Soul*Sparks Series

In a wealth of ways across a wide span of traditions and hundreds of generations, pilgrims have sought out holy places: forest groves, healing wells or springs, pyramids, mountains, churches, temples, stone circles or labyrinths. Millions of people have traveled for a host of reasons. In the end, whether we go willingly or unwillingly, whether we regard ourselves as tourists, business agents, or sacred travelers, we are all, pilgrims. A pilgrimage is a journey, not only outward to a faraway place, but also, inevitably, inward toward spiritual understanding and growth. In our era pilgrimage can be as well a critical geospiritual deed to help maintain the balance of our land, our planet, our lives. This eBook is an invaluable guide to personal spiritual growth, as well as to earth healing. It’s also a collection of riveting and beautifully told true stories about critical geospiritual actions in North America This nonfiction eBook by veteran journalist Steven McFadden also acknowledges, honors, draws from and strives to integrate the many cultures and traditions which have streamed onto Turtle Island (North America) over the last 500 years or so. We have long needed, and finally have begun to find ways to graft the far-flung traditions from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Asia, and beyond — onto the rootstock that is so deeply embedded here: Native ways. So many teachings make beautiful sense, in both the short and the long term, in ways both common and rare. We need all the wisdom we can summon to meet the challenges of our times, and native pilgrimage teachings offer a deep foundation. The book offers a wealth of insight about the challenges that arise in pilgrimage and the profound good that such a spiritual exercise may bring – not just for the individual pilgrims, but also for the world at large. Pilgrims may set out to do penance for past evils, to find answers to questions, to invoke blessings, to pursue spiritual ecstasy, or to seek a miracle for a friend or family member. Increasingly in our era, pilgrims also set out to help heal the earth. In most mystical traditions it is said that the human soul itself, every human soul, is on a pilgrimage, consciously or unconsciously. He or she is bound for a holy place and therefore life is not just for enjoyment, but the soul also has dharma, a purpose or objective that must ever be kept in focus. Now as you set out on the literary pilgrimage of reading this book, my hope as the author is that it will offer up useful compass points to help you maintain your bearings. Journeys to luminous locations are often undertaken by people with scant understanding of what pilgrimage is and the principles that have been found to enhance it. Thus, they may see only what they have come to see, whereas intentional pilgrims may more readily open doors of perception, encounter revelation, and gain constructive power. To the extent any or all of us are alienated by modern life from the natural world, a pilgrimage to a sacred place can help heal and restore this. The energetic atmosphere of sacred places can awaken a slumbering soul, providing not only renewal, but also a clearer sense of purpose. The energy can invigorate and promote balance — assisting human beings to realign through physical, mental, and emotional planes. A Primer for Pilgrims delivers nonfiction insight, excitement, inspiration, adventure, and more.

Tales of the Whirling Rainbow is a journalist’s account of some of the key myths and mysteries of the Americas, and an electrifying exploration of how those myths are resounding in real time. Veteran journalist Steven McFadden weaves the living myths together seamlessly in a tightly written book that is eye-opening, and soul resonant. Drawn from sources both ancient and modern, Tales of the Whirling Rainbow conveys adroit insights into key facets of North America’s unfolding saga. Learning to respect these knowings is fundamental to our spiritual growth and progress on the land going forward in time. McFadden tells the tales in plain, precise language, creating a quick but absorbing investigation into a deeply rooted mythos that offers keys to healing. As the Sun awakens and earth changes intensify, our human lives attain high velocity. At this time and in this manner, elders across Turtle Island (North America) told the author, the human beings who are the different colors and faiths of the world will be moved. This will create opportunities to heal their web of relationships. About McFadden’s other books: The New York Times Sunday Book Review observed, “There are some stirring and unexpected powers unleashed.” Library Journal commented: “This wise and provocative collection is highly recommended.” The Washington Times: “Our leaders should sit and listen to the counsel Steven McFadden has gathered.” W.E.L.: “An excellent read. Informative without being preachy. Exactly what I have been looking for. Bravo!”

Life’s foundational questions come elegantly to the fore in this skillfully crafted nonfiction story about the late John H. Finley, Jr. For 51 years Finley was the celebrated and erudite Eliot Professor of the Classics at Harvard. Luminous and compellingly relevant, his story leads readers into direct engagement with the fundamental wisdom questions of a fulfilled life. Classical Considerations is a small treasure, offering a compact but brilliantly lyrical array of intellectual sparks that will kindle an exuberant fire in every reader’s soul.

"I ask you to listen, not just with your minds. I ask you to listen with your hearts, because that's the only way you can receive what it is, what we are giving. These are the teachings of our hearts." - Frank Decontie, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg What do some of the deeply rooted and venerable wisdom teachings of the Americas offer in our era of transition? This Soul*Sparks small treasure offers an array of thoughtful messages, a compilation of keys that everyone has opportunities to turn. We'd be wise to understand and then to weave their enduring insights into the fabric of what we are creating for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children The words of contemporary elders, in particular, are tinged with a note of urgency.

Over the last decades many thousands of people in all parts of the world have come to recognize in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) a vehicle for approaching land, food, labor, environment and community in a healthier way. Now – in an era with increasing shadows of environmental catastrophe – it’s time to expand exponentially the CSA vision and reality. The opportunity is before us to establish hundreds of thousands of CSA farms in nations around the world, and to thereby employ a proven, egalitarian model to address the radically changing circumstances in our environment, climate, economics, and social relationships. This book lays out the vision, and sounds a call to action. Author Steven McFadden is a journalist who has been writing about CSA since its inception in the USA in the late 1980s.