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Beyond Rain of Gold
Beyond Rain of Gold is the incredible story of acclaimed author Victor Villaseñor’s initiation into the spiritual realm. Decades ago, after penning the nonfiction epic Rain of Gold, the writer embarked on a life-changing journey. In the process of ensuring that his family’s saga would be published as the authentic, true account it was, Villaseñor forged a sacred bond with his father and his indigenous ancestors, who were guiding him from the Other Side. The book eventually became a national bestseller and an enduring favorite of millions of readers. Yet the story doesn’t end there. Villaseñor’s connection with the Spirit World continued to deepen, awakening him to the ongoing miracles inherent in everyday living. He discovered that his life had suddenly taken on a magical quality, with events occurring that transcended the boundaries of what is normally considered "reality." A series of mystical encounters with Spirit convinced Villaseñor that not only is there no firm line between life and death—but that the time has come in our collective "human-story" to usher in a new era of abundance, peace, and harmony on our beloved Mother Earth and among all of humanity! Similar to Carlos Castaneda’s body of work, this exciting, raw, and honest book courageously delves into altered states of consciousness that exist alongside ordinary reality . . . ultimately revealing the Spiritual Wisdom that is available to each and every one of us. Beyond Rain of Goldwill truly transform the way you see the world—on both a personal and planetary level!
- GenresMemoir
416 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2011
28 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Victor Villaseñor
45 books418 followersVictor Villaseñor is an acclaimed Mexican-American writer, best known for the New York Times bestseller novel Rain of Gold. Villaseñor's works are often taught in American schools. He went on to write Thirteen Senses: A Memoir (2001), a continuation of Rain of Gold. His book Burro Genius: A Memoir (2004) describes his life. The author has received awards and endorsements, including an appointment to serve as the founding Steinbeck Chair at Hartnell College and the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, from February 2003 to March 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 21, 2011
The epiphanies of Victor Villasenor are well worth the reading of "Beyond Rain of Gold." He has discovered that mankind is trapped within five senses and we can expand consciousness of the mystical experience of life to engage the 13 senses with which we all are endowed. If we were to engage all 13 senses and transcend the logic box of pure reason, then a whole new universe would open and we could experience a relentless stream of miracles both large and small. He believes that the universe is in an endless state of transformation and that there are no fixed nouns but rather a stream of evolving verbs. In the Garden of Eden all the nouns were stolen by man. Mankind dwells in an ongoing creation so that paradise can still be found among us. There is no hell but rather a paradise which knows no limits and being transcends death. There is a certain beauty, sense of wonderment and a simplicity that I found in this writer's voice. It is a native American voice and we need to hear more from these writers whose voices have not yet emerged into flower. This native American, mystical perspective in which humans may become more fully attuned to our environment has much to teach and is highly worthy of full recognition in America's legitimate, literary legacy: it is the antithesis to the 20th century post-war view of the human condition as one of complete alienation. There is a certain peace and happiness that may be possible to experience when viewing life through these perceptive and sensitive eyes. Despite a long history of repression he wants to take the dots out of U.S. and wants us to live together peacefully as US. I found his writing so full of powerful epiphanies that I forgave his many lapses of judgment in editing and his blatantly self-promotional, writing style. A vast ego seems to be at work here: I was unable to find him on the Pulitzer Prize web page's search engine for two "nominations" for his non-fiction, which usually is a term reserved for "finalists." Although three of my novels have been read at Columbia for Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction, as my work was not selected as a finalist, the nomination becomes moot. Hence, I would advise against promoting novels as nominees for a Pulitzer Prize unless he was, indeed, a finalist: his literary work does not require such validation. While his writing is powerful and original, his editorial discipline does seem suspect in places, which after a while I just chalked-up to a writer spiritually immersed in the subject matter and seeking to remain true to his inner voice. I don't know whether to give Victor high marks for his integrity for buying back his rights from Putnam, who wanted to publish the book as fiction, or to consider him a madman. It can't be easy to be Victor's agent, editor or family members as he seems to burn luminously with a white-hot light. However, if he is not considering writing fiction, then he may want to revisit the power of this genre to capture his mystical philosophy without a need to justify its reality at every turn of his winding road. The power of his writing resides in an incredibly soaring, hawkish vision of the mystical and transcendent qualities of life. If you read this book while locked into the logic box of your five senses, then you may not recognize the real power of the epiphanies as he so beautifully articulates them. I liked the capitalization, which telegraphed his BIG IDEAS to readers as well as the symbolic richness and leadership dynamics of the flying geese formation: it is so apt as a thanksgiving theme to share in celebration of the unifying wonder and beauty of the earth. It's rare to find a voice like Victor's, full of unique tonal properties with powerfully nuanced perspective on what is really important in life. Despite some egregious literary lapses in the writing and editing -- admittedly emerging from my critical logic box -- on balance, my instincts and intuition also would characterize this book is a highly distinctive, worthy, literary voice in the American wilderness calling out like the peal of a golden eagle to be read. Heed the call: this book has legs.
