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Table of Contents Search Site Home Also on this website:
Articles
and Excerpts: Read
Toby's review of Samuel Avery's The
Dimensional Structure of
Consciousness Funny Coincidence: "Aliens Settle in San Francisco" The
Simple Answer to the Gay Marriage Debate Why gay people should NOT Marry A Bifurcation of Gay Spirituaity What's ironic Q&A about Jungian ideas in gay consciousness What Jesus said about Gay Rights Interview on the Nature of Homosexuality What the Bible Says about
Homosexuality Mesosexual Ideal for Straight Men Waves
of Gay Liberation Activity Why Gay Spirituality: Spirituality
as Artistic Medium Easton Mountain Retreat Center Andrew Harvey &
Spiritual Activism "It's Always About You" Joseph Campbell's description of
Avalokiteshvara Emptiness & Religious Ideas Experiencing experiencing experiencing Going into the Light Meditations for a Funeral Meditation Practice The way to get to heaven Advice to Travelers to India & Nepal Nate Berkus is a bodhisattva John Boswell was Immanuel Kant The Joseph Campbell Connection Campbell
& The Pre/Trans Fallacy Gay Spiritual Functions The Sinfulness of Homosexuality Proposal
for a study of gay nondualism "The Evolution of Gay Identity" "St. John of the
Cross & Religious Articulations of the
Secret Teenage
Prostitution and the Nature of Evil Allah
Hu: "God is present here" The Life is in the Blood What
are you looking for in a gay science fiction novel? The mystical experience at the Servites' Castle in Riverside The
Great Dance according to C.S.Lewis The Techniques Of The World Saviors Part 1: Brer Rabbit and the
Tar-Baby How Gay
Souls Get Reincarnated In honor of Sir Arthur C Clarke Toby's friend
and nicknamesake Toby Marotta. About
Michael Talbot, gay mystic About Arthur
Evans, gay pioneer Book Reviews Be Done on Earth by Howard E. Cook Pay Me What I'm Worth by Souldancer The Way Out by Christopher L Nutter The Gay Disciple by John Henson
Art That Dares by Kittredge Cherry Extinguishing the Light by B. Alan Bougeois Coming Out, Coming Home by Kenneth Burr Dark Knowledge by Kenneth Low Janet Planet by Eleanor Lerman The Kairos by Paul E. Hartman Wrestling with Jesus by D.K.Maylor Kali Rising by Rudolph Ballentine
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A New Vision of
Spirituality
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GAY PERSPECTIVE Things Our [Homo]sexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe |
Gay Identity and
the Transformation of Human Consciousness |
TWO SPIRITS: A Story of Life with the Navajos a
collaboration
with Walter L. Williams |
GETTING LIFE in PERSPECTIVE A Fantastical Romance |
The Fourth Quill (originally published as Plague: A Novel about Healing) |
". . . a writer with a positive vision and a wonderful attitude"
--Rich Grzesiak, Philadelphia Gay News
"There is a fresh naivete in [Toby Johnson's] style that rings pleasantly in the ear, like the memory of a 'boy's book' enthusiastically devoured at age 12. Against the sour punk of so much of today's gay male fiction, Getting Life in Perspective is a treat." --Marvin Shaw, Lambda Book Report
He is former editor of White Crane Journal
Read about the Varieties of Gay Spiritualities
Read about White Crane Institute
Books on Gay Spirituality: White Crane Gay Spirituality Series
Toby Johnson is profiled on the DREAMWalker Group site
Toby's spoken with Harry Faddis for the Quest of Life radio show and podcast.A Quest of Life conversation: Joseph Campbell, the evolution of consciousness & The New Myth
A Quest of Life conversation: Queer Culture and Spirituality, 2012
A Quest of Life conversation: Gay Personality Dynamics from a Jungian Perspective
A Quest of Life conversation: Joyful Participation in the Sorrows of the World. The story of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
A Quest of Life conversation: Why Gay Spirituality?
Search this site with google
—
Here's a bold statement about the nature of gay consciousness & the nature of religion.
A Bifurcation of Gay Spirituality: a review of Kennth Burr's Coming Out, Coming Home
with a discussion of the difference between "spirituality & religion for gay people"
and "Gay Spirituality" for gay people.
—
Toby was interviewed by Nils Taranger for his film on gay spirituality titled A Blue Flower.
Here's a YouTube video
http://youtu.be/fphTnKifmg4
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Articles back to top
A Bifurcation of Gay Spirituality: a review of Kennth Burr's Coming Out, Coming Home with a discussion of the difference between "spirituality & religion for gay people" and "Gay Spirituality" for gay people.
Queering religion cannot mean just getting queers to go back to church. Queering religion has to mean raising the perspective and discovering a new paradigm.
Here's the prayer the openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson gave at the opening of the inaugral celebrations for Barack Obama
About gay body image and compassionate etiquette (with photo): Curious Bodies
Read What Toby Johnson Believes
What is "Gay Spirituality"?
Very succinctly, the three messages of "gay spirituality"
A proposal for a Study of Non-dualistic Thinking among gay people
The Simple Answer to the Gay Marriage Debate
What Joseph Campbell called only half-jokingly "the highest form of love"
Shame on the "Conservative Christians" for voting as they have
Why gay people should NOT get married, because the model of relationship is different.
What's ironic about the Gay Marriage battle!
What Jesus said about the cause of homosexuality What Jesus said about gay rights
What the Bible Says about Homosexuality
The Purpose of Homosexuality in human culture and evolution of consciousness.
What is homosexuality in metaphysical terms?
What causes homophobia?
