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FINDING
YOUR OWN TRUE MYTH: What I Learned
from Joseph Campbell: The
Myth
of the
Great Secret
III
GAY
SPIRITUALITY:
The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness
GAY PERSPECTIVE:
Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the
Universe
SECRET MATTER, a sci-fi novel with
wonderful "aliens" with an
Afterword by Mark Jordan
GETTING
LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE:
A
Fantastical Gay Romance set in two different time periods
THE FOURTH QUILL, a
novel about attitudinal healing and the problem of evil
TWO SPIRITS: A Story of Life with
the
Navajo, a collaboration with Walter L. Williams
CHARMED
LIVES: Spinning Straw into
Gold: GaySpirit in Storytelling, a collaboration with
Steve Berman and some 30 other writers
THE MYTH OF THE GREAT
SECRET:
An
Appreciation of Joseph Campbell
IN SEARCH OF GOD IN THE
SEXUAL UNDERWORLD: A Mystical Journey
Unpublished manuscripts
About ordering
Books on
Gay Spirituality:
White
Crane Gay Spirituality Series
Articles
and Excerpts:
Review of Samuel
Avery's The
Dimensional Structure of Consciousness
Funny
Coincidence: "Aliens Settle in San Francisco"
About Liberty Books, the
Lesbian/Gay Bookstore for Austin, 1986-1996
The Simple Answer to the Gay Marriage Debate
A
Bifurcation of Gay Spirituality
Why gay people should NOT Marry
The Scriptural Basis for
Same Sex Marriage
Toby and Kip Get Married
Wedding Cake Liberation
Gay Marriage in Texas
What's ironic
Shame on the American People
The "highest form of love"
Gay Consciousness
Why homosexuality is a sin
The cause of homosexuality
The
origins of homophobia
Q&A
about Jungian ideas in gay consciousness
What
is homosexuality?
What
is Gay Spirituality?
My three
messages
What
Jesus said about Gay
Rights
Queering
religion
Common
Experiences Unique to Gay
Men
Is there a "uniquely gay
perspective"?
The
purpose of homosexuality
Interview on the Nature of
Homosexuality
What the Bible Says about
Homosexuality
Mesosexual
Ideal for Straight Men
Varieties
of Gay Spirituality
Waves
of Gay Liberation Activity
The Gay Succession
Wouldn’t You Like to Be Uranian?
The Reincarnation of
Edward Carpenter
Why Gay Spirituality: Spirituality
as Artistic Medium
Easton Mountain Retreat Center
Andrew Harvey &
Spiritual Activism
The Mysticism of
Andrew Harvey
The
upsidedown book on MSNBC
Enlightenment
"It's
Always About You"
The myth of the Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara
Joseph
Campbell's description of
Avalokiteshvara
You're
Not A Wave
Joseph Campbell Talks
about Aging
What is Enlightenment?
What is reincarnation?
How many lifetimes in an
ego?
Emptiness & Religious Ideas
Experiencing experiencing experiencing
Going into the Light
Meditations for a Funeral
Meditation Practice
The way to get to heaven
Buddha's father was right
What Anatman means
Advice to Travelers to India
& Nepal
The Danda Nata
& goddess Kalika
Nate Berkus is a bodhisattva
John Boswell was Immanuel Kant
Cutting
edge realization
The Myth of the
Wanderer
Change: Source of
Suffering & of Bliss
World Navel
What the Vows Really
Mean
Manifesting
from the Subtle Realms
The Three-layer
Cake
& the Multiverse
The
est Training and Personal Intention
Effective
Dreaming in Ursula LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven
Gay
Spirituality
Curious
Bodies
What
Toby Johnson Believes
The
Joseph Campbell Connection
The
Mann Ranch (& Rich Gabrielson)
Campbell
& The Pre/Trans Fallacy
The
Two Loves
The
Nature of Religion
What's true about
Religion
Being
Gay is a Blessing
Drawing Long Straws
Freedom
of Religion
The
Gay Agenda
Gay
Saintliness
Gay
Spiritual Functions
The subtle workings of the spirit
in gay men's lives.
