Bücher von Ralph Metzner

These poems were written over a period of about 30 years, in the course of my travels in America and Europe, teaching courses and workshops in consciousness expansion, meditation, psychedelics, shamanism, alchemy and emerging new worldviews.Some of these poems were recorded on a spoken voice CD called Spirit Soundings with sonic and musical accompaniment by Kit Walker and friends.The Song of the Pearl is my adaptation of a 5th century Gnostic hymn describing the soul's journey from incarnation, through birth and growth, and to ultimate return to the origin.Epilog I: Gnostic Themes in The Song of the PearlEpilog II: The Road to Language Epilog III: A Riddle with Six Answers

Domination behavior, using force to control others, is destabilizing and disruptive in families, groups and communities. At the international level, aggressive domination is war - the breakdown of the civilized order. Dr. Metzner tracks the roots of war and domination: in the psychological consequences of violent child abuse; in historical and prehistorical patterns of resource competition; and in mammalian predator behavior gone awry. One can see these ancient predatory patterns operating in the capitalist and imperialist policies of nation states. Seeking still deeper roots, he explores lesser known mythological and esoteric teachings: the Buddhist myths of power-addicted demons; the legend of the corruption of the Atlantean civilization; the Nordic myths of wars among the gods; and the Sumerian myths of dominating extra-terrestrial war-lord colonizers who genetically engineered our human ancestors. Finally, he examines the complex and profound teachings of the mysterious 20th century sage G.I. Gurdjieff, who located the ultimate causes of war in the extra-planetary environment and cosmic history. It is the author's intention and hope that these explorations of this most intractable of humanity's problems may lead others to further discoveries and possible solutions.

Entheogenesis means the growing realization that we human beings and the world around us are much more than simply material organisms living and evolving on a material planetary body. We are multi-dimensional spiritual, cosmic, noetic, psychic and physical beings. The central insight that emerges from entheogenic states and is confirmed by the perennial spiritual traditions of East and West, is that at every level, from macro-cosmic to micro-cosmic, from atoms and animals, to trees and planets and stars, Spirit dwells within created forms and expresses through them. This monograph is based on 50 years of experience as a participant-observer in the international underground sub-culture involved with entheogenic, consciousness-expanding substances. The author discusses the uses and values of such substances when the explicit intention or purpose is for spiritual awakening, psychotherapy, healing, increased understanding and the enhancement of creativity. The intent of this documentation is not to prove or promote any particular method or treatment of any condition. The evaluation of entheogens needs to be in terms of how productive these experiences are of healthier approaches to the issues of living in these times, in this world.

In this monograph, I relate findings from more than 30 years of experiences and observations with this substance, in various user groups and individuals, both in the US and in Europe. I use the term underground in referring to the explorations with these substances, in the sense that they were hidden - out of respect for the restrictions and prohibitions of mainstream culture.These are ethnographic field reports: first-hand observations from an underground sub-culture, accompanied by the experiences of a selected number of participant-observers. It is important to recognize that in research with these and other so-called psychedelic or entheogenic substances, one cannot limit the observations and reflections solely to their physical and psychological effects. As most of the people cited here emphasize, the experiences with these substances at times can go far beyond their physical and psychological effects into the deepest and highest dimensions of our existence, both the cosmic and the spiritual.

Als menschliche Seele inkarniert sich jeder von uns mit einem bestimmten Ziel, einer Intention oder Vision für dieses Leben. Die Seele wählt einen oder mehrere der sechs wichtigsten archetypischen Lebenswege in der Gesellschaft aus, um dadurch ihren Begabungen Ausdruck zu verleihen und ihre Vision in die Realität umzusetzen: Heiler/Friedensstifter, Forscher/Wissenschaftler, Krieger/Beschützer, Künstler/Musiker, Lehrer/Historiker und Erbauer/Organisator.Jedem der sechs Pfade entsprechen charakteristische Disziplinen, die man zuerst lernen muss, um sie dann umzusetzen. Jeder der sechs Lebenspfade steht nicht nur für unsere Karriere, unseren Beruf oder unsere Arbeit in der Welt, er ist auf einem tieferen Niveau der spirituelle Entwicklungspfad, den die Seele gewählt hat.

"Dieses wichtige und genau zur richtigen Zeit erscheinende Buch lässt uns die Stimmen unserer Ahnen aus dem Alten Europa hören, die uns die Feier des Lebens lehren und uns in der Kunst der Versöhnung unterrichten."Joanna MacyMit Ralph Metzners grandiosem Buch schauen wir tief in den Brunnen der Erinnerung, in die europäischen Mythen, die von der Weisheit der Erde künden und die bis zum heutigen Tag nichts von ihrer Lebendigkeit und Bedeutung verloren haben. Ganz in der Tradition von Campbell, Eliade und Jung erforscht Metzner die westliche Psyche anhand archaischer Bilder und Zeugnisse und stellt meisterhaft dar, wie das Reflektieren über die alten Waldgötter unserer Ahnen uns unseren Platz im Wandel der Natur zeigen und uns von der Zerstörung unserer Umwelt abhalten kann. Gleichzeitig zeigt das Buch äußerst klar die Verfälschungen des Germanischen in der Nazi-Zeit auf und macht deutlich, dass germanische Tradition in keiner Weise etwas mit rechtsnationalem Gedankengut zu tun hat. Metzner leistet hier notwendige Heilarbeit und verbindet uns wieder mit unserer eigenen schamanischen, erd-zentrierten Spiritualität, die in den Mythen unserer Ahnen verborgen liegt. Beiträge von Marija Gimbutas, Christian Rätsch und Wolf-Dieter Storl runden dieses außergewöhnliche und von Autoren wie Brian Swimme, Sam Keen, Stanislaw Grof und Dolores LaChapelle hochgelobte Buch ab.

In his introduction to The Well of Remembrance, author Ralph Metzner provides a telling explanation of the theme of his work: "This book explores some of the mythic roots of the Western worldview, the worldview of the culture that, for better and worse, has come to dominate most of the rest of the world''s peoples. This domination has involved not only economic and political systems but also values, basic attitudes, religious beliefs, language, scientific understanding, and technological applications. Many individuals, tribes, and nations are struggling to free themselves from the residues of the ideological oppression practiced by what they see as Eurocentric culture. They seek to define their own ethnic or national identities by referring to ancestral traditions and mythic patterns of knowledge. At this time, it seems appropriate for Europeans and Euro-Americans likewise to probe their own ancestral mythology for insight and self-understanding." Focusing on the mythology and worldview of the pre-Christian Germanic tribes of Northern Europe, Metzner offers a meaningful exploration of Western ancestry.