This week I visited Ramon Sender Barayon and his wife Judith Levy Sender in Noe Valley, San Francisco. Back in the early ‘70’s, Ramon and I wrote a spiritual and music practice book called Being of the Sun, released as the sequel to Living on the Earth. Published by Harper and Row in 1973, the book’s central premise is each person can find his or her own to way to a dialogue with the Divine, without middlemen, hierarchy, or externally imposed rules of living, while borrowing practices from many traditions to enhance this dialogue. We then offered, as an example, various practices that we found useful.

Ramon’s unique contributions stem from his practices of meditation on sunlight and his background as an avant-garde composer and musician. He was, along with Mort Subotnick, Pauline Oliveros and Terry Riley, one of the composers who formed the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the early 1960’s, and collaborated audio engineer Don Buchla and Mort Subotnick in the invention of first synthesizer built on the West Coast, the Buchla Box (which was contemporary with the Moog, built on the East Coast).

My illustrations in Being of the Sun are far more lush, imaginative and colorful than those in Living on the Earth, and I bravely offered a drawing of a beautiful young woman defecating into a hole in the earth. Twenty-seven years after its publication, I recorded some of the songs from the book on my first CD, Music From Living on the Earth.

Being of the Sun was initially not well received; in 1973, Rolling Stone declared it “the worst gift book of the year.” However, in the intervening years, it’s become a cult classic, often referenced on Pagan/Wiccan websites, the illustrations pirated into various alternative journals.

When I visited Ramon and Judy, I brought along twenty pristine copies of the original (and only) edition, which I’ve somehow managed to preserve in perfect condition for thirty-three years now. Ramon and I sat down and signed them all, and Judy kindly took the photo at the top. Interested collectors can purchase them at $50 per copy. Please email me via the feedback on this site.

Actually, there IS another edition. It was originally published in Japanese translation in 1974 by Soshisha Ltd., and was re-released by Soshisha in March 2007.  And, by the way, Rolling Stone, it's selling very well.

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This is the Gibbs Smith Publisher 4th Edition of Living on the Earth, published in 2003. It differs from the previous Random House 30th Anniversary Edition published in 2000 in that it has a metallic gold sun embossed on the cover, the paper and cover are 100% post consumer waste recycled paper, the inks are soy based, and there is a new foreword by Tim Miller, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, the most publisher scholar on the subject of communal societies in American History (and a former hippie communard himself!) Currently out of print but available here, new, perfect, and inscribed to you, or whoever you choose, by the author/illustrator/designer. Price: $19 plus shipping.

Tags: lote aliciabaylaurel livingontheearth timmiller recycledpaper hippiebible gibbssmithpublisher

This is the Random House/Villard Books 30th Anniversary Edition of Living on the Earth, published in 2000. It was updated in 1999 from the original two editions (1970 The Bookworks and 1971 Random House/Vintage Books) by Alicia Bay Laurel with assistance from Erik Frye, an organic farmer, environmental activist and organic agricultural inspector who had been inspired by the original book to live close to nature when he was a child. It contains 15 new pages, including a new set of appendices with contact Internet information for tools and materials, and several new illustrations. The 2003 Gibbs Smith 4th Edition has the same updates, but is printed on better paper and has a new foreword. It's out of print now, but you can buy one here brand new, signed to you (or whoever else you want) by the author/illustrator/designer. Price: $15 plus shipping.

Tags: organic permaculture sustainability aliciabaylaurel recycling backtotheland livingontheearth organicgardening bohemian randomhouse naturalliving