Books Available

Highlights of available books and other media by our Think Tank Scholars (as of March 2014 – for an updated version see here):

Highlights of Marc Gafni’s Published Books, Audiobooks, and DVDs

Your Unique Self (Integral Publishers, 2012)

Underlying the vision behind democracy is the recognition that every individual has dignity, adequacy and worth. This democratic understanding of the worth and standing of the individual lies at the core of what the West calls enlightenment. The Western idea of enlightenment, rooted in the great vision of the Biblical prophets, is generally understood to have entered mainstream consciousness through the political democratic movements of the mid 18th century. Western enlightenment is primarily concerned with the democratization of political power. Classical enlightenment, sometimes called Eastern enlightenment because it was greatly emphasized in the East, is about the individual merging into the greater one. The appearance of separate self is an illusion, which must be overcome as the individual realizes that one is really not separate at all but part of the one. The goal of Eastern enlightenment is moving beyond the grasping ego and desperately seeking separate self by attaining a state of consciousness in which the illusion of separateness was dissolved in the greater one. This path of classical enlightenment is seen as the path beyond suffering. Unique Self enlightenment brings the Eastern and Western understandings about enlightenment together, into a higher Integral World Spirituality embrace. Unique Self enlightenment is based on your commitment to transcend separate self into the one, even as you realize that that essence sees through your unique perspective. Unique Self opens the door to the potential democratization of enlightenment. To awaken to your Unique Self is to be lived as God, which, in truth, means to be lived as love. [Buy This Book at Amazon…]

Radical Kabbalah, Book 1: Enlightenment Teaching of Unique Self, Non-dual Humanism and the Wisdom of Solomon: Great Teaching of Ethics and Eros from Mordechai Lainer of Izbica (Marc Gafni) – Aug. 2012

Marc Gafni’s two-volume academic treatise on Radical Kabbalah lays the groundwork for key dimensions of the Unique Self teaching. Compared by Prof. Richard Mann with the work of Elaine Pages on the Gnostic gospels, called “magesterial” by Sally Kempton, and described by Zack Stein as a work that comes around “once in a generation,” Gafni introduces in this work the enlightenment teaching of what he terms non-dual humanism. Based on a deep re-reading of over a thousand Aramaic and Hebrew texts, Gafni first outlines the core teaching and then traces the esoteric intellectual history of non-dual humanism in five major matrices of the Kabbalah In the vision of non-dual humanism the potential democratization of enlightenment opens up as a genuine option in which every human being is called to lives lived “as Source.” Sean Esbjorn Hargens cited this work as a classic example of what leading scholar Jeffery Kripal calls Mystical Hermenutics in which the scholar practitioner brings his full Eros and love into unlocking and evolving vital lineage sources and sharing them with the world.

Radical Kabbalah, Book 2: The Wisdom of Solomon as the Matrix of the Enlightenment Teaching of Non-dual Acosmic Humanism and Unique Self (Marc Gafni) -  Aug. 2012

In the second volume in the Radical Kabbalah set, Marc Gafni cracks an esoteric code deep within the Kabbalistic tradition which identifies “wisdom of Solomon” as being the source of the teaching of non-dual humanism. Gafni then shows that this teaching of the wisdom of Solomon, i.e. non-dual humanism, did not originate with Mordechai Lainer of Izbica. Rather it has deep roots in earlier Zoharic and Lurianic te – xts all of whom received and transmitted the non-dual humanism teaching of the wisdom of Solomon. Nevertheless, it remained to Mordechai Lainer of Izbica to fully explicate and evolve the radically empowering implication of this ancient teaching. In this volume Gafni carefully and rigorously uncovers the hidden teaching of the wisdom of solomon as they appear in encoded within hassidic writings waiting to be discovered.

