Unveils the spiritual meaning that fueled the artistic, political, and social revolutions of the 1960s • Investigates the spiritual principles that informed everything from the civil rights and anti-war movements, to the hippies’ rejection of materialist culture, to the rise of feminism, gay rights, and environmentalism • Reveals how medieval troubadours, Gnosticism, Renaissance hermetic magic, and the occult doctrines of Aleister Crowley helped shape the psychedelic Sixties • Offers in-depth analysis of many of the era’s most famous books, films, and music No decade in modern history has generated more controversy and divisiveness than the tumultuous 1960s. For some, the ‘60s were an era of free love, drugs, and social revolution. For others, the Sixties were an ungodly rejection of all that was good and holy. Embarking on a profound search for the spiritual meaning behind the massive social upheavals of the 1960s, Tobias Churton turns a kaleidoscopic lens on religious and esoteric history, industry, science, philosophy, art, and social revolution to identify the meaning behind all these diverse movements. Engaging with views of mainstream historians, some of whom write off this pivotal decade as heralding an overall decline in moral values and respect for tradition, Churton examines the intricate network of spiritual forces at play in the era. He reveals spiritual principles that united the free love movement, the civil rights and anti-war movements, the hippies’ rejection of materialist culture, and the eventual rise of feminism, gay rights, and environmentalism. He traces influences from medieval troubadours, Gnosticism, Hindu philosophy, Renaissance hermetic magic, and the occult doctrines of Aleister Crowley. He also examines the psychedelic revolution, the genesis of popular interest in UFOs, and the psychological consequences of the Bomb and the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King. In addition, Churton investigates the huge shifts in consciousness reflected in the movies, music, art, and literature of the era--from Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, from I Love Lucy to Star Trek, from John Wayne to Midnight Cowboy--much of which still resonates with the youth of today. Taking the reader on a long strange trip from crew-cuts and Bermuda shorts to Hair and Woodstock, from liquor to psychedelics, from uncool to cool, and from matter to Soul, Churton shows how the spiritual values of the Sixties are now reemerging, with an astonishing influx of spiritual light, to once again awaken us.

the election of Barack Obama, the Sixties has finally ended, not because he fulfills the ideals of that decade, but because he, like Jojo, has returned us to where we once belonged. Bush may not be the last hippy, but his approach to life, to governing, purely intuitive and from the gut, a rejection of his father's rationality, was the last breaking wave of that ocean storm. Paradoxically, Bush was much more like Bill Clinton in being led by his id, his passions, than any true conservative." "The book's chapters each correspond to a line in Emily Dickinson's poem "Finding is the first act." The parallel to Dickinson's experience in the psychic wilderness demonstrates just how much the experience of the '60s was part of an ongoing American story and not an aberration. Though it seems contradictory, this book argues for an appreciation of the three '60s: 1960s, 1860s, 1660s, each a chapter of the religious core of the American story." "The central theme of the decade, a romantic --

Sea Change is an intimate exploration of a young life lived on the edge of radical hope, change, and possibility in the 1960s in California. It rekindles the spirit of the Summer of Love when anything was possible, and idealism was the air we breathed. The health of our society continues to demand en- gagement with issues of social justice, cultural diversity, and environmental responsibility. This memoir is a call to action to succeeding generations to keep the dream alive. There is still much to be done. http: //matrikapress.com/dorothy-may-emerson/ - - - Dorothy May Emerson is a semi-retired Unitarian Universalist minister and writer, currently living in Massachusetts with her spouse, Donna Clifford. A native Californian, her experiences in the Sixties helped shape the rest of her work and life. She has served for 30 years as a parish and community minister in New England, and currently offers talks and workshops on the Sixties; Spirit, Money, and Justice; and Class Awareness and Action. www.rainbowsolutions.us - - - Endorsements: The vision of the Sixties as articulated in Sea Change has the capacity to transform our collective future. Dorothy's personal stories reinforce the possibility of love, hope, and peace. This beautiful, intimate offering is a gift of resilience. - Rashani Réa, author of Beyond Brokenness and The Threshold Between Loss and Revelation - - - Sea Change is rich in accounts of personal relationships and the work of ministry and teaching during the Fifties and Sixties. They personalize the era in a special way. Each person's life is different, of course, even if they live at the same time and place. Only by adding them all up can we truly understand a period, and this work offers a very rich and illuminating contribution to that library. Robert Ellswood, author of The Sixties Spiritual Awakening and The Fifties Spiritual Marketplace - - - About the Publisher Matrika Press is an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing works in alignment with Unitarian Universalist Values and principles. Its fiscal sponsor is UU Women and Religion, a 501c3 organization. Matrika Press publishes anthologies, memoirs, poetry, prayer and ritual manuscripts, and other books to bring meaning and transformation to the world. A primary goal of Matrika Press is to publish stories and works that would otherwise remain untold. We also resurrect out-of-print manuscripts to ensure our historical works remain accessible. Matrika Press titles are automatically made available to tens of thousands of retailers, libraries, schools, and other distribution and fulfillment partners, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters/Indigo (Canada), and other well-known book retailers and wholesalers across North America, and in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and other Global partners. For more information, visit: www.MatrikaPress.com

Myron Magnet's The Dream and the Nightmare argues that the radical transformation of American culture that took place in the 1960s brought today's underclass - overwhelmingly urban, dismayingly minority - into existence. Lifestyle experimentation among the white middle class produced often catastrophic changes in attitudes toward marriage and parenting, the work ethic and dependency in those at the bottom of the social ladder, and closed down their exits to the middle class. Texas Governor George W. Bush's presidential campaign has highlighted the continuing importance of The Dream and the Nightmare. Bush read the book before his first campaign for governor in 1994, and, when he finally met Magnet in 1998, he acknowledged his debt to this work. Karl Rove, Bush's principal political adviser, cites it as a road map to the governor's philosophy of ''compassionate conservatism.''

The Spirit of the Sixties explains how and why the personal became political when Sixties activists confronted the institutions of American postwar culture. The Spirit of the Sixties uses political personalism to explain how and why the personal became political when Sixties activists confronted the institutions of American postwar culture. After establishing its origins in the Catholic Worker movement, the Beat generation, the civil rights movement, and Ban-the-Bomb protests, James Farrell demonstrates the impact of personalism on Sixties radicalism. Students, antiwar activists and counterculturalists all used personalist perspectives in the "here and now revolution" of the decade. These perspectives also persisted in American politics after the Sixties. Exploring the Sixties not just as history but as current affairs, Farrell revisits the perennial questions of human purpose and cultural practice contested in the decade.

Relates the story of the generation's troubled passage to a promising middle life, from the times that were achangin' to the times that are.