I went to the library to return some items and to pick up some others yesterday. When covid arrived back in 2020 the library stopped accepting donated books because of the transmission risk. Recently they have started taking donations again; they sit on a cart that you have to walk by to get into the main space and are up for grabs to buy at a dollar for paperbacks and two dollars for hardbacks. I was not looking for reading material as I have so much of it already; but I did go over the books on the cart and through the several bags of books near the cart, looking for pictures for collage work. As I took each bag to a nearby table instead of standing hunched over by the floor, an older man walked up and started a conversation. He said that the donated books that aren’t bought go into the basement of the library and that there are many, many books down there. He said it is an ongoing chore to lug the books down there. He also said he had a surprise gift for me. He walked away, went into a room off to the side, and came back with a sturdy book tote bag. Handing it to me, he said, “Whatever books you take are less that I have to lug downstairs,” and walked away.
I pulled out the books from the bag sitting on the table and quickly realized I had hit the jackpot, but not for pictures. The titles you see were all in one bag. I took everything from that bag except for two books; one was a detailed account of an alien abduction and I forgot what the other one was.
I’ve read Campbell, Keyes, Jung, and Castaneda before but none of these books. I’ve heard of the other authors but have not read them. I do notice that all of them are written by white men. Although so many white men in authority are slimeballs, and so many men in general are also slimeballs, this stack of titles shows me that many aren’t. I cannot stress it enough my fervent hope is that every human being with benevolence of heart and intent come together and work to keep light alive, as light will always vanquish darkness. It’s tough to know who to trust and what is in any person’s heart. You don’t have to know everything about someone but you can know enough to know they are part of the human family that wants our Mother Earth to keep going and who would like to see the human family members living in peace and in harmony with our Mother Earth and with each other.
I remember awhile back, Björn had us write a poem based on book titles. I have decided to write a book title poem with these in hopes that the thread that can begin to weave the vision outlined above.
A final word before getting to the poem. The old man who walked up to me was one I’d never seen around there before. He was waiting in the wings as I walked out. Perhaps he made it his mission to encourage the patrons that day? Or maybe, he was an angel, giving me a reading list that will help me navigate through the loss and grief of my mother’s passing, the difficulties of connecting with long-estranged family members, and through the generally crazy times we all seem to be finding ourselves existing within more and more.
Please feel free to build your own book title poem and link your post to this post. You can also put it in the comments directly. The words not in parentheses are the titles. The full list of titles is at the bottom of the page.
Navigator
(how long have existed)
Man and His Symbols (?)
(from them are constructed)
Myths, Dreams, and Religion.
(myths acculturate and
dreams metaphorize and teach;
yet religion often controls with
judgments in the duality of)
Good and Evil.
(how do we navigate)
Love, Power, and Justice (?)
(the $64,000 question:)
How to Enjoy Your Life in Spite of It All (?)
(please! open the manual on)
Care of the Soul.
(do the homework and practice from the)
Handbook to Higher Consciousness.
(incorporate non-dualistic)
Dynamics of Faith
(into your trifecta of mind, body, and spirit.)
Seeing Castaneda
(is everything x infinity +1. spin)
The Wheel of Time
(and take a)
Journey to Ixtlan(; then
rest in faith and cultivate)
The Courage to Be
(here, together, in peace, on Earth)
Book titles with authors:
Man and His Symbols by Carl Jung
Myths, Dreams, and Religion Edited by Joseph Campbell
Good and Evil by Martin Buber
Love, Power, and Justice by Paul Tillich
How to Enjoy Your Life in Spite of It All by Ken Keyes, Jr.
Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
Handbook to Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes, Jr.
Dynamics of Faith by Paul Tillich
Seeing Castaneda by Daniel Noel
The Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts about Life, Death, and the Universe by Carlos Castaneda
Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda
The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich
I’m linking this to earthweal’s Open Link Weekend.
Tao Talk 
Cool poetry! Imma do one 😀
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Good, Paula! Can’t wait to read it 🙂
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It does seem like synchronicity, doesn’t it? I have that same edition of Man and his Symbols, and I owned Journey to Ixtlan too at one point. An excellent group of books to get you thinking I would say. (K)
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Yes it does and yes they are. Campbell is one of our main sources in the dream group…
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I know of his work but have only read excerpts.
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Have you seen that PBS series where he and Bill Moyers have conversations? It’s pure gold!