March 16, 2024
Victor Villasenor has been and always will be my all time favorite Author for the last 16 years. I honestly read his.books about once a year and especially when I'm missing my family or feeling like I need a hope booster.
I recommend him to Everyone
This was a great book
Its inspiring, bluntly honest and raw on his own Journey in life and spiritual path.
I recommend him to Everyone
This was a great book
Its inspiring, bluntly honest and raw on his own Journey in life and spiritual path.
April 9, 2011
This is hard for me to write, because I really liked Rain of Gold and couldn’t wait to read this book, but here goes: NO, NO, NO! I spent 15 years mixing all religions up into a gobbly-goop of New Age, Occult and a smorgasbord of traditional religion and called it enlightenment. Beyond Rain of Gold brought me back to that time in a BIG way. Excuse the capitals but this is how Victor Villasenor writes his ah ha moments, so I thought I’d continue in that vein. When he started talking about his spirit guides, and getting angry at the people that didn’t get his vision, and lying to get what he wanted I wanted to shout TEST THE SPIRITS, not everything that seems like it’s from God is God. Having said that, there are parts of his book that made me laugh and some of the miracles were great. I especially liked how he took back control of Rain of Gold during the publishing process. The story about his dad and the mobile home park was very intense and is a life lesson worth learning.
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program.
October 10, 2014
I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book, which was a nice follow-up to Rain of Gold. Then, I started getting bored with it. The story of his spiritual journey was interesting at first, but it became very repetitive and I was ready for the book to end.
April 12, 2011
I picked up BEYOND RAIN OF GOLD mostly because of the illustration on the front of the book jacket (by Steven Yazzie).
That painting shows what I take to be a young man — his back is to you, but his hair is dark and not grey or silver and he doesn't look overweight or disfigured or bent over with age. He appears to be conducting the orchestra of a desert. The shirt he wears appears to be split at the bottom like the back of a tuxedo is. His arms are raised, and his right hand holds a baton; his left hand is opened and a bird sits in its palm. The sky is blue with a few clouds on the horizon, the mountains in the distance. The desert is out ahead and all around the conductor, cacti and other desert flora covers the landscape out to a ridge. The sun is peeking into the picture in the upper left-hand corner. For the most part, the artwork looks like it is set in the physical here-and-now. It seems to suggest that the book is about a confident young man who is egotistical enough to think he can lead the music of a natural setting familiar to him, and perhaps tame it.
Of course, I had kind of an agenda in picking up the book because of the cover. I had myself, an old, once redheaded but now white headed Caucasian, been writing the fictional story of a boy born in the desert as his parents crossed the border from Mexico into the United States some fourteen years ago. (Oh, the arrogance of me to take on such an endeavor.) So I was interested in reading about the life of a Mexican-American first-hand, and the book seemed to have that flavor from what I read on the jacket and saw in that painting.
But then, in the artwork on the jacket of BEYOND RAIN OF GOLD, blooming flower buds are falling unnaturally from the sky all around the conductor. And I reminded myself that that little bird was sitting there unnatural-like in the young man's palm. And I asked myself, what's with all of that?
