Recommended books/articles

[Magical Realist]

Just ordered this online. I have always been captivated by Streiber's ongoing escapades with "The Visitors" however embellished or speculative they may be. Not only is he a great writer, but I like to give him the benefit of the doubt and take his experiences as "real" at least in a phenomenal sense. This latest book of his looks to address the issue of personal encounters with these beings and what these may mean for the human race. It also examines the long term involvement of the US military with them and what they have been hiding for decades. I look forward to reading it.


"Them" by Whitley Streiber is a new, mystery-busting vision of the close encounter experience--which is VERY different from what the media would have you believe. The first half of the book analyzes eleven close encounter stories. This goes far beyond the "alien abduction" scenario!

The second half of the book analyzes the military experience from 1947 to the present. Analyses it deeply and carefully. After reading it you will know exactly why the U.S. government denies everything, who is responsible for the secrecy, and why it is in place.

The book has a preface by Mitch Horowitz, a foreword by Jacques Valle and an afterword by my Super Natural co-author Jeff Kripal. It is endorsed by Hal Puthoff, Jim Semivan, Leslie Kean, Diana Pasulka, John Alexander, George Knapp and Colm Kelleher. Colm calls it "searing and masterful."

It is a true first and will revise and focus your understanding of what this mysterious presence that flies around in our skies and sometimes enters our bedrooms is really all about."

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123271188-them

[Magical Realist]

.....

[Magical Realist]

Well I got the book "Them" by Whitley Strieber and read it in two days. Three quarters of the book are devoted to 11 very strange cases of contact with what he calls "The Visitors" that he has culled from the thousands of letters he received after the publishing of "Communion".

Several of mine and apparently many others' assumptions about abduction cases were overturned. First, most abduction experiences are vividly remembered and not recovered under some therapist's hypnosis session. Secondly, not all cases occur at night, Many have been reported to occur in broad daylight. And third, many cases have multiple eyewitnesses, as in the eleven examples he quoted in the book. '

Many abduction accounts involve both vivid details of the initial encounter and being abducted as well as missing time as to what actually happened. Strieber asks some really insightful questions about what these experiences might mean and what they say about the visitors. He raises the disturbing possibility that these beings may live in some symbiotic relationship with humans, much like the Moorlocks did with the Eloi in HG Well's classic "The Time Machine". He ventures that they seem to need something from us, perhaps gametes to breed their own humans to experiment with. But since abductions have largely ceased since the 1980s-1990s, he points out that they also seem to want to help us survive on our planet and whatever coming catastrophes may lie in our future and may even want to help us shift into some new phase of conscious evolution.

The last quarter of the book examines the history of the US military's contact with the visitors and the long frustrating policy of secrecy and lies that has accompanied that. He comes down squarely on the side of those who claim that recovery of crashed uaps has occurred as well as alien bodies, and even claims from his own investigations that the military actively shot down many of these craft in the 1950s. But he concludes that all of this govt secrecy/honest ignorance is in accord with the visitors agenda, whatever that may ultimately turn out to be.

In the end the book is a fascinating exploration of the whole enigma of the visitors and uaps and what they ultimately want with the human race. I highly recommend it to anybody open enough to entertain possibilities of answers to the deep questions this whole phenomenon raises.

[Magical Realist]

Ordered Jeffery Kripal's new book online: "How To Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else" Hardcover – July 26, 2024. Sounds like an imaginative and hopefully revolutionary way of conceiving of the paranormal and its relationships to our humanity and our lives. I will review it here when I'm done with it.

"A mind-bending invitation to experience the impossible as fundamentally human."

"From precognitive dreams and telepathic visions to near-death experiences, UFO encounters, and beyond, so-called impossible phenomena are not supposed to happen. But they do happen—all the time. Jeffrey J. Kripal asserts that the impossible is a function not of reality but of our everchanging assumptions about what is real. How to Think Impossibly invites us to think about these fantastic (yet commonplace) experiences as an essential part of being human, expressive of a deeply shared reality that is neither mental nor material but gives rise to both. Thinking with specific individuals and their extraordinary experiences in vulnerable, open, and often humorous ways, Kripal interweaves humanistic and scientific inquiry to foster an awareness that the fantastic is real, the supernatural is super natural, and the impossible is possible."

