Category: New Age

Otherwhere: A Field Guide to Nonphysical Reality for the Out-Of-Body Traveler by Kurt Leland

Otherwhere: A Field Guide to Nonphysical Reality for the Out-Of-Body Traveler by Kurt Leland

Kurt Leland’s Otherwhere is the first out-of-body memoir/guide (that I’ve read, so far) that discusses the importance of the individual’s consciousness in how the inner worlds are perceived.

It’s not a new idea, being repackaged and sold throughout time, lately in the New Age/New Thought movement, that one’s beliefs shape one’s reality. But, as Kurt Leland points out in other dimensions where thoughts literally are that reality, this individual viewpoint takes creation to a whole different level.

He suggests that what Robert Munroe, Jurgen Ziewe, and so many other consciousness explorers experience when they are in their various out-of-body states is archetypical energy, though he doesn’t use that terminology. Leland calls the perception of this energy: one’s own personal translation tables.

Rather than taking the figures that one encounters at face value or judging them based on ingrained religious beliefs, Leland encourages the Otherwhere visitors to examine what the figure does. It’s very similar to what dream interpreters teach about how to understand your dreams.

Like me, Leland believes that anyone can have out-of-body experiences. He has this to say about why more people don’t: “It’s my firm belief that what prevents people from having out-of-body experiences and exploring nonphysical reality on their own is fear of the unknown. In my experience, the best way to overcome fear of the unknown is to familiarize oneself with the personal accounts of people who have overcome that fear themselves. I believe that personal accounts of out-of-body experiences are far superior to how-to manuals in stimulating people to venture into the unknown.” Preface, xii

He goes on to say: “In my opinion, our fear of the unknown is really just anxiety about becoming unlovable as a result of having had unfamiliar experiences and being changed by them. If we attempt to explore nonphysical reality and succeed, we’re afraid that we’ll be rejected, disbelieved, or thought to be crazy.” pg 27. Time to get over that. Don’t you think? 🙂

Lelend uses lucid dreaming as his method of exploring other worlds (Otherwhere). I’ve explored a few books about lucid dreaming one of which you can read here. If you are interested in my explorations into nonphysical reality, you can read those here.

I found this episode of a woman that he encountered there to be very illuminating. In this passage, he is talking to his Otherwhere instructors about her: (the Instructor saying) “As you can see, my colleague and I intended every image in the dream to contribute in some way to the lesson we wanted you to learn.” (Leland asks) “What about the woman reading the book?” “As you recall, she was facing the door into Otherwhere. There are many people in the world who have an interest in exploring psychic phenomena. They love to read about other people’s adventures in altered states of consciousness. But if a door that would allow them to undertake such explorations on their own were to open, they would make up excuses not to go through. The most common one is that they don’t have time.” pg 99

Let’s not be that woman.

The importance of physical life- in this excerpt, Leland is listening to an instructor in Otherwhere: “While it’s true that I no longer feel regret about anything I’ve experienced during previous lifetimes on Earth, I wouldn’t say that I’m grateful to be among the dead. That would imply that life over here, in Otherwhere, has a greater value than life on Earth. From our perspective, that isn’t true. There are things that can be learned only here and not there. But there are also things that can be learned only on Earth. Learning is all that matters, and no lesson is more or less valuable than any other. pg 152

Keep on learning, check.

In this passage, Leland examines the availability of teachings on other dimensions: “There are many maps of nonphysical reality… scattered throughout the history of your art and literature. These can provide useful translation tables for orientation within nonphysical reality. Why should every individual who explores nonphysical reality start from scratch?” pg 158

Why indeed… with the modern age and the easy availability of formerly difficult-to-discover information through the internet and public libraries, one can stand on the shoulders of giants to begin your own personal studies.

Everyone is an artist: “Every human being is immensely creative. But unless that creativity is channeled into some art or craft, it will be used instead to generate illusion. It could be said, therefore, that every human being is an artist, at least in potential. Developing this creativity is an essential part of every person’s life purpose, even if it isn’t the main focus of one’s career.” pg 238.

I believe that too. I’ve read a bunch of books about creativity, one of which you can explore here.

