Review: Gay and Healthy in a Sick Society

Contact Us Table of Contents Search Site   Home Google listing of all pages on this website Site Map Toby Johnson's Facebook page Toby Johnson's YouTube channel Toby Johnson on Wikipedia Toby Johnson Amazon Author Page Secure site at https://tobyjohnson.com Also on this website: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Toby Johnson's books: Toby's books are available as ebooks from smashwords.com, the Apple iBookstore, etc. FINDING YOUR OWN TRUE MYTH: What I Learned from Joseph Campbell: The Myth of the Great Secret III 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, a sci-fi novel with wonderful "aliens" with an Afterword by Mark Jordan GETTING LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE:  A Fantastical Gay Romance set in two different time periods THE FOURTH QUILL, a novel about attitudinal healing and the problem of evil TWO SPIRITS: A Story of Life with the Navajo, a collaboration with Walter L. Williams CHARMED LIVES: Spinning Straw into Gold: GaySpirit in Storytelling, a collaboration with Steve Berman and some 30 other writers THE MYTH OF THE GREAT SECRET: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell IN SEARCH OF GOD IN THE SEXUAL UNDERWORLD: A Mystical Journey Unpublished manuscripts About ordering Books on Gay Spirituality: White Crane Gay Spirituality Series   Toby has done five podcasts with Harry Faddis for The Quest of Life   Articles and Excerpts: Review of Samuel Avery's The Dimensional Structure of Consciousness Funny Coincidence: "Aliens Settle in San Francisco" About Liberty Books, the Lesbian/Gay Bookstore for Austin, 1986-1996 The Simple Answer to the Gay Marriage Debate A Bifurcation of Gay Spirituality Why gay people should NOT Marry The Scriptural Basis for Same Sex Marriage Toby and Kip Get Married Wedding Cake Liberation Gay Marriage in Texas What's ironic Shame on the American People The "highest form of love" Gay Consciousness Why homosexuality is a sin The cause of homosexuality The origins of homophobia Q&A about Jungian ideas in gay consciousness What is homosexuality? What is Gay Spirituality? My three messages What Jesus said about Gay Rights Queering religion Common Experiences Unique to Gay Men Is there a "uniquely gay perspective"? The purpose of homosexuality Interview on the Nature of Homosexuality What the Bible Says about Homosexuality Mesosexual Ideal for Straight Men Varieties of Gay Spirituality Waves of Gay Liberation Activity The Gay Succession Wouldn’t You Like to Be Uranian? The Reincarnation of Edward Carpenter Why Gay Spirituality: Spirituality as Artistic Medium Easton Mountain Retreat Center Andrew Harvey & Spiritual Activism The Mysticism of Andrew Harvey The upsidedown book on MSNBC Enlightenment "It's Always About You" The myth of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Joseph Campbell's description of Avalokiteshvara You're Not A Wave Joseph Campbell Talks about Aging What is Enlightenment? What is reincarnation? How many lifetimes in an ego? Emptiness & Religious Ideas Experiencing experiencing experiencing Going into the Light Meditations for a Funeral Meditation Practice The way to get to heaven Buddha's father was right What Anatman means Advice to Travelers to India & Nepal The Danda Nata & goddess Kalika Nate Berkus is a bodhisattva John Boswell was Immanuel Kant Cutting edge realization The Myth of the Wanderer Change: Source of Suffering & of Bliss World Navel What the Vows Really Mean Manifesting from the Subtle Realms The Three-layer Cake & the Multiverse The est Training and Personal Intention Effective Dreaming in Ursula LeGuin's The Lathe of Heaven Gay Spirituality Curious Bodies What Toby Johnson Believes The Joseph Campbell Connection The Mann Ranch (& Rich Gabrielson) Campbell & The Pre/Trans Fallacy The Two Loves The Nature of Religion What's true about Religion Being Gay is a Blessing Drawing Long Straws 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 Proposal for a study of gay nondualism Priestly Sexuality Having a Church to Leave Harold Cole on Beauty Marian Doctrines: Immaculate Conception & Assumption Not lashed to the prayer-post Monastic or Chaste Homosexuality Is It Time to Grow Up? Confronting the Aging Process Notes on Licking  (July, 1984) Redeem Orlando Gay Consciousness changing the world by Shokti LoveStar Alexander Renault interviews Toby Johnson Mystical Vision "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 No Stealing Next Step in Evolution The New Myth The Moulting of the Holy Ghost Gaia is a Bodhisattva The Hero's Journey The Hero's Journey as archetype -- GSV 2016 The  Gay Hero Journey (shortened) You're On Your Own Superheroes Seeing Differently 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 Facing the Edge: AIDS as an occasion for spiritual wisdom What are you looking for in a gay science fiction novel? The Vision The mystical experience at the Servites'  Castle in Riverside A  Most Remarkable Synchronicity 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 Joseph Campbell, the Hero's Journey, and the modern Gay Hero-- a five part presentation on YouTube About Alien Abduction In honor of Sir Arthur C Clarke Karellen was a homosexual The D.A.F.O.D.I.L. Alliance Intersections with the movie When We Rise More about Gay Mental Health Psych Tech Training Toby at the California Institute The Rainbow Flag Ideas for gay mythic stories People Kip and Toby, Activists Toby's friend and nicknamesake Toby Marotta. Harry Hay, Founder of the gay movement About Hay and The New Myth About Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, the first man to really "come out" About Michael Talbot, gay mystic About Fr. Bernard Lynch About Richard Baltzell About Guy Mannheimer About David Weyrauch About Dennis Paddie About Ask the Fire About Arthur Evans About Christopher Larkin About Mark Thompson About Sterling Houston About Michael Stevens The Alamo Business Council Our friend Tom Nash 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 Coming Out, Coming Home by Kennth A. Burr Extinguishing the Light by B. Alan Bourgeois Over Coffee: A conversation For Gay Partnership & Conservative Faith by D.a. Thompson 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 The Missing Myth by Gilles Herrada The Secret of the Second Coming by Howard E. Cook The Scar Letters: A Novel by Richard Alther The Future is Queer by Labonte & Schimel Missing Mary by Charlene Spretnak Gay Spirituality 101 by Joe Perez Cut Hand: A Nineteeth Century Love Story on the American Frontier by Mark Wildyr Radiomen by Eleanor Lerman Nights at Rizzoli by Felice Picano The Key to Unlocking the Closet Door by Chelsea Griffo The Door of the Heart by Diana Finfrock Farrar Occam’s Razor by David Duncan Grace and Demion by Mel White Gay Men and The New Way Forward by Raymond L. Rigoglioso The Dimensional Stucture of Consciousness by Samuel Avery The Manly Pursuit of Desire and Love by Perry Brass Love Together: Longtime Male Couples on Healthy Intimacy and Communication by Tim Clausen War Between Materialism and Spiritual by Jean-Michel Bitar The Serpent's Gift: Gnostic Reflections on the Study of Religion by Jeffrey J. Kripal Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion by Jeffrey J. Kripal The Invitation to Love by Darren Pierre Brain, Consciousness, and God: A Lonerganian Integration by Daniel A Helminiak A Walk with Four Spiritual Guides by Andrew Harvey Can Christians Be Saved? by Stephenson & Rhodes The Lost Secrets of the Ancient Mystery Schools by Stephenson & Rhodes Keys to Spiritual Being: Energy Meditation and Synchronization Exercises by Adrian Ravarour In Walt We Trust by John Marsh Solomon's Tantric Song by Rollan McCleary A Special Illumination by Rollan McCleary Aelred's Sin by Lawrence Scott Fruit Basket by Payam Ghassemlou Internal Landscapes by John Ollom Princes & Pumpkins by David Hatfield Sparks Yes by Brad Boney Blood of the Goddess by William Schindler Roads of Excess, Palaces of Wisdom by Jeffrey Kripal Evolving Dharma by Jay Michaelson Jesus in Salome's Lot by Brett W. Gillette The Man Who Loved Birds by Fenton Johnson The Vatican Murders by Lucien Gregoire "Sex Camp" by Brian McNaught Out & About with Brewer & Berg Episode One: Searching for a New Mythology The Soul Beneath the Skin by David Nimmons Out on Holy Ground by Donald Boisvert The Revotutionary Psychology of Gay-Centeredness by Mitch Walker Out There by Perry Brass The Crucifixion of Hyacinth by Geoff Puterbaugh The Silence of Sodom by Mark D Jordan It's Never About What It's About by Krandall Kraus and Paul Borja ReCreations, edited by Catherine Lake Gospel: A Novel by WIlton Barnhard Keeping Faith: A Skeptic’s Journey by Fenton Johnson Dating the Greek Gods by Brad Gooch Telling Truths in Church by Mark D. Jordan The Substance of God by Perry Brass The Tomcat