[Magical Realist]

Just received this book. Will be reviewing it after I read it. She seems to make some bold claims. But if she has the empirical data to back them up, well then we just may have something here.

"Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences" by D. W. Pasulka

"A revolution is underway. For the first time in human history, we are at the cusp of experiencing contact with nonhuman life-forms of all kinds due to technological innovations and research into the experiences of people at the forefront of this development.

In Encounters, author D.W. Pasulka takes readers to the forefront of this revolution, sharing the work of experts across a spectrum of fields who are working to connect humanity with unknown life-forms.

Most of us have visions of nonhuman encounters that are shaped far more by Hollywood than they are informed by the current research. Encounters rewrites our visions of nonhuman species by featuring the work and stories of contemporary innovators who are rethinking our most basic assumptions about life and its manifestations beyond our experience.

The author of American Cosmic, D.W. Pasulka is a professor of religion at UNC, Wilmington; her work as a scholar has given her the tools to systematically examine data that exceeds rational categories―exactly the skillset needed to parse the world of UFOs, angels, AI, dreams, and other dimensions, which exist at the edges of human understanding. Encounters is a riveting exploration of the leading science of nonhuman life and a bold glimpse of the future of humanity in a universe where we are far from alone.

D. W. Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington."

[Magical Realist]

;"Chapel Perilous: The Life and Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson"-- by Gabriel Kennedy

Just ordered this. Will read it and give my thoughts on it later on.

The first biography of countercultural novelist and underground philosopher Robert Anton Wilson.

“In Gabriel Kennedy, AKA Prop Anon, Wilson has the kind of biographer he deserves.”
-Grant Morrison, comic books legend, author of Arkham Asylum, The Invisibles, and Happy!

Chapel Perilous: The Life & Thought Crimes of Robert Anton Wilson is the first biography of the late countercultural novelist and underground philosopher, Robert Anton Wilson. Author with Robert Shea of ILLUMINATUS!—one of American literature’s most notorious novels—Wilson’s life and work were infused with magical insight and strange occurrence. In this far-reaching biography, Gabriel Kennedy charts the undergrowth of Wilson’s influence, from his time as a pioneering journalist in the American underground press movement, to his work at Playboy magazine, and his long writing career on the fringes of the literary world. Kennedy presents a deeply inspiring work of creative genius and human struggle in a world run by madmen.

“...this book is a masterpiece of insight and scholarship. Gabriel Kennedy has successfully navigated the heights and depths of the late Robert Anton Wilson...[it]...captures both the man and the era he embodied.”
-Jeffrey Mishlove, Host and Producer of New Thinking Allowed

“Gabriel Kennedy's Chapel Perilous is, and will always be, the definitive biography of Robert Anton Wilson, one of the most subversive thinkers of the 20th century. Kennedy deftly unravels the threads of Wilson's complex inner life, shedding light on the inspirations for his revolutionary ideas and assessing RAW's impact on today's popular culture. He also beautifully captures Bob Wilson the man. Standing ovation!”
-Richard Metzger, Television Host, Writer, Producer. Creator of Disinformation and Magick Show

“Meticulously well-researched, profoundly comprehensive, and compellingly absorbing, Gabriel Kennedy’s long-awaited biography of Robert Anton Wilson will not disappoint. I couldn’t put it down! Chapel Perilous brings Wilson’s remarkable story to life. It’s passionately written and jam-packed with a treasure-trove of new details, historical perspectives, amusing anecdotes, mind-blowing insights, and many little-known facts about how our beloved philosopher developed one of the most brilliant and creative minds in human history. Overflowing with both magic and magick, blurring the boundaries between science and mysticism, this grand and glorious adventure will stretch your view of reality, and delight Wilson’s fans with a bountiful feast of revelations, epiphanies, and new understandings. Most highly recommended!”
—David Jay Brown, author of Dreaming Wide Awakeand The Illustrated Field Guide to DMT Entities