The Sinfulness of
Homosexuality
Proposal
for a study of gay nondualism
Priestly Sexuality
Having a Church to
Leave
Harold Cole on Beauty
Marian Doctrines:
Immaculate Conception & Assumption
Not lashed to the
prayer-post
Monastic or Chaste
Homosexuality
Is It Time to Grow
Up? Confronting
the Aging Process
Notes on Licking
(July, 1984)
Redeem Orlando
Gay Consciousness changing
the
world by Shokti LoveStar
Alexander Renault
interviews Toby
Johnson
Mystical Vision
"The
Evolution of Gay Identity"
"St. John of the
Cross & the Dark Night of
the Soul."
Avalokiteshvara
at the Baths
Eckhart's Eye
Let Me
Tell You a Secret
Religious
Articulations of the
Secret
The
Collective Unconscious
Driving as
Spiritual Practice
Meditation
Historicity
as Myth
Pilgrimage
No
Stealing
Next
Step in Evolution
The
New Myth
The Moulting of the Holy Ghost
Gaia
is a Bodhisattva
The Hero's
Journey
The
Hero's Journey as archetype -- GSV 2016
The Gay Hero Journey
(shortened)
You're
On Your Own
Superheroes
Seeing
Differently
Teenage
Prostitution and the Nature of Evil
Allah
Hu: "God is present here"
Adam
and Steve
The Life is
in the Blood
Gay retirement and the "freelance
monastery"
Seeing with
Different Eyes
Facing
the Edge: AIDS as an occasion for spiritual wisdom
What
are you looking for in a gay science fiction novel?
The Vision
The
mystical experience at the Servites' Castle in Riverside
A Most Remarkable
Synchronicity in
Riverside
The
Great Dance according to C.S.Lewis
The Techniques Of The
World Saviors
Part 1: Brer Rabbit and the
Tar-Baby
Part 2: The
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Part 3: Jesus
and the Resurrection
Part 4: A
Course in Miracles
The
Secret of the Clear Light
Understanding
the Clear Light
Mobius
Strip
Finding
Your
Tiger Face
How Gay Souls Get Reincarnated
Joseph
Campbell, the Hero's Journey, and the modern Gay Hero-- a five part
presentation on YouTube
About Alien Abduction
In
honor of Sir Arthur C Clarke
Karellen was a homosexual
The
D.A.F.O.D.I.L. Alliance
Intersections
with the movie When We Rise
More
about Gay Mental Health
Psych
Tech Training
Toby
at the California Institute
The
Rainbow Flag
Ideas for gay
mythic stories
People
Kip and Toby,
Activists
Toby's
friend and nicknamesake Toby Marotta.
Harry
Hay, Founder of the gay movement
About Hay and The New Myth
About
Karl
Heinrich Ulrichs, the first
man to really "come out"
About Michael Talbot, gay mystic
About Fr. Bernard Lynch
About Richard Baltzell
About Guy Mannheimer
About David Weyrauch
About
Dennis Paddie
About Ask the Fire
About
Arthur Evans
About
Christopher Larkin
About Mark Thompson
About Sterling Houston
About Michael Stevens
The Alamo Business
Council
Our friend Tom Nash
Second March on
Washington
The
Gay
Spirituality Summit in May 2004 and the "Statement
of Spirituality"
Book
Reviews
Be Done on Earth by Howard
E. Cook
Pay Me What I'm Worth by
Souldancer
The Way Out by Christopher
L Nutter
The Gay Disciple by John Henson
Art That Dares by Kittredge Cherry
Coming Out, Coming Home by Kennth
A. Burr
Extinguishing
the Light by B. Alan Bourgeois
Over Coffee: A conversation
For Gay
Partnership & Conservative Faith by D.a. Thompson
Dark Knowledge
by
Kenneth Low
Janet Planet by
Eleanor
Lerman
The
Kairos by Paul E. Hartman
Wrestling
with Jesus by D.K.Maylor
Kali Rising by Rudolph
Ballentine
The
Missing Myth by Gilles Herrada
The
Secret of the Second Coming by Howard E. Cook
The Scar Letters: A
Novel
by Richard Alther
The
Future is Queer by Labonte & Schimel
Missing Mary
by Charlene Spretnak
Gay
Spirituality 101 by Joe Perez
Cut Hand: A
Nineteeth Century Love Story on the American Frontier by Mark Wildyr
Radiomen
by Eleanor Lerman
Nights
at
Rizzoli by Felice Picano
The Key
to Unlocking the Closet Door by Chelsea Griffo
The Door
of the Heart by Diana Finfrock Farrar
Occam’s
Razor by David Duncan
Grace
and
Demion by Mel White
Gay Men and The New Way Forward by Raymond L.
