News of a New Human Nature: The Best Features & Articles on the New Spirituality [Paperback]

D. Patrick Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 23, 2002

This remarkable collection of features and interviews about contemporary spirituality and transformational psychology is written by veteran author and reporter D. Patrick Miller, a pioneer in the "journalism of consciousness." No other writer has explored so many topics in the field for so many publications, creating an impressive body of work focusing on subjects that are often missed or misreported by the mainstream press. In three parts -- Changing the Self, Changing the World, and Changing Journalism -- Miller presents a realistic yet hopeful vision of how human nature might be positively transformed. The most important trends and the most learned voices of the "new spirituality" are presented in this compelling collection of work that has apppeared in YOGA JOURNAL, THE SUN, INTUITION, NATURAL HEALTH, the COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW, and other media. Carefully updated and annotated with current contact information for many expert sources and organizations, News of a New Human Nature is an authoritative guide to a healthy human future.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

D. Patrick Miller is a veteran magazine writer, author, and independent publisher who has pioneered the journalism of consciousness for two decades. He is the author of A LITTLE BOOK OF FORGIVENESS, THE BOOK OF PRACTICAL FAITH, THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE COURSE and LOVE AFTER LIFE, a novel. After placing several projects with major publishers in the mid-90s, Miller founded his own imprint, Fearless Books, in 1997.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Fearless Books; 1 edition (August 23, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965680940
• ISBN-13: 978-0965680943
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,222,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Before founding Fearless Books in 1997 to continue the publication of his writing, D. PATRICK MILLER sold three solo projects to major publishers: Viking, Henry Holt, and Dell. He is now the author of nine titles, including his current books THE WAY OF FORGIVENESS (Fearless) and LIVING WITH MIRACLES: A Common Sense Guide to A Course in Miracles (Tarcher/Penguin). As a collaborator, ghostwriter, or principal editor, Miller has helped other authors prepare manuscripts for such publishers as Viking, Doubleday, Warner, Crown, Simon & Schuster, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Hay House, Hampton Roads, and John Wiley & Sons. His poetry has been published in a number of magazines and several anthologies. He is co-editor, with Sari Friedman, of the award-winning Fearless Poetry Series. A top-ranked volunteer expert on publishing at AllExperts.com, Miller provides professional consultations to literary agents and publishers as well as published and unpublished authors working in fiction and nonfiction. He has worked for many years with the Linda Chester Literary Agency of New York, which recommends the Fearless Literary critique service. He is a member of the Authors Guild and serves as president of the Northern California chapter of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Provocative Treasury!, November 26, 2002

By 

Marc Wordsmith "MarcWordsmith" (Oakland, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: News of a New Human Nature: The Best Features & Articles on the New Spirituality (Paperback)

The "new age" has gotten a bad rap over the years, and for good reason: there's been a lot of flaky nonsense out there, and a lot of self-delusion. But as reporter Patrick Miller points out, "Many ideas and practices once deemed New Age have never been more influential than they are today." Miller is referring to things like meditation, yoga, and vegetarian diets, but this remarkable book of 25 interviews and essays--culled from an illustrious decades-long career in the "journalism of consciousness"-- covers a much wider gamut than just individual lifestyle choices. Subjects explored here include paths to creativity; therapy for victims of torture; shamanism (homegrown and indigenous varieties); how to do what you love for a living (an extraordinarily comprehensive and well-researched analysis!); "spiritual machines"; how cults exploit--and provide a channel for--the devotional impulse (a thoughtful and most unusual piece, incorporating interviews with a former Moonie and other cult alumni); the relationship between therapy and ecology, altered states of consciousness (of course); and much more.

"Most forms of journalism have a short shelf life of relevance," Miller notes in his introduction. "My aim . . . for this book was to include only information and insights with 'staying power' for years to come." Miller's interviewees include Dean Ornish, Malidoma Some, Theodore Roszak, Ralph Metzner, and Jacob Needleman among others. The pieces in this book were were all published previously in periodicals such as Yoga Journal, The Sun, Intuition, Gnosis, Mother Jones, and Natural Health.

Miller divides the bulk of this book into two "somewhat arbitrary" (he admits) sections: "Changing the Self" and "Changing the World." The first section contains interviews and essays that pertain primarily to "self-work" and personal transformation, while the second section is more concerned with social activism and cultural transformation. There is a third and final section, entitled "Changing Journalism," containing two essays by Miller about the business of news, and his own evolution from a muckraking political journalist in the late '70s to a respectful and open-minded investigator of matters spiritual and unorthodox. Cover to cover, this book is a compelling and--dare I say it?--enlightening tour-de-force!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring collection of interviews, October 28, 2002

By 

Andrew Olivo Parodi (Oregon, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: News of a New Human Nature: The Best Features & Articles on the New Spirituality (Paperback)

NEWS OF A NEW HUMAN NATURE is an interesting collection of interviews and articles conducted and written by D. Patrick Miller. Mr. Miller interviews many people in the forefront of the contemporary spiritual movement that was at one time largely known as the "New Age," the roster includes: Charles Tart, Riane Eisler, Malidoma Some, Sobonfu Some, Helen Palmer, Theodore Roszak, Dan Wakefield, Jacob Needleman, to name a few. Miller examines why most interviewed in NEW OF A NEW HUMAN NATURE will not use the term New Age anymore: because it has been cheapened due to poor media representation. New Agers are often thought of as flaky and trend-obsessed rather than serious spiritual seekers. Miller argues that New Agers should be applauded for at least making spiritual awareness a part of contemporary society. Still, that label is going the way of the Dodo. And those interviewed are anything but flaky; they are individuals committed to aiding in creating a spiritual awakening in this society.

The interview with Malidoma Some, which occurs in chapter 16, is my favorite part of NEWS OF A NEW HUMAN NATURE. Malidoma, a spiritual leader from Burkina Faso (West Africa) and author of the book OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT, makes the wise comment that when we speak of saving the environment it is rather backwards that we see it as being something "outside" of our own survival. As Malidoma points out, human existence is only a small blip on the scale of global existence; by destroying the environment we are destroying ourselves. The planet will gladly rebuild once we are gone . . . it's done it before. Malidoma says that when we talk about saving the planet, we need to keep in mind that we are talking about saving our own "[behinds]." Our survival depends on the planet, not the other way around.