The Mesosexual Ideal for Straight Men
Why Gay Spirituality?: Spirituality as Artistic Medium
An interview about The Nature of Homosexuality
Q&A about Jungian ideas in gay consciousness after reading Mitch Walker, an homage to an important gay elder
On The Sinfulness of homosexuality
Are you the reincarnationn of Edward Carpenter?
What is reincarnation about anyway?
A whimsical proposition: Gay Classics scholar John Boswell was a reincarnation of philosopher Immanuel Kant
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What is Enlightenment?
Kip and Toby traveled to India and Nepal in December 2006 and came back with useful and important advice for travelers
Toby's presentation How to Read a Myth: "It's Always About You"
Toby's workshop on The Myth of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Joseph Campbell's description of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Oprah's pal Nate Berkus is a bodhisattva
Ram Dass's story: You're Not A Wave
Emptiness & Religious Ideas from Nagarjuna to Eckhart
Historicity as Myth: an essay for Harry Faddis & Patrick Cheng's "The Ways of the Spirit: A Course in Spirituality for LGBT People" presented on WRPI radio, March 2006. This essay is a marvelous statement of what religious truth really is.
Experiencing experiencing experiencing: where the appearance of body, mind, and spirit comes from
Toby's notion of the next step in the evolution of human consciousness
What is The New Myth going to be?
Gaia, the Earth Goddess, is a Bodhisattva -- with a lovely poem by Thich Nhat Hanh praising the planet Earth as the source of all life
Read Meditation Practices for a Funeral
Read an excerpt about dying consciously from PLAGUE titled "Going Into the Light"
Read about Meditation Practice and about Daniel Helminiak's Meditation Without Myth
Read about The Joseph Campbell Connection, and about an adventure with Campbell at the Mann Ranch.
Easton Mountain Gay Retreat Center hosted Gay Spirit Camp 2007
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Read Toby's article on gay spirit titled "The Evolution of Gay Identity"
Read about "St. John of the Cross and the Dark Night of the Soul."
Toby tells the story of meeting Avalokiteshvara at the Baths.
Toby explains how Being Gay is a Blessing (in an excerpt from his book Gay Spirituality)
He argues that the modern American idea of Freedom of Religion reveals a deep secret about the nature of religion and God.
Gay Saintliness is a review of Donald Boivert's Sanctity and Male Desire. The article contains a stirring gay positive paragraph by Boisvert.
Christian de la Huerta, author of Coming Out Spiritually: The Next Step, identifies ten spiritual functions of gay and lesbian people.
A succinct description of the subtle workings of the spirit in gay men's lives.The so-called "Priest Pedophilia scandal" reveals truths about the nature of homosexual consciousness and errors in Christian teaching about sexuality that are missed when the focus is put on findng who to blame
A wonderful story called "I Want to Know Them All" by Toby's straight hippie friend L. Houston Wood in the early 70s that appeared in an issue of White Crane Journal about the Bodhisattva identity
Read Toby's whimsical piece about Adam and Steve. This essay on biblical history appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of Ashe Journal 3.3
Read about the Gay Spirituality Summit, the Gay Spirit Culture Project, and the "Statement of Spirituality" with Toby's commentaryToby's speculations about gay retirement and the "freelance monastery"
Toby comments appreciatively on Andrew Harvey's concept of Spiritual Activism and his new book THE HOPE
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Toby describes the quest to find The Great Secret
How the Great Secret underlies all religion and spirituality
What's true about Religion is the deep religious experience that belief and "faith" are intended to generate
Toby's account of the mystical experience in 1969 that transformed his vision of life and God
How to get to heaven
Seeing with Different Eyes: How we human beings see the world is based more on our expectations than on what's really out there (an excerpt from In Search of God in the Sexual Underworld)
Eckhart's Eye is a meditation on the evocative "koan": "The eye with which I see God is the eye with which God sees me."
Teenage Prostitution and the Nature of Evil, another excerpt from In Search of God in the Sexual Underworld, recounts of Toby's discovery of spiritual wisdom in the oddest of places, the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.
The Life is in the Blood: Toby Johnson's Biblically-based answer to when life begins.
The Commandment "Thou shalt not steal" is not a basis for private ownership of property. The Buddhist precept "No Stealing" is about compassion for others' feelings, not property rights.
Allah Hu: "God is present here" -- a secret Toby learned from the Sufi Dancing classes in San Francisco in the 1970s.
Joseph Campbell and Ken Wilbur's critique of the "Pre/Trans Fallacy": Three important themes in Campbellian thought.
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The article from The Myth of the Great Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell titled The Techniques Of The World Saviors is in four parts.
Part 1: Brer Rabbit and the Tar-Baby
Part 2: The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Part 3: Jesus and the Resurrection
Part 4: A Course in Miracles
Painting: "Christ Invests Himself Organically with the Very Majesty of His Universe"
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How Gay Souls Get Reincarnated, a cute piece, a little tongue-in-cheek, but with a profound meaning about gay identity and gay spirit.
Bonobos, Family Values, and Gay Reincarnation
Toby's experience of learning "The Secret of the Clear Light" from Joseph Campbell and the real meaning of afterlife.
How to Understand the Image of the Clear Light.
The "Mobius Strip" as a topological image for gay consciousness.
Finding Your Tiger Face: Joseph Campbell's story about the great secret of life.
The Nature of Religion according to Joseph Campbell. A very wise statement from The Hero with A Thousand Faces. (Links to The Joseph Campbell Foundation and the Campbell Gimbutas Library and Archives at Pacifica.
C.S. Lewis describing "The Great Dance" of mystical realization.