Rigoglioso
The
Dimensional Stucture of Consciousness by Samuel Avery
The
Manly Pursuit of Desire and Love by Perry Brass
Love
Together: Longtime Male Couples on Healthy Intimacy and Communication
by Tim Clausen
War
Between Materialism and Spiritual by Jean-Michel Bitar
The
Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion by
Jeffrey J. Kripal
Esalen:
America and the Religion of No Religion by Jeffrey J. Kripal
The
Invitation to Love by
Darren Pierre
Brain,
Consciousness, and God: A Lonerganian Integration by Daniel A
Helminiak
A
Walk with Four Spiritual Guides by Andrew Harvey
Can Christians Be Saved? by Stephenson & Rhodes
The
Lost Secrets of the Ancient Mystery Schools by Stephenson &
Rhodes
Keys to
Spiritual
Being: Energy Meditation and Synchronization Exercises by Adrian
Ravarour
In
Walt We
Trust by John Marsh
Solomon's
Tantric Song by Rollan McCleary
A Special Illumination by Rollan McCleary
Aelred's
Sin
by Lawrence Scott
Fruit
Basket
by Payam Ghassemlou
Internal
Landscapes by John Ollom
Princes
& Pumpkins by David Hatfield Sparks
Yes by Brad
Boney
Blood of the Goddess by William Schindler
Roads of Excess,
Palaces of
Wisdom by Jeffrey Kripal
Evolving
Dharma by Jay Michaelson
Jesus
in Salome's Lot by Brett W. Gillette
The Man Who Loved Birds by Fenton Johnson
The
Vatican Murders by Lucien Gregoire
"Sex Camp"
by
Brian McNaught
Out
& About with Brewer & Berg
Episode One: Searching for a New Mythology
The
Soul Beneath the Skin by David Nimmons
Out
on
Holy Ground by Donald Boisvert
The
Revotutionary Psychology of Gay-Centeredness by Mitch Walker
Out There
by Perry Brass
The Crucifixion of Hyacinth by Geoff Puterbaugh
The
Silence of Sodom by Mark D Jordan
It's
Never About What It's About by Krandall Kraus and Paul Borja
ReCreations,
edited by Catherine Lake
Gospel: A
Novel
by WIlton Barnhard
Keeping
Faith: A Skeptic’s Journey by Fenton Johnson
Dating the Greek Gods by Brad Gooch
Telling
Truths in Church by Mark D. Jordan
The
Substance of God by Perry Brass
The
Tomcat Chronicles by Jack Nichols
10
Smart
Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives by Joe Kort
Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same Sex Love
by Will Roscoe
The
Third Appearance by Walter Starcke
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann
Surviving
and Thriving After a Life-Threatening Diagnosis by Bev Hall
Men,
Homosexuality, and the Gods by Ronald Long
An Interview
with Ron Long
Queering Creole Spiritual Traditons by Randy
Conner & David Sparks
An Interview with
Randy Conner
Pain,
Sex
and Time by Gerald Heard
Sex
and the Sacred by Daniel Helminiak
Blessing Same-Sex Unions by Mark Jordan
Rising Up
by
Joe Perez
Soulfully
Gay
by Joe Perez
That
Undeniable Longing by Mark Tedesco
Vintage: A
Ghost
Story by
Steve Berman
Wisdom
for the Soul by Larry Chang
MM4M a DVD
by Bruce Grether
Double
Cross
by David Ranan
The
Transcended Christian by Daniel Helminiak
Jesus
in Love by Kittredge Cherry
In
the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson
The
Starry Dynamo by Sven Davisson
Life
in
Paradox by Fr Paul Murray
Spirituality for Our Global Community by Daniel
Helminiak
Gay & Healthy in a Sick Society by Robert A.
