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West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origins of Belief
A spiritual and scientific surf quest.
After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost 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?
Into this mix came a strange story. In 2003, on a surf trip through Mexico, Kotler heard of "the conductor," a mythical surfer who could control the weather. He'd heard this same tale eight years earlier, in Indonesia, but this time something clicked. With the help of everyone from rebel surfers to rocket scientists, Kotler undertakes a three year globetrotting quest for the origins of this legend. The results are a startling mix of big waves and bigger a surfer's journey into the biological underpinnings of belief itself.
After spending two years in bed with Lyme disease, Steven Kotler had lost 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?
Into this mix came a strange story. In 2003, on a surf trip through Mexico, Kotler heard of "the conductor," a mythical surfer who could control the weather. He'd heard this same tale eight years earlier, in Indonesia, but this time something clicked. With the help of everyone from rebel surfers to rocket scientists, Kotler undertakes a three year globetrotting quest for the origins of this legend. The results are a startling mix of big waves and bigger a surfer's journey into the biological underpinnings of belief itself.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2006
76 people are currently reading
1028 people want to read
About the author
Steven Kotler
34 books1,104 followersSteven Kotler is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and co-founder and director of research for the Flow Genome Project. His books include the non-fiction works "The Rise of Superman," "Abundance," "A Small Furry Prayer" "West of Jesus," and the novel "The Angle Quickest for Flight." His work has been translated into more than 30 languages. His articles have appeared in over 60 publications, including The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, Wired, GQ, Outside, Popular Science, Men's Journal and Discover.
He also writes "Far Frontiers," a blog about technology and innovation for Forbes.com and "The Playing Field," a blog about the science of sport and culture for PsychologyToday.com.
He lives in New Mexico with his wife, the author Joy Nicholson.
He also writes "Far Frontiers," a blog about technology and innovation for Forbes.com and "The Playing Field," a blog about the science of sport and culture for PsychologyToday.com.
He lives in New Mexico with his wife, the author Joy Nicholson.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews
March 25, 2010
I'm certain it has alot to do with where I am in my personal life, but this is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It takes on the three topics I would never bring up at a dinner table: surfing (at least one person will question your sanity), religion, and science. It is a novel that I would recommend to everyone and anyone. However, if you've spent any extended amount of time on a board (or fighting the forces of nature by any means), this is me :::shoving the book in your face and forcing you to give it a read:::.
I must admit it loses it's memoir like charm about halfway through as he begins to take on the *heavier* stuff, but by that point I was so utterly sucked in, I was ready and willing to jump into the deep stuff with the text.
Readers beware: Any small ounce of wanderlust that exists in you will be dug up and force you to do crazy things...like research flights across the world.
I must admit it loses it's memoir like charm about halfway through as he begins to take on the *heavier* stuff, but by that point I was so utterly sucked in, I was ready and willing to jump into the deep stuff with the text.
Readers beware: Any small ounce of wanderlust that exists in you will be dug up and force you to do crazy things...like research flights across the world.
January 12, 2009
When I saw the title of this book, I thought that Kotler was taking on too much. Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief? Quite a bit to chew on. But then again, Kotler has had a ton of life experience (he describes his recovery from Lime disease in this book), is really smart, and surprisingly, he ties it all together in this book with grace, wit, and some impressive prose. I really enjoyed it, notably his attempt to recreate (through a little-known surf myth) how religions and mythologies have probably formed throughout the ages. As Kotler travels about Indonesia, New Zealand and Hawaii, he drops endless interesting factoids, scientific and surf-related, especially the ones about Chinese weather control conspiracy theories (theories that sound scarily true). An outstanding read for a surf trip or just sitting home on a foggy day.
