Off the Shelf Author Blog

by Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso, Ph.D., author of The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births

It’s May, the time in the northern hemisphere of fertility and blooming. The month that recognizes human mothers. And the month dedicated to the most famous mother of all, Mary. I’ve written a great deal about how Mary conceived Jesus in my book The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births. But here I wanted to peek beyond that role to ponder Mary’s larger role as nurture giver. Because what I’ve come to understand about this Great Female Being is that she holds the template of Perfect Mothering.

by Swan Treasure, creator of Findhorn Spirit Oracle Cards

Just after the Co-Creative Spirituality Conference in 2018, intuitive artist Deborah Koff-Chapin offered a touch-drawing workshop at Findhorn. As I walked towards the building named “Legacy” that morning, eager to start painting, the autumn harvest festival was in preparation. I remember the fine crispy air filling up my lungs as I drew a deep breath just before stepping into the studio, a place that for the next five days would become like home and a spiritual portal at the same time. 

by Alexandra Wenman, creator of Archangel Fire Oracle

Archangels are angels of a high rank who assist humanity with our evolution by helping us to access the divine through our higher wisdom and knowledge. They differ from other angels, who solely help us with practical day-to-day things. There are angels for everything, such as guardian angels, parking angels, sleep angels and even angels in charge of buildings and cities. The Archangels, along with the day-to-day, have more to do with Ascension and the attainment of enlightenment. They connect us straight to God and our divine nature.

by Christiane Stamm, author of The Fourteen Holy Helpers: Invocations for Healing and Protection

Many years ago, I received an instruction from the spirit world to revise the ancient prayers connected to the Fourteen Holy Helpers and to offer them to humanity through initiation. It was not an easy task, as I was only familiar with the old, rather garbled texts that were almost impossible to recite. It was impressed upon me in no uncertain terms that I should never use any negative words or phrases when formulating the texts and I began my efforts to revise them. After many failed attempts, the spirit world came to my aid and passed on to me the exact prayers.

by Johndennis Govert and Hapi Hara, authors of The Chintamani Crystal Matrix

What would you wish for if you were certain your most heartfelt wish would unfold in front of you now? What would you wish for if you had in your hands the certain means to manifest your wish on Earth? The chintamani is the wish-fulfilling gem known in a variety of legends from around the world. Its power can transform the Earth negatively or positively depending on the character of whoever directs it by intention. Possessing the chintamani has inspired soldiers-of-fortune, despots, and kings to search the ends of the Earth for it through the annals of history.

by Peter Coyote, author of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha: Masks, Meditation, and Improvised Play to Induce Liberated States

The organizing principle of my work as a Buddhist teacher and an instructor in my mask workshops is personal transformation. While I cherish the utility and transcendental power of mask work, it’s important to reiterate that, compared with consistent meditation practice and the implications of Buddha’s understanding, mask experiences resemble the temporary gas flares of psychedelics more than the geologic vistas of enduring terrain. Taking psychedelics or wearing masks definitely alters perspectives, temporarily suppresses the ego, and engenders the liberation accompanying that suppression. They offer the novel shock of perceiving anew a world one had previously considered known and fixed. But such experiences also have a shadow.

by Stephan Harding, Ph.D., author of Gaia Alchemy

I am a scientist—a scientific ecologist to be precise, but just as much drawn to music, art, philosophy, and the psychology of Carl Jung as the scientific ecology in which I was trained. My quest has been to discover whether we can experience a Gaia that is more vibrant, full of meaning, and alive by alchemizing science, thereby re-ensouling science and our culture and thus freeing both from their analytical dryness.

by Paul Levy, author of Wetiko: Healing the Mind-Virus That Plagues Our World

A contagious psycho-spiritual disease of the soul is currently being acted out en masse on the world stage via an insidious collective psychosis of titanic proportions. This mind-virus—which Native Americans have called “wetiko”—covertly operates through the unconscious blind spots in the human psyche, rendering people oblivious to their own madness and compelling them to act against their own best interests. Wetiko is a psychosis in the true sense of the word, “a sickness of the spirit.” Wetiko covertly influences our perceptions so as to act itself out through us while simultaneously hiding itself from being seen.