Minor
Coming Out: Irish Gay Experiences by Glen O'Brien
Queering
Christ
by Robert Goss
Skipping
Towards Gomorrah by Dan Savage
The
Flesh of the Word by Richard A Rosato
Catland by
David Garrett Izzo
Tantra
for Gay Men by Bruce Anderson
Yoga
&
the Path of the Urban Mystic by Darren Main
Simple
Grace
by Malcolm Boyd
Seventy
Times Seven by Salvatore Sapienza
What
Does "Queer" Mean Anyway? by Chris Bartlett
Critique of Patriarchal Reasoning by Arthur Evans
Gift
of
the Soul by Dale Colclasure & David Jensen
Legend of the Raibow Warriors by Steven McFadden
The
Liar's
Prayer by Gregory Flood
Lovely
are the Messengers by Daniel Plasman
The Human Core of Spirituality by Daniel Helminiak
3001:
The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Religion and the Human Sciences by Daniel Helminiak
Only
the
Good Parts by Daniel Curzon
Four
Short
Reviews of Books with a Message
Life
Interrupted by Michael Parise
Confessions of a Murdered Pope by Lucien Gregoire
The
Stargazer's Embassy by Eleanor Lerman
Conscious
Living, Conscious Aging by Ron Pevny
Footprints Through the Desert by Joshua Kauffman
True
Religion by J.L. Weinberg
The Mediterranean Universe by John Newmeyer
Everything
is God by Jay Michaelson
Reflection
by Dennis Merritt
Everywhere
Home by Fenton Johnson
Hard Lesson by James
Gaston
God
vs Gay?
by Jay Michaelson
The
Gate
of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path by Jay Michaelson
Roxie
&
Fred by Richard Alther
Not
the Son He Expected by Tim Clausen
The
9 Realities of Stardust by Bruce P. Grether
The
Afterlife Revolution by Anne & Whitley Strieber
AIDS
Shaman:
Queer Spirit Awakening by Shokti Lovestar
Facing the Truth of Your Life by Merle Yost
The
Super Natural by Whitley Strieber & Jeffrey J Kripal
Secret
Body by
Jeffrey J Kripal
In
Hitler's
House by Jonathan Lane
Walking on Glory by Edward Swift
The
Paradox
of Porn by Don Shewey
Is Heaven for Real? by Lucien Gregoire
Enigma by Lloyd Meeker
Scissors,
Paper, Rock by Fenton Johnson
Toby
Johnson's
Books on Gay Men's Spiritualities:
Gay Perspective
Things Our [Homo]sexuality
Tells Us
about the
Nature of God and
the Universe
Gay
Perspective is available as an audiobook narrated
by Matthew Whitfield. Click
here
Gay Spirituality
Gay Identity and
the Transformation of
Human Consciousness
Gay
Spirituality is now
available as an audiobook, beautifully narrated by John Sipple. Click here
Charmed
Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling
edited by
Toby Johnson
& Steve Berman
Secret
Matter
Lammy Award Winner for Gay
Science Fiction
updated
Getting Life in
Perspective
A Fantastical Romance
Getting
Life in Perspective is available as an
audiobook narrated by Alex Beckham. Click
here
The Fourth Quill
originally published
as
PLAGUE
The Fourth Quill is
available
as an audiobook, narrated by Jimmie
Moreland. Click here
Two Spirits: A Story of
Life
with the Navajo
with Walter L. Williams
 Two
Spirits is available as an
audiobook narrated by Arthur Raymond. Click
here
Finding
Your Own True Myth: What I Learned from Joseph
Campbell
The
Myth
of the
Great Secret III
In Search of God in the Sexual Underworld
The Myth of the Great
Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell.
