{"product_id":"9781556438165","title":"The Cracking Tower: Strategies for Transcending 2012","description":"\u003cp\u003eEnd-of-the-world paranoia has been with us since time immemorial. Now, with the end of the legendary Mayan “long count” calendar looming on December 21, 2012 and recent threats of a worldwide economic collapse triggering widespread apprehension and a search for answers, \u003ci\u003eThe Cracking Tower \u003c\/i\u003eoffers an arsenal of strategies to turn these fears into an opportunity for spiritual and personal growth.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBeginning with a lively memoir of the author’s experiences in the ’60s, the book goes on to explore apocalyptic thinking through perennial philosophy, shamanism, gnostic mysticism, the body as a vessel of consciousness (and death as “an extended out-of-body experience”), and psychedelics. Shaping the discussion is the fascinating metaphor of the cracking tower, an apparatus for distilling gasoline, as a vehicle for distilling our awareness. Rather than speculating on what might occur in 2012, DeKorne proposes vigilance of a more introspective sort. “The important thing,” he says, “is to ignore the finger and strive to comprehend the moon,” to see what our apocalyptic tendencies reveal about ourselves.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"North Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47060304527600,"sku":"9781556438165","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781556438165_p0.jpg?v=1763755924","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781556438165","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}