January 23, 2008
Kotler covers a lot of ground which was new and interesting in many ways.. I particularly liked getting a sense of the physics of surfing which I still think is somehow not humanly possible. I am intrigued by his explanation of our need for mythos and the startling info on the similarity of our myths v. logos in our dna, I guess. The search for belief to match our needs is kind of disappointing, why is it that we are so blind to this side of us? The evidence- as he details it- is so broad and visible to the naked eye that we make up a narrative to suit us and then just stick with it. "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it." Then we go around killing people and conquering lands over the made up story we needed to sooth the savage beast, or in this case, explain why we aren't really responsible for taking the risks of surfing 5000 foot waves, it was the conductor made me do it. Kotler's writing is not fluid, and the ideas are scattered around randomly, but I learned a lot from this book.
September 15, 2007
It's a good book, gets somewhat dry 1/2 way in, but he's done a lot of research and he writes well. The first half had five stars, the second half dropped to four. I'm also not that interested in why surfing (he says) produces more mystical experiences than, say, snowboarding. But those are small complaints. This is a great book, but could have used some better copyediting as well as proofreading. There are sentences in the second half that just do not make sense.
It bugs me that for $13.95 they can't edit the thing. I found "Mogul" for "Mongol"; "breath" for "breadth." Christ. Is it just the spell checker that we trust to edit books?
It bugs me that for $13.95 they can't edit the thing. I found "Mogul" for "Mongol"; "breath" for "breadth." Christ. Is it just the spell checker that we trust to edit books?
December 23, 2006
Very esoteric story about a man with lyme disease and his decision to put his life on hold in search of the cultural origins of a mythical being capable of controlling waves.
Starts of great as he details his sickness and how surfing has helped him both physically and mentally, but the book really slows down as he starts his search for "the conductor"
If you are into the cultural aspects of surfing, and its existence as a lifestyle and a state of mind rather than just a sport, check this book out.
Starts of great as he details his sickness and how surfing has helped him both physically and mentally, but the book really slows down as he starts his search for "the conductor"
If you are into the cultural aspects of surfing, and its existence as a lifestyle and a state of mind rather than just a sport, check this book out.
January 5, 2009
The title has no real basis in the book. After suffering with Lime disease for years the author set out on a quest to find the origin of the surfing legend of the "Conductor" who can control the ocean. While surfing very exotic locations, meeting all sorts of great people, and discovering a lot about himself he writes about the universe, spirituality, and Humanity's place in the greater scheme of all things. No bible thumping ever appears in this book.
November 11, 2008
It had its moments, and there are parts that I really agree with, that really inspire me, or at least present ideas I want to explore, but as a whole, it's kind of a pointless book. I wouldn't take that to mean that you, dear reader, shouldn't check it out. It's just that it's like sudoku: it's fun while you do it, but don't expect me to talk about it on Saturday.
July 18, 2018
I learned to surf when I was about 10. I've read a lot of books on surfing since then, most of them not much. But this book is really something special. Do yourself a favor and read it, even if you don't surf.
July 8, 2008
I made my first attempt at surfing during our recent vacation to Hawaii, so I thought this book might be a good beach read. Boy - what a mistake it was to spend any time with this book.
First of all - the writing is just terrible. This point alone should explain why the author Steven Kotler has repeatedly failed in his career attempts as an independent journalist.
As a foundation for the book, Kotler begins by describing how he has washed-out from society, and how he uses surfing as a self-rehabilitation vehicle. Fair enough. But where this book goes off the cliff is with all the blabber about mystical religious undercurrents that he associates with surfing.
From the first page of the book, Kotler displays his close-minded bigotry with condescending insults toward traditional Judeo-Christian religion. But then he hypocritically declares himself to be an open-minded person because he can explore and embrace every whacked-out mystical idea on the planet (including a surfing Deity "The Conductor" who controls the weather and waves to bless surfers with the perfect ride).
I can fully accept that surfing has benefits beyond just recreational sport. But the time I spent reading this book were wasted hours in my life that I will never reclaim. Just think ... I could have been watching sitcom re-runs instead.
First of all - the writing is just terrible. This point alone should explain why the author Steven Kotler has repeatedly failed in his career attempts as an independent journalist.
