This is a book written in the 1970's by a radical commune called "Shivalila". The commune, which was led by a charismatic yogi legally named Lorimer Gridley Wright, but better known as "Abra Lut". Together they traveled the world administering doses of LSD to villagers, aborigines, spiritual seekers, and regular folks. While there was an alpha type male "leader" of the group, the doctrine of the community focused on women, children, and collective parenting. The Book of The Mother was written to articulate their vision of an enlightened society. The heavy Lysergic Acid obviously fueled the multidimensional cosmology they formulated. The book maps out several different states of consciousness that are available a person in the modern world, an adept from shivalila would be able to playfully shift their consciousness thru these states at will, and with no stress. Those dimensions are: i. Neuro-electric-atomic ii. Molecular iii. Cellular-organic iv. Animal v. Aboriginal vi. Preliterate vii. Literate viii. Industrialized/Computerized ix. Universal Mind The definition of Universal Mind goes like this: ...Knows the other eight dimensions in perspective and is not possessed by the imagery of any. This Mind will only manifest through the unified focus of no less than three persons. Pretty far out stuff, huh? The main social contract is summed up in 4 main precepts, known as the covenants of Shivalila. Quoting from the book: I. Ahimsa. Shivalila is an open, nonviolent community. (Violence is an act that directly effects structural damage to cellular integrity.) People of Shivalila will not under any circumstances resort to violence or threats of violence or call upon any institution that uses violence or threats of violence. II. Sattva Ava. People of Shivalila will make no contract in respect to truth without stipulating that truth is relative and that body, mind, and environment are indissoluble. Correlatively, people of Shivalila will not testify in any matter involving issues of guilt or nonguilt. III. Bhramcari. People of Shivalila do not own anything on any plane - psychic, material, physical, or fantasy. People of Shivalila do not acknowledge private or group ownership of anything. Correlatively, people of Shivalila will not particpate in any relationship involving privacy or secrecy. IV. Tantra. A person of Shivalila will have sensual/sexual relations with another only after that person has manifested some identification with nature and babies* There's a footnote there, which says, Otherwise, the experience will merely reinforce the vain imprint that Woman (or Man) is The Source. The karma for reinforcing and compounding that imprint is called sangsara, the karma for diminishing and eliminating that imprint is lila. They are separate realities." That "lila", or free creative play was what they were going for and this was their best effort to create a new social contract. I have known a few alumni of this organization and I feel that they were all sincere, well meaning people on an ambitious satyagraha, or experimentation with truth and life. I didn't meet "Abra Lut" who died due to an infection he got after being stabbed with a knife by someone who insisted he was some kind of demon or Satan or somesuch. Over the last few years, I've looked into some research on social engineering and have become aware of the strong influence on modern industrial cultures that organizations such as The Tavistock Institute, RAND Corp., Esalen, and Chatham House, so I'm a little suspect of this Gridley Wright character. The book, however is a really interesting read as well as quite the {sub}cultural timepiece. most compelling and unique aspect of the Shivalila theory and practice is the focus and importance on the aboriginal state of consciousness, which acts as a gateway to those "lower" dimensional states like electric, organic, and animal. The idea is that we can only know reality if we have a living sense of "the people" or a clan of family working together to live on earth. In order to activate that consciousness you have to hang out with a lot of babies and be in a community of women who are committed to raising that child, collectively. Perhaps this tome is merely Collectivist propaganda, but it's gotta be one of the most poetic and richly illustrated ones out there. I find it to be inspirational, even tho I don't currently endorse a collectivist ideology, I do find myself already ensnared in a collectivist system known as the USA, which sux pretty bad. If we could switch out of the paternalistic collectivism we currently suffer of the big-daddy like gov't., with it's pretense at protection using illusory "laws" and magically jump into a matri-centered collectivism, where women and children become the first priority of small packs of men who trust each other, I'd be there. Such a change would have to include ditching monogamy and property, something that most folks seem pretty excited about, so is unlikely to occur. This book was written collectively by the group, but I've heard that Abra Lut (Gridley Wright) was instrumental in the book's creation. Interestingly, Abra lut was featured in several chapters of the Lewis Yablosky sociological book, "The Hippie Trip". In that book, the author cruises around with "Gridley Wright" who introduces the "hippie trip" to the square academic. http://www.amazon.com/Hippie-Trip-Lewis-Yablonsky/dp/0595001165 more info on this curious character can be found here: http://gridleywright.com