The Erotic and the Holy Audio Workshop (Sounds True, 2005*)

What can erotic love teach us about the Divine? In modern Western thought, the sexual is often seen as being the opposite of the spiritual. Yet according to Marc Gafni, best-selling author of Soul Prints, when we understand and access the rich interplay between the erotic and the sexual, we can tap into limitless reservoir of spiritual wisdom. “The sexual models the erotic,” Gafni explains, “but it does not exhaust it.”

Now, with The Erotic and the Holy Workshop, this groundbreaking Kabbalistic sage invites you to accept Eros as your spiritual teacher –a teacher that will guide you with sweetness and tenderness toward “being a lover” in every aspect of your life.

The Erotic and the Holy collection includes 57 audio files, separated into 7 chapters—a staggering 7 hours and 30 minutes of material. You can download the complete workshop in one mp3 file. You will also receive a special 40-page PDF that includes The Erotic and the Holy experiential exercises to supplement your home workshop experience.

Lillith: Re-reading Feminine Shadow {co-author with Ohad Ezrahi, Hebrew} (Modan, 2004)

In Lillith, Marc Gafni provide insights into the deep context in sources of Hebrew wisdom for this core idea that that the exile of the Shekinah is in one expression, the exile of the erotic into the sexual. This idea is possibly best expressed in the Raya Mehimna and Tiqunei Zohar literature. Based on the biblical verse “and a maidservant that inherits her mistress” (Proverbs 30:23), the Shekina in exile is said to be the state in which the maidservant has inherited her place.

 

Soul Prints Audio Workshop (Sounds True 2004*)

“Just as in the physical world you have a fingerprint that is unique to you, so in the realm of spirit you have a soul print that belongs to you alone,” teaches Marc Gafni. Now, the voice behind the bestselling Soul Prints presents an in-depth audio curriculum that invites listeners to engage the fullness of their individual potential. From wisdom on recognizing your soul print to cultivating true presence with oneself and others to integrating personal darkness and light, The Soul Prints Workshop offers Marc Gafni’s insightful guidance for each step of your spiritual journey.

 

 

Mystery of Love* (Simon and Schuster, 2003)

The core ideas in The Mystery of Love began germinating when Marc Gafni encountered a Talmudic passage, some twenty-five years ago, which described the sexual drive as the Lion of Fire residing in the holy of holies in the temple. As Marc Gafni notes on the Scholar’s page, Raphael Pattai’s work on the Temple and Eros, Saul Lieberman’s important identifications between the mystery of the Song of Songs and the Holy of Holies in the Temple, as well as Idel’s deployment of the term Kabbalistic Tantra, all were important to him.

 

 

Re-claiming Certainty* {Hebrew} (Modan, 2003)

This book suggests that the most important spritual practice of a human being is to realize what Marc Gafni calls the core certainty of being, similar to what Da Free John refers to as Divine Communion, as the essential and ongoing human experience. This teaching offers a re-understanding of the core nature of religion, moving from the old model in which religion claims to teach “It is True,” to a new paradigm in which religion reminds us that “I am True.”

 

 

Re-claiming Uncertainty as a Spiritual Value* {Hebrew} (Modan, 2003)

This book is about reclaiming the spiritual value of Uncertainty. In the wake of quantum physics we have begun to dance with uncertainty. Now that Newton has given way to Shrodinger, the modern scientific community has a way of expressing the confusion inherent in the world. Quantum Physics, despite the elegance of its imagery and astonishing scientific breakthroughs, does not ask what seems to be the crucial question: what if Mrs. Schrodinger loves her cat? What can she be going through while her dear pet is inside the potentially lethal box? Biblical consciousness is concerned not only with the metaphysics of uncertainty but first and foremost with the experience of uncertainty.

