Tasting the Moon: Adventures
in the Meaning of Life
by Meg Fortune McDonnell
May 30, 2011
Dandelion Broadcasting
order
here
This is the story of a "no holds barred” pathway through
life — from the author’s eccentric childhood, through
the tumult of the 1960’s, to the ashram of Adi Da Samraj,
the spiritual teacher she encountered in the 70’s. With
disarming and raw candor, Meg Fortune McDonnell recounts
the ego-deaths and transformations she went through as
she followed her unorthodox teacher around the globe —
and to uncharted spiritual dimensions not located on the
map. To connect her riveting confessions to current events,
McDonnell draws on references from “Vanity Fair” to “The
Buddhist Bible” and Alanis Morisette to Ramana Maharshi,
deftly tracing the recent epoch of our collective spiritual
quest along with her personal adventures. The three decades
McDonnell spent under the tutelage of her enigmatic teacher
were filled with sometimes hair-raising, sometimes hilarious,
ultimately uplifting explorations of everything, including:
what vampires tell us about the taboo against the spirit
and what it really means to be “sexually liberated,” healing
debilitating Oedipal wounds and thawing the icy character
that freezes out love, uncovering new gender roles and
empowering female strengths, dancing as tribal prayer
for world peace, recurring and mysterious synchronicities,
what true beauty is — in art, friends, & avatars, and
blessing meant for everyone. A fascinating life, masterfully
told. More here.
This
book excels on many levels. Having been a lifelong, voracious
reader of books (especially spiritual journeys), I have
had my appetite fulfilled on many levels by Tasting
the Moon . . . literally!!!
The author brings you into the room with her teacher,
a 20th century holy man and crazy-wisdom adept. More astonishing
to me, she writes her amazing story with her father as
her editor and includes a moving chapter "Finding the
Lost Treasure" about a deep healing with her mother.
Meg demonstrates a candid understanding of her flaws
and expresses her lessons with Irish humor. She describes
spiritual experiences that, to me, are astounding in any
age but particularly in the 21st century. This book is
a credit to her and honors the spiritual giant that she
has devoted her life to.
This book is an extraordinary feat of storytelling and
oedipal healing for a child raised in an Irish Catholic
family of eight children. Read this book and be instructed,
helped and supported in your own healing and spiritual
exploration.
Hermes
I
laughed and cried and was swept away in wonder . . . this
will surely rank as one of the all-time great tributes
to any spiritual teacher and to the process of transformation.
. . a great gift to humanity.
—Hugh O’Doherty, Harvard JFK School of
Government
Going
well beyond the bestselling Eat
Pray Love, Tasting The Moon tells the story
of a “no holds barred” pathway through life — from the
author’s eccentric childhood, through the tumultuous 60's,
to the ashram of Adi Da Samraj, her spiritual Guru whom
she discovered in the 70's.
To connect her riveting confessions to current events,
McDonnell draws on diverse references from “Vanity Fair”
to “The Buddhist Bible” and Alanis Morisette to Ramana
Maharshi, deftly tracing the recent epoch of our collective
spiritual quest along with her personal adventures.
The three decades McDonnell spent under the tutelage
of her enigmatic master were filled with sometimes hair-raising,
sometimes hilarious, ultimately uplifting explorations
of everything, including: what vampires tell us about
the taboo against the spirit and what it really means
to be “sexually liberated,” healing debilitating Oedipal
wounds and thawing the icy character that freezes out
love, uncovering new gender roles and empowering female
strengths, dancing as tribal prayer for world peace, recurring
and mysterious synchronicities, what true beauty is —
in art, friends, & avatars, and blessing meant for everyone.
A fascinating life, masterfully told.
—Lynnea Bylund, Catalyst
House