Please excuse me for a little tangent. I have lived most of my life in Mormon country. Recently, Gary Lawrence wrote How Americans View Mormonism. One thousand randomly-selected Americans were asked fifty-five questions about Mormons. The results indicated that those individuals saw Mormons as friendly, honest, kind, having strong family values, willing to help the needy, and patriotic. Conversely, they also saw Mormons as self-righteous, out of touch, insular, brainwashed, fanatical, and narrow. Mormons in the Mormon area I am from for the most part see themselves in the positive forms indicated but not in the negative ones.
I think a similar dynamic is at play with respect to Victor Villasenor. Often, the problem is that we seldom associate very closely with groups of individuals who aren't like us. We often don't know how to talk to other people about what we believe in ways that they can understand or find useful. Furthermore, often we don't have a clue about our own naïveté and talk past other people.
Now it is quite obvious that Victor Villasenor sees himself as the youth in the picture, the conductor of an orchestra of his desert. The falling flower buds in bloom seem to speak to "magic" or the "spiritual" — some say fantastical — elements in the "musical" score of Villasenor's life as a writer, conducted by him but influenced by all of the characters in his life, including his parents, Lupe Gomez Camargo, his mother, and Juan Salvador Villasenor, his father, and his wife, Barbara. You a lot of individuals who says have passed away and gone before and have come back to him.
For instance, he writes: "It was like heaven had really come down to Mother Earth. For instance, every morning my writing room would fill up with these Grande Masters from the Other Side – like Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Frank, Confucius, though Stravinsky, and many others — and they all wanted to help me.
"Also, I didn't know my dad's cigar anymore. No, now I smelled wildflowers, just like I smelled outside of Phoenix, Arizona, when I heard OUR SYMPHONY OF CREATION!"
The book is classified, among other classifications, as a biography of a twentieth century Mexican-American author on the copyright page. It is published by Hay House, a "new thought" and "self-help" publisher.
I won't reiterate all of the faults and irritants that I, too, found in the narrative characterized as Villasenor's autobiography . Other critiquers have more than adequately covered them, even ridiculed them, and I, for the most part, agree, except with the ridicule. Despite them, however, I did find enjoyment as I read along and contemplated the spin Villasenor tried to put on his life, the spiritual and fantastic elements of living.
For me, it is easy to contemplate that when the "downs" in life exceed the "ups" that it can have an effect upon your perception, and can make it sometimes difficult to separate reality from what is hoped for and believed in. And when you get to that point, it might be difficult to communicate with somebody who hasn't had that experience or contemplated it.
I'd say if you read this book, read it with curiosity, trying to understand the elements of Villasenor's life that took him where he is. Try and imagine blooming flowers falling from the heavens in all of the music.
That painting shows what I take to be a young man — his back is to you, but his hair is dark and not grey or silver and he doesn't look overweight or disfigured or bent over with age. He appears to be conducting the orchestra of a desert. The shirt he wears appears to be split at the bottom like the back of a tuxedo is. His arms are raised, and his right hand holds a baton; his left hand is opened and a bird sits in its palm. The sky is blue with a few clouds on the horizon, the mountains in the distance. The desert is out ahead and all around the conductor, cacti and other desert flora covers the landscape out to a ridge. The sun is peeking into the picture in the upper left-hand corner. For the most part, the artwork looks like it is set in the physical here-and-now. It seems to suggest that the book is about a confident young man who is egotistical enough to think he can lead the music of a natural setting familiar to him, and perhaps tame it.
Of course, I had kind of an agenda in picking up the book because of the cover. I had myself, an old, once redheaded but now white headed Caucasian, been writing the fictional story of a boy born in the desert as his parents crossed the border from Mexico into the United States some fourteen years ago. (Oh, the arrogance of me to take on such an endeavor.) So I was interested in reading about the life of a Mexican-American first-hand, and the book seemed to have that flavor from what I read on the jacket and saw in that painting.
But then, in the artwork on the jacket of BEYOND RAIN OF GOLD, blooming flower buds are falling unnaturally from the sky all around the conductor. And I reminded myself that that little bird was sitting there unnatural-like in the young man's palm. And I asked myself, what's with all of that?