 

Soul Prints: Your Path to Fulfillment (Simon and Schuster, 2001)

A charismatic American philosopher and teacher, Marc Gafni has become an important voice on religion and spirituality through his enormously popular weekly television program; now, his universal message comes to America, fully realized, in his first English-language book. Marc Gafni follows in the tradition of Rabbi Harold Kushner and Ram Dass, bringing wisdom to everyday experience and using spiritual stories to teach us how to live happier lives. The secret is to “live your story,” and we do this by identifying our unique selves — our “soul prints.” Only then can we connect on a deeper level with the world and with those sharing it alongside us. Soul Prints speaks to all readers, regardless of religious beliefs or practices. Using the power of myth — Biblical and folk — and drawing on his own highs and lows, Gafni offers advice on how to overcome the obstacles of an increasingly disconnected world to form bonds based in truth and love: connections that begin with our true selves.

Soul Prints DVD (Public Broadcasting Special, 2001)

In a 73-minute lecture which was a Public Broadcasting Special, Marc Gafni educates an enthusiastic studio audience about the principles and practices of his “soul prints” philosophy, which would later become the basis for the Unique Self teaching. Culled from his lineage in Kabbalah as well as other religious and philosophical traditions, the essence of the teaching is instruction in how we can live our life the way it was destined to be lived. In this vision, individual and collective paths to inner peace ultimately find harmony. Unfortunately, the video was poorly edited and the result is that the richness, subtlety and depth of the Soul Print teaching became was degraded. For this reason, today it is a work that Marc does not recommend.

First Steps in Judaism {Hebrew and Russian} (Israel Ministry of Education, 1998)

This book was published in conjunction with Israel’s the ministry of education with the intent to provide a non-fundamentalist alternative to the basic Judaism guides which were being heavily propagated by fundamentalist strains in Orthodoxy. It was intened as a Hebrew/Russian guide on basic Judaism for new Russian immigrants.

 

 

 

Readings in Genesis, Audio Series (Milah Institute, Israel, 1997)

These lectures on the book of Genesis were given in 1997 in Jerusalem to overflowing audiences. The talks, which will soon be made available on the Center for World Spirituality website, are a deep dive into Marc Gafni’s later call to the source code structures of the Book of Genesis. A second set of talks on the Exodous are now also under preparation. These talks stem from the period in Dr. Gafni’s life where he was teaching within the ethnocentric context of the Jewish community. The lectures are liberal universal interpretation of Judaism which nonetheless provide insights relevant both within and beyond the Jewish context.

 

 

Select Articles & Essays by Marc Gafni

• “The Future of the Holy: From Sex to Eros” (Spanda, 2012).
• “The Evolutionary Emergent of Unique Self; A New Chapter in Integral Theory” (Journal of Integral Theory and Practice: 6:1, 2011).
• “Unique Self and Non Dual Humanism”(Journal of Integral Theory and Practice: 6:1, 2011).
• “Imagine That” (Parabola, 2006).
• “The Path of Yearning” (Parabola, 2006).
• “On the Erotic and the Ethical” (Tikkun, 2003).
• “Homo Imaginus and the Erotics of Imagination” (Tikkun, 2003). 
• “You never know” (Tikkun, 2002).
• “From Athens to Jerusalem” (Tikkun, 2001).
• “Soul Prints: Live Your Story” (Tikkun, 2001).
• “Shofar of Tears” (Tikkun, 2000).
• “Unique Pathology” (Tikkun, 2000).
• “Holy Relationship” (Tikkun, 2000).

 

Highlights of Ken Wilber’s Published Books

Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World (Shambala Reprint Edition, 2007)

Integral Spirituality is being widely called the most important book on spirituality in our time.

Applying his highly acclaimed integral approach, Ken Wilber formulates a theory of spirituality that honors the truths of modernity and postmodernity—including the revolutions in science and culture—while incorporating the essential insights of the great religions. He shows how spirituality today combines the enlightenment of the East, which excels at cultivating higher states of consciousness, with the enlightenment of the West, which offers developmental and psychodynamic psychology. Each contributes key components to a more integral spirituality.