As a foundation for the book, Kotler begins by describing how he has washed-out from society, and how he uses surfing as a self-rehabilitation vehicle. Fair enough. But where this book goes off the cliff is with all the blabber about mystical religious undercurrents that he associates with surfing.
From the first page of the book, Kotler displays his close-minded bigotry with condescending insults toward traditional Judeo-Christian religion. But then he hypocritically declares himself to be an open-minded person because he can explore and embrace every whacked-out mystical idea on the planet (including a surfing Deity "The Conductor" who controls the weather and waves to bless surfers with the perfect ride).
I can fully accept that surfing has benefits beyond just recreational sport. But the time I spent reading this book were wasted hours in my life that I will never reclaim. Just think ... I could have been watching sitcom re-runs instead.
May 26, 2011
Steven Kotler is a spiritual, surfing Jon Krakauer, meaning that he is not afraid to admit he is at a dead-end, on a precipice, and in need of assistance. Then, generously, he takes us on a journey. Steven's Lymes disease is ultimately his spiritual evolution. Even without the humility of disease, how could one surf and not contemplate the divine? How could one surf and not be led to consideration of the spiritual? Indeed, if we are among those who are daily not hit by buses, by cancer, by hatred, how can we not consider some higher power?
Whether you pray for surf or other more pedestrian events like good health, we acknowledge our position in the universe when we acknowledge that which is beyond us. Thus, any time we are humbled, by natural forces, by disease, by events, we are at a precipice, and we are obligated, if we are writers, thinkers, seekers, lovers of humanity, to let others know what it is like to be on the brink.
Whether you pray for surf or other more pedestrian events like good health, we acknowledge our position in the universe when we acknowledge that which is beyond us. Thus, any time we are humbled, by natural forces, by disease, by events, we are at a precipice, and we are obligated, if we are writers, thinkers, seekers, lovers of humanity, to let others know what it is like to be on the brink.
July 28, 2015
“West of Jesus” explains the spiritual effects of surfing, bungee jumping and high diving. Does one need to be an athlete? No. One can lose oneself in music, dancing and a hundred other things. Spiritual experiences occur in a variety of ways. Evidence exists that near-death experiences, which, of course, are very spiritual, are similar to GLOC, the 12 to 24 minutes of unconsciousness suffered by jet pilots during acceleration.
Kotler begins searching for the origins of a tale about the Conductor, a mythical searcher who supposedly can control the weather and the waves. Along the way he studies the science of spiritual moments be they on a surf board, in a near death experience or in the magic of a moment when time stops and physical energies increase.
Kotler is one of the better non fiction essayist of today, and he is well worth the read.
Kotler begins searching for the origins of a tale about the Conductor, a mythical searcher who supposedly can control the weather and the waves. Along the way he studies the science of spiritual moments be they on a surf board, in a near death experience or in the magic of a moment when time stops and physical energies increase.
Kotler is one of the better non fiction essayist of today, and he is well worth the read.
December 27, 2008
Read it on a plane trip from Boston to Bahrain. The time in the air was more than enough to complete the book. While I am not a person of faith, the closest I've come to any "spiritual" experience is when I surf, and Kotler attempts to explain this spiritual "state" and the creation of belief systems through science. In the time since reading it I've never taken the time to look into/check the veracity the sciences he uses to explain these, but having "been there" on a board and spending much of my single life (much less so married w/ kids) riding waves, I found the book very enjoyable.
November 29, 2012
Probably one of the most enlightening books I read which in turn opened reading back up to me. I hit a stumbling block in college because of my lack of time to read and I read this to and from my plane ride to Texas to see my mother as well as lying on the beach in Rockport Texas where my mother lives.
It really had an effect on me and I think more so because I experienced things in life which if I read this book in HS, I wouldn't have gotten it.
I feel this book is a must read for an surfer and more so every SOUL surfer.
It really had an effect on me and I think more so because I experienced things in life which if I read this book in HS, I wouldn't have gotten it.