Please excuse me for a little tangent. I have lived most of my life in Mormon country. Recently, Gary Lawrence wrote How Americans View Mormonism. One thousand randomly-selected Americans were asked fifty-five questions about Mormons. The results indicated that those individuals saw Mormons as friendly, honest, kind, having strong family values, willing to help the needy, and patriotic. Conversely, they also saw Mormons as self-righteous, out of touch, insular, brainwashed, fanatical, and narrow. Mormons in the Mormon area I am from for the most part see themselves in the positive forms indicated but not in the negative ones.
I think a similar dynamic is at play with respect to Victor Villasenor. Often, the problem is that we seldom associate very closely with groups of individuals who aren't like us. We often don't know how to talk to other people about what we believe in ways that they can understand or find useful. Furthermore, often we don't have a clue about our own naïveté and talk past other people.
Now it is quite obvious that Victor Villasenor sees himself as the youth in the picture, the conductor of an orchestra of his desert. The falling flower buds in bloom seem to speak to "magic" or the "spiritual" — some say fantastical — elements in the "musical" score of Villasenor's life as a writer, conducted by him but influenced by all of the characters in his life, including his parents, Lupe Gomez Camargo, his mother, and Juan Salvador Villasenor, his father, and his wife, Barbara. You a lot of individuals who says have passed away and gone before and have come back to him.
For instance, he writes: "It was like heaven had really come down to Mother Earth. For instance, every morning my writing room would fill up with these Grande Masters from the Other Side – like Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Frank, Confucius, though Stravinsky, and many others — and they all wanted to help me.
"Also, I didn't know my dad's cigar anymore. No, now I smelled wildflowers, just like I smelled outside of Phoenix, Arizona, when I heard OUR SYMPHONY OF CREATION!"
The book is classified, among other classifications, as a biography of a twentieth century Mexican-American author on the copyright page. It is published by Hay House, a "new thought" and "self-help" publisher.
I won't reiterate all of the faults and irritants that I, too, found in the narrative characterized as Villasenor's autobiography . Other critiquers have more than adequately covered them, even ridiculed them, and I, for the most part, agree, except with the ridicule. Despite them, however, I did find enjoyment as I read along and contemplated the spin Villasenor tried to put on his life, the spiritual and fantastic elements of living.
For me, it is easy to contemplate that when the "downs" in life exceed the "ups" that it can have an effect upon your perception, and can make it sometimes difficult to separate reality from what is hoped for and believed in. And when you get to that point, it might be difficult to communicate with somebody who hasn't had that experience or contemplated it.
I'd say if you read this book, read it with curiosity, trying to understand the elements of Villasenor's life that took him where he is. Try and imagine blooming flowers falling from the heavens in all of the music.
July 24, 2023
Another good read…
February 8, 2017
So, let me start by saying I'm a big Villaseñor fan and was in awe with his style of writing and storytelling when I read Rain of Gold! I've also read 13 Senses which was almost as good as RoG. So when I picked this book up, I settled in for another great read and... Womp Womp, what a sad sad disappointment (｡*́︿*̀｡). The incessant need to compare himself to Master writers like Stienbeck, can I just say, let other people tell you that. I don't know WHAT drugs the editors were on but, I'm guessing it was provided by the author.
The story STARTS OFF with a hint of greatness! It lulls you into a false sense of "this is going to be AWESOME! " ... then falls totally flat on its angry, hallucinating face into a giant puddle of preposterousness. The middle to end became Even more repetitive (I found myself skipping over many pages because, it was pretty much the exact same story over and over). That combined with the ridiculousness of his "godness" experiences and his never-freaking-ending "tears streaming down my face" (I've NEVER known a mentally healthy grown man constantly admit to CRYING so damn much! ) made for a really sssslllooowwww and painful read.
