Mushrooms and Mankind: The Impact of Mushrooms on Human Consciousness and Religion [Paperback]

James Arthur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2003

For thousands of years, humanity has been involved in a symbiotic relationship with plants. Not only have plants supplied mankind with a never-ending food source, but have also served us in another way. This book uncovers the natural link between man, consciousness, and God. This discovery may at first seem abstract, wishful thinking, or even impossible; yet as evidence presented on these pages unfolds, one may find that its understanding does not require as much of a leap of faith as first thought. The author believes this to be the most significant discovery in the entire field of religious knowledge ever to happen in the history of mankind. Should people explore this knowledge, it may allow many to put aside their differences, and join in the understanding that each and every one of us may now experience that which has been, until this time, hidden away in the recesses of our spiritual history. According to the author, we may at last be able to open ourselves to an entirely new and valuable consciousness.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: The Book Tree (May 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585091510
• ISBN-13: 978-1585091515
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardcover Edition?, February 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Mushrooms and Mankind: The Impact of Mushrooms on Human Consciousness and Religion (Paperback)

I rate this book 5*s exclusively based upon the information contained therein. The formatting could use some polishing and it would be nice to have a hardcover available (color pictures etc.) I did manage to find Arthurs website which has many of the same images in color.

I have not seen as broad a look at the subject of Ethnomycology, as far as Amanita muscaria goes, either in contemporary writings or the classics, but I would like to see this author explore more information on Psilocybe sp. My only beef is; I would like more. I hope he has an aim to comment further in future works in regards to some of the subjects only briefly touched upon in this book. I also enjoyed the writing style and will comment that sometimes things just need to be said no matter who doesnt agree with it. Arthur says a lot, about a lot, in this book..

This is a welcomed addition to my library and I find myself commenting on the book and showing it to my friends quite often. The seemingly unrelated areas tend to grow on you and as an example understanding certain connections continues to dawn on me still. Also it is refreshing to see so many new ideas I have seen presented nowhere else. In a world becoming increasingly redundant and robotic I can see the unique combination of ideas and Philosophical viewpoints contained in this book to be revolutionary!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent & full of pioneering ideas on religious history, October 6, 2004

By 

J Irvin "author of The Holy Mushroom" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mushrooms and Mankind: The Impact of Mushrooms on Human Consciousness and Religion (Paperback)

I've spent many years researching many of the ideas that James Arthur has laid out in this book. Arthur is probably the first to recognize the proper relationship between macro (Astrotheology) worship and micro (entheogen) worship.

To some who've not researched the ideas in this book, they may come across as "new agey". This could not be farther from the truth. A study of the "precession of the equinoxes" in the Oxford OED will alone tell volumes on the merit of Arthur's research.

Other recommended scholars for those skeptical:
Archarya S., G.A. Wells, Jordan Maxwell, Gordon Wasson, Clark Heinrich, Kersey Graves, Manly P. Hall, Terence McKenna, Ernest Brussenbark, Carl Ruck, Jonathan Ott, and Christian Ratsch. There is also a free video called the Pharmacratic Inquisition that may be found by doing a search online.

The bad: This book could definetly use a colour edition!

To set the record straight:
The Amanita does contain Ibotenic Acid and Muscimol. As the other reviewer mentioned, the Ibotenic Acid is decarboxylated (converted) into Muscimol when roasted or dried, and passed thru the body. Ibotenic acid is mildly toxic. There are reports of Muscarine (a poison) being found in European species at 0.0003% which is too small an amount to effect a toxic reaction. The amount of Muscarine in American species has not been studied, and could be higher.
These mushrooms should not be eaten raw. Many mycology books WRONGLY list Amanita muscaria and pantherina as poisonous.

Here are the facts from Pharmacotheon by Jon Ott:
"Deaths following the ingestion of Amanita muscaria have not been documented sufficiently to permit the conclusion that this is a lethal mushroom when ingested by healthy persons. In two cases of ingestion of considerable quantities of both raw and cooked mushrooms, the patients experienced some discomfort but recovered quickly and completely."

I suggest buying a copy of Ott's book (if you can find one $80 to $200) and read the details on the research. Many enjoy it's use, and many others don't. My personal experiences with this substance have been for the most part good. I have consumed up to 60 grams by in Tea in one sitting. The Amanita muscaria is also well known in Germany and other countries for its effectiveness in treating certain health problems.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wide-ranging, informal, suggestive, August 4, 2002

By 

Michael Hoffman (Egodeath.com) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mushrooms and Mankind: The Impact of Mushrooms on Human Consciousness and Religion (Paperback)

The visionary James Arthur is the opposite of the careful and straightlaced Dan Merkur in the field of the entheogen theory of the origins of religion. This book is so wide-ranging, it's hard to form a clear mental picture of its scope. Arthur has innovative coverage speculating about entheogens in Egyptian and Asian as well as Christian religion.

This subject is just getting started so there are few books and what few there are are speculative. The entheogen theory of the origin of religions *makes sense*, particularly when focusing on the specifically religious aspect of religion rather than other aspects such as political, ethical, or sociological aspects.

Scholars, including esoteric and Literalist Christian scholars, agree that entheogenic plants are basically reliable triggers for religious experiencing. Historians of religion are trying to use "psychology", "anthropology", and "sociology" to explain the origin of religions. These explanatory threads point to entheogens at the fountainhead of religion, religious experiencing, and religious myth.

This book provides some evidence but most of all provides the all-important *perspective* from which we can see how well it makes good sense to look to entheogens for the origin of mystic experiencing at the root of religion. There's really no reasonable argument against the entheogen theory of the origin of religion -- it enables a full-spectrum, integral-theory explanation of religion to finally come together.