Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

   (Infinite Heart Publications, 2026). ISBN: 979-8-9958409-0-9 There are few words/concepts when it comes to the pursuit of the spiritual that are more misunderstood, maligned, and mysterious than the word guru . The dictionary definition is surprisingly straightforward: A Sanskrit term for a spiritual or intellectual guide, teacher, or master. All students, after all, require teachers and guides. In 30-plus years of spiritual study and practice, I have had many teachers and guides, but not a single one that I would term a guru. For many folks who grew up in the sixties, the word guru conjures images of the Beatles and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi falling in and falling out. Those with a deeper knowledge of student-seekers and their gurus might think of Ram Dass (Richard Alpert) and his guru Neem Karoli Baba, or even Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love encounters with (the unnamed in the book) Gurumayi Chidvilasananda and Bali’s Ketut Liyer. No matter your level of knowledge ab...

The source and substance of inspiration are as enigmatic and oft-debated as any of life’s deepest mysteries. Artists in all areas of creativity have been known to undertake ritual, engage in the use of various substances, or conceive of the work in terms of some vast, metaphorical battlefield where the artist must pay in pints of etheric, ghostly blood for the Muses to bestow even the smallest gift of good art upon them. Creativity gurus such as Elizabeth Gilbert ( Big Magic ) and Steven Pressfield ( The War of Art ) lead the field with their insights and ideas regarding creativity and inspiration and their relationship to the work. In Unseen Partner , Diane Croft tells her story of the source and substance of inspiration through the lens of automatic writing: ten years ago she had an experience of this phenomenon that produced, over the course of three years, in excess of 700 poetry verses. The experience would happen “about the same time every morning.” Croft, in an endnote, men...