The Dreaming Circus: Special Ops, LSD, and My Unlikely Path to Toltec Wisdom

Description

* Explains how the author became a student of Toltec spiritual teacher don Miguel Ruiz and how he traveled the world, as well as the astral realms, undergoing a deep spiritual journey of change * Details how the author discovered LSD after the Vietnam War and even tripped while skydiving * Recounts his time as a civil rights advocate and war correspondent, and how Toltec shamanism helped prepare him to ease his wife's long end-of-life journey During his third tour of duty in Vietnam where he served as a Green Beret, Jim Morris was wounded badly enough to be retired from the army. He came home bitter, angry that his career had been ended. After reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, he realized that many members of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters had also been combat officers. Following this spiritual "hint," he spent the next couple of years as an acid head, even skydiving on LSD. Awakened by his LSD experiences, Morris immersed himself in the books of Carlos Castaneda as well as in Kriya yoga, Charismatic Christianity, and A Course in Miracles. From these experiences he was led to Toltec spiritual teacher don Miguel Ruiz and began a deep spiritual journey of change. Sharing his journey from PTSD to spiritual awakening, Morris recounts his time as a civil rights advocate for the Montagnard people in Vietnam and his years as a war correspondent at the same time he was following Castaneda's Warrior's Way. He describes his momentous meeting with don Miguel Ruiz as well as his travels around the world and in the astral realms. Sharing how his wife developed dementia and later became paralyzed, Morris explains how it required all his Toltec training, all his military training, everything he had to share her final years in a meaningful and fulfilling way. Written from a deep understanding of Toltec techniques this book shows in a heartfelt and resonant way what a spiritual path can give you.

Retired U.S. Army Special Forces Major Jim Morris served three tours with the Green Berets in Vietnam. He has worked as a civil rights advocate for the mountain peoples with whom he fought, the Montagnard, and his Vietnam memoir, War Story, won the first Bernal Diaz Award for military non-fiction. He has covered wars for Rolling Stone, Soldier of Fortune, Esquire, and the Saturday Evening Post. For decades he has immersed himself in a deep study of Toltec shamanism. He lives in Bell Canyon, California.

"Jim's humor, honesty, and healing are brought together exquisitely in The Dreaming Circus. As a Vietnam veteran, war correspondent, writer, and spiritual seeker, Morris embodies the spirit and essence of a true warrior of the heart. His journey to integrate the wounds and scars of life into art and beauty is an inspiration to all warriors learning to turn trauma into triumph and inner turmoil into transformed peace." * HeatherAsh Amara, author of Warrior Goddess Training * "As a new generation returns from war, they are already struggling to process what they saw, what they did, and what it means. Jim Morris has the wisdom to pass on that can make this transition less difficult. The Dreaming Circus is his finest work yet, detailing his experiences in Vietnam and the journey back home. Filled with introspection and parallels to contemporary conflicts, it is part memoir, part instructional guide, and a book that I will be recommending to friends, peers, and former teammates." * Jack Murphy, author of Murphy's Law, and cohost of The Team House * "The Dreaming Circus is a trip! Jim Morris is a visceral writer, and the level of adrenaline is so real that you'll have to remind yourself that this is a book! Stories of the Vietnam era, of coming alive in our world, right to this present moment, convey the stress, the mess, the passion, and the strange synchronicities of a life lived to the limit. His journey into light, into reconciliation with the chaos and catastrophe that are rings in the Dream Circus, is honest and pure. This book will touch you with its honesty, and ultimately, as a story of healing, it will inspire you!" * Francis Rico, shaman, teacher, and author of A Shaman's Guide to Deep Beauty * "Wounded by life and again by war, Jim Morris's rich and compelling narrative takes the reader on his journey through time and space to find himself and understand his place in the universe." * Marvin J. Wolf, coauthor of Abandoned in Hell * "To be a great storyteller you must have lived some great stories. The Dreaming Circus is both the tale told and the adventure behind it. Jim takes the reader into a mysterious, beautiful, ruthless dream that he lived as the prerequisite to casting the spell that's become the Dreaming Circus invitation. To join Jim and his cast of characters, compadres, challengers, and shape-shifters into the elusive reality of our mind's landscapes is a true adventure. We are worthy of great adventures, and Jim has opened the door to one that you'll be fortunate to say yes to." * Lee McCormick, spiritual teacher and coauthor of Spirit Recovery Medicine Bag * "Jim Morris is a spiritual warrior in the truest sense of the phrase. Unlike most modern spiritual seekers, he comes from the actual world of the warrior, having served several tours in Vietnam. After a good deal of floundering and suffering, he enters the spiritual path, which he pursues with the same intensity and commitment that he brought to his service in every aspect of his life! Morris's story makes a fantastic read--wild and fun early on, given depth by the unflinching and honest undercurrent of pain, confusion, and heartache that goads him to search for something more, something that explains and guides and has the power to transform. What he finds--his teacher and his community, his path--is full of heart and does transform him in ways that are just as wondrous and wild as anything experienced in youth. You expect the story of someone's spiritual journey to be inspiring, and his story is both engaging and entertaining. It is joyfully hopeful as well." * Melissa Townsend, author, astrologer, psychic, and artist * "Through the pages of this literary gift, we are invited to tag along through tales of Jim Morris's well lived life and cheer on his warrior spirit as he discovers, embodies, and masters essential truths." * Gini Gentry, author of Dreaming Down Heaven *