Chronicles by Jack Nichols 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives by Joe Kort Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same Sex Love by Will Roscoe The Third Appearance by Walter Starcke The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann Surviving and Thriving After a Life-Threatening Diagnosis by Bev Hall Men, Homosexuality, and the Gods by Ronald Long An Interview with Ron Long Queering Creole Spiritual Traditons by Randy Conner & David Sparks An Interview with Randy Conner Pain, Sex and Time by Gerald Heard Sex and the Sacred by Daniel Helminiak Blessing Same-Sex Unions by Mark Jordan Rising Up by Joe Perez Soulfully Gay by Joe Perez That Undeniable Longing by Mark Tedesco Vintage: A Ghost Story by Steve Berman Wisdom for the Soul by Larry Chang MM4M a DVD by Bruce Grether Double Cross by David Ranan The Transcended Christian by Daniel Helminiak Jesus in Love by Kittredge Cherry In the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson The Starry Dynamo by Sven Davisson Life in Paradox by Fr Paul Murray Spirituality for Our Global Community by Daniel Helminiak Gay & Healthy in a Sick Society by Robert A. Minor Coming Out: Irish Gay Experiences by Glen O'Brien Queering Christ by Robert Goss Skipping Towards Gomorrah by Dan Savage The Flesh of the Word by Richard A Rosato Catland by David Garrett Izzo Tantra for Gay Men by Bruce Anderson Yoga & the Path of the Urban Mystic by Darren Main Simple Grace by Malcolm Boyd Seventy Times Seven by Salvatore Sapienza What Does "Queer" Mean Anyway? by Chris Bartlett Critique of Patriarchal Reasoning by Arthur Evans Gift of the Soul by Dale Colclasure & David Jensen Legend of the Raibow Warriors by Steven McFadden The Liar's Prayer by Gregory Flood Lovely are the Messengers by Daniel Plasman The Human Core of Spirituality by Daniel Helminiak 3001: The Final Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke Religion and the Human Sciences by Daniel Helminiak Only the Good Parts by Daniel Curzon Four Short Reviews of Books with a Message Life Interrupted by Michael Parise Confessions of a Murdered Pope by Lucien Gregoire The Stargazer's Embassy by Eleanor Lerman Conscious Living, Conscious Aging by Ron Pevny Footprints Through the Desert by Joshua Kauffman True Religion by J.L. Weinberg The Mediterranean Universe by John Newmeyer Everything is God by Jay Michaelson Reflection by Dennis Merritt Everywhere Home by Fenton Johnson Hard Lesson by James Gaston God vs Gay? by Jay Michaelson The Gate of Tears: Sadness and the Spiritual Path by Jay Michaelson Roxie & Fred by Richard Alther Not the Son He Expected by Tim Clausen The 9 Realities of Stardust by Bruce P. Grether The Afterlife Revolution by Anne & Whitley Strieber AIDS Shaman: Queer Spirit Awakening by Shokti Lovestar Facing the Truth of Your Life by Merle Yost The Super Natural by Whitley Strieber & Jeffrey J Kripal Secret Body by Jeffrey J Kripal In Hitler's House by Jonathan Lane Walking on Glory by Edward Swift The Paradox of Porn by Don Shewey Is Heaven for Real? by Lucien Gregoire Scissors, Paper, Rock by Fenton Johnson Toby Johnson's Books on Gay Men's Spiritualities: Gay Perspective Things Our [Homo]sexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe Gay Perspective is available as an audiobook narrated by Matthew Whitfield. Click here Gay Spirituality Gay Identity and  the Transformation of Human Consciousness Gay Spirituality   is now available as an audiobook, beautifully narrated by John Sipple. Click here Charmed Lives: Gay Spirit in Storytelling edited by Toby Johnson & Steve Berman Secret Matter Lammy Award Winner for Gay Science Fiction updated Getting Life in Perspective A Fantastical Romance Getting Life in Perspective is available as an audiobook narrated by Alex Beckham. Click here  The Fourth Quill originally published as PLAGUE The Fourth Quill is available as an audiobook, narrated by Jimmie Moreland. Click here Two Spirits: A Story of Life with the Navajo with Walter L. Williams Two Spirits  is available as an audiobook  narrated by Arthur Raymond. Click here Finding Your Own True Myth: What I Learned from Joseph Campbell The Myth of the Great Secret III In Search of God  in the Sexual Underworld The Myth of the Great Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell. This was the second edition of this book. Toby Johnson's titles are available in other ebook formats from Smashwords.

