Hover Over Bear River

Hover was a real and great American meditation teacher. His teacher was Master U Ba Khin of Burma. The Bear River retreat happened. Also Treadwell and his demons. If this were a movie, instead of a novel, it would be hyped on a splash screen as "based on a true story." How about "based on Nothing?" History as fiction, fiction as history. As the Thai people say, "same same but different." So, are any of these people or events real, or really real? Yes. Fil Lewitt wrote it to follow the adventures and tales of Max Gates, so we're already at one remove. Lewitt, among his 25 or so books still in print, has written four books about what can be variously called "the spiritual path," or "real mysticism," or "the history of religion without a personal God," or "self-help may or may not mean helping yourself." The four books are: ARCHEOPOETICS (Stone Age humans); CANYON WREN'S RAG (poems for pathfinders); THE ZEN FOLLIES; and now HOVER OVER BEAR RIVER (Vipassana Insight Meditation, plus some mayhem). Lewitt refuses to write without skepticism and humor, because those are two of the most important points that make us human. He hopes to be helpful and useful. It's mysticism, not a mystery, and if you can understand that most philosophy is full of words with lots of syllables and total seriousness, for people who take everything much too seriously, then you might instead enjoy this book about Hover, the wonderful Vipassana Meditation Teacher. Hover was, and still is, both true and real. The author will give you a survival hint: pay attention to the story of Hover and the black bear. (309 pages)