Speculations on the phenomenon of Alien Abduction
Driving a car as spiritual practice: Driving Samadhi
Read about Toby's inspiration for where the Visitors' come from in the revised edition of Secret Matter
What are you looking for in a gay science fiction novel?
The best gay science fiction novel ever in Toby Johnson's opinion.
Some ideas for gay mythic stories
The Marian Doctrines: The Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in historic context.
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History back to top
Along with Patrick McNamara, Duncan Teague, Craig Harwood, Dave Nimmons, as well as Mark Thompson, Christian de la Huerta, David Frechter, Michael Sigmann, Bo Young, Dan Vera, and others, Toby Johnson assisted with the calling of a "Gay Spirit Summit" in Spring 2004 at Garrison Institute. Read about the Gay Spirituality Summit and the "Statement of Spirituality" with Toby's commentary.
Interesting article from the 1981 West Coast Christopher Street Parade magazine by L.A. gay pioneer Jim Kepner, titled The Seach for Gay Spirit. Everything he wrote about in 1981 is still current 30 years later in 2011.
Toby Johnson's 1988 article SPIRITUAL QUESTIONS IN GAY COUNSELING from The Sourcebook on Lesbian/Gay Health Care
About The D.A.F.O.D.I.L. Alliance of Gay Mental Health workers in San Francisco in 1979: a great example of successful community activism.
Toby Johnson, Psych Tech lived in San Francisco and worked at Mount Zion Hospital Crisis Clinic & The Tenderloin Clinic
Proto Faerie Gathering at the Fault of the Earth Ranch, 1972 and San Francisco Gay Rap "Gay-Straight Consciousness Raising Retreat"
Being Gay at the California Institute of Asian Studies / California Institute of Integral Studies in the 1970s
The Stonewall Riots, Drag Queens, and Judy Garland's Funeral.
In 1978, Toby Johnson was a "parade monitor," stationed just below the newly-inaugurated Rainbow Flags that have come to symbolize transformation
Toby Johnson learned his gay politics from his friend and nicknamesake Toby Marotta. Please read about their important friendship.
Waves of Gay Liberation Activity from hunter/gatherers to modern gay lib.
Harry Hay: Father and Founder of the modern gay movement; his thought summarized by Will Roscoe
About Arthur Evans, gay pioneer
One of the earliest expressions of "Gay Spirituality" showed up as the book The Divine Androgyne According to Purusha. Earlier in his life as a gay cultural activist, under the name Christopher Larkin, Purusha had made the gay romantic movie A Very Natural Thing.
About Harry Hay, the New Myth, "Spiritual, not Religious," through the Gay Window -- a panel presentation for the 2012 Centennial of Hay's birth Conference at CLAGS
About the Gay Spirituality Summit in May 2004 and the "Statement of Spirituality" with Toby's commentary
About the study of teenage prostitution Toby Marotta and Toby Johnson worked in for URSA in 1978-1980
About Michael Talbot and the Holographic Universe
About Guy Mannheimer and the Mann Ranch Seminars
About Dennis Paddie, Austin/San Antonio playwright, poet, and vagabond bon vivant. Dennis wrote a beautiful tribute to fellow Texas playwright Sterling Houston who died November 8, 2006.
About Toby and Kip's successful long term relationship and the Wedding Cake Liberation Event in San Antonio, June 16, 2005
About Michael Steves and Patrick Kerr in the San Antonio gay community of the 1980s.
About Ralph Walker and The Loving Brotherhood. Ralph Walker was one of the Fathers of the Gay Spirituality Movement.
About Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, creator of modern gay consciousness. The firtst man to really "come out."
Tom Nash, a San Antonio lovable "character."
Bro. Martin McMurtrey, Toby's -- very influential and life-changing -- writing teacher in high school.
Kip Dollar & Toby Johnson participated with hundreds of other couples in a "group marriage ceremony" in front of the IRS Building during the Second March on Washington in 1987.
Eva Thayer, San Antonio wise woman, has a message for children of all ages about positive self-esteem.
Kim McKell, Toby's favorite teacher at the California Institute of Asian Studies
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Novels & Books back to top
To see -- OR ORDER -- all of Toby Johnson's titles
To order from amazon.com
Toby's "Marvelous Gay Mystical Novels"
-- with just a touch of the Twilight Zone -- are:
written in collaboration with anthropologist Walter L. Williams, a story of life with the Navajos, set in the 1860s, TWO SPIRITS
the wonderful soft sci-fi Lambda Lit- and Spectrum-honored SECRET MATTER, in a new, updated, revised, and expanded edition from Lethe Press.
the romantic & evocative ghost story set in 1890s America GETTING LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE
the wisdom of A Course in Miracles applied to AIDS in a sci fi thriller PLAGUE: A NOVEL ABOUT HEALING -- reissued in 2012 under the name THE FOURTH QUILL
with Steve Berman, CHARMED LIVES: Gay Spirit in Storytelling, more than 30 auithors about the "charm" of being gay
These titles are available in gay bookstores nationwide and by mail
from the author (signed and inscribed, if you'd like).
Toby's non-fiction titles are also described on that page:
Gay Spirituality: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness ( Lethe Press, 2004),
Gay Perspective: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us About the Nature of God and the Universe (Lethe Press, 2008), and
The Myth of the Great Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell (Celestial Arts, 1992)
In Search of God in the Sexual Underworld: A Mystical Journey (Morrow, 1983)
Several of Toby's O.P. or unavailable m.s.s. are available for free download.