“How you choose to represent to yourself the ways of gaining access to any zone of Otherwhere is up to you. The validity of such images lies in their usefulness, not in some kind of absolute truth. The only important thing is that you give yourself some way of identifying the zone into which you’ve traveled, so that you can return on future occasions. Whether this manner of identification is the name of a subway line or station, or the number on a gate in an alley, is your choice. The identifying function of such names or numbers is all that matters.” pg 262

Or, like in my own personal explorations, tarot cards.

Leland finishes his account with a modern version of Dante’s Paradiso in which, he traveled to Otherwhere and discovered different areas within that place where the dead came to terms with the life they had just completed. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

Then he talks about ways to remove your consciousness from the ordinary to experience what he and others (and me!) have experienced- whether that be through meditation, lucid dreaming, shamanic drumming, etc, and, the librarian in me loved this part, gives book lists for learning each type of technique. He saves consciousness explorers a lot of time, which is a kind thing to do.

I highly recommend Otherwhere for folks beginning their consciousness exploration or the experienced traveler. It is a how-to guide, a journal, and an encouraging, exploratory ramble through Otherwhere, a place where anyone can go, if they only set their mind and heart on doing so.

Thanks for reading!

Psychic Dreamwalking: Explorations at the Edge of Self by Michelle Belanger

Psychic Dreamwalking: Explorations at the Edge of Self by Michelle Belanger

Psychic Dreamwalking has some instruction on lucid dreaming, but it is interspersed with a lot of personal background information and some psychic vampire stuff. That didn’t bother me, even though it isn’t my particular realm of study. I’ve found that the mind is a very powerful tool for interpreting reality and people seem to believe all sorts of things that I find to not be compatible with my life experience. But, if that kind of thing annoys you, just stop reading Psychic Dreamwalking before Chapter 9 and you’ll avoid most of it.

I rather liked author Michelle Belanger’s opening dedication, “Prayer of the Dreaming”: “I commit myself to you, Lord Morpheus! Open wide the Gates of Dream. Grant me safe passage in your realm So I may return with tales to tell. -from the Introduction. She mentions that this prayer is based on The Dream King from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. I haven’t read that comic yet, but it has a great reputation. I’ll have to get to it sometime.

What is dreamwalking anyway?: “Dreamwalking is the art of sending forth a part of the self in order to make contact with others through the medium of dreams. Anyone can learn how to dreamwalk, and, as we explore the concept throughout this book, you will find that most people already do. … The lack of available information on dreamwalking exists in part because there is no consistent nomenclature for the technique. There are accounts of dreamwalking mixed in with experiments in astral projection, dream telepathy, and lucid dreaming, but they are rarely identified as such.” pg 1

It is so difficult in consciousness experimentation to come up with a vocabulary to discuss not only your experiences but to be able to communicate something very personal and individual with someone else who may have had completely different experiences and who are approaching the same topic from a different background. The name of the game in this book is “dreamwalking” which I find to be a rather poetic way to describe a universal phenomenon.

“But this the fundamental premise of dreamwalking: on some level, the dreamspace is real. It is not real in the sense that the physical world it (sic) real, but it is certainly as real as the astral planes described by writers like Madame Blavatsky and Dion Fortune. Like the astral planes, the dreamspace is a subjective reality. As much as it is a place we can go to, it is also a place that we shape with out (sic) hopes, desires, and fears.” pg 25

I think this is a part of the human experience that deserves a far broader investigation than experts and laypersons have given it so far. But there’s always time to get started! Who’s with me?

Belanger talks about Carl Jung a lot in this book. I wonder what he would think about dreamwalking…: “Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious, a layer of myth and symbol deep within each of our minds that connects all of us in mysterious ways, hearkens back to the ancient notions that the dreamspace is a realm unto itself, a hazy place of twilight where men can sometimes meet with gods.” pg 36

It reminds me a great deal of the Dreamtime of the First Nations of Australia. This is not a new concept but one which, as I said before, deserves more experimental research than it has yet received.