This
was the second edition of this book.
Toby Johnson's
titles are
available in other ebook formats from Smashwords.
|
Charmed Lives was nominated for
a
Lambda Literary Award in
the
category Anthology.
 
Kip Dollar & Toby Johnson attended the Gala Lambda Literary Awards
Presentation in NYC, May 31, 2007. Toby's
anthology CHARMED
LIVES,
co-edited by Steve Berman, was nominated for Best Anthology. The award
went to the very deserving Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Herren &
Willis.
Charmed Lives:
Gay Spirit In Storytelling
An Anthology from White Crane Books,
edited
by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman
Editor
Toby
Johnson, author of GAY
SPIRITUALTY, has collected an anthology for White Crane Books of
inspirational fiction with upbeat twists and turns as well
as autobiographical
anecdotes and essays of positive and life-fulfilling aspects
of gay experience.
See
Table of Contents
Read Reviews & Articles about
Charmed Lives
We're presenting stories
that
demonstrate the proposition that "Gay life is charmed" -- with "charm"
having a rich variety of meanings.
|
Spinning
Straw into Gold
Modern society, including--and
maybe
especially-- gay culture recreates its own mythological
traditions in "the
old-fashioned way,"
by telling stories.
Gay storytelling engender myths, allowing the negative
elements that traditional society and religion has placed on
homosexual identity
to be transformed and uplifted.
White Crane Books, an imprint of Lethe Press (Steve Berman,
editor/publisher), announces an anthology of
writings that do what good myths and
storytelling
are supposed to do: inspire and evoke meaning (especially out
of despondency
and darkness), to cheer, to place life in larger context, to hint at
secret
meanings--stories that inspire gay men to think positively about
themselves,
their lifestyles, their bodies (of any type), and,
especially, their own
spiritual paths. |
This button will
connect with Paypal to purchase Charmed Lives by credit card
Toby Johnson's other titles can be added to this order. Click "Add to
Cart" then continue shopping at Toby's Books
|
Postage &
handling is included in the retail price of the book ($18). This
purchase will be processed by the editor; you're welcome to request an
autograph or inscription.
tobyjohnso@aol.com
|
|
|
There's a popular
stereotype that
homosexuality is a terrible curse and source of sorrow and suffering.
Many of us have actually "suffered" from that stereotype; many of us
have also transformed our attitudes about our aberrant sexual
orientation and discovered our sexuality can bestow great joy, talent,
success, love, and good fortune.
Notice the layers of meaning in the word "charmed." There's a
suggestion of "magick" and "destiny/good karma" -- but also simple
usage as good luck and happiness. There's much to be grateful for in
being gay. "Charm" also suggests urbanity and good taste. AND "charm"
is a mysterious quality of quarks!
Editor Toby
Johnson, author of GAY
SPIRITUALTY has collected inspirational fiction with upbeat twists
and turns along with autobiographical
anecdotes and essays of positive and life-fulfilling aspects
of gay experience and faith*
.
We're especially featuring fiction and literary short stories with a
"Twilight Zone" or O. Henry sort of twist-- a little magic,
a little sci-fi, a little romantic synchronicity. Such "twists"
move the meaning of the story into the mythical. That is, after all,
how the stories of religion have come down to us: by adding mystical,
magical, miraculous details to the story the spiritual/moral wisdom is
given eternal verity.
In the realm of personal anecdote,
we're presenting stories that demonstrate
how people's lives have been "charmed" because they're gay.