Also, I think that in attempting to put on paper how passionate and hungry he was for life and for wanting/demanding the respect he deserves, he instead came off as a really angry (like, unnatural/PCP kind of angry), peyote/mushroom induced hallucinating hippie a-hole who even looked down on and became so angry at his own family for not happily riding Puff the Magic Dragon into Crazy Town with him during his "Spiritual Awakening ", that he traumatized them during a dinner once because of a simple request one of his sons made. Oh, and as much as you would love to believe in witch doctors and magical herbs, neither can cure/mend a broken foot in 2 days. Period. (Because... SCIENCE!!!!)
In the end, Villaseñor did an OUTSTANDING job of making himself look like a crazy, irate, druggie, pompous A-HOLE instead of a hard working, fallible man searching for success and his purpose in life (which is what I THINK he may have been aiming for but MISSED TOTALLY). It's really difficult to explain the craziness he was writing about in less than 5pages. I read it to the end (against my instincts to just stop) in weak hopes that it would be worth the painful journey. Futile. So disappointing. All I can finish this review with is, Say No to Drugs (it destroys your brain and causes a once talented writer to write a mierda book like this) and also, save your money AND precious time and pick up another one of his stories. This was 5hours I will NEVER get back. 5 hours I could have spent reading something worthwhile...
-IMHO
PS: I wonder if those that gave this book 3 or more stars actually READ this book! SAVE your precious time and money, folks. And if you happen to come by this book at no cost, use it to keep a wobbly table stable or use the pages to line your bird cage! you're welcome ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The story STARTS OFF with a hint of greatness! It lulls you into a false sense of "this is going to be AWESOME! " ... then falls totally flat on its angry, hallucinating face into a giant puddle of preposterousness. The middle to end became Even more repetitive (I found myself skipping over many pages because, it was pretty much the exact same story over and over). That combined with the ridiculousness of his "godness" experiences and his never-freaking-ending "tears streaming down my face" (I've NEVER known a mentally healthy grown man constantly admit to CRYING so damn much! ) made for a really sssslllooowwww and painful read.
Also, I think that in attempting to put on paper how passionate and hungry he was for life and for wanting/demanding the respect he deserves, he instead came off as a really angry (like, unnatural/PCP kind of angry), peyote/mushroom induced hallucinating hippie a-hole who even looked down on and became so angry at his own family for not happily riding Puff the Magic Dragon into Crazy Town with him during his "Spiritual Awakening ", that he traumatized them during a dinner once because of a simple request one of his sons made. Oh, and as much as you would love to believe in witch doctors and magical herbs, neither can cure/mend a broken foot in 2 days. Period. (Because... SCIENCE!!!!)
In the end, Villaseñor did an OUTSTANDING job of making himself look like a crazy, irate, druggie, pompous A-HOLE instead of a hard working, fallible man searching for success and his purpose in life (which is what I THINK he may have been aiming for but MISSED TOTALLY). It's really difficult to explain the craziness he was writing about in less than 5pages. I read it to the end (against my instincts to just stop) in weak hopes that it would be worth the painful journey. Futile. So disappointing. All I can finish this review with is, Say No to Drugs (it destroys your brain and causes a once talented writer to write a mierda book like this) and also, save your money AND precious time and pick up another one of his stories. This was 5hours I will NEVER get back. 5 hours I could have spent reading something worthwhile...
-IMHO
PS: I wonder if those that gave this book 3 or more stars actually READ this book! SAVE your precious time and money, folks. And if you happen to come by this book at no cost, use it to keep a wobbly table stable or use the pages to line your bird cage! you're welcome ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2012
There is no denying that Victor Villasenor is a fantastic writer. He has two Pulitzer Prize nominations to prove it! That is why I was thrilled when his new book came out this year. The synopsis stated that it would discuss spirituality as well as Villasenor's (always interesting) family, two topics that he has explored before and excelled at portraying. Unfortunately, this does not live up to his other works...not even close!
The majority of the book focuses on Villasenor's difficulty in getting "Rain of Gold" published as nonfiction instead of fiction, as the publisher had wanted. The first part focuses on his father and the differing opinions that people had of his father. While Villasenor saw him as a smart but sometimes brutal man, his friends viewed him as a saint or king. It is not until Villasenor is contacted by his father from the other side to offer help and guidance that Villasenor begins to believe his father may have been a saint.