All of Toby's books are available used from Barnes & Noble
(search also for Edwin Clark Johnson)
Books on Gay Spirituality: White Crane Gay Spirituality Series
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Book Reviews
Be Done on Earth by Howard E. Cook. Blending modern-day physics and cosmology, a little Teilhard and a little Matthew Fox, comparative religion, some Joseph Campbell, intelligent New Age thought, progressed Christianity, American political idealism, evolutionary theory, postmodernism, Pope John the Beloved calls for a new Church of the Second Coming--also referred to (iconoclastically) as the Church of Kingdom Come--COKC (try pronouncing the acronym). It’s a sex-positive religion based in an evolutionary model of human nature with an openly gay priesthood.
Pay Me What I'm Worth by Souldancer. Souldancer says he is blending good business practice with multicultural ancient wisdom. As the exercises continue, they demonstrate that giving is the way to get and that integrity and ethical living is the best success and the way to get paid by life with happiness and fulfillment. So the thing about asking for a raise is really a hook to pull you toward enightenment and wisdom.
The Way Out by Christopher Lee Nutter. Intermixing themes in current spiritual thought—the Dalai Lama, Joseph Campbell, Don Miguel Ruiz, Gary Zukav, A Course in Miracles, the Twelve Steps—Nutter offers an answer to who you really are. And in the process recounts how he came to understand this through his experience in urban gay culture. The answer, of course, isn’t new or surprising. It’s the age-old answer: we are each a perspective that “God” or “Divine Consciousness” or “the cosmos”—whatever you want to call IT—is taking on itself.
The Gay Disciple by John Henson. Gay consciousness is now part of human consciousness and naturally recapitulates Jesus’s teaching that love and compassion trump religion and law. It’s good that the Jesus story be written to include gay experience. The Life of Christ is an appropriate subset of gay literary genre.
Art That Dares by Kitt Cherry, presents erotic imagery based in Christian tradition. Cherry is the author of JESUS IN LOVE, a novelist "autobiography of Jesus" as sexually and psychologically sophisticated, a real "tour de force" in transforming traditional myth to modern consciousness. Cherry book ART THAT DARES was launched during the National Festival of Progressive Spiritual Art in Taos, NM, May 11-12. There was a show at the JHS Gallery.
The Dimensional Structure of Consciousness by Samuel Avery is a challenging and enlightening model of how consicousness generates the experience of the world. It was such a neat idea that I incorporated elements of it in my revised edition of SECRET MATTER.
A Bifurcation of Gay Spirituality: a review of Kennth Burr's Coming Out, Coming Home with a discussion of the difference between "spirituality & religion for gay people" and "Gay Spirituality" for gay people.
Extinguishing the Light by B. Alan Bougeois is an allegorical account, a parable, set in a modern Texas prison, of the appearance of a Christ-like figure who reaches out to his fellow offenders with a visionary message of love .
Over Coffee: A conversation For Gay Partnership & Conservative Faith by D.a. Thompson is a conversation between a Conservative Christian Pastor and a Conservative Christian layman--the author, D.a.--who advocates for the acceptance of gay partnership within religious congregations. He makes different arguments from the usual pro-gay marriage ones because he is NOT a proponent of same sex marriage, but of fairness within Christian churches in how the human (sinful) condition is treated. Interesting!
Dark Knowledge by Kenneth Low is a life of Christ written as a mystery story/puzzle asking the question why was Jesus actually executed. What crime had he committed that was so heinous, it deserved crucifxion? Whether you'd agree with the biblical exegetical approach in this book or not, it is really interesting and informative.
Janet Planet by Eleanor Lerman is a wonderfully engaging and beautifully written roman à clef-style novel based on the real life characters surrounding Carlos Castenada and The Teachings of Don Juan.
The Jesus we never knew is presented in two interesting and entertaining books that offer insight into the real message of religion: The Kairos by Paul E. Hartman and Wrestling with Jesus by D.K.Maylor.
Kali Rising by Rudolph Ballentine is a very interesting book about the "Foundational Principles of Tantra," but it is far more than a book of Hindu mythology. It's about a whole approach to life based in maintaining balance.
Links
Toby Johnson is past editor of
Take a look at the home page.
Ko Imani and Goko Media are producing MyOutSpirit.com, a resource guide, and socialnetworking site for gay spiritualities. Click on the title or the logo to go to the homepage for info and to submit your name or project for inclusion. The GAY SPIRITUALITY & CULTURE blog that Joe Perez managed for some four years has been interwoven into Ko Imani's MyOutSpirit.com site.
Sunfire's listing of current opportunities for Gay Retreats.
Christian de la Huerta is leading several upcoming retreats, specifically "The Soulful Power Retreat," outside Manhattan and again in Hawaii.
Joe Weston does a retreat called Respectful Confrontation. He's led this at Shalom Mountain Retreat Center.
Joseph Kramer is one of the most important characters in the development of gay positive spiritual thought. Through his investigation of Taoism and India Tantrayoga, he developed techniques for enhancing sexual arousal (and particularly self-pleasuring) and for moving sexual arousal into high mystical states of consciousness. This is one of the most significant contributions of gay spirituality to the evolution of religion. Kramer teaches through the Internet at The New School of Erotic Touch. (Toby has a Letter to the Editor in the August 08 issue of OUT Mag acknowledging Joseph Kramer's contribution.)
Toby gave the keynote address at Between the Worlds Gathering. This gay neo-pagan gathering in southeastern Ohio (of all places) is a marvelous event.
Toby Johnson has presented 4 workshops at Gay Spirit Camp at Easton Mountain.
He and Kip are both VERY impressed with Easton Mountain Retreat Center
and its experiment in gay intentional community and urge readers to check out eastonmountain.org
GSspirit, a site that explores new areas of thinking and experience of what it means to be Gay.
