Timeline for reading Sidewalk Oracles

A read along timeline for Sidewalk Oracles by Robert Moss, Winter 2024

“Through the weaving of synchronicity, we are brought awake and alive to a hidden order of events, to the understory of our world and our lives. … This book provides roadside assistance for the conscious traveler in the dream of waking life.” — Robert Moss

A Magical Start Read Along

Several people have expressed interest in a shared reading of Sidewalk Oracles: Playing with Signs, Symbols, and Synchronicity in Everyday Life (Robert Moss).

📅 I’ve mapped out a reading timeline (below) for anyone that wants to read along.

📌 This will be a very low-key read along. I will post weekly summaries and my thoughts on the reading and invite conversation in the comments.

We did it this way last spring when we read Write for Life, and it seemed to work well. It can simply be nice to read together. Having a timeline (or reading schedule) also adds a bit of structure to the process that you may find helpful.

Note: This is a bit different than all of us reading the book in a month and then having one post at the end where we discuss it, like a traditional book club. (As long as there are a few people reading and participating, I plan to try to do the weekly posts.)

This book contains a series of 17 “activities” (or games) in the second half. I’ve allotted a few days each so that you have time to try those, if you’d like. I think there will be a lot to track/document/record with this book.

If you want to plan to read along, the first chapter will be targeted for finishing around January 4.

(The read along will then go through March. (Check your library. Place a hold. See if the stars line up.)

Worried you might not like it or find it too “out there”? This title won’t appeal to everyone. There is no commitment in the process. If you are curious about the book, start with us and see where it goes.

Timeline

The targeted “due dates” for each section are shown below. (As the posts go live for each week, they will be linked below.)

• Chapter 1: Making Real Magic - January 4

• Chapter 2: A Walk Around Jung’s Tower - January 11

• Chapter 3: Twelve Rules of Kairomancy - “first six” - January 18

• Chapter 3: Twelve Rules of Kairomancy - “second six” - January 25

• Chapter 4: The Book of Sidewalk Oracles

  • Games 1-3: Feb 1

  • Games 4-6: Feb 8

  • Games 7-9: Feb 15

  • Games 10-12: Feb 22

  • Games 13-17: March 7

• Chapters 5, 6, and Final Thoughts: March 21

(How does this look? It looks slow from a reading perspective, but the games in Chapter 4 are actionable. What do you think? I plan to try to manage these dates. There is a lot of work involved in running it this way, but I hope this weekly schedule will work.)

If you are planning to read along and haven’t told me yet, I would love to know.

What to do?

1. Get a copy of the book. See if your library has it in any format. (Amazon.com)

2. Comment below with your thoughts going into the book. What role do symbols currently play in your life?

3. Read the first chapter by the end of the first week in January.

4. Join in the discussion, if you choose, on the first post.

🍥 Go into this with an open mind and a willingness to consider what is being described/discussed. If you are feeling skeptical but still want to read along, make sure you enter the reading with a willing suspension of disbelief.

You don’t have to like the book, but I do ask that the read along be positive, open minded, and a place where we can talk about how things go, how things feel, and what works and doesn’t work for us.

I hope you will read along. I tend to be a pragmatist and a realist. I know life isn’t fair and that what happens is often haphazard and random. I am skeptical about many, many things. Some of you have heard me talk about my concerns about this book. At the same time, I’m drawn to it, and I do talk, all the time, about serendipity, sign, symbol, messages from the universe, and synchronicity.

I’ve thought a lot about the back-and-forth I’ve been doing in my head about this book (having not read it yet). I think this book may be tied to a process of me accepting something and more fully claiming parts of myself that I sometimes try to push aside. I’m going in open-hearted. I hope you will, too.

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