The main technique that Belanger uses to access this world within dreams is one that I am very familiar with, namely building a gate: “The Gates of Dream are an archetypal image that I return to again and again in this book. Archetypes and symbols have some objective reality within the realm of dreams, and the Gates of Dream represent the point of passage from your personal dreams to the wider territory of the dreamspace. You can harness this archetypal image in your dream haven, creating a crossing-over point that can later serve as a focus for when you seek to dreamwalk.” pg 51

If you’d like to learn about my experiences with walking through gates, I invite you to explore my blog: https://thelightcongress.com/

Belanger touches a bit on shamanic practices, but not in depth: The shamanic dreamtime, as a realm of myths and images that is peopled by animal totems and celestial teachers, can very easily be equated to Jung’s collective unconscious, the psychological repository of humanity’s collective myths, dreams, and symbols. Many of the totems and other mythic figures encountered in the shamanic realms are Jungian archetypes transported from their existence as simple concepts to vivid, potent entities. … There is a kind of travel that occurs in dreamwalking, but it is, at first, an inward journey. This inward journey, however, can lead the dreamwalker elsewhere. Traveling within can sometimes lead you out. pg 67

I’ve explored a few books about shamanism. You can read those reviews here:

The Goddess and the Shaman: The Art & Science of Magical Healing by J.A. Kent
Spirit Hacking: Shamanic Keys to Reclaim Your Personal Power, Transform Yourself, and Light Up the World by Shaman Durek
The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner

In this passage, Belanger discusses the importance of lucid dreaming in various religious traditions: “From the monks of Buddhist Tibet to the 12th century Spanish Sufi Ibn El-Arabi, mystics the world over have proclaimed the benefits of lucid dreaming. For religious thinkers, lucid dreaming has long been seen as a way to illuminate both the nature of the Self and the nature of reality. Tibetan Buddhists were pursuing lucid dreams as early as the eighth century C.E. According to their philosophy, the mastery of lucid dreams was a necessary step in the pursuit of enlightenment. The ability to recognize the illusory nature of the dreamstate directly correlated to the ability to recognize the illusory nature of all things. pg 139 Fascinating in how the study of dreams can be applied to other areas of your life!

Belanger captured my feelings about psychic vampires very well in this passage: “Ultimately, you and you alone can judge the validity of your experiences. You should never surrender this right, but you should also not use it as an excuse to indulge in wish fulfillment. Make a thorough investigation of every experience and decide for yourself. pg 181. Cura te ipsum.

Though I feel that Psychic Dreamwalking contained a lot of superfluous information, there are some solid dreamwalking techniques in here. I think that the main hurdle to this practice is simply becoming lucid while dreaming in the first place. So, for now, I’ll stick with going into trance. But, for those who already have the ability to lucid dream, this may be something that you’ll want to investigate. Pick up Otherwhere by Kurt Leland for a first person account of dreamwalking or Multidimensional Man by Jurgen Ziewe.

Thanks for reading!

Archetypes on the Tree of Life: The Tarot as Pathwork by Madonna Compton

Archetypes on the Tree of Life: The Tarot as Pathwork by Madonna Compton

Archetypes on the Tree of Life is a dense spiritual text exploring the Tree of Life through the use of Tarot cards.

It’s kind of funny- I think my favorite part of this book wasn’t actually the book at all but instead the brief introduction which was written by Hans Nintzel. Nintzel was a student of the western mysteries who describes himself as “living down the street from Israel Regardie.” As I used the writings of Israel Regardie to do my own explorations into the Tree of Life, I found my mind blown right there. How cool would that have been, to have lived on the occult teacher’s own street? Too cool.

Here’s what Nintzel had to say that was so compelling:
As Qabalah evolved, it was discovered that, using this glyph or map called the Tree of Life, one could move around the geography of the consciousness, so to speak, contacting or balancing various personal energies by contemplating various aspects of the God energy using myths, legends, visions, and dreams, represented by the archetypes of the Tarot.”pg 4

I have yet to see a more concise description of what pathworking is than that. Now why Nintzel didn’t write his own book, I simply don’t know. Being the librarian that I am, I did a bit of digging into his background and it seems that he was a prolific lecturer and a translator of alchemical texts, but didn’t write his own. Disappointing. Here’s a link that I found of works that he helped to bring to the US which were listed in his obituary: https://www.alchemywebsite.com/rams.html

As for Compton’s 300 or so page contribution, I found myself to be disappointed. Archetypes on the Tree of Life is in the main, rather obscure Qabalistic/Kaballistic theory. It reads almost exactly like Regardie’s Garden of Pomegranates or Fortune’s The Mystical Qabalah. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have some gems of interest, but mostly it’s slow going and not as accessible as the publisher (Llewellyn) promised it to be in the page where it described the goals of its Spiritual Perspectives Series.

