Author & Ajarn Shaman Shu | 137+ Books on Ancient Wisdom, Consciousness & American History
Robert Shumake writes the stories most books walk past.
Robert Shumake writes under two names. As Robert Shumake he restores America's forgotten newspapers in the 69-volume Living Archive Series; as Ajarn Shaman Shu he teaches ancient wisdom, ancestral traditions and consciousness mastery across 68+ books.
Who is Robert Shumake?
Robert Shumake is an American author, spiritual teacher and archivist from Detroit, Michigan, who has published more than 137 books. Writing as Robert Shumake he restores America’s forgotten newspapers in the 69-volume Living Archive Series; writing as Ajarn Shaman Shu he teaches ancient wisdom, ancestral traditions and consciousness mastery.
His recent work examines artificial intelligence and cultural memory — why the traditions and primary sources missing from AI training data get answered badly, and how a purpose-built corpus corrects it.
- Also known as
- Ajarn Shaman Shu
- Born
- Detroit, Michigan, United States
- Occupation
- Author, spiritual teacher, archivist
- Books published
- 137+
- Notable work
- The Living Archive Series (69 volumes)
- Subjects
- Ancient wisdom, consciousness, AI, American history
The Library
Featured books
Consciousness·Ajarn Shaman Shu
The New York World
The story of the New York World — Joseph Pulitzer, Nellie Bly, the Statue of Liberty campaign, and the Pulitzer Prizes — from Robert Shumake's archive.
Details
Restored Newspapers·Robert Shumake
The Tampa Tribune
The story of the Tampa Tribune — Ybor City and the cigar capital, José Martí and Cuban liberty, the Rough Riders' port — from Robert Shumake's Living Archive Series.
DetailsJournal
Latest dispatches
Notes on craft, the writing life and the road between books.
On Craft
Writing the Third Book Is Nothing Like Writing the First
· 6 min read
PLACEHOLDER — Everything I learned finishing my debut turned out to be useless the third time around. Here is what actually carried over.
Read the essayReaders
Notes from a Year on the Book Club Circuit
· 5 min read
PLACEHOLDER — Forty living rooms, three libraries and one church basement later, here is what readers actually want to talk about.
Read the essayOn Craft
The Morning Hours Belong to the Work
· 4 min read
PLACEHOLDER — On the discipline of writing before the day has a chance to make other plans for you.
Read the essayStore
Shop the collection
Books, apparel, and limited releases from Robert Shumake and Ajarn Shaman Shu.
About
About Robert
"Writing is the act of recovering what history tried to forget."
Robert Shumake is an internationally recognized author, spiritual teacher, consciousness researcher and custodian of forgotten histories. Writing under two distinct author personas — Robert Shumake and Ajarn Shaman Shu — he has published over 137 books spanning spiritual wisdom, historical restoration, ancestral knowledge systems and transformational consciousness work. As Robert Shumake he publishes the Living Archive Series, 69 meticulously restored American newspapers preserving the voices of cities from Atlanta to Albuquerque. As Ajarn Shaman Shu he synthesizes African spirituality, Hindu and Tantric philosophy, Buddhist studies, Tamil Siddha traditions and Hermetic science into practical teachings on meditation, breathwork, ancestral healing and wealth consciousness. He is a workshop facilitator, retreat leader, online educator and mentor to practitioners, historians and consciousness researchers worldwide.
His current work applies artificial intelligence to cultural memory — building primary-source corpora and AI-native universities for the wisdom traditions and archives that mainstream datasets leave out.
Newsletter
The reading list
Get exclusive author updates, book releases, and writing insights — delivered a few times a year, never more.