I feel this book is a must read for an surfer and more so every SOUL surfer.
March 4, 2008
Not just a book for surfers. The author deals with depression and illness and delves into surfing and the quest to discover what about surfing makes it so different. He looks at spirituality in a super interesting way, by researching cool studies and stories and portraying it in a relatively unbiased way. Thanks to Gabe for recommending this and shipping it to me in Zambia.
September 19, 2008
I would recommend this book to many people for many different reasons. It's a book about surfing, about the search for spirituality, about the connection between the body and the mind. The author easily walks the line between science and spirituality- very facinating stuff. Truly a great memoir to read. And it added to my long-time desire to become a surfer:)
July 25, 2007
Anyone who loves surfing knows that there is some great force acting on your out in the water. This book brings together ideas of spirituality, nature, and how we interact with it (through activities such as surfing)
February 19, 2022
I found this in my dad's things after he died a few years ago, and given his lifelong obsession with surfing, I thought it would be a great way to reconnect with him.
It is a meandering tale about the author's hunt for the source of an obscure surfing myth. Full of colourful characters and insights about the history of surfing, as well as the science of the sport and thoughts about its spiritual side, I found it as entertaining as it was informative.
The author spends a decent chunk of the book talking about a surfing trip to NZ, which I'm sure my dad would have loved -- no doubt he knew some of the people mentioned.
It is a meandering tale about the author's hunt for the source of an obscure surfing myth. Full of colourful characters and insights about the history of surfing, as well as the science of the sport and thoughts about its spiritual side, I found it as entertaining as it was informative.
The author spends a decent chunk of the book talking about a surfing trip to NZ, which I'm sure my dad would have loved -- no doubt he knew some of the people mentioned.
November 19, 2017
Awesome book. I was a little put off by the title (the J-word) don't be. When I started reading it, my opinion changed quickly. It is interesting and engaging and gives a view into the authors life, as well as lots of interesting titbits about belief and religion. This is all through the lens of surfing, which we all know heals all and is awesome!
July 25, 2018
Really interesting insights, revealing experiments, science, surfing , to the point were I wanted to go back and highlight some passages. But, other parts were lower on the totem pole, not so hard to get past but the string that ran through the whole book tying it together was a bit not realistic. Still short enough and worth the effort.
November 20, 2019
“Life is our struggle between the desire for separation and our desire for union. But to ride a wave you have to completely forget yourself; you have to be absorbed in the moment, or you’ll fall off. So every wave is about union, it’s a momentary connection with something far beyond yourself, and that doesn’t happen very often.”
January 9, 2022
Me ha gustado mucho. La relación de el misticismo y las religiones con la neurofisiología me ha sorprendido ya que me esperaba algo más "pseudo"cuando empecé a leerlo. Por supuesto las historias de surf son entretenidas y me ha sorprendido buscar imágenes sobre los trineos holua, he'eholua, y encontrar un vídeo de Tom "Pohaku" Stone. Aquí dejo el enlace https://youtu.be/PiMQWa4bnkk
March 10, 2021
I thought this one was pretty good, especially for a book that tried to tie together religion, surfing, and science - which is no easy feat. It does get dull in some spots, but other parts I couldn't stop turning the pages so it's hard to knock him for that.
February 19, 2017
Captivating, and inspiring, in more than one field.
April 15, 2018
"Always for love. Never for money."
January 25, 2021
Only read if seeking something beyond the general norm of quiet desperation, otherwise none of it will make sense
August 21, 2021
I was hoping for more of the science, less of the surfing.
September 6, 2023
Second time reading it, really enjoyed it. Again.
March 19, 2024
This kind of book is just my jam
Read
August 21, 2024Can’t quite remember but I think I really liked it
January 14, 2025
Very amusing and random at times pulling from all sorts of religion to neuroscience. Expected to read a bit more about flow state but I imagine Kotler started in on that after this book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 88 reviews