Mystic | Misfit | MagManimous (aspiring to be like magma) | Magic mushroom-lover | (and hopefully) Memorable |
Bill Pfeiffer
Bill Pfeiffer (aka “Sky Otter”) is a maverick deep ecologist, spiritual coach, and shamanic guide who has dedicated his life to building an earth-honoring culture. The founder of Sacred Earth Network (SEN), Bill has 25 years of experience in Re-evaluation Counseling and Vipassana meditation, and has undergone extensive training with Siberian shamans. He has also partnered with and designed experiential workshops with Joanna Macy, John Perkins, Llyn Roberts, Cathy Pedevillano, and John Seed.
Bill has made Russia a second home having traveled there 44 times, assisting the environmental and indigenous movements through SEN. This has given him a rare cross-cultural perspective. He has also led hundreds of spiritual ecology workshops, including men’s workshops and breath work. He has spent much time in the US Southwest learning about Native medicine ways and the crucial importance of the petroglyphs and pictographs.
In his highly acclaimed book Wild Earth, Wild Soul: A Manual for an Ecstatic Culture, he shows us how through tapping into ancestral memories, taking what’s best from the human potential movement, and collaborating with present day indigenous peoples we can find sustainable habitation of this planet and find our way home.
https://billpfeiffer.org/
My 10 Best
(In no particular order)
Touching the Jaguar
John is one of a handful of my amazing mentors. I have read most of his 10 books and each one falls clearly on one side of the politics or shamanism divide. In Touching the Jaguar, his most recent, he deftly explains and integrates both sides of his non-stop adventurous life!
The Power of Now
Possibly the most important book I have ever read. Need I say more?
Black Elk Speaks
Prophetic and visionary, the American poet and writer, Neihardt, relates the story of Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota medicine man. It’s a classic on par with all great works of literature. Black Elk Speaks validated my own mystical, extraordinary experiences of nature within a Native American context—the land of my birth.
A Return to Love
Gritty, witty, funny, and creative advice on how to live a spiritual life in the modern world. Based on A Course in Miracles, she applies her formative experiences (mostly during her 20’s and early 30’s) as the backdrop for a transmission of profound wisdom. The book helped me “take the high road” in the aftermath of a painful divorce.
Plants of the Gods
A spiritual revolution of the epic scale required for true Earth/human balance needs more than psychic fuel. It needs the plants—especially the power plants! This book is where ethnobotany meets magic. My bible for this partnership dance with (not “use of”) these soul-development accelerators.
Seeking The Heart of Wisdom
Authentic, life-changing, and practical Buddhism. The authors— living (and Jewish-American) meditation masters—accomplished the amazing feat of bringing this perennial wisdom tradition to the West (along with Sharon Salzberg). Vipassana mindfulness practice is central to how I aspire to live—awake!
Secrets of the Talking Jaguar
It was difficult to choose one of Prechtel’s books because they are all exceptional. Each draws from a breathtakingly unusual time in his life where he was adopted by Guatemalan Mayans. Spiritually adept and heartbreaking, Secrets of the Talking Jaguar is arguably the best written book in this list. It’s “the best” because it reads like a combination of wine and chocolate on a torrid summer afternoon.
Spiritwalker - Messages From the Future
Hank is how I met Sandie, and Spiritwalker deserves a place on this list. Why? Because it’s the only optimistic, dystopian, can’t-put-it-down-fiction-non-fiction book ever written. What a paradox! Whenever, I want to feel better about the very possible collapse of 21st century digital/industrial civilization (is it really civil?) I look back at this book. Written by a paleontologist who penetrated the heart of shamanism, it’s simply astonishing in its scope.
Sexual Energy Ecstasy
Where would be without sex?! Sexuality and spirituality are two sides of the same coin. The “coin” is the life force. However, very seldom is sexuality used as a bridge to take one to higher levels of consciousness. This book is all about that and 15 years ago it enlightened me regarding the many possibilities beyond conventional sex. The book sets the bar high—making sex sacred again. It’s also not too serious. Sex is play too. The subject and the practices described are very much part of the cosmic awakening we are a part of.
One River – Explorations and Discoveries in the Amazon Rainforest
No other book has the sweep of One River when it comes to the plight of indigenous peoples—particularly those inhabiting South America. It does not stop there but eloquently describes the indigenous worldview that is our most critical resource for the grounded spiritual revolution(!) so desperately needed by humanity at this time. Davis does this through his first-hand experiences. One River is a sledgehammer breaking the concrete of my occasional numb apathy, saying, “You are not going to die if you feel the truth of this. Let their wisdom pour through your grief.”