On the basis of this integral framework, a radically new role for the world’s religions is proposed. Because these religions have such a tremendous influence on the worldview of the majority of the earth’s population, they are in a privileged position to address some of the biggest conflicts we face. By adopting a more integral view, the great religions can act as facilitators of human development: from magic to mythic to rational to pluralistic to integral—and to a global society that honors and includes all the stations of life along the way.

A Brief History of Everything (Shambhala, 2001)

A Brief History of Everything is an altogether friendly and accessible account of men and women’s place in a universe of sex, soul, and spirit, written by an author of whom New York Times reporter Tony Schwartz says: “No one has described the path to wisdom better than Ken Wilber.”

Wilber examines the course of evolution as the unfolding manifestation of Spirit, from matter to life to mind, including the higher stages of spiritual development where Spirit becomes conscious of itself. In each of these domains, there are recurring patterns, and by looking closely at them, we can learn much about the predicament of our world—and the direction we must take if “global transformation” is to become a reality.

Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution (Shambala Second Revised Edition, 2001)

In this tour de force of scholarship and vision, Ken Wilber traces the course of evolution from matter to life to mind and describes the common patterns that evolution takes in all three of these domains. From the emergence of mind, he traces the evolution of human consciousness through its major stages of growth and development. He particularly focuses on modernity and postmodernity: what they mean; how they impact gender issues, psychotherapy, ecological concerns, and various liberation movements; and how the modern and postmodern world conceive of Spirit. This second edition features forty pages of new material, new diagrams, and extensively revised notes.

 

 

Integral Psychology: Consciousness, Spirit, Psychology, Therapy (Shambala, 2000)

The goal of an “integral psychology” is to honor and embrace every legitimate aspect of human consciousness under one roof. This book presents one of the first truly integrative models of consciousness, psychology, and therapy. Drawing on hundreds of sources—Eastern and Western, ancient and modern—Wilber creates a psychological model that includes waves of development, streams of development, states of consciousness, and the self, and follows the course of each from subconscious to self-conscious to superconscious. Included in the book are charts correlating over a hundred psychological and spiritual schools from around the world, including Kabbalah, Vedanta, Plotinus, Teresa of Ávila, Aurobindo, Theosophy, and modern theorists such as Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Jane Loevinger, Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan, Erich Neumann, and Jean Gebser. Integral Psychology is Wilber’s most ambitious psychological system to date and is already being called a landmark study in human development.

Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life and Death of Treya Killam Wilber (Shambala Second Edition, 2001)

Here is a deeply moving account of a couple’s struggle with cancer and their journey to spiritual healing. Grace and Grit is the compelling story of the five-year journey of Ken Wilber and his wife Treya Killam Wilber through Treya’s illness, treatment, and, finally, death.

 

 

 

 

A Theory of Everything: An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science and Spirituality (Shambala, 2001)

Here is a concise, comprehensive overview of Wilber’s revolutionary thought and its application in today’s world. In A Theory of Everything, Wilber uses clear, nontechnical language to present complex, cutting-edge theories that integrate the realms of body, mind, soul, and spirit. He then demonstrates how these theories and models can be applied to real-world problems in areas such as politics, medicine, business, education, and the environment. Wilber also discusses daily practices that readers take up in order to apply this integrative vision to their own everyday lives.

 

 

Highlights of Mariana Caplan’s Published Books

The Guru Question: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher (Sounds True, 2011)

The spiritual journey is perhaps the most personal experience of our lives–but does that mean we have to go it alone? With The Guru Question, award-winning author Mariana Caplan brings you a unique and much-needed guide for deciding whether you need a dedicated mentor to help illuminate your path to awakening–and if so, how to navigate the deep complexities of the guru-disciple relationship.

For those seeking a teacher worthy of their trust and devotion, or anyone who has been frustrated by their experiences with a spiritual teacher, Caplan offers candid, practical, and daringly personal examination of the student-teacher dynamic.

