Themed Notebooks

Closely related to Book Notes, this file is mostly quotations and paraphrasing of other authors on the craft of writing, though it includes some of PB's thoughts as well. The range of dates is mostly a guess: there are clearly some very old pages with newer material typed on to the bottom; little if any appears to be from later than the mid 60s.

Contains notes and critiques of Sri Krishna Menon (aka Sri Atmananda, aka Gurunathan), and some confusing paras that are either by PB and edited by Nora Briggs, Nora Briggs writing in PB's style, or some mix of the two. The date range is based on the assumption that PB wrote these after his last visit to India and before his marriage to Evangeline (which terminated his association with Ms. Briggs).

A collection of early essays by PB. Like Carbons 2, this is mostly carbon copies of essays that can be found elsewhere in the collection.

Contains the carbons of eleven essays by PB, though three of these essays have no original, making them the only version we have: “Hitler’s Spiritism and the German People,” “The Genesis of Our Journal,” and “The Mission of Suffering.” Three additional essays contain parts which PB either converted to paras found elsewhere or used for his final published book, The Spiritual Crisis of Man.

A series of notes from PB's interviews. There are four files of such excerpts—refer to Talks in the Occident, Talks in the Orient, and Carbons 4 (Asiatic) for more. They are not transcripts of the entire interviews, nor in most cases are they dated. As far as we know, these are the pieces that PB was considering quoting in his books; it is likely that some quotes have been paraphrased from the original statements.

The first articles published by PB. His own handwritten notes identify him as the author under a variety of pseudonyms.

Paras on food--largely a list of vegetarian recipes and dietary restrictions. More cohesive than other food and diet material found elsewhere in the collection.

A compendium of domestic and valet instructions for PB's assistants from Wisdom's Goldenrod, and a snapshot of his day-to-day life in Switzerland from 1979 and 1980. The contributors are Devon Smith, Timothy Smith, Robert Geyer, Alan Berkowitz, and PB himself.

A very long list of books PB wanted to reference and/or research for his own writing.

This short file is a compilation of random paras that were in the possession of Evangeline Glass and Melody Talcott, and donated by them to our collection. Many are carbons of documents found elsewhere in the collection, particularly in Titled Items 2, PB Manuscripts, Asiatic Notes 4, Philosopher’s Body 3, Grey Long 01-02, Letters 34, and Vinyl I to III. These were probably written during PB’s marriage to Evangeline Glass, which is to say between 1951 and 1957.

Excerpts from conversations between Kathleen Damiani (daughter-in-law of Anthony (Tony) Damiani) and PB.

Transcript from 1977 of an audio recording between PB and Pat Witter, a longtime member of the Columbus, Ohio PB Study Group. The talk is primarily concerned with the body, since Pat was already in the later stages of MS at the time.

A collection of interviews given by PB to members of Wisdom's Goldenrod; turned into paras by Alan (Micha-el) Berkowitz after PB's death.

A sub-set of PB Visits 1 (Goldenrod Interviews), this file is just the interview with Alan (Micha-el) Berkowitz, edited by PB.

The second set of interviews with PB by people at Wisdom's Goldenrod (and its sister organization in Columbus, Ohio). This was re-arranged into themes (but not paras) by Alan (Micha-el) Berkowitz after PB's death.

A list of the books PB wished to reference, regardless of their compatibility with his own ideas. For more, see Lib List Paras.

Introduction to an un-named (potentially unwritten) book. The date is unknown, but it refers to PB's The Spirital Crisis of Man, so it has to be from the 1960s or later.

A series of notes from PB’s interviews featuring mostly (but not exclusively) Europeans and Americans, including Jung, Martinus, Alan Watts, Allan Bennett, T.M.P Mahadevan, Brother M, Wei Wu Wei, Queen Frederika and Princess Irene of Greece, Gayatri Devi, Ramdas, Krishnamurti, etc. For more, see Talks in the Orient, Carbons 4 (Asiatic), and Carbons 35 (Western Interviews).

A series of notes from PB’s interviews featuring primarily (but not exclusively) Asian authors such as Gurdjieff, Aurobindo, V.S. Iyer, Krishna Menon, Ramana Maharshi, D.T. Suzuki, Krishnamurti, Shankara, T.M.P. Mahadevan, Queen Frederika of Greece, the Dalai Lama, Mahesh Yogi, etc. For more, see Talks in the Occident, Carbons 4 (Asiatic), and Carbons 35 (Western Interviews).

This has yet to be translated. The author, Brama, was a Yogi PB mentioned in A Search in Secret India. Note the special mandala at the end.

A collection of PB’s original hand-written paras relating to his “Titled Items” theme “Objet D’art.” These paras catalogue or explain items he owned personally, many of which had historical or occult value, and most of which were lost during the final years of his son’s life. See also Titled Items 2.

Paras on themes PB didn't specifically include in his 28 Categories, such as Hygiene, Voice, Valet, Independence, etc. He continued adding to these pages over the course of his life.

Paras on themes PB didn't specifically include in his 28 Categories, such as Counsel, Regime, Occult, Etiquette, etc. See also "Themed Paras - Objet D'Art."

Paras on themes PB didn't specifically include in his 28 Categories, this time largely on the subject of travel in the mid-20th century.

True to the title, this file contains unrevised essays by PB from throughout his life. The majority of the writing comes from 1930-1958, but there is at least one essay from 1975.