GSspirit > can stand for Gay ( S) sacred, soul, spirit, shaman, sexuality - Spirit or spirituality.
A web-community, social network site based in Australia. Gay Spirituality - Creating the New Myth
(Toby Johnson is pleased that Darren and Bradley have adopted the mobius strip for their logo.)
Travel and adventure--"pilgrimage"--are traditional spiritual practices. Spirit Journeys offers Gay Vacations, Travel, Tours, Weekend Getaways and Men's Retreats. Spirit Journeys trips offer play, adventure and relaxation, as well as the potential for personal growth and the exploration of spirituality and sexuality.
Go To More links
(to interesting websites Toby's discovered)
Kip Dollar & Toby Johnson attended the Gala Lambda Literary Awards Presentation in NYC, May 31, 2007. Toby's anthology CHARMED LIVES, co-edited by Steve Berman, was nominated for Best Anthology. The award went to the very deserving Love, Bourbon Street, edited by Herren & Willis.
Toby Johnson, PhD is author of some ten books: three non-fiction books that apply the wisdom of Joseph Campbell, his teacher and "wise old man," to modern-day social and religious problems, four gay genre novels that dramatize spiritual issues at the heart of gay identity, two books on gay men's spiritualities, gay spirit, and the mystical experience of homosexuality, and an anthology which he edited with Steve Berman of gay-positive short stories.
In addition to the novels featured elsewhere in this web site,Johnson is author of IN SEARCH OF GOD IN THE SEXUAL UNDERWORLD and THE MYTH OF THE GREAT SECRET (Revised edition): AN APPRECIATION OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL. For a more extended bio, click here. (More photos at bottom of page.)
Toby Johnson and Kip Dollar have been partners since 1984. They have been advocates for and examples of successful longterm gay relationships. Toby and Kip were the first male couple registered as Domestic Partners in Texas (Austin, Travis County, Oct 11, '93). There's a write-up about them as a couple on the very extensive website on gay couples & relationships, Partners Task Force for Gay & Lesbian Couples.
(Click here for a high resolution .tif photo of Toby Johnson in B&W Or in color and For hi-res color photo of Toby Johnson & Kip Dollar by Tim Leary)
Toby Johnson spoke with Harry Faddis for the upstate NY radio show & podcast The Quest of Life. Click here for the conversation, titled "Why Gay Spirituality?"
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Kip Dollar back to top
Kip and Toby have been partners since 1984. They were the first male couple to register as Domestic Partners in Texas. An account of their first 14 years together appears in Merle Yost's book on long-term gay relationships: WHEN LOVE LASTS FOREVER.Kip Dollar is a professional bookkeeper and community activist. It was he who managed the financial matters of Liberty Books. He worked with numerous gay community groups and organizations in San Antonio and Austin. He is a talented natural artist, working on paper in
watercolors, pastels, and charcoal (click on the link to see his portfolio) and in sculpture with clay. He is presently studying pastels with protrait artist Susan Carlin and with renowned watercolorist Brad Braune. Kip is also a creator of marvelous Halloween costumes. Kip's a striking redhead.
For seven years, Toby Johnson and Kip Dollar ran Liberty Books, the lesbian and gay community bookstore in Austin. Toby and Kip sold the store to Crossroads Market in 1994. In Spring 1997, they moved to Conifer, Colorado in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near Denver where they ran a gay B&B called The House at Peregrine's Perspective. (While in Denver, they purchased a wonderful mantle clock, a statue by French sculptor Mathurin Moreau, titled Bucheron, i.e., the woodcutter. Bucheron was a sort of mascot for the B&B.)In 2000, they moved back to Texas to operate a B&B called Casa Peregrino in the little artist colony/river resort town of Wimberley mid-way between San Antonio and Austin in the Texas Hill Country. And in 2003, they sold Casa Peregrino and moved back to their hometown to watch over Kip's parents, and to plan their next life adventure together.
In 1996 Toby joined an EarthWatch expedition to videotape the spring equinox festivals in the rural village of Tigiria in eastern India. Toby returned with several "longees," the
sarong-like garment the men in the area wear. Here are Kip and Toby in the backyard in Austin, wearing the Indian longees. Toby looks like actor Ben Kingsley -- and so by extension, Mahatma Gandhi.
More photos:
Gay Spirit Visions Conferences
Halloweens
More Photos
Here's another link to White Crane Journal
White Crane Gay Spirituality Series: classics in the Gay Genre now available from Lethe Press through state-of-the-art printing technology, in cooperation with White Crane Institute.
ALL THE LINKS BELOW APPEAR WITH GRAPHICS AND MORE DESCRIPTION ON
LINKS
(click here, a new window will open)
Here's a link to an interesting book of meditations called MESSIAH SEED by gay spiritual writer Story Waters. Check this out: Limitlessness.com
Here's a link to Ashe an interesting webzine of experimental (and gay) spirituality
Bruce Grether has a wonderful website on Erotic Spirituality for Men called www.mm4m.org
Christian de la Huerta of San Francisco's Q-Spirit, author of the groundbreaking book Coming Out Spiritually: The Next Step has a very extensive website at Soulful Power
An interesting new book: A SPECIAL ILLUMINATION: Authority, Inspiration and Heresy in Gay Spirituality by Rollan McCleary For more info, check out www.rollanmccleary.com
Ko Imani's Shirt of Flame: The Secret Gay Art of War a wonderful book about the gay political movement as spiritual workCanadian lesbian Caffyn Kelley has created a beautiful website (including complete text of her book) "Mapping Queer Meaning"
Out & About with Brewer & Berg is a philosophical travelogue of Europe with two zany guys in an amazing filmed documentary of their vision quest
Jesus in Love is a wonderful book, a Life of Christ, told in the first person of Jesus, but presented as a "modern person," psychologically and sexually aware.
