Geez. Somethings just hit you like a ton of bricks, you know? A few weeks ago it hit me just how much I crave input. My spouse at one time poked fun at my constant buzzing and chitte-chatter. Always input. Ahh! But the epiphany wasn't about the input, it was about the analysis! Always analyzing that input! This is something humans do really, really well with our big brains. We scan to collect input, analyze, and react. Like identifying plants in the forest or mushroom hunting. Or geologic mapping. Anyway, this analysis leads us to our own conclusions as we cross-reference it with other information in our database. When I read this book, I filter my understanding of it (at least some part) through the repertoire of books in my past. I guess this is experience in a nutshell, right? Each year, we live and experience more, accumulate more, analyze more, so we grow. Our input determines the directions we grow.
Thus, the way I currently think, or react to some piece of news, or the perspective from which I lecture is all fundamentally based on my past input.
Here is a simple list of my book input of the last year or so. Just books. No magazines or journal articles or documentaries or podcasts or NPR or other. Those are other pieces of the buzz. Just books, several on audiobook:
*no particular order, just by my random memory from the last couple of days.
-5th Sacred Thing (audiobook) by Starhawk
-Earth in Our Hands (print) by David Grinspoon
-Small Gods (audio and print) by Terry Prachett
-Valley of the Horses (audio) by Jean Auel
-After Dachau (print) by Daniel Quinn
-Rouges of Magic 1 & 2 (ebook) by ___ (with Oshen)
-Norse Mythology (ebook) by Neil Gaimann (with Oshen)
-Stars Beneath Our Feet (audio and print) by ___ (with Oshen)
-iPagan (ebook) by various, edited ____
-God Delusion (audiobook and print) by Richard Dawkins
-Land of the Painted Caves (audio) by Jean Auel
-Fingerprints of the Gods (audio) by Graham Hancock
-Intelligence of the Cosmos (audio) by Irvin Lazlo
-Changing your Mind (audio) by Michael Pollan
-12 Spiritual Practices (audio) by Rupert Sheldrake
-Real Magick (audio) by Dean Radin
-Chaos Magick (print) by Gordan White
-The Prophet (print) by Kalil Gibran
-Showdown in the Big Quiet (print) by John P. Beiter Jr. (still reading)
-Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (audio) by Noah Yuval Hurari
-21 Lessons for the 21st Century (audio and ebook) by Noah Yuval Harari
-Archaic Revival (audio and print) by Terrence McKenna
-Omnivores Dilemma (audio, on CD!) by Michael Pollan
-Birth of the Anthropocene (print) by Jeremy Davies
-Art and Practice of Geomancy (audio and print) by John Michael Greer
-Ecotechnic Future (audio and print) by John Michael Greer
-Mystery Teaching from the Leaving Earth (print) by John Michael Greer
-Green Wizardry (print) by John Michael Greer
-Inheritors of the Earth (print) by Chris D. Thomas (still reading, slowly)
-The Holy (audio) by Daniel Quinn
As I have recalled this list, I know there are one or two things missing and feel bad that it does not contain a complete picture all the stuff I read, but this is pretty good. The list has some themes, like the Anthropocene and spirituality kick I have been on this year. But I think it reveals a lot about how I think or why I think this way or from what perspective I am coming from.
- I like natural history and science topics, to help me learn about This Magickal Earth
- I like topics regarding our interaction with the planet and our brothers and sisters here.
- I like spirituality stuff. Just exploring, not defining. Being open to learning more.
- I like human history
I feel that more and more knowledge of these topics gives me the best understanding of responding to more input.
Yay! Books!
