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Contact Us Table of Contents Search Site Google listing of all pages on this website Site Map Toby Johnson's Facebook page Toby Johnson's YouTube channel Toby Johnson on Wikipedia Toby Johnson Amazon Author Page  Secure site at https://tobyjohnson.com  Also on this website: As an Amazon Associate
I earn from qualifying purchases. Toby Johnson's books: Toby's books are available as ebooks from smashwords.com, the Apple iBookstore, etc. 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
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
Gay ConsciousnessQ&A about Jungian ideas in gay consciousness What Jesus said about Gay Rights Common Experiences Unique to Gay Men Is there a "uniquely gay perspective"? Interview on the Nature of Homosexuality What the Bible Says about Homosexuality Mesosexual Ideal for Straight Men Waves of Gay Liberation Activity 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
Enlightenment
Joseph Campbell's description of Avalokiteshvara You're Not A WaveJoseph 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
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A classic, written
from a gay man's perspective and titled
before "queer" became an accepted umbrella term for sexual and gender
deviations of all sorts, i.e., LGBTQIA, Gay Spirituality
shows how the experience of being an outsider, a deviant with
different feelings and attitudes, and not part of the
ordinary human round of birth, reproduction, and death affords its own
kind of enlightenment and vision
of greater meaning for life and for God. Still
timely and insightful.
A bold declaration of the place of gay consciousness in the modernization of religious and spiritual thinking The
answer to what Gay People are here for!
by Toby Johnson
- 296 pages
- Softcover - $15.00 - Orignally published by Alyson Books, 20000.
Revised and Re-released by Peregrine
Ventures, September 2018. Winner of a Lambda
Literary Award for Spirituality/Religion, 2000. Gay Spirituality argues that religion is undergoing a dramatic transformation because of the recent recognition of the metaphorical nature of myth and religion. The rise of gay identity is an important part of this evolutionary development, both demonstrating it and helping to bring it about.
Johnson contends there is a certain kind of enlightenment that goes with being gay, a familiarity with being an outsider, a discovery that if the conventions of society are wrong about something as basic as sex, they're probably wrong about a lot of other things as well. Because of homosexual orientation gay men have an insight into the nature of consciousness. Able to step outside the assumptions and conventions of culture, gay men see things from a different point of view and consequently gain insights into our culture, our traditions, and our metaphysical assumptions.
The renowned writer, psychologist, and father
of gay-oriented psychotherapy, Don Clark, PhD calls Gay Spirituality
"stunning" and "remarkable."
The follow-up to this book is GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our [Homo]sexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe
Click below to order from amazon.com
in print, Kindle, and Audible
versions:
 Also available as an Audiobook,
beautifully narrated by John
Sipple.
Gay Spirituality is available in digital formats, like ePub,
from Smashwords.com and from Apple iBookstore
GAY SPIRITUALITY can also be ordered directly from the author (autographed & inscribed) or from gay and lesbian bookstores nationwide, like Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia. Support your local gay community bookstore. See tobyjohnson.com/books.html for info.  To purchase from the author The
ADD TO CART button will allow you to order a
paperback copy
for $15 (postage included) from the
author
(autographed, if you'd like) and pay by Paypal. Please be sure to
include your mailing address, contact info, and how you'd like the
autograph styled. About the author Edwin Clark (Toby) Johnson, Ph.D., is a former Catholic monk and comparative religions scholar turned psychotherapist and gay activist. He is the author of numerous books, including the Twilight Zone-like novels Getting Life in Perspective, The Fourth Quill, Two Spirits and the Lambda Literary Award-winning novel Secret Matter. These are profiled on the page tobyjohnson.com/books.html Johnson is past editor of White Crane: A Journal of Gay Men's Spirituality. His website is tobyjohnson.com
T H E B U Z Z "I am humbled by the scope of this
stunning, award winning book by Toby Johnson. Gay Spirituality: Gay
Identity and the Transformation of Human Consciousness
delivers exactly what its title suggests, fascinating and informing the
reader as it does so. One is invited to view the rich variety found in
our history, seeing that there are reasons aplenty for gay people to
share our tears as well as our laughter. And it is clear that there is
pride to be found in claiming one’s fair share of membership in this
'aristocracy of the considerate and the plucky.' Many thanks are due to
the author for giving us such a readable, timely and timeless rendering
of our story. It is a history well told, one that we did not learn in
school—and it is remarkable." Don Clark, Ph.D., author of Loving Someone Gay *** "With provocative insight, impressive breadth of knowledge, and insuppressible optimism, Gay Spirituality shows how a guiding vision is the scaffolding of spirituality and then goes on to construct one for the gay community. A wonderful contribution. Vintage Toby Johnson. Whether you agree or disagree, buy all of it or only a part, if there's an ounce of goodness in you, this book will make your heart smile--and perhaps help us all take that next step toward a better world."