An example of Modern mythopoesis: The Drums of Legenderry, a collection of fantasy short stories by writer/poet/drummer--and Foothills Family member--John Orlando.
"The Ways of the Spirit: A Course in Spirituality for LGBT People" A rado broadcast and podcast from WRPI radio created by Harry Faddis and Patrick Cheng
Mark Thompson, author of Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning, the book that arguably started the gay spirituality movement, has a website showing his photos of gay spiritual leaders from the exhibit Fellow Travelers, with links to Thompson's books
A German gay leatherman living in London has a site about Leather Sexuality from a spiritual perspective at meFFisto
Walter L. Williams, co-author with Toby Johnson of TWO SPIRITS, has a website with a wonderful re-presentation of the Teachings of Jesus for the modern day.
Christ, the Gay Martyr is a blog by an African American gay man in Kansas City who goes by Stuffed Animal. There are postings about Christianity and homosexuality. Very positive and uplifting.
Ra Sema Ba (Khaemille) is an American Gay High Priest initiated as a Babalawo (diviner) of the Yoruba Ifa religion as well as the founder of the House of Amun, a spiritual training system based upon the teachings of Ancient Egypt designed for Gay healers and metaphysicians. Here are links YouTube videos about the Path of the Golden Beetle.
On Black Gay Shamanism--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDD8XcC8_JI
On homophobia as a hetero psychosis-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loBsJhtfYlg&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
On Drag Queens as Androgynous Gods on Earth-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQSbOMoBg9I&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
On the sound to stop bullying-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhigs5zwWMc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
The Human Rights Campaign has a page called Out In Scripture, a free weekly online resource for clergy and lay people of faith. The website will provide distinct insights into the Bible, week after week, from a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-supportive perspective.
DREAMWalker Group profiles gay writers. Interesting and informative site.
Contemplations of the Heart: A Book of Male Spirit by Peter Grahame is a wonderful collection of male photography and uplifting text. A delight!
Sexual Fables by Martin Blythe is a wonderful site with revised versions of the great stories of Western Civilization, told with the sex angle written in and instead of written out. Especially, look for the gay angle in the stories Age of Consent, Women in Trousers and Vampires in Venice.
The first "Bible" was originated written by Marcion of Synope; The Savior's name was Isu Chrestos. A similar Savior with a similar message was Apollonius of Tyana. Students of the origins of Christianity will be interested in reading about the precursors to the Gospels. Check out Chrestos.com
Easton Mountain Retreat Center is a gathering place in the mountains outside Albany NY, an intentional community, which might be characterized as a gay spiritual "freelance monastery," hosts a variety of events and conferences.
Partners Task Force of Gay & Lesbian Couples is a very impressive and extensive resource with multiple links and many articles relevant to gay couples.
buddybuddy.com is the site of Demian, a Seattlite who runs an interesting suite of websites (including the aforementioned Partners Task Force). He also has an international listing of gay theaters, a link to his digital film and photography operation and the Sweet Corn Shop which sells products that affirm self-esteem and social equality.
The-society-directory.com - A Classified Directory of Society Web Links
Sell Books and Textbooks Online BlueRectangle is all about books. We not only buy back used books and textbooks; but also offer Video book reviews. Concise and fascinating insights into a wide variety of books.
Clouds of Magellan is an independent publishing imprint, based in Melbourne, Australia. Clouds specialises in non-fiction in the area of spirituality, broadly defined, and publishes some fiction and poetry. They publish Michael Kelly, former Dignity leader in Australia (Rainbow Sash Movement) and part-time resident at Easton Mountain Gay Retreat in upstate New York.
Gay writer Scott Bidstrup has a wonderful essay dealing with all the specific issues. I recommend it highly. Gay Marriage: The Arguments and the Motives
Donald Engstrom-Reese has a wonderful site and blog offering a gay conscious nature religion and spiritual view of life. Walking in Beauty
Bruce Grether has a new project Male Mystery School -- wonderful ideas and training in the spiritual dimensions of sexuality and masturbation.
Rick Freeman is Founder the Spiritual Director of Dolphin Pond. He has a lovely site with wonderful shamanic wisdom.
Tom Berg: How One Pubic School Teacher Awakened His Students to The Cosmic Super Self Within
OutImpact.com -- A new gay Internet magazine-- "Making a positive impact in the gay community. Make yours." --referred to me by the same people who created GayEvolution.com.
Mountaine Mort Jonas is a highly experienced trainer, conductor, actor, and musician in the rich honoring of true personal stories that is called Playback Theatre. He is also a long-time facilitator of Breathwork Medicine, a form of intensive breathing (similar to "rebirthing") which is a potent technique to advance self-knowledge, personal growth, transformation, and healing.
Eva Thayer is a wonderful "wise old woman" in San Antonio. She writes: "The purpose of life is to enjoy it. To do that it is necessary to love ourselves. My perception is that human me cannot love Me the way Creator Me can. Connecting ourselves to our Creator is a sure way to love ourselves. There's info about her on this site. And Check out her website MeLand
Would Jesus Discriminate? Gay rights from a Bibilical Christian perspective. What were "eunuchs" in Bibilical times?
www.glbtbookshelf.com is the newest site to highlight gay books. A great resource.
