I am so incredibly pleased to announce that Outward Spirals: A Guide to Shaligram Stones is now available for pre-order!

This book is the culmination of my ethnographic work with Shaligrams and Shaligram devotee communities over the last 12 years. It contains a general discussion of Shaligrams and where they come from, descriptions of four different kinds of Shaligram pujas, a re-printing of the Shaligram Stotram (Shaligram worship recitation in Sanskrit), and over 90 full-color photographs of each type of Shaligram rupa (form/manifestation) and bhava (mood).

I am especially proud of the last part. It took me more than three years to find a publisher willing to print this work in the way I knew it needed to be done. Because this book is designed for the public and for all those who want to learn more about the Shaligrams in their lives, I wanted to do something no other Shaligram scholar has ever been able to do. Print a guide to Shaligram interpretive traditions with real photos and images of each Shaligram type, so that readers can see exactly what the Puranic and Tantric texts are describing.

For that reason, this book is for Shaligram devotees who are interested in what their traditions look like all over the world (from India and Nepal to Australia and the United States), it’s for Hindus and Buddhists searching for more comprehensive information about Shaligram interpretation, and it’s for the lay public who might simply want to know more about this incredible spiritual practice.

All my thanks to TLS Press for being as enthusiastic about making this happen as I am! I hope this book is as exciting to you as it is to me.

Pre-Order Link (books will likely ship in December): Get Outward Spirals Now!