Toby at Easton Mountain Retreat Center

Toby has three new books out: an updated, revised and expanded edition of his classic soft sci fi romance novel
SECRET MATTER -- with its quirky and mystical spin on what it means to be gay. Click on the title for info.
An historical novel, written in collaboration with historian/anthropologist Walter L. Williams,
set in the Old West TWO SPIRITS: A Story of Life With the Navajo. And a collection of gay positive stories
contributed by more than 30 writers titled CHARMED LIVES.

Contact Us Table of Contents Search Site Also on this website: Toby Johnson's books: TWO SPIRITS: A Story of Life with the Navajo, a collaboration with Walter L. Williams GAY SPIRITUALITY: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe SECRET MATTER: updated, revised & expanded edtion from Lethe Press with Afterword by Mark Jordan GETTING LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE PLAGUE: A NOVEL ABOUT HEALING. CHARMED LIVES: Spinning Straw into Gold: Reclaiming Our Queer Spirituality Through Story Books on Gay Spirituality: White Crane Gay Spirituality Series   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 Wedding Cake Liberation Gay Marriage in Texas What's ironic Shame on the American People The "highest form of love"  The cause of homosexuality What is homosexuality? What Jesus said about Gay Rights The purpose of homosexuality What the Bible Says about Homosexuality Mesosexual Ideal for Straight Men Varieties of Gay Spirituality Why Gay Spirituality: Spirituality as Artistic Medium "It's Always About You" The myth of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Joseph Campbell's description of Avalokiteshvara You're Not A Wave 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 Curious Bodies What Toby Johnson Believes The Joseph Campbell Connection Campbell & The Pre/Trans Fallacy The Nature of Religion Being Gay is a Blessing Freedom of Religion The Gay Agenda Gay Saintliness Gay Spiritual Functions The subtle workings of the spirit in gay men's lives. The Sinfulness of Homosexuality  "The Evolution of Gay Identity" "St. John of the Cross & the Dark Night of the Soul." Avalokiteshvara at the Baths.  Eckhart's Eye Let Me Tell You a Secret Religious Articulations of the Secret The Collective Unconscious Driving as Spiritual Practice Meditation Historicity as Myth Pilgrimage Teenage Prostitution and the Nature of Evil Allah Hu: "God is present here"   Adam and Steve The Life is in the Blood Gay retirement and the "freelance monastery" Seeing with Different Eyes 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 Part 2: The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Part 3: Jesus and the Resurrection Part 4: A Course in Miracles The Secret of the Clear Light Understanding the Clear Light Mobius Strip Finding Your Tiger Face How Gay Souls Get Reincarnated About Alien Abduction In honor of Sir Arthur C Clarke The D.A.F.O.D.I.L. Alliance The Rainbow Flag Toby's friend and nicknamesake Toby Marotta. About Michael Talbot, gay mystic About Guy Mannheimer About Dennis Paddie About Sterling Houston About Michael Stevens Second March on Washington The Gay Spirituality Summit in May 2004 and the  "Statement of Spirituality"   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

Toby Johnson, writer and former psychotherapist, gave the Keynote Address and taught three workshops in mid-August at Easton Mountain Retreat Center in upstate New York for their annual Gay Spirit Camp. Easton Mountain offers a variety of programs throughout the year on gay personal development and spiritual growth. The retreat center is located in the mountains near Albany, New York. The center is operated by a collective of gay men, ranging in age from early 20s to late 80s, who are in the process of forming what might be characterized as a “post-religious freelance monastery/intentional community” based in modern gay spirituality. The community supports itself by hosting retreats and workshops related to gay men’s consciousness and personal happiness. Programs at Easton Mountain include such weekend workshops as Shamanic Journeying, Body Electric work, Massage and Healing Touch, Couples Retreats, Tantra for Gay Men, Living the Presence of God, and Manifest Love as well as Leadership Trainings for Gay/Queer Youth and for health activists and social service providers. Toby Johnson, author of Gay Spirituality: Gay Identity and the Transformation of Human Consciousness and other books, was keynoter and “guest star” for Gay Spirit Camp. The 40-some participants enjoyed a week of activities ranging from serious spiritual exercises like meditation, yoga, group sharing and heart circles to playful fun like contra dancing, naked body-painting, volleyball, costume dress-up and sing-along. The wonderful meals, with vegetarian and non-vegetarian offerings, featuring fresh produce from the extensive organic garden, were a special treat. The San Antonio native spoke about gay spirituality and the evolution of myth and religion to provide gay-specific practices and insights into the big questions of the meaning of life and the place of gay identity in human societies. Johnson was a student and friend of the renowned comparative religions scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell, who is best known for his wise advice: “Follow Your Bliss.” Johnson, only half jokingly, calls himself “Joe Campbell’s apostle to the gay community” because he himself found in Campbell’s modern transcendent vision of religious meaning a way of reconciling sexuality and spirituality. In addition to the keynote address “Why Gay Spirituality?,” Johnson spoke about the “Ten Roles of Gay Men in Culture” identified by fellow gay spiritual writer Christian de la Huerta and the spirituality of “Joyful Participation in the Sorrows of the World,” combining themes in Christianity and Buddhism. Easton Mountain Retreat Center offers an alternative to conventional travel and vacation. And it’s all very casual and friendly. The atmosphere is private and liberated enough to allow nudity around the swimming pool and volleyball court and yet deep enough for real friendships and personal connections to develop—including, of course, the connection with one’s own soul. Toby Johnson and his long-term partner Kip Dollar report they had a great time and recommend Easton Mountain to other gay men looking to get more out of vacation than just relaxing or putting up with crowds of tourists. There is info about the center at www.eastonmountain.com.

Toby Johnson, PhD is author of eight 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, three gay genre novels that dramatize spiritual issues at the heart of gay identity, and two 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 was published in 2000.

His Lammy-nominated book  GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our Homosexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe was published by Alyson in 2003.