by Daniel McQueen, author of Psychedelic Cannabis

I know it sounds impossible, but what if I were to tell you that there is a medicine—readily available and one that can be grown all around you—that can heal your trauma and wake you up to your true potential? What if I were to say that you didn’t have to suffer as much anymore?

by Evelyn C. Rysdyk, author of Shamanic Creativity, The Norse Shaman, and The Nepalese Shamanic Path

Nature’s creative energy is what continually shapes and reshapes life so that it endures in the face of any circumstance or challenge. It gives a tree the ability to heave up a roadway with its roots, an endangered polar bear the ability to alter its ice-hunting methods so that it can hunt whales, and you and I the ability to find solutions when confronted with a problem. From the evolution that has occurred over many millennia to each year’s magical springtime renewal, creative energy is what produces life’s continuance.

by Marianne Bentzen, author of Neuroaffective Meditation: A Practical Guide to Lifelong Brain Development, Emotional Growth, and Healing Trauma

Modern psychotherapy, meditation practice, and developmental psychology have three rather different perspectives on what makes a whole human being. In many psychotherapy systems and in meditative practices, the basic assumption is that human beings have a preexisting inner wholeness and goodness, and our task is to uncover these qualities. To do this, much of psychotherapy focuses on working through specific traumatic experiences. The eminent psychiatrist and researcher Daniel Stern pointed out that clients as well as therapists tend to look for the specific traumatic experiences that shape our self-narratives, rather than acknowledging the thousands of daily interactions that have created the very way that we perceive the world and form the building blocks of every event. So how do we develop an approach to personal development and meditation that builds maturity, that builds our ability to live and act responsibly in the world? How do we develop our capacity to go further in our personal and professional relationships?

by Marco M. Vigato, author of The Empires of Atlantis

Teotihuacan, March 21, 2016. The day of the Spring Equinox. Soon after taking off from the Mexico City International Airport, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the sprawling Mexican capital, the airplane steers over the ruins of Teotihuacan, still shrouded in the morning mist 10,000 feet below. Like a great mandala, the ancient city stretches over the 5-kilometer-long (3.1 miles) Avenue of the Dead, bordered by ceremonial platforms leading up to the dark, looming masses of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. Even from this altitude, the scale of construction and the almost superhuman regularity and precision of the city’s layout are fully apparent, as if one were not looking at buildings designed around the needs of human habitation, but rather at the scattered gears of some long-forgotten machinery.

by Yury Kronn, Ph.D., author of The Science of Subtle Energy

There is a story that is frequently told at conferences or cited in books to illustrate how hard it is for humans to accept new concepts or ideas, or conversely, how good we are at recycling existing perceptions without truly opening our eyes. The story goes like this: When Christopher Columbus first arrived at the shores of the new world, the Native Americans could not see his ships. The ships were in plain sight, but supposedly the Indians, as Columbus would misname them, did not have the proper mental slots or receptors to process or accept something they had never seen before.

We are saddened to report that after battling severe Covid-19 for more than a month, revered Ecuadorian Atis-Kichwa teacher don Alberto Taxo, master yachak, has passed away. This week also marks the release of a new book about don Alberto’s life and teachings: The Way of Abundance and Joy by Shirley Blancke. Here is an excerpt where don Alberto speaks about Grandparent Wisdom and gratitude:

by Emma Farrell, author of Journeys with Plant Spirits

Many spring flowers are yellow in color, calling in and anchoring the healing and creative forces of the sun as it becomes a growing part of our life once again during spring. Dandelions are one of the most abundant of spring flowers and are present on every continent of the planet apart from Antarctica. The power and genius of this plant are evident also in its self-replicating skills and medicine. There are currently an estimated two hundred types of dandelion—and counting. If you collect lots of dandelion leaves and look at them closely, they will all look similar and unmistakably dandelion, but each leaf will have its own unique shape and contour. Our favorite garden weed masterfully demonstrates the cosmic law of sameness and difference in its expression.

