A confirmed bookaholic, I have stuffed bookshelves in every room of my house, except the kitchen and bathroom. I store books I’m not currently using but think I might want to refer to again in my basement, and yesterday, going through them, I discovered these spiritual gems from From Survival Into the 21^st Century: Planetary Healers Manual by Viktoras Kulvinskas, 1975:

“God has a plan. There are no accidents. Don’t complain about seeming badness. Get into God’s trip. Listen in silence. God is calling all of us.

Everything is going according to his cosmic plan. In our present patriarchal world, the desire to control Nature has created poisonous chemicals, pollution, war, murder, famine, plague, and the rape and devaluation of women. Chemicalized and junk foods, liquor, and Madison Avenue conditioning have made us all sick, made us all pause to question our pop-a-pill-for-what-ails-you culture. These poisons are sacred. They have been our teachers. Bless them and thank them.

The coming deluge will herald a civilization based on the universal, timeless teachings of the ancient masters and the disinherited healers of history: women. Survivors will be few – no more than 10% of the world’s population. They will be conscious of natural laws and the corrective measures evoked by disobedience.

Serve your brothers and sisters. Ask nothing. Give everything. Lovingly accept what is offered. Love when nothing is offered. Sing in praise for a chance to serve, not because others need help, but because you may become one with them. In helping, you are being helped. All have something to teach.

In your desire to serve, don’t lay your trip on anybody. It’s all right [even great] for us to be different even though we are one.

Just give. The more you give, the more you have. Giving up material possessions uncovers spiritual richness and contentment with ‘nothing,’ which becomes everything when immersed in the radiance of loving and living in the moment.”

We knew in the ’60s and ’70s that our country and our culture were on the wrong path, that, as Kulvinskas says, we need to move from Piscean materialism to Aquarian spirituality. It didn’t happen then — these changes aren’t as easy as growing long hair, smoking dope, and moving to the country. They still need to happen though, more than ever.

I love Kulvinskas’s introductory words, which remind me of the famous Hopi prophecy on my bulletin board, but I’m discarding the book, most of which advocates a wheatgrass and sprouts diet with lots of fasting, and implies that someday we’ll be able to live on air.

Take what you like and leave the rest.