San Francisco photographer and de facto documentator of the City's gay movement has an exhibit in New York City Sept 15-Oct 17, 2009 at the Leslie Lohman Galley, 26 Wooster St in Soho. Read about Rink
Lorin Roche, Ph.D., a zesty life-affirming approach to meditation. Very interesting site, with a good discussion of gay spirituaity by a meditation teacher in Los Angeles
A wonderful essay on experiencing spiritual bliss within sexual lovemaking by Eric L. Hays-Strom posted on Kitt Cherry's Jesus in Love blog
Michael, the "Kahunka," gives good advice for mind & body. There are several videos of him giving cooking instructions shirtless. Michael's article on "The Law of Attraction" is one of the best statements of this idea I have ever read--the good sense, logical explanation without the "magical thinking."
Fr. William Hart McNichols is a former Jesuit priest and icon painter, a student of Robert Lentz. His icons, modernized, but in Russian tradition, are wonderful expressions of sainthood for today.
The Flesh & Spirit Community is "an intentional community of queer men, based in San Francisco, who bring enlightenment, love, liberation, healing, knowledge, power, and wholeness around issues of queer men's identity, spirituality, and sexuality.
Wonderful essay Is Jesus Gay? by Dirk Vanden offers some eye-opening retellings of the stories of Jesus that will shed some light on his title query.
Marie Friend has published a novel titled Star. It's described as "a brilliant tour de force through love bonds that were forged during the time of Akhenaton, strengthened during the reign of Henry XIII, and then climaxed in New York during the September 11 fall of the World Trade Center. The connections between various time periods are compelling and brilliantly wrought, yet what stands out in this wonderful novel is love. Friend’s subtle portrayals of love relationships from both the male and female perspective are deep and thought provoking." Toby Johnson knew Marie Friend through gay spiritual activist Ralph Walker.
A comprehensive consumer guide to "LGBT mortgages" explains the different approaches that same-sex couples can take in jointly owning property, getting a mortgage and other legal issues that lgbt couples may face.
The Land of Four Quarters is a beautiful tract of land in the Allegheny foothills of south central Pennsylvania that has been set aside to promote the twin missions of Earth Based Spirituality and Earth Balanced Living. Not specifically gay, but VERY welcoming.
TheGayPrayer.com -- I am thankful that I am gay. I am proud to be the person I am. I will try to be the best person I can be. I promise to be good to those who are less fortunate than me. I understand that I represent a greater truth, and that by being strong and that by being the person I am, the world is a better place.
Resources for Gay Christians. This is on a dating website. Independent of the site, the links are good and there are more interesting articles about gay issues and about other religions. (This site was recommended by the mother of a gay son who found it helped her understand how to think about gayness in a religious context.)
Martin Brant is author of some seven gay novels with enlightened sensibility. His blog, Enlightened Male 2000, contains interesting "counseling tips" and a plethora of beautiful and sexy images.
New Wings: Supported by prominent theologians and sacred activists, New Wings is an inclusive organization committed to healing the collective pain body of the LGBT community, facilitating self exploration, inquiry, networks of support and expanded education, and providing a safe environment to realign all affected with their divine nature.
Personal Finance Guide for LGBT. A very important and useful guide to living in the economic reality of modern life as sexual minorities with certain, sometimes out of the ordinary, needs and concerns. Info on same sex marrying, getting a mortgage, living with HIV, finding scholarships, etc.
A WONDERFUL book about the true meaning of religion and spirituality from the joint perspectives of a gay man and a transwoman, with an only partly tongue-in-cheek title: Can Christians Be Saved?
The Study of Myth, a new website sponsored by the Joseph Campbell Foundation & the Pacifica Archives, keeping Joseph Campbell's message vital.
Anchorhold: a space managed by David Townsend for the spirituality of gay and bisexual men. We have within ourselves the resources for our healing, liberation, and growth. Connecting with each other, we encounter the grace to lay hold of a richer, juicier life. Losing ourselves in deep play, we rediscover the bigger, freer, more joyous selves we're capable of becoming. (Related to Eaton Mountain Retreat Center).
Gay Dating Sites provides information on how to safely use online gay dating sites in a manner that minimizes the risk to the individual of assault or violence. Gay men face some unique risks when it comes to online dating, and many of the incidents which are occurring go largely unreported in the media. Consequently it is the goal of Gay Dating Sites, to inform the GLBT community of those risks and how to minimize them.
Gay Tantra. Brother William Schindler, a prolific and insightful gay spiritual writer, has created Ashram West as a spiritual community for gay men in the Tantric Hindu tradition.The Narrow Way by Chris Lemig—a book and a webblog—subtitled A Memoir of Coming Out Getting Clean and Finding Buddha. Beautifully written meditations/essays/blogs on a gay man's path to enlightenment.
Payam Ghassemlou MFT, Ph.D. is a gay Iranian who writes on spirituality, counseling, LGBT issues, and more. He has a psychotherapy practice in West Hollywood. His website contains interesting articles on gay psychodynamics.
Shokti, a blog by Shokti Lovestar, a British Faerie, described as "Tales of Queer Mystical emergence."
Queering the Church: towards a reality based theology. There is a homoerotic strand deeply embedded in the history of Christian spirituality and mysticism. A number of modern writers are also exploring queer spirituality, both within and outside the Christian tradition. Finally, spiritual experience is intensely personal, and so accounts of personal experience are important.
The Erotic Body of Christ, a website by Hunter Flournoy. In the Way of Christ, our passionate, desiring, sexual Love expressed through selfless giving and unconditional receiving, is the only thing that can reunite us with God.