by Elyrria Swann, author of How to Become a Mermaid

During my childhood, I used to comb the shelves at Barnes and Noble looking for books about people who fell in love with fish or who met a mermaid queen in their lucid dreams. I found many books about the folklore and mythology of mermaids, and these were very enjoyable to read. However, they did not satiate my hunger for a practical mermaid guide. I was looking for an “Owner’s Manual for Mermaids” that would tell me how to exist on planet Earth as a mermaid and meet others like myself. But no such book had been written.

by Debra Silverman, M.A., author of The Missing Element

Ever since the beginning, eternal truths have followed us around. Here is one of them: human nature learns the hard way. At the psychological level we are a slow moving species. We tend to neglect the long view, going for immediate gratification at all times—that is, until we hit a crisis. I wrote a book called The Missing Element and the first chapter is called ”Crisis,” which applies now more than ever.

In traditional medicine, such as Indian Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, the digestive system and microbiome are recognized as the foundation for good health. Our intestinal flora perform a large number of duties—far more than just aiding digestion. Recent research has revealed that our intestinal flora help fight off infections by killing microbes and viruses, increase our resistance to allergens and inflammation, cleanse our internal systems by neutralizing toxins, and even support our moods and energy levels by interacting with hormones and neurotransmitters.

by Anne Stallkamp and Werner Hartung, authors of Inner Practices for the Twelve Nights of Yuletide

The season of Yuletide—the 12 nights following the winter solstice—offers the ideal opportunity for inner focusing, for seeing signs, and for planting seeds for the future. Our book explores inner practices for the magical Yuletide season, the period between December 21 and January 2, when the veil between worlds is thin.

by Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso, Ph.D., author of The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births and director of Seven Sisters Mystery School

“Immaculate conception.” Most of us assume this refers to Mother Mary’s virginal birthing of Jesus. But… it doesn’t. The Catholic Church meant something else entirely when it coined this term. It’s time to take a deeper look at what it means, what it doesn’t, and how this relates to a hidden truth about Mother Mary that’s the key to a whole new understanding of her. In knowing this, our own lives can be empowered and transformed.

by Kathryn Hudson, author of Discover Your Crystal Family, Inviting Angels into Your Life, and Discover Your Soul Mission

Just last week, I had an amazing experience: I was invited to speak about my books during the sermon portion of the Sunday service at a church here on the island where I am holed up to edit my book on Soul Mission/Life Purpose that will be out in English next year, as well as to write another one for release in France in 2022. Whew! A LOT going on!

by Robbie Holz, author of Angels in Waiting

Who Are Angels and Guardian Angels?

Regardless of whether you’re aware of them or even believe in them, there is always an angel by your side. Angels are etheric, immortal beings of light. They are on Earth to serve, by choice, and be called upon when needed. Angels are here now in unprecedented numbers to help bring about a global awakening. We are shifting into a higher consciousness that will create a love-based existence of harmony and peace. Angels are committed to serving humanity in these transformational times of awakening.

by Jesse Sternberg, author of Enlightened Dog Training

In my early twenties, I was reading a lot of Deepak Chopra, and his wisdom from the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga gave me the faith and the courage to start my own business. In his book, he invited readers to follow their hearts, be of service, do what they love, and trust that the Universe will take care of the rest. I knew that I loved dogs. Their energy always uplifted my spirit. Back then, I suffered from anxiety and depression, and the joy of being around dogs calmed my heart. Diving head first into my dream of working with them, I decided to trust Deepak (and the Universe). I opened a dog daycare and grooming business in Toronto, Canada, and soon everything in my life began to change.

by Rev. Stephanie Red Feather, Ph.D., creator of Empath Activation Cards and author of The Evolutionary Empath

Humanity is in a cycle of ascension. Our collective frequency is rising. Dormant cells and light codes are being activated and our consciousness is expanding. As empaths, we are on the leading edge of this wave of awakening. In fact, we have an important cosmic purpose: empaths are here to help humanity ascend to the next level of consciousness.

by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, author of The Hoodoo Tarot, Astrology for Mystics, and The Sybils Oraculum

Originally posted on MadameNoire.com, November 4, 2021.