Compton’s most interesting point has nothing to do with traditional pathworking but is instead a hypothesis that she and her meditation partner have constructed about potential alternate paths across Daath. They’ve chosen a five pointed star to create the paths, but I would perhaps lean more towards a six pointed star, which still sort of works. The six pointed star is a combination of an upwards and downwards facing triangle, an ancient alchemical symbol for self actualization. Though, admittedly, the five pointed star has definite Tiphareth associations… and so the debate continues I suppose. 🙂 Anyway, if you’re interested in Compton’s theory, turn to page 304 to save yourself some time digging through the other stuff.

If you enjoyed this book, may I recommend reading either of the two books I mentioned earlier: The Garden of Pomegranates by Israel Regardie or The Mystical Qabalah by Dion Fortune. If you want more examples of modern pathworking, see my book: https://thelightcongress.com

Thanks for reading!

The Goddess and the Shaman: The Art & Science of Magical Healing by J.A. Kent

The Goddess and the Shaman: The Art & Science of Magical Healing by J.A. Kent

“I discovered the presence of a mystical and magical tradition that was largely concealed within our culture that had its roots in ancient pre-Christian Paganism, alchemy, Hermetic philosophy, the holy Qabalah, and elements of Greek, Egyptian, and Gnostic mysticism. It is generally referred to as the Western magical tradition. I tend to see it as the lost shaman tradition of the West.” -From the Preface

J.A. Kent, PhD, examines various occult and healing practices from a variety of traditions by interviewing practitioners as well as providing case studies of her own patients in order to present, what I can only call, her doctoral thesis of her personal magical paradigm. Her paradigm is the title of her book, The Goddess and the Shaman.

“There are strong social and medical pressures in Western-style thinking that regard those who have psychic experiences to be either fraudulent or psychotic.” pg 16

Let me briefly explain this paradigm, though I highly recommend reading the book to get it in Kent’s own words.

“The Goddess” is another name for what Kent calls the “Elphame,” essentially the other non-physical worlds that exist either alongside or on top of (depending upon who you speak to) our normal every day world. “The shaman” are the lightworkers and healers who explore these realms for various reasons including healing others of sicknesses both of the body and spirit.

I think it took a great deal of bravery to write a book like this, especially with the prevailing worldviews at work today. Well done, J.A. Kent!

The world is an enchanted, mysterious, and magical place that will reveal its many secret powers and energies to those who have the persistence and determination to unlock them.” pg 64

The trouble with spiritual healing or any type of work in the Elphame, Goddess, or whatever you want to call it, is that the practitioner exits the consensual reality of the every day world and enters non-consensual reality- the abode of the dreamers, lovers, poets, musicians, mad, etc. I have come to believe that the Western world, Western medicine especially, is not kind to those who venture outside the bounds of the normal.

Kent discusses this in depth in multiple places of this book. Suffers who could find no mundane explanation for their troubles turn to her in order to find some relief. And, encouragingly, many found healing.

“Ultimately they rejected the reductionist psychiatric explanation and embarked on their own magical journey of healing.” pg 159

Recommended for therapists and spiritual healers who are looking for more ideas about how to assist those who come to them seeking help. I enjoyed this book very much.

Thanks for reading!

witchbody by Sabrina Scott

witchbody by Sabrina Scott

What is a “witchbody”?

Sabrina Scott defines this nebulous concept in graphic novel format.

Basically, to have a witchbody, the spiritual practitioner uses his or her senses and whole body to connect with everything in the world around her- be that a polluted parking lot or a clear mountain lake.

Scott touches on this idea that sometimes in our spiritual practices we only consider “pure” and “unpolluted” things as holy. They put forward the theory that, if we continue down this path, there may be nothing left to connect with as everything in existence mixes and mingles with everything else.

