Customer Reviews

This Season's People: A Book of Spiritual Teachings

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There are two books I regard as the absolute cream of "hippie spirituality"; this is one, and the other one is Paul Williams's _Das Energi_. And if Williams's book is the hippie _Tao Te Ching_, this one is the Diamond Sutra.

In this little volume of spiritual teachings originally published in 1976, Stephen Gaskin gets right to the heart of the matter: you can't understand God, you can't define God, you can't contain God, but you can _be_ God. The rest of the book is about embodying precisely this spiritual realization -- call it enlightenment, Christ Consciousness, the Holy Spirit, satori, or whatever.

And one of the most amazing things about the book is how much crap there _isn't_ in it. Stephen does _not_ screw around; these are some of his best, tightest, most focused raps ever. (That's why I compared this book to the Diamond Sutra.)

Sample quote: "Being spiritual does not mean to become as esoteric and as different as you possibly can, but to become like a solvent that can melt away the differences between people until only the essential thing is left. If we really understand what we're doing, we ought to get it on and find essential agreement with anybody" [p. 63]. And this "anybody" includes our "enemies," whom -- according to Stephen -- we should love even while we're opposing their actions.

If this sounds a lot like a well-known Sermon that a certain famous Jewish teacher is said to have delivered on a Mount some 2000 years ago . . . well, let's just say that's not an accident. In its way, this book is a commentary on that very Sermon.

But Stephen's teachings are also close to the heart of every other spiritual tradition, and that's not an accident either. He's studied them all, and he's as comfortable explaining what it means to be a bodhisattva as he is expounding the Golden Rule.

He's speaking from the common core of all these traditions, and he's reminding us of something we already know: it matters how we _be_. There are no passengers on this here starship, only crew members and stowaways; we're free only when we're responsible. So let's cut the crap and get busy getting telepathic.

There's nothing in this that requires the reader to adopt a new religion, but on the other hand it doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for not trying to live up to the one you've already got. Stephen is also (among other things) one of the founders of The Farm; this book will give you a good sense of why that's one of the very few hippie communes still in existence.

As I said in my review of _Amazing Dope Tales_, listening to Stephen has the power to knock your mind loose from your brain. It's not just what he says, but also how he says it; you'll pick up a sort of spiritual contact high just from reading his raps. No matter what you think of the contents of this book, you'll be at least a slightly better person after you read it -- and you'll know it.

Whatever you're doing on this page, you've come to the right place. Stephen will lay some nice concepts on you.

This is an eclectic little spiritual guidebook, which contains wisdom from many sources,from Zen Buddhism,to Mohandis K. "Mahatma" Gandhi, to Christianity. Example: "Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea -- and sink" (Susuki Roshi). Or, "Must I forgive my brother? You must forgive your brother seven times. Nay, seventy times seven times" (the Bible).

The insights garnered from the great religions (and other sources) are interspersed with the author's own observations, with which you'll find little to dispute.

Another reviewer has characterized Stephen Gaskin (the author) as a "hippie." My guess is, he's probably correct. In the 1960s (and later) many--if not most--of the "hippie" community used psychedelics and marijuana, which resulted in some astonishingly profound epiphanies and religious insights. This book reads like
other "new age" books which I've read: notably, Richard Alpert's (otherwise known as 'Ram Dass') Be Here Now.

In any case, it's a good book. I doubt that it will offend anyone, of any religion.

The only fault I find with the book is that, on several pages the type is overlayed over photographical material, rendering it difficult to read. This is a common graphic design problem with many books of this type, where the designer is trying to achieve graphic beauty at the expense of readability, which is usually a mistake. I find no fault at all with the content.

Joseph Pierre

author of The Road to Damascus and other books

Stephen has many wonderful and inspiring observations. This is not a book that runs a linear course. It is a collection of scintillating insights and is just the thing for anyone who wants to find a lift and a blessing on every page.

Amazing short Revelations of the Loving NAture of The Living GOD through many Faiths... TRUTH to heal... Amen, A Blessing to the World at hand... Please buy many and hand them to the world as an offering of PEace within ALL...

I ran onto this book about 30 years ago.

Some of it is dated because it talks a bit about some of the social causes of the time, but well worth reading because it has some wisdom that really hits home.

The chapter about being "Into the Juice" is one of the best attempts to explain how to live with others of any I have ever read.

a probing, stimulating work at an amazing price. Works well with Israel Regardie and Alan Watts.