*** "Toby Johnson's book reminds me of the parable about the man who asks the sea how deep it is. 'That depends,' replies the ocean, 'on how far down you want to go.' Gay Spirituality challenges the reader with all the right questions, offering an invitation to plunge into the unknown. With equal measures of erudition and vision, Johnson takes us where we need to go just when we need it the most. Gay men seeking to uncover their mysteries will find Gay Spirituality a source of brilliant intelligence and inspiration."
"A most insightful and moving book that connects with the heart of every gay mans struggle trying to fit. I was knocked to the floor so many times in recognizing myself in Toby's writings. For one filled with self doubt and self hatred being a gay born again Christian this book guided me back to the Cross, back to my Loving Heavenly Father and letting go of the terrible hurt and pain my childhood memories evoke. I purchased 20 copies and give them to men who are wrestling with the same Spiritual anguish I was. I am God's creation, God's Beloved Son; to criticize myself is to criticize the handiwork of God."
"Love it! Love it! Love it! We created a book club about the book and we had the wonderful privilege to have the author attend out book club. I highly recommend this book to every gay man!""
"This a very clear, insightful and
thought-provoking
book that looks at the topic of gay sexuality from many angles. It is
also quite a quick easy read being written in a very accessible style
and divided into short, manageable chunks.
"I haven't really thought about spirituality much in recent years but this book really touched me. At first I feared it would be one of those new age sort of books that cause my eyes to roll back in my head - it most certainly isn't. This is a powerful book that I would even describe as potentially life changing."
"[Gay Spirituality] shows that being
gay is a spiritual asset, not a liability. Where some look down on
same-sex love as defective, because it does not express the male-female
duality, Johnson turns it around and proudly declares that to be the
precise reason why same-sex love is spiritually superior. It transcends
the duality. "Johnson's vision of a life-affirming,
sex-positive spirituality of love, cooperation, mutual respect and
acceptance is in sync with modern scientific knowledge, and does not
ask the reader to suspend logic or critical thinking. Gay Christians
who are struggling with their sexual orientation will especially
appreciate Johnson's convincing refutation of common "biblical"
anti-gay arguments. "A powerful book for personal change, a wonderful antidote to the negativity of the Religious Right, and a great gift to a gay friend who is unhappy with his life or suffering from low self-esteem."
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Toby Johnson, PhD is author of nine books: three non-fiction books that apply the wisdom of his teacher and "wise old man," Joseph Campbell to modern-day social and religious problems, four gay genre novels that dramatize spiritual issues at the heart of gay identity, and two books on gay men's spiritualities and the mystical experience of homosexuality and editor of a collection of "myths" of gay men's consciousness.
Johnson's book
GAY
SPIRITUALITY: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of
Human Consciousness won a Lambda Literary Award in 2000.
His GAY
PERSPECTIVE: Things Our [Homo]sexuality Tells Us about the Nature
of God and the Universe was nominated for a Lammy in 2003. They
remain
in
print.
Two
Spirits is available as an
audiobook narrated by Arthur Raymond. 
