Bringing The Electric Jesus to the World

I'm excited to share that my new book The Electric Jesus: The Healing Journey of a Contemporary Gnostic has just come out.  Since Im working with a small, but very cool independent publisher, the Evolver Editions imprint with North Atlantic Books, theres unfortunately no budget for a book tour.  This memoir has been six years in the making and Im reaching out to all of you to help me get the word out through a multi-city book tour early next year.

The book tells how after experiencing a devastating loss as a countercultural media activist during the 2004 election, I unwittingly embarked on a mystical journey marked by underground ayahuasca ceremonies, kundalini awakenings, prankster spirit guides, extraterrestrial encounters at the Burning Man festival, and miraculous energy healings that reshaped my skeptical worldview.  The book explores the mystical roots of Christianity, uncovers the secrets of alchemical symbols found in cultures across the globe, and offers visionary insight on how we can heal our ailing planet.

Healing Christian Wounds

One thing Im most passionate about is sharing how early Christianity was much more mystical, diverse, and different than todays dogmatic institutional structures that have been restricting, and often, I believe, wounding us.  The Electric Jesus shows how early Christianity utilized a radical initiation process derived from the Mediterranean Mystery Schools to harness energy in order to achieve gnosis, direct knowledge or experience of the divine. The book is a healing work, to help those hurt by current Christian paradigms see that theres a much juicier, soul-inspiring tradition available to them if you look past the messed up history and resulting authoritarian doctrine.  After hearing this information at events, people will often  run up to me excitedly, saying things like, I always knew my pastor wasnt telling me the whole story!

Visionary Ways to Heal Our Planet

Id also like to help spread some of the memes and messages of an incredible consciousness culture thats been working hard to shift the way our planet is headed, which is covered heavily in the book.  As one of the co-founders of the transformational web magazine Reality Sandwich and social network for conscious collaboration, Evolver.net, I've had some amazing front row seats in watching people turn on to new ways of thinking and being.  I also took a big and difficult risk in the last manuscript draft, finally coming out of the galactic closet to mention the extraterrestrial encounters Ive experienced as part of my spiritual awakening process.  I hope this book will help open some folks up to the vast possibilities of what lies out there in our universe.

What Your Contributions Go For:

As the community director of the Evolver Social Movement, I coordinate 40+ regional Evolver Spore groups in the US and abroad who work to transform their local communities in positive, sustainable ways.  I see our culture as energetically being a house divided and this is a way to bring people together to share their gifts, passions and resources for the greater good.  Many Spores have hosted readings in the past for authors like Daniel Pinchbeck, Graham Hancock, Chris Kilham, and Charles Eisenstein.  The book tour will give me a chance to visit their communities, share stories and information, and connect with them firsthand about our growing network of light.  I will also have couches to crash on to keep down the cost of the tour.  

Im hoping to do at least an East and West Coast tour in coordination with these regional groups, and if we raise enough funds, Id love to hit places in Canada and the middle of America (especially the Bible Belt!).  Since Im a car-less New Yorker, your contributions will go directly to pay for the  busses, trains, and airfare to move around (no meals, lodging, or lattes -- I'll take care of that).  If we raise $1,500, I can hit the East and West Coast, with $3,000 I can hit places like Boulder, Denver, SLC, the Southwest, and the South.  With $4,000, I figure I can visit all the Spores in the Continental US and Canada, and maybe some cities where we could jumpstart new Spores to activate local transformations.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you like the message of the book, please share this campaign with your friends and evolutionary allies on Facebook, Twitter, and other places.  Also, I welcome those who read the book to write reviews on Powell's onliine books, Amazon, etc, and share it with your friends.  

Praise for The Electric Jesus

A modern Odyssey of awakening, Jonathan Talat Phillips's journey into Gnosticism deeply resonates with the eccentric moment. The Electric Jesus, a spiritual autobiography, reveals a life lived in the light of transformation, searching for the mystic core of a planetary civilization. Alex Grey, co-founder of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, author of The Mission of Art

"A fresh, vigorous, and often startling account of a man's introduction to higher planes of reality. If you've ever wondered what the new consciousness movement is about, read this book and find out." Richard Smoley, author of Inner Christianity and The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the Universe

Entertaining, celebratory, burning, reflective, and electricbut definitely not for the faint of heart or hard of head. With tales of sex, drugs, elves and Jesus, this memoir romps through the hinterlands of body and soul. Sharon Gannon, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga and co-author of The Art of Yoga.