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I don’t watch TV. But I could probably find some on youtube if I can find the time…(where does it go?)
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I love it when I’m paying attention in the moment and receiving what shows up. Thanks for sharing your story about the books and how they came to you. I enjoyed the culmination of your poem.☮️
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Ali, I do also. And it seems to show up when I really need it most. Thank you very much.
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I love this post! I collected books all my life, to a ridiculous degree and you found an armful of treasures for sure. I love the poem written around the titles……….and I love what you say about keeping light alive…….I think what we have to counter most is this fundamentalist thinking that is trying to take us backwards. Unfortunately closed minds are not open to reason or compromise. Perhaps life will ultimately be their teacher.
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Sherry, your wise and thoughtful comment is appreciated ❤
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I just want to get into that library basement now and see what treasures are hiding there:) You’ve woven the titles together wonderfully… so interesting!
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Rajani, so do I! Thank you very much.
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Finding a book is like finding a friend…at least that is how I look at it. I have books that I’ve had for years and they are always there for learning or escapism when I need it.
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What a great way of putting it. “Finding a book is like finding a friend.” And yes they are always there.
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I love this poem and the story of its construction, Lisa, especially the mysterious old man who offered you the books! I have never written a Book Title Poem, but I wrote the following when I was on Poets’ Holiday. The first two lines are from biscuit tins, the final from a baseball cap, found in a souvenir shop:
Shadows at the Border
Western Dawn
Edinburgh Scotland
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Thanks much and I like your found poem on holiday. Very cool.
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😊
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Holy cow, I know of no person who can write a poem from book titles. That’s why you are a published author and I’m not! 🙂
The concept reminded me of a song Ringo Starr released in 2015. It’s called “Postcards From Paradise.” The lyrics incorporate the titles of Beatles songs. Ringo wrote it together with Todd Rundgren and made it the title track of an album he released that year.
Here it is in case you haven’t heard it and are curious:
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How groovy is that. No I never heard it before and I love the video that goes with it.
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Quite a stack. Many of these titles have been in my collection over the years. A boatload of the spirit.
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That was very cool, Lisa. And he does sound like an angel!
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I’m happy that I recognize many of the authors (though I haven’t read them). What a funny encounter. Those kinds are always the best. What have you read of Castaneda? He has some REALLY weird theories about reality, doesn’t he? But somehow it makes sense, too……
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It does read like a who’s who list of mostly western philosophers. What I remember about Castaneda was peyote being used to see visions in an altered state of reality, where he met his spirit guide, Don Juan. I remember it being spacy, but that’s as far as my memory goes. Also at the time I was reading about pyramid power and Quakerism. Question, Stacey, were any of the concepts in your books influenced by Castaneda?
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Yeah. It completely makes sense that those kinds of drugs are “illegal” because who would want people to actually “wake up” or in the very least start to wake up from the dream, you know? At any rate, no, I don’t think I was directly influenced ’cause I was already on the same page with a lot of what he said, like being critical of organized religion, and theories of this not being the only reality. He definitely reinforced those ideas, tho. Too bad he went nutty the last decade or so. What a waste. He could have been writing more instead of seducing all those women, lol. Of course, it’s no laughing matter that a couple of those women disappeared after his death, I think. That’s very disturbing. Even if they were the ones who decided to disappear and there was no murder or anything.
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Stacey, I think it’s possible to go too deep. The pioneers of the mind sometimes don’t know when to stop. I remember Jung writing something about being afraid he was going to float away and using something (can’t remember what it was) to ground him so he didn’t. I’m guessing when you add drugs into the pioneering the danger is even worse. I don’t know a lot about him and his womanizing. Do you think he was a cult leader of a sort?
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Yeah, the last ten years of his life he was running a kind of cult with mostly (if not all) female members who had all at some point been his lovers. And I agree that one can go “too far” and lose themselves without the proper anchoring. Taking hallucinogenics with an experienced guide sounds like a good idea, for sure!
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Great concept; stumbling onto a new poetry form that (sorry, pun coming-real sorry) stacks up. I can see how it could work, but I’d need a shelf load of books to pick through…
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Ob I know what you mean. The first time we did it, at dVerse, we could choose titles from our own bookshelves, and it worked out well:
I challenge you, my friend, to write a book title poem 🙂
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There’s only so much I can do with my stash of Little Golden Books! I will give it a go sometime but I can see the frustrations Bjorn mentions. But, nothing ventured ,nothing brain over strained.
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