Being Happy Being Gay Gay and Healthy in a Sick Society by Robert N. Minor Humanity Works Press 233 pages, paperback, $14.95 978-0970958112 Available from Amazon.com new and used Gay & Healthy in a Sick Society: The Minor DetailsQueering This review appeared in White Crane Journal Description: In this collection of short articles, Dr. Robert N. Minor, author of Scared Straight: Why It’s So Hard to Accept Gay People and Why It’s So Hard to be Human, a 2002 finalist for both the Lambda Literary Award and the Independent Publisher Book Award, applies his critically acclaimed insight to the issues of life today. Written since 1998 as monthly columns, Gay and Healthy in a Sick Society challenges gay people and their allies to see how not being or acting "straight" is actually a healthy approach to life. Gay people are just fine, Dr. Minor affirms. It’s society that’s very sick. Most societal perspectives, attitudes, and solutions prevent all people from living fully, stifle their abilities to relate to themselves and others as human beings, and keep society stuck using the same old failing political, social, and religious answers to life’s challenges. Dr. Minor doesn’t waste energy complaining about those opposed to gay people, but speaks to how lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender people, and their allies see themselves, respond to their critics, and define their own life. Admiring the values of the sickness around them may help people fit in but not contribute to personal or societal healing. Instead, Gay and Healthy proclaims, LGBT people must not bury, but value, their own language, definitions, answers, and insights into the variety of problems around them problems which hurt everyone but which society would prefer to act out against LGBT people. Review: Robert Minor is a professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas. He’s a lecturer, writer and workshop leader on issues of gender, sexual orientation, and active change. His earlier book, Sacred Straight: Why It’s So Hard to Accept Gay People and Why It’s So Hard to be Human, was a 2002 Lammy nominee (and was a great influence on this reviewer in the articulation of ideas on gay spirituality in the book Gay Perspective). Since 1998, Minor has written a regular column, titled “Minor Details,” for the Kansas monthly LGBT magazine, Liberty Press. His new book Gay and Healthy in a Sick Society is a compilation of those columns. That the essays were written over a span of some five years means that some are a little dated or, at least, time-bound. The column for October 2001, for instance, demonstrates the “shock and awe” the American nation was feeling in that time period. Yet, even then, Minor was precocious in observing that “Nothing was said [by the President and the media] about how we’ve trained most terrorist leaders or of the decades of self-serving, often anti-democratic, U.S. foreign policy.” His critique then was as salient as it would be two years later in these days when the 9/11 Commission is meeting—and still not making such incisive analyses of the roots of the Terrorist Wars. Wisely, the essays in Gay and Healthy are not ordered chronologically, but are arranged according to topic. Among the 12 subject areas are: Coming Out, Growing Up in the USA, Sex, Romance, Politics, etc. Minor often takes a refreshingly odd-ball perspective on common topics. His discussion of the priest/pedophilia scandal, for example, observes how celibacy itself is a kind of “sexual addiction,” i.e. an obsession with sex far beyond a simple and healthy human experience. As the title of the collection makes clear, Minor sees modern society as sick and the various problems as symptoms of that societal disorder, not as the sign of the sinfulness of certain categories of people who get popularly scapegoated. Throughout this collection of essays, Robert Minor demonstrates that a sex-positive and gay-positive perspective on life naturally results in socially desirable and ethical attitudes and behaviors. In our transcending polarized gender roles and gender expectations, gay people truly represent a beacon to a society hopelessly drowning in negative anti-sexual and life-denying attitudes. Minor is holding up that light for all to see. Readable, entertaining and unfailingly sensible, Minor's analyses of modern life and especially modern gay life deserve a second incarnation in Gay and Healthy in a Sick Society. For information, see www.fairnessproject.org Reviewed by Toby Johnson, author of Gay Spirituality: Gay Identity and the Transformation of Human Consciousness, The Myth of the Great Secret: An Appreciation of Joseph Campbell and other novels and books

Toby Johnson, PhD is author of nine 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 two books on gay men's spiritualities and the mystical experience of homosexuality and editor of a collection of "myths" of gay men's consciousness. 

Johnson's book GAY SPIRITUALITY: The Role of Gay Identity in the Transformation of Human Consciousness won a Lambda Literary Award in 2000.

His  GAY PERSPECTIVE: Things Our [Homo]sexuality Tells Us about the Nature of God and the Universe was nominated for a Lammy in 2003. They remain in print.

FINDING YOUR OWN TRUE MYTH: What I Learned from Joseph Campbell: The Myth of the Great Secret III tells the story of Johnson's learning the real nature of religion and myth and discovering the spiritual qualities of gay male consciousness.

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