The spiritual is in the here and now, in the interaction of all things. I heartily agreed.

They wander through philosophy and other theories in the delivery of this message, which some readers may enjoy. I found myself wishing the text had a little more organization to it.

The art in this black and white graphic novel is beautiful. There is some non-graphic nudity- for librarians looking to categorize this book, I’d suggest in the adult graphic novel section.

As lovely as the art is, the lettering is close together and difficult to read in places. I think the author was going for the obviously hand drawn look, but I think they went one step too far. Otherwise, this book was enjoyable.

Highly recommended for spiritual seekers.

Ozark Folk Magic: Plants, Prayers & Healing by Brandon Weston

Ozark Folk Magic: Plants, Prayers & Healing by Brandon Weston

“There are many more folk beliefs unique to the Ozarks, some of which will be discussed in this work, but we also have to remember that much of what makes up this tradition can be traced to influencing factors from outside the region.” pg 16

Author and healer Brandon Weston takes readers through the varying histories and roles of Ozark folk magic. He discusses the different kinds of historical practices as well as following the evolution of Ozark traditions in the modern day.

Photo by Gaspar Zaldo on Pexels.com

“What worked was saved, treasured, and passed down through the generations. This process continues even today, and as a practitioner in the modern world, I’m constantly making these changes not only within my own work, but also for the culture as a whole.” pg 33

It is an illuminating look into a culture that remains fairly closed and secretive even today.

Brandon discusses the historical reasons for this secret keeping and doesn’t dismiss the darker portions of Ozark history such as racial tensions.

Also, he makes sure to talk about the dangers of overdosing on certain herbs or not seeking the help of western medicine when it is warranted. This book is fully of cautionary tales as well as educational ones.

Photo by lilartsy on Pexels.com

“There are many rituals that might be very interesting to look at but that aren’t worth using in a modern setting. Take, for instance, those rituals that involve the harming or killing of an animal, like the infamous black cat rite. I can’t stress enough that many traditions of the past need to be left in the past.” pg 247

My favorite part of this book was the chapter dealing with how different practitioners have reported receiving “the gift”. There were so many different ways and methods! It was fascinating to read Brandon’s take on all of it.

“Another unique road to power often found in the modern Ozarks comes in the form of receiving the gift through communion with nature. It might seem overly simplistic, but one of the beautiful aspects of Ozark healing is its simplicity.” pg 92

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history and practices of Ozark folk magic.

Thanks for reading!

Tarot Games: 45 Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together; A New Vision for the Circle of Community by Cait Johnson

Tarot Games: 45 Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together; A New Vision for the Circle of Community by Cait Johnson

Tarot Games is a cute book about different tarot card layouts and how you can share these games with your loved ones in order to promote communication and the sharing of emotions.

“The wonderful thing about using these simple games and ‘reading layouts’ is that they catalyze the deeper processes taking place between people. This in itself is healing.” pg xii

Photo by Alina Vilchenko on Pexels.com

Throughout the text, the author has sprinkled spiritual images and spirals. It makes for a relaxing read.

“Playing this game together gave both friends a sense of being supported, understood, and protected.” pg 27

I think people take tarot cards too seriously sometimes. This book is a good reminder to allow ourselves to play and share. It doesn’t have to be as dire as all that.

Highly recommended for beginners to advanced practitioners of tarot card reading.

Thanks for reading!

Eckhart Tolle’s “The Everyday and the Transcendent”: a Podcast Review

Eckhart Tolle’s “The Everyday and the Transcendent”: a Podcast Review

While I was on my daily walk, I listened to “The Everyday and the Transcendent” a podcast on Spotify in Eckhart Tolle’s “Essential Teachings” series.

Was it worth the listen? I say yes.

I enjoy learning from Eckhart occasionally but not all the time. He has a soothing voice and his stream-of-consciousness delivery style is hypnotizing.

However, after a couple hours of his teachings, they all begin to sound exactly the same. And that’s because his core message never changes- which isn’t a bad thing.

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Beware self help or spiritual gurus who hold up a carrot of further secrets. As my hairstylist said after visiting an aura cleanser for the first time, “You can overdo stuff like that.” By which she meant, pouring piles of money into someone’s hands to “fix” something you can’t even perceive.

