Kevin B. Turner – författare

Part travelogue, part experiential spiritual memoir, Kevin Turner takes us to visit with authentic shamans in the steppes and urban centers of modern-day Mongolia. Along the way, the author, a practicing shaman himself, tells of spontaneous medical diagnoses, all-night shamanic ceremonies, and miraculous healings, all welling from a rich culture in which divination, soul-retrieval, and spirit depossession are a part of everyday life.   Shamanism, described in the 1950s by Mircea Eliade as "archaic techniques of ecstasy," is alive and well in Mongolia as a means of accessing "nonordinary realities" and the spirit world. After centuries of suppression by Buddhist and then Communist political powers, it is exploding in popularity in Mongolia. Turner gives compelling accounts of healings and rituals he witnesses among Darkhad, Buryat, and Khalkh shamans, and goes on to provide us with his insights into a universal shamanism, principles that lie at the heart of shamanic traditions worldwide. This astounding, inspiring book will appeal to shamans and shamanic therapists, students of Mongolian culture and comparative religion, and fans of off-grid travel memoirs.From the Trade Paperback edition.

A spiritual journey of alchemical initiation in both Eastern and Western traditions• Describes the initiatory stages of Kriya Yoga and Tibetan Buddhism with high-level yogis and lamas• Shares the author’s experiences of spontaneous dream initiations, astral travels, Kundalini awakening, and an out-of-body journey through the Bardo to a past life—which led him to pursue spiritual studies in Asia• Reveals the profound parallels between Western Alchemy’s search for the Philosopher’s Stone and the Indo-Tibetan quest for Spiritual LiberationGuided by a profound series of dream initiations, astral travels, intense kundalini activation, and an out-of-body journey to a past life, Kevin Turner embarks on an around-the-world quest in pursuit of the secret fire of alchemical enlightenment.Detailing his intensive studies to discover the meaning behind his spontaneous nighttime initiations, Turner finds resonance with Goethe’s alchemical quest and Descartes’ assertion that the pineal gland is the seat of the soul. Turning to Eastern traditions, the author finds exact descriptions of his experiences in books on kundalini yoga and answers to his questions about death, rebirth, and the soul’s Immortal Light in writings on Tibetan Buddhism—as well as profound parallels between the alchemists’ search for the Philosopher’s Stone and the Indo-Tibetan quest for Liberation.Realizing his calling to accelerate the evolution of the soul, Turner travels to Asia where he meets the last living disciple of Sri Yukteswar, Swami Paramahansa Hariharananda Giri, who initiates him into Kriya Yoga. In his pursuit of the Eastern alchemical tradition, he then travels to the Himalayas in Nepal to study with Shamarpa Rinpoche at Nagi Gompa Monastery. Turner then journeys to Taipei to study Taoist alchemy and Tai Chi before returning to Europe to renew his studies of Western alchemy.Deeply personal and spiritually uplifting, Turner’s story of initiation into alchemical traditions of East and West offers insight into the initiatory process known as the "Great Work" and powerful guidance to others on the spiritual path toward enlightenment.