Perhaps, Villasenor meant this work to stand as a tribute to his father. However, it does not do so as the majority of the book is taken up with Villasenor's complaints about the publishing of "Rain of Gold" and the personal struggles that he had to endure in order to ensure it was published the way he wanted. It is only when his father helps Villasenor with said publishing that he believes in the power of the other side and the kindness of his father. The last 100 pages or so did focus a bit more on spirituality, but I had already slugged through over 200 pages and was no longer interested in Villasenor's spiritual awakening.
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
For avid fans of Villasenor's work, this may be a book for your collection. Unfortunately, it did not strike my fancy.
The majority of the book focuses on Villasenor's difficulty in getting "Rain of Gold" published as nonfiction instead of fiction, as the publisher had wanted. The first part focuses on his father and the differing opinions that people had of his father. While Villasenor saw him as a smart but sometimes brutal man, his friends viewed him as a saint or king. It is not until Villasenor is contacted by his father from the other side to offer help and guidance that Villasenor begins to believe his father may have been a saint.
Perhaps, Villasenor meant this work to stand as a tribute to his father. However, it does not do so as the majority of the book is taken up with Villasenor's complaints about the publishing of "Rain of Gold" and the personal struggles that he had to endure in order to ensure it was published the way he wanted. It is only when his father helps Villasenor with said publishing that he believes in the power of the other side and the kindness of his father. The last 100 pages or so did focus a bit more on spirituality, but I had already slugged through over 200 pages and was no longer interested in Villasenor's spiritual awakening.
www.iamliteraryaddicted.blogspot.com
For avid fans of Villasenor's work, this may be a book for your collection. Unfortunately, it did not strike my fancy.
July 9, 2014
Beyond Rain of Gold is an autobiographical account from the time of his first success as a author to the publication of Rain of Gold, the first of a trilogy of books including Wild Steps of Heaven and Thirteen Senses, to the present time. The greatest miracle of all the miracles in his books may be that Rain of Gold was ever published. Reaching the height of the publishing industry he throws it all away to start again at the bottom at age 50 to find a way to publish the book he has spent his life writing. Like a lot of creative people his personality, too many oh-wows and tears, is not one that is easy to live with, his wife is a saint who supported him, but you understand that without his grating in your face attitude his book would never have been published and we would never have the trilogy which is not just the story of his own family but the story of an entire people. In this book he orchestrates an ideology, taking ideas from people he meets on his book tours and speaking engagements, that we all can adopt in finding a way to use our full thirteen senses to bring us back into balance with nature like we were when we were all indigenous people. It involves letting go of our head/mind (male senses) which have dominated our behavior and trusting/accepting our heart and soul (female senses) to lead us into balance and well-being. He ends the book with a description of the cover painting which he saw hanging in a motel in Arizona and perceived to be himself in stature and clothing leading a symphony of the desert. The painting is by a Native American artist named Steven Yazzie.
Want to read
August 27, 2012The most MEMORABLE book I have ever read! Villaseñor is an awesome story-teller. Reading about the history & struggle of Mexicanos' migration to the U.S. during the 1800s & earlyu 1900s reminded me of the stories I often heard from my GreatGrandother, Josefa Torres. It mentions my birthplace, Calexico, and its sister bordertown of Mexicali. It mentions places in Mexico where my extended family lived/lives now. It was a very personal story and I could relate to it from beginning to end. I have gifted this book to MANY, MANY friends and family members and in turn, they have gifted it to others.
It is also on my "Collector's" shelf of autographed books.
It is also on my "Collector's" shelf of autographed books.
September 19, 2012
I like being back in Villasenor's story telling lap.
This was a wonderful story, full of so much emotion that was almost ridiculously heartfelt. I think it's important to have read Rain of Gold first, which I would enjoy a 2nd & even 3rd time.
This was a wonderful story, full of so much emotion that was almost ridiculously heartfelt. I think it's important to have read Rain of Gold first, which I would enjoy a 2nd & even 3rd time.
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February 9, 2015More
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2013
to slow and mystic for my taste
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews