West Memphis Three’s Damien Echols releasing ‘High Magick’ memoir, teaching class on it in NYC

Damien Echols, of the West Memphis Three, is releasing a new memoir titled High Magick: A Guide to the Spiritual Practices That Saved My Life on Death Row which will be out October 30. As the title suggests, Echols reveals how High Magick -- a "spiritual tradition and path to transformation with its own set of energetic practices, ceremonies, rituals and invocations" -- helped him survive the 18 years he spent on death row, years chronicled in the Paradise Lost documentaries. More on the book:

At age 18, Damien Echols was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. “I spent my years in prison training to be a true magician,” he writes. “I used magick—the practice of reshaping reality through our intention and will—to stave off incredible pain, despair, and isolation. But the most amazing feat of all that practice and study was to manifest my freedom.” With High Magick, this bestselling author shares his first teaching book on the powerful spiritual techniques that helped him survive and transcend his ordeal on death row.

What is High Magick? Most people either think of magic as stage illusions or an occult practice involving dark rituals. “Magick is an incredibly deep, meaningful, spiritual tradition that equals the Eastern practices of Buddhism and Taoism in beauty,” says Echols. “It’s an ancient discipline that lets you literally change reality by working with the divine energies of creation.” Join this extraordinary teacher as he shares key meditations, insights, and step-by-step instruction to awaken the power of magick in your own life.

Echols has been teaching other about High Magick since being released from prison in 2011 and will hold his first-ever introductory class on the subject at NYC's Brooklyn Bowl on August 9. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 13 at 10 AM and says Damien:

I’ve taught magick classes around the country, but I haven’t taught an introduction class until now. Writing my new book was the impetus for this class. A few weeks ago I held a copy of High Magick in my hands for the first time. It was an uncorrected proof of the book, but it’s still the manifestation of a childhood dream for me. Whether you’re brand new to magick or have been practicing for a while, I think you’ll get something out of this class.

In this 90-minute Introduction to High Magick Class, I’ll cover what magick is (and isn’t), my own history with it, basic exercises for those who are completely new to the subject, and more. What a lot of people don’t realize is that high magick is a spiritual tradition and path to transformation. It has its own set of energetic practices, ceremonies, rituals and invocations.

Practicing high magick saved my life and helped keep me sane on death row. But I’m not here to tell you what to believe and I’m not here to convert anyone. If you’re curious and feel the desire to peel away the surface of reality and see what lies beneath, then check out the class. My hope is that you’ll find high magick to be as useful in your life as I’ve found it to be in mine.

Damien will also be presenting a High Magick class at this year's Desert Daze festival.