We’re pulling up to the midpoint of Autumn. This holiday season is upon us. It’s a joyous time for many but for others it’s a time of overwhelming stress that comes with less daylight, overstretched finances, or family politics. For many, it’s a lot. This hoodoo reading provides the insight needed for you to focus on more than these cold weather blues, limited resources, and messy family dynamics.

by Daniel Foor, Ph.D., author of Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing

When you think of the ancestors, who or what comes to mind? Ancestors are a biological and historical reality for each of us, irrespective of our religious, racial, or cultural backgrounds. Your blood lineage ancestors include the thousands of women and men whose lives weave a story back to the first human beings in Africa over 200,000 years ago. Even if you were adopted or orphaned, or will never know your biological parents, the ancestors still speak through the DNA in each cell of your body. They are reflected in your physical features, your health, and many of your predispositions. Beyond your bloodlines, you might also claim as an ancestor anyone whose life has inspired you, either personally or culturally.

by Carmel Niland, author of Our Spiritual DNA

Is it possible for our spiritual life to have the certitudes of chemistry and physics? If we have physical DNA, can we also have spiritual DNA? Does God have a genealogy with direct descendants on Earth? These are the questions I explore in my book Our Spiritual DNA.

by Claude Lecouteux, author of several books, including the newly released Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder

In my new book, Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder, written with my wife Corinne Lecouteux, we share fantastical medieval stories of witchcraft, wonder, and the supernatural along with commentary for each tale, revealing its historical context, cultural and esoteric associations, and hidden pagan and folk beliefs. We explore how the tales transformed over the ages as well as their origins in Classical Antiquity, the Middle East, and India.

by Catherine G. Lucas, author of In Case of Spiritual Emergency

Do you feel the intensity of the times we’re living in? Do you feel concerned, anxious, or even dread about where we might be heading? There’s no doubt about it. We are in a state of global emergency. But what if I told you that the chaos and collapse we see all around us is a well-known process, a recognized and researched process, a process called spiritual emergency?

by Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., ABPP, author of Our African Unconscious, Dark Light Consciousness, and The Dreamlife of Families

Africa is where our species first arose and contemplated the stars. In my new book Our African Unconscious I suggest that our species evolved from the same root and the same place, and that this African origin has relevance to human psychology largely ignored—and not only in the West. The collective unconscious is immediate and African in its psychobiological roots and origins. For human identity in much of the so-called civilized world the genetic and psychic aspects of this African root consciousness are the “threatened return of the repressed.”

by Christian Funder, author of Grandmother Ayahuasca: Plant Medicine and the Psychedelic Brain

Slightly afraid of sounding arrogant, I dare say that this is the book I was looking for before and after I had drunk ayahuasca myself. This does not mean that there aren’t good books on the topic lurking out there, but I felt that each of the books I read before writing my own were exclusive to a certain genre, whether that was the science, the shamanism, the personal adventures, the psychology, or the philosophy.

by Scott Creighton, author of The Great Pyramid Void Enigma

In November 2017, an international team of more than 30 scientists published the results of their two-year-long Great Pyramid research project in the journal Nature. Using an advanced imaging technique known as muon tomography, three groups working independently from each other discovered a massive, previously unknown space within the Great Pyramid of Giza, a short distance above the pyramid's Grand Gallery. But what was its purpose?

by Connie Zweig, Ph.D., author of The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul

We have lost our guides for moving through the transitions of our older years and for becoming Elders ourselves. We are aging without a map. So, how can we find the treasures of this stage? In my workshops, most participants over 60 describe this identity crisis.

by Julia Paulette Hollenbery, author of The Healing Power of Pleasure

We have all moved through the global event of the pandemic—intense shock, fear, and confusion. We are now finding ourselves reemerging after this big collective and individual process. As we begin to settle and reassemble ourselves again, it seems that many people are waking up, perhaps for the first time, to the importance of our physical embodied life.

by Heather Dawn Godfrey, author of Essential Oils for the Whole Body, Healing with Essential Oils, and Essential Oils for Mindfulness and Meditation

Gifts of nature, plants provide healing benefits that range from physical to ethereal. Indeed, healing plants and their essential oils have been used throughout history for their protective, restorative, rehabilitative, and hedonistic qualities, attributes observed and documented in ancient scriptures and medicinal texts and, more recently, affirmed in scientific journals and numerous research papers. I’ve found that essential oils are particularly effective for supporting mental health, but before I get into a few recommendations about that, let’s explore the journey of essential oils from plant to bottle to body.

by William Yang, author of Yoga of Courage and Compassion

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said that he wanted to write philosophy with a hammer. Likewise, I would like to teach yoga with a hammer. With a hammer and a sword, even! A hammer to break, and a sword to cut through the walls and fundaments of the ego-centered mind, but with tenderness and compassion, to touch the ego’s vulnerability and challenge its defensiveness and its desperately cherished “peace of mind.”

by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, author of Astrology for Mystics, The Hoodoo Tarot, and The Sybils Oraculum

It is in the nature of a mystic to explore that which is unapparent, so it should be no surprise that mystics have contemplated the esoteric meaning of the zodiac. Unlike today, astrology was considered a practical subject for people to study before medicine, agriculture, fashion, etc. were divorced from the stars in the consciousness of the average person.

by Frederick Hamilton Baker, author of Alchemical Tantric Astrology

After contemplating the various threads of knowledge contained in my book Alchemical Tantric Astrology for more than 40 years, various insights have become apparent. Perhaps the most exciting has come from the profound symbolism of the cosmic serpent. I wanted to understand how astrology, alchemy, and yoga functioned together, which kept wrapping me in the coils of a giant snake or dragon . . . by which I mean that the symbolism of the serpent kept appearing, and in turn led me to the serpentine DNA double helix and beyond.

by Erika Buenaflor, M.A., J.D., author of Animal Medicine: A Curanderismo Guide to Shapeshifting, Journeying, and Connecting with Animal Allies and several other books

In my new book Animal Medicine, I explore how to connect with animals and their spiritual wisdom through ancient Mesoamerican shamanic practices as well as modern-day curanderismo. The book includes an A-Z directory of 76 spirit animals, where I share some of the animals’ ancient Mesoamerican associations, mythologies, and ceremonies and provide insight as to their sacred meanings and ways to communicate with them. I also discuss the shapeshifting medicine each animal provides. In this blog post, I’d like to share a few entries from the spirit animal directory. 

by Von Braschler, author of Confessions of a Reluctant Ghost Hunter

I did not seek to become a ghost hunter, but the job found me. I was trained by a wonderful woman named Helen who lived on an island and insisted that my teacher and hers would like me to have this skill. She added that I might not want to do it but added that helping deceased people move forward after physical death was a wonderful gift. Somebody, she noted, might one day need someone to clear a ghost out of their home.

by Nadine Gordon-Taylor, creator of Animal Love Oracle Cards and The Heart Path Oracle Cards

All life is woven together in some way or another. Since we share our real and perceived spaces with animals I invite them into my personal space on a regular basis. This allows these guides to connect with me by sharing their stories. I imagine having conversations with them and listen to what they say on an intuitive level. That is how the animals appeared in the Animal Love Oracle Cards. I also included the animal guides of others I have met and had conversations with along the way.

from The Luminous Landscape of the Afterlife by Matthew McKay, Ph.D.

