West of Jesus : Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief

After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost everything: his health, his job, his girl, and, he was beginning to suspect, his mind. Kotler, not a religious man, suddenly found himself drawn to the sport of surfing as if it were the cornerstone of a new faith. Why, he wondered, when there was nothing left to believe in, could he begin to believe in something as unlikely as surfing' What was belief anyway' How did it work in the body, the brain, our culture, and human history' With the help of everyone from rebel surfers to rocket scientists, Kotler undertakes a three-year globetrotting quest. The results are a startling mix of big waves and bigger ideas: a surfer's journey into the biological underpinnings of belief itself.;Cover; Title Page; Contents; Part One; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Part Two; Chapter 11; Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Part Three; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Chapter 27; Part Four; Chapter 28; Chapter 29; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Chapter 33; Chapter 34; Part Five; Chapter 35; Chapter 36; Part Six; Chapter 37; Chapter 38; Chapter 39; Part Seven; Chapter 40; Chapter 41; Chapter 42 After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost everything: his health, his job, his girl, and, he was beginning to suspect, his mind. Kotler, not a religious man, suddenly found himself drawn to the sport of surfing as if it were the cornerstone of a new faith. Why, he wondered, when there was nothing left to believe in, could he begin to believe in something as unlikely as surfing? What was belief anyway? How did it work in the body, the brain, our culture, and human history? With the help of everyone from rebel surfers to rocket scientists, Kotler undertakes a three-year globetrotting quest. The results are a startling mix of big waves and bigger ideas: a surfer's journey into the biological underpinnings of belief itself. Steven Kotler's novel The Angle Quickest for Flight was a San Francisco Chronicle bestseller and won the William L. Crawford IAFA Fantasy Award. His nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, GQ, Discover, Outside, Details, Wired, Men's Journal, and elsewhere. He lives in Los Angeles. Praise for West of Jesus: "West of Jesus is one of the smartest books ever about the sport and religion of surfing."-Los Angeles Magazine "The ideal book for any readers who have ever asked themselves, 'How did surfing take over my life?' Kotler brings us closer to the answers via a wild, globe-trotting journey in search of surfing's much-referenced but rarely discussed spiritual side."-Los Angeles Times "A surprisingly entertaining nonfiction account of his own spiritual quest through surfing... Kotler is often laugh-out-loud funny."-San Francisco Chronicle "Kotler's tale starts slow and then, like a seasoned surfer calibrating his board to his ride, monumentally catches stride...Call it mysterioso or the oceanic feeling, what Kotler's seeking is nothing less than the big explanation."-Village Voice A sleeper hardcover, now in its fourth printing, which is appealing to surfers and spiritual seekers alike. Cover Title Page Contents Part One Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Part Two Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Part Three Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Part Four Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Part Five Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Part Six Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Part Seven Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Acknowledgments By the Same Author eCopyright Shares the author's spiritual quest in the wake of a devastating bout with Lyme disease, detailing his surfing odyssey around the world in search of a mysterious legend about a mythical surfer who can control the weather