Ra Golden Beetle Brotherhood of Gay Egyptian Shamanism. "Kamitic Gay Men's Spirituality to Heal Yourself, our Community, and the Planet." YouTube Videos, articles, ebooks from Yoruba priest Ra Sema Ra. For YouTube links for Ra Sema Ba, click here.
Having just launched last December on World Aids Day, Conscious Contraceptives is a super discrete online store for contraceptives and related products. ConCon.org donates proceeds to communities around the world, helping fund educational resources and provide contraceptives - as recently mentioned on MTV's Act Blog and Mashable.com.
CompassionSensuality.Net is the wonderfully sex-positive, post-dualistic, devoutly Buddhist and loving site of Philip Steven Knight with beautiful images, lovely music and powerful meditations. Very good advice about healing from sexual wounding and turning sexuality to loving prayer.
Going Deeper…Connecting with Others and Ourselves, facilitated by Gregg Cassin
Wonderful article by Dr. Michael Picucci about Sexual Energy as healing and beneficial: Source Energy Optimizes Life. Picucci's site, Psychotherapy for Depression, Anxiety, Trauma, LGBT, Grief in New York is at focalizing.com
Tzedaqyal's Blog contains essays on religion, spirituality, mysticism and history by a Swedish gay man; it's subtitled "Spirituality, Divinity & Humanity."
Yeshua21.com offers a modern, mystical interpretation of Christianity showing the real message is not to believe in doctrines, but to find, and live out, the Christ-within-you. Free download available of Getting to Know Jesus in the 21st Century.
"The Man’s Coach," Michael Parise specializes is working with men in relationship transition: personal, professional, vocational and spiritual relationships. As an artist, he assists other artists in “extracting the abstract” in their creative enterprise and helping them to promote themselves as professionals.
Rev Bill Freeman performs GLBT-affirming and Progressive Weddings in the Washington DC area.
here's link to a facebook page.
Interesting article about prayers for GLBTQ people -- with examples of familiar prayers, like the Our Father, rewritten slightly to make them more inclusive of gay people's concerns -- by Paul Jesup
Ken Stofft, M.A., C.S.W. offers Integrative, body-centered coaching for men in change in the Oakland area. His site, Transition Power, begins "A transition is often a time of confusion, isolation, loneliness, disorientation – resulting in your feeling unsafe and out-of-balance" A good time to make a change.
Walter L. Williams has developed a language system which he calls engspan which makes it easier for people to learn both Spanish and English and which could function as a easy language for a globalized world. engspan easy spelling part 1 introduction on YouTube.
Gay spiritual writer Joe Perez (Soulfully Gay) is now working with the Center for World Spirituality. The site has many interesting postings in addition to Perez's. It's especially good to see an openly gay man blogging about the evolution of spirit.
Joe Perez's Gay and Bi Men's Spirituality blog. Perez is particularly interesting in the philosophical framework--called Integralism--developed by Ken Wilbur.
The Total Guide: Home Buying for Same Sex Couples. Purchasing a home is a major undertaking for any couple, but same-sex couples must be especially diligent to make sure their investment and their interests are protected.
Raph Solo, a British/Lebanese rock singer tells the story of his search for love and for God. Available in digital formats from lulu.com
Interesting book by Joseph Dispenza, a former Catholic priest about the spirituality of gay love and about relationships between older and younhttp://www.lulu.com/shop/michael-lloyd/bull-of-heaven-the-mythic-life-of-eddie-buczynski-and-the-rise-of-the-new-york-pagan/paperback/product-20287061.htmlger men. Older Man/Younger Man: A Love Story
Joseph Dispenza has also helped with a book called The Chemotherapy Diet with Dr. Mike Herbert. Click here for a video
Of special interest to gay pagans: Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan by Michael Lloyd. Read Review Order from Lulu.com
A website for people interested in Josesph Campbell's ideas: The Study of Myth
With Same-sex Marriage at the Supreme Court in ther news, here's a link to a menu of "Top 100 Marriage Equality Blogs" from Gay Dating Sites.
Myron McClellan and Lawrence Phillips hold a monthly gathering of spiritual renewal in the company of the like-minded in Denver, CO. Mystical Musings is a celebration of the sacred that promotes growth and an evolution of consciousness. Read about Myron McClellan & Lawrence Phillips--spiritual guides and bodyworkers--at onebodyspirit.net.
Will Roscoe is among the most important & innovative thinkers in the Gay rights Movement & Gay Spirituality specifically. Here's his website: Will's World
Jordan Bach is a young man using YouTube, tumblr, facebook, etc to promote a positive--and spiritual--vision of gay identity. Lots of good material on his sites. Here's link to the YouTube page.
Terra Mysterium is a Chicago-based collective of musicians, actors, dancers, poets, magicians, and fire performers; creating, producing, and performing experiential works of music, theatre, and performance art that are rooted in the Earth mysteries.
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Toby Johnson, PhD is author of ten books: three non-fiction books that apply the wisdom of his teacher and "wise old man," Joseph Campbell to modern-day social and religious problems, four gay genre novels that dramatize spiritual issues at the heart of gay identity, and three books on gay men's spiritualities and the mystical experience of homosexuality. In addition to the novels featured elsewhere in this web site, Johnson is author of IN SEARCH OF GOD IN THE SEXUAL UNDERWORLD and THE MYTH OF THE GREAT SECRET (Revised edition): AN APPRECIATION OF JOSEPH CAMPBELL.
Johnson's Lammy Award winning book
GAY
SPIRITUALITY: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of
Human Consciousness.
His Lammy-nominated book GAY
PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature
of God and the Universe.
Both books are available from Lethe Press
in new and slightly revised editions.
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