 

Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path (Sounds True, 2009)

The spiritual path is like any other road-it’s going to have its share of potholes and detours. Safe travel requires a quality rarely taught yet critically important in today’s world: discernment. In Eyes Wide Open, Mariana Caplan supports us in cultivating the acute judgment and discrimination that will help us to live a spiritual life with intelligence, clarity, and authenticity.

 

 

Halfway Up the Mountain: The Error of Premature Claims to Enlightenment (Hohm Press, 1999)

Author and anthropologist Caplan plunges into the complex domain of contemporary spirituality where she boldly faces the grave distortions and fraudulent claims to power that characterise the spiritual path in our times. Dozens of first-hand interviews with students, respected teachers and masters, together with broad research are synthesised into a treatment of the modern spiritual scene to assist readers in avoiding the pitfalls of this precarious pass.

 

 

Highlights of Sally Kempton’s Published Books and CD’s

Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga (Sounds True, 2013)

How do you live a life of spiritual awakening as well as outer abundance, inner freedom as well as deep intimacy? How do you serve the world selflessly, yet passionately celebrate your life?

The sages of Tantra have known for centuries that when you follow the path of Shakti-the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga-these gifts can manifest spontaneously. Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight.

 

Shakti Meditations: Guided Practices to Invoke the Goddesses of Yoga [Audiobook] [Audio CD] (Soundstrue 2013)

Everything new that comes into our lives—every change that unfolds—emerges out of Shakti, the universal force of creation and transformation.

Shakti Meditations provides an immediate way to experience the many gifts of this divine feminine power. Taught by expert meditation teacher Sally Kempton, these guided inner practices use India’s goddesses of yoga as gateways for discovering and inviting the many dimensions of Shakti.

Like rivers flowing through us, each deity carries its own unique energies to help empower and guide us in our spiritual, relationship, career, and creative paths. As we meditate upon them, their virtues and energies begin to arise in such forms as:

• Durga, for strength, protection, and action
• Lakshmi, for abundance and self-compassion
• Kali, to ignite our courage and clear inner obstacles
• Saraswati, to spark creative inspiration and clarify communication
• Maha Devi, to draw us closer into spacious and liberated consciousness

This 4 Audio CD set is for yoga lovers, healers, meditators, and anyone who needs to call on the power of the feminine. Shakti Meditations gives listeners a powerful method to explore this limitless source of light and energy within us.

Meditation for the Love of It: Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience (Sounds True, 2010)

Meditation is like a love affair with your innermost self. At times it can be ecstatic and entrancing, other times simple and still—and sometimes you might not even feel its profound effects until later.

Now with Meditation for the Love of It, Sally Kempton shares practical secrets to help us turn meditation into an unconditional embrace of the fullness of our experience—on and off the meditation cushion. With the gentle wisdom and compassion of one who understands the nuances of practice, she opens us to the joy of exploring the deep and mysterious inner landscape of the heart, mind, and body.

 

Beginning Meditation: Enjoying Your Own Deepest Experience (Sounds True, 2011)

What if there was a way to learn how to meditate without the struggle? On Beginning Meditation, master teacher Sally Kempton welcomes newcomers to a practice that is predicated on maintaining genuine interest and pleasure in the fullness of our experience. With a nurturing and accessible style developed over 40 years of teaching meditators of all levels and backgrounds, Kempton shares her unique meditation philosophy then takes listeners breath by breath through guided practices including:

• “Focus on a memory of love” to realize a love independent of external conditions
• “Connecting with the inner teacher” to bless and energize your practice
• “The space between breaths” for accessing the still point within that opens us to the heart of the universe
• “Your awareness pervades the world,” a powerful technique for resting in a state of expansive consciousness

When we decide to begin a meditation practice, Kempton explains, we enter into an intimate new relationship with ourselves–a relationship that can become the platform for both inner stability and inner transformation. Here is a stepby- step program for starting a practice infused with love and the spirit of adventure with Beginning Meditation.

 

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* Titles with an asterisk at the end are being re-published in 2014 with new material and fresh editing and formatting.