The cool thing about Eckhart’s teachings is you can begin practicing and perceiving what he’s talking about right this second, no matter your situation or state-of-mind.

For example, in this podcast, a practical tool he offers for spiritual insight is to simply observe what he calls your “inner body”. His focus, which he says he’s used over the years to great success, is to monitor what the energy of his hands are doing.

Photo by Meryl Merlin on Pexels.com

How do you do that? Simple- feel your hands. Act like you’re going to pick up a pencil, but don’t move. There! You can feel that can’t you.

Do this multiple times a day or just once in awhile and you’ll begin taking your focus away from what Eckhart calls “thought forms” and enter the state of “the now”.

This particular podcast deals with “the everyday” which Eckhart describes as your job, your family, your home, all of the trappings of the physical life. He says most people never move beyond the everyday. We can get lost in the world around us, which he reminds us, are simply projections that we create through our perceptions.

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He describes the everyday as a horizontal line- a visualization that I found very helpful.

When you are lost in anxiety or fear, you’re moving either forwards or backwards on this line and not staying in the present moment, which is where the second part of his visualization comes in.

Eckhart describes “the transcendent” as a vertical line that intersects the horizontal line of daily living. He says we travel upwards and downwards on this line through our thoughts as we go about our lives.

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The thing is: most of humanity isn’t aware that we’re doing this. We unconsciously move about our day, responding in a kneejerk way to things we perceive as “happening to” us. And, Eckhart says, they actually are “happening to” us because we aren’t aware we are doing it.

If only we could realize our own internal processes, then, he says, we would realize that nothing really “happens to” you. It is all movement along the metaphorical everyday and the transcendent lines of our lives.

Photo by Anna Roguszczak on Pexels.com

We break the power that thoughts have over us and enter into the timeless state of the Now. The holy grail, so to speak, of spiritual experiences.

Highly recommended for spiritual seekers who are looking for practical ways to practice being present. Thanks for reading!

If you’re interested in Eckhart Tolle’s further teachings, here my book review of his “Stillness Speaks”:

Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle

And you can listen to the podcast yourself here:

The Art of True Healing: The Unlimited Power of Prayer and Visualization by Israel Regardie, Marc Allen (Editor)

The Art of True Healing: The Unlimited Power of Prayer and Visualization by Israel Regardie, Marc Allen (Editor)

Israel Regardie is a little-known thought leader of western occultism. In this book, “The Art of Healing,” Dr. Regardie explains a few meditation techniques in a way that anyone from beginners to advanced practitioners can understand.

I remember reading somewhere (not this book) about Dr. Regardie’s internship with Aleister Crowley and how he realized Crowley wasn’t teaching him anything beyond the superficial when it came to occult matters.

Photo by Luis del Ru00edo on Pexels.com

He ended up breaking away and being one of the leaders of a new approach to occultism-
which brings me back to this book.

The meditation techniques will feel quite familiar to anyone who has practiced chakra meditations or color visualizations on the body.

“By these means, the healing force is distributed to every part of the body. No single atom or cell in any organ or limb is omitted from the influence of its healing, regenerative power.”

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The curious part of this book is that Dr. Regardie uses five centers of energy down the center of the body instead of the more standard seven of eastern occultism.

Of course, as Dr. Regardie states, these exercises are in no way a substitution for competent medical care or therapy when necessary – but they are a wonderful addition to it, for they are able to aid the healing process in a great many mysterious, profound, and positive ways. intro

I’m not entirely sure why he does this though I am familiar with the Middle Pillar exercise (which is what the technique is called). Perhaps he’s basing the whole practice off of a teaching Crowley created for his occult studies.

Dr. Israel Regardie and the Middle Pillar exercise.

Whatever the reason, I think it is a noteworthy and definite change from other meditations I’ve practiced.

Highly recommended for readers looking for new meditation techniques and who are interested in western occultism. Another book you may want to pick up if you are into these topics is High Magick: A Guide to the Spiritual Practices That Saved My Life on Death Row.

Damien Echols‘s style of writing reminds me of Dr. Regardie in both its refreshing simplicity and honest assessment of the Great Work.

Thanks for reading!