors seek the wide acceptance, including legalization and mature practice, of "entheogens" -- "god spawning" psychoactive substances (LSD, mescalin [sic], etc.) that are deemed especially suited for use on designated or readily identifiable sacramental occasions. Ample lists of references accompany most of the individual chapters. The book should prove to be a welcome complement to other serious studies in mysticism.

The Flowers of Wiricuta is the gripping autobiographical account of Tom Pinkson's decade-long immersion in the shamanic traditions of the Huichol tribe of north central Mexico, who have retained their ancient way of life more thoroughly than other indigenous groups, and are known primarily for the use of peyote in their spiritual traditions. Pinkson has successfully integrated their teachings into his work with terminally ill children and their families. His book is a heart-felt record of a personal search for a clearer understanding of the true self.

Mckenna has some valuble sociological insights regarding the history of drug abuse, and reminds us that sugar, coffee, and chocolate are potent psychoactive substances that are just as addictive and just as unhealthful as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or psilocybin. It is refreshing to see someone finally admit that almost every adult in the entire western world is highly dependent on a variety of different drugs. It seems that Mckenna is taking a step in the right direction from a civil rights standpoint by lessening the taboos associated with certain drugs that are associated with the counter-culture, while reminding us of the caffeine and sugar addiction epedemic that is going on right under our noses. This is a fascinating anthropological and counter-cultural manifesto.

Part biography, part document of spiritual wisdom, Forest of Visions is a fascinating story that satisfies on many levels. Author Alex Polari de Alverga spent years as a political prisoner during military rule in Brazil. Here he recounts his spiritual transformation after release under the tutelage of Padrinho Sebastião Mota de Mela, one of the founders of the Santo Daime religion. Forest of Visions is also a study of the inner workings of the Santo Daime utopian community of 500 in the heart of the Amazonian rainforest. The Santo Daime is a Christian-indigenous syncretic religion that centers around the drinking of a sacramental psychedelic tea called Ayahuasca as a shortcut to spiritual revelation and growth. After years of study, the Brazilian government decided that Ayahuasca positively benefited society and church members, and declared it legal. Approximately 50 Santo Daime churches now exist around the world, including in the U.S., Japan, and Holland, with various legal statures.

This book is about the healing traditions in Bon Buddhist shamanism, tantra and dzogchen. Western-style psychology is one of Rinpoche's interests, and he has participated in annual panels on East-West psychology. Thus, he discusses Tibetan traditions in light of certain western psychological theory. If you read this book you will gain insight into "Tibetan yoga;" the tsa lung movements that open up the energy so that the breath flows freely in the body. (The book's discussion of psychology alone is worth taking the time to read.) It also focuses clearly and insightfully on the elements, and how elemental qualities manifest themselves in our lives. Rinpoche feels that through an increased awareness of the flow of these qualities, we can see a way to increased balance and peace in our lives on a very real and tangible level.

The hemp revolution is happening, despite the efforts of politicians and law-enforcement agencies to stop it. Medical marijuana initiatives on the ballots in California and Arizona passed with overwhelming support. All around the globe this miracle plant is creating industries for food, fuel, clothing, housing, and paper that are beneficial to both humanity and the environment. Designed to fit into the back pocket of your hemp jeans, The Hemp Manifesto offers 101 ways that hemp is making a positive impact on society, and explains why in brief summaries simple enough for even congressional representatives to understand.