Storytelling is one of the traditional ways values and "spirit" are
passed from one generation to the next.**
Let’s tell each other what a long straw we’ve drawn
in this life because we’re gay.
*Through our "faith" we
have
been
saved. And we can save
others from
suffering by telling our positive stories. "Faith" means different
things to different
people. There is, of course,
"faith" in a high power or deity, but gay men have also learned "faith"
in
friendship and in their own cultural accomplishments that have mattered
to
the community. The important attribute of the "faith" referenced in
Charmed Lives is that it inspires others.
Share what you have "faith" in as a happy and successful homosexual.
Tell us how your gayness has enriched your life and allowed you to
contribute to the world. Spin us a story of transformation.
back
** Mythical / magical stories have a way
of placing their lesson in the realm of "eternal
verities." Some
of the
old Twilight Zone stories (like the beautiful woman who thinks she's
ugly because she's been transported into another dimension in which the
criteria of beauty have been turned upside down) remain in collective
memory long after their day. Religious stories are like this. The great
myths--which claim veracity because of supernatural happenings (like
Moses opening the Red Sea or Jesus healing the lepers)--are always
about the deep dynamics of consciousness.
Sci-fi and speculative fiction is one of the ways modern day writers
declare that the lessons of their stories carry greater truth
than just
the dramatic plot, that they are about generalizable patterns that give
meaning and direction to life.
The intervention of fate and karma in human lives reveals a deep,
"mystical" experience of those dynamics of consciousness.
Gayness is surely a "dynamic of consciousness." The positive,
enlightened, enlightening side of gayness can properly be written about
in mythic language.
This
image of the gay boys raising the rainbow flag is only a whimical
suggestion for a cover, but it captures the concept
for the book: a twist, a re-creation of traditional imagery
and myth with heroic gay meaning. This photo was created by
photographer Ed Freeman for the cover of Frontiers Magazine, Los
Angeles, in the mid-2000s.
back
Read Reviews & Articles about Charmed
Lives
Here's the Table of
Contents to tempt readers
Introduction: Straw
into
Gold
Toby Johnson
Introduction: Straw is Neither Dross nor Gold
Steve
Berman
Ella, Kelly and Me… Mark
Abramson
The Story Behind the Story
Perry
Brass
An Angel on the Threshold Eric
Andrews-Katz
Shades Bill Goodman
The Canals of Mars Victor J. Banis
What Queer Spirit Sees Jeffery
Beam
After Edward Michael Gouda
What Two Men Do In Bed Bryn
Marlow
Great Uncle Ned J.R.G. De
Marco
Beyond the Blue Bardo
Sterling
Houston
The Verse Jay Michaelson
My Last Visits With Harry
Bill
Blackburn
Reversing Vandalism
Jim
Van Buskirk
Grandfather’s Photograph
Neil
Ellis Orts
Gay Spirituality? Will Gray
“Charmed, I’m Sure” Mark Thompson
and
Malcolm
Boyd
Viewing the Statue of David Jim Toevs
The True and Unknown Story of Albert
Gale
Andrew Ramer
Tom or An Improbable Tail Ruth Sims
Free Speech Martin K. Smith
This I Know Dan Stone
Musuko Dojoji Mark Horn
A Path of Mirrors Don Clark
Lines John McFarland
Left with Love Lewis DeSimone
Get Thee Behind Me Christos Tsirbas
His Paper Doll Steve Berman
Desiring St. Sebastian Donald L. Boisvert
Manifest Love David Nimmons
Avalokiteshvara at The 21st Street Baths Toby
Johnson
Neighborhood Walk Steven A. Hoffman
My Pride and Joy Tyler
Tone
The Bell of St. Michael’s Gary Craig
So What is the Charm? Bert Herrman
And, finally Michael Sigmann
The Authors
Contributor
Sterling
Houston died November 8, 2007, just a few weeks before Charmed Lives
was released. Fellow Texas playwright Dennis Paddie wrote a beautiful tribute to Sterling which
appeared in The Gay & Lesbian Review.
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