“Writing a comprehensive, human, inclusive, biography for someone as complex as Robert Anton Wilson is a big bite for a writer to attempt. Thankfully, Gabriel Kennedy did not bite off more than he could chew. This biography made me laugh, cry, and sit silently in contemplation while I experienced the feelings, memories, and nostalgia it evoked. Chapel Perilous showed me points of view about RAW that I had not considered and informed me about aspects of my late friend’s life that I was unaware of. This book is an invaluable source of information about one of the greatest artists and thinkers of our time. It keeps the lasagna flying!”
-Joseph Matheny, Multidisciplinary artist. Author of Ong's Hat: The Beginning, The Liminal Cycle

[Magical Realist]

"Occurrence: Dancing With Tricksters" by William F. Blume (pseudonym)

Here's a summary for this intriguing book. I ordered it from Amazon. Will give a review when I finish it.

OCCURRENCE - "The true and very strange story of William F. Blume chronicles an existential odyssey breaching assumed reality's confines. Weaving through a young child’s sometimes absurd, disquieting memories, it unveils the inexplicable. This is Billy’s story - William F. Blume - as both a wide-eyed boy and retrospective mature adult now trying to piece together his youthful enigmas.

When first meeting four-year-old “Billy,” his fantastical, real-life incidents ensnare our curiosity. Book I introduces us to thirteen seminal “Occurrences” showcasing the bizarre interlacing of metaphysics, philosophy and beyond. Book II attempts to make sense of the events in Book I and connect the dots via philosophy, science, religion, and the occult, perhaps to reveal the impossible and profound through a child’s eyes. What bizarre truths or capricious deceptions ripple beneath? This is no benign fairy tale for children but rather a mind-bending chronicle treading in conceptual shadows.

Each chapter expands our consciousness and conception of what transpires at the hazy frontiers of our reality. Opaque forces appear to manipulate environments and perceptions. As Billy processes unique trauma from these intense brushes with the inexplicable unknown, glimmers of a deeper mystery around consciousness and existence begin to crystallize. The incidents hint at not some frivolous fantasy but glimpses through the cracks of what it may mean to be human..."

[Magical Realist]

"The Fire From Within" by Carlos Castaneda

"Each of Carlos Castaneda's books is a brilliant and tantalizing burst of illumination into the depths of our deepest mysteries, like a sudden flash of light, like a burst of lightning over the desert at night, which shows us a world that is both alien and totally familiar -- the landscape of our dreams.

Fire from Within is the author's most brilliant thought-provoking and unusual book, one in which Castaneda, under the tutelage of don Juan and his "disciples," at last constructs, from the teachings of don Juan and his own experiences, a stunning portrait of the "sorcerer's world" that is crystal-clear and dizzying in its implications."

[Magical Realist]

At long last a magazine that speaks to my soul!

https://www.fiddlersgreenzine.com/shop/f...GmNk-qk5GA

The Dream of Fiddler's Green

"Fiddler’s Green Peculiar Parish Magazine was born of a languid afternoon of conversation on a sunny tavern lawn. Taking its name from the pleasant afterlife dreamed into being by sailors, cavalrymen, and other adventurous spirits, Fiddler’s Green gathers friends, good cheer, and a bit of magic to create a better world not someday, but now.

In ecclesiastical terms, the word “peculiar” refers to a district outside the jurisdiction of the Church. It’s also a good word for describing my own view of reality, and likely yours as well. And so here is a “peculiar parish magazine” for anyone who doesn’t feel the need to have their inner life directed by others. If it is peculiar that we wish to govern our bodies and souls ourselves, then let us be peculiar.

The conversation continues, and there is room for you in it. Each of us is on our own journey, both in this world and whatever lies beyond it. Sometimes the path is well lit; at other times it is obscured. Your wanderings have brought you here, and I hope you’ll stray for a while with me and the other souls gathered at Fiddler’s Green."

Clint Marsh
Publisher