I have loved Jordan for thirty-four years in this life. But for much of that time he has not been here; I haven’t been able to hold and kiss him. At age twenty-three, on the way home from work, he was accosted by men who probably wanted to steal his bike. They all fought, and as he was breaking away, Jordan was shot in the back. When my boy died, I had no belief that the dead could talk to us. At best, they seemed gone in another world, separated by loss and the deafening thunder of our grief. Perhaps, even worse, their passing spoke a truth far more dire: that they ceased to exist and that these sweet, ephemeral spirits lived only in memory. But then Jordan started speaking to me through dreams.

by Tjitze de Jong, author of Energetic Cellular Healing and Cancer

The word psychosomatic is commonly used in today’s language. Some people know its literal meaning. Others don’t. Let me explain the word in layman’s terms and bridge its two elements step by step with the phenomenon of “energy” as a link.

by Don Webb, author of Energy Magick of the Vampyre

The Vampyre is a modern myth drawing its form from books, films, and even television. This may seem illegitimate to a traditional thinker, who would prefer hoary antiquity or “real” mythology. That seems to suggest that humans were only allowed to make myths until a certain date when the “No More Myths” memo was put out by the Myth Bureau. But what does it mean that modern sources are used?

by Maureen J. St. Germain, author of Beyond the Flower of Life, Waking Up in 5D, Opening the Akashic Records, and other books

I’m so excited – to share, finally, a secret dream I’ve had for many, many years. Many of you may not know my personal story since I’ve not really shared how I got here.  You may know of my work almost exclusively from my books.

by Nicholas Pearson, author of Crystal Basics, Crystal Healing for the Heart, and several other books on crystal healing

The past year during the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged me to think of the ways that crystals and gemstones can support humanity for engaging in meaningful growth and personal development. During an era marked by physical separation and mass uncertainty, my spiritual practice has been a source of connection, healing, and hope. In particular I’ve started to connect my work with crystals to the larger scenarios playing out in the world today. This month in particular marks the annual remembrance of the Stonewall Riots and is an important part of my life as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Although Pride month means a reclamation of dignity, equity, and self-love for members of our community, these are fundamental themes for all of us on earth today. In light of this, I’d like to introduce you to several of my favorite mineral allies for fostering acceptance and radical self-love.

by J. Douglas Kenyon, author of Ghosts of Atlantis

When director Stanley Kubrick presented 2001: A Space Odyssey in the late 1960s, many saw the film as a remarkably prophetic vision daring to deal with themes untouched by the popular culture. Here, it seemed, was a larger vision of humanity’s origins and destiny than the big screen (even super wide Cinerama) had ever attempted. Certainly the notion that ancient progenitors from the stars had left behind mysterious clues intended to guide a fledgling human race toward the ultimate recognition of its true identity was a stimulating one.

by Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso, Ph.D., author of The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births

Mother Mary’s timing is impeccable. We’re seeing now an unveiling in our present day of material hidden for nearly 2000 years about her true ability to bring forth Jesus through a specialized practice of divine conception. This happens to correspond with a major awakening of consciousness that many on the planet are experiencing. Coincidence? No, I’d call it a synchronicity.

by Tjitze de Jong, author of Energetic Cellular Healing and Cancer

During my work with clients and students I place a lot of emphasis on “listening.” Listening to the signals and symptoms our physical bodies present us with. Each signal, each symptom we experience, is our body ringing the alarm bell: please pay attention, because something is out of order, out of balance, or festering and corroding, and, in the long run, it can lead to illness.

by Angela Garner, author of When It’s Time to Say Goodbye

Animal bereavement is a tough journey, and it’s not something anyone should have to do on their own. That is why I am so glad to have written this book – it’s somewhere for people to go, to find information, guidance, ideas, support, and the warmth of being understood as they traverse the twists and turns of their own particular journey during their beloved pet’s end of life.