"That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above, and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below, to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing."
The Emerald Tablet

If I could describe my ideal life - a life that integrates my passions with my path of service - it would probably look like that of a freelance journalist and modern-day 'spiritual anthropologist' (in the tradition of Living Dialogues by Duncan Campbell), roaming the world, speaking to great, and mostly un-sung healers and teachers of our age, and recording in-depth conversations with them - making their teachings and perspective more accessible to the world-at-large. These 'interviews' (soul-searching conversations) would be conducted face-to-face, rather than over the telephone or via Skype. It's my very strong belief that there is a subtle but powerful exchange during a personal meeting of souls (in the same sacred space?). These personal interviews would also give me the opportunity to photograph these great teachers in their own, unique environments. If this resonates with you, and you are blessed with the ability to finance such a venture - whether to produce a book, a companion Web site and podcast, a column/series in a periodical, etc. I would be very interested in speaking with you and making it happen. OM Shantih.

Oh, and my imagination is never too far from the idea of a Fish Taco truck à la Maui - but in the Hamptons, or a cool little Hampton's coffee shop à la Jack's.

Here's my list of intentions as of February 17, 2008. I submit it to the universe and let it go...

• Pay-off all my debts
• Develop work that is lucrative and that allows me to make my own schedule - a schedule that supports the other important aspects of my life - yoga, health, family, self-inquiry, creative expression, etc.
• Spend more quality time with Dana and Lefty in a 'life' that's not just confined to weekends or vacations
• Have more fun! Get a scooter or a motorcycle!
• Start my own successful business - café, consultancy, travel/spiritual pursuits blog, etc.
• Go on a 10-day Vipassana retreat
• Take voice and sitar lessons
• Renovate the apartment
• Travel to Peru for shamanic healing - shamanic apprenticeship
• Obtain a professional-level Nikon DSLR and take photography lessons
• Obtain professional-level portable digital recording equipment for podcasting program / interviews
• Actively pursue writing/blogging, photography, traveling
• Get weekly deep-tissue bodywork
• Get weekly accupuncture
• Develop a consistent meditation practice
• Buy a house in the country - Upstate or the North Fork
• Spend a month in India every year
• Have the ability to take the time off I want and have the resources to travel and pursue my passions
• Actively undergo individual and couples therapy - pursue shadow work
• Pursue advanced yoga studies
• Train in the martial arts (Aikido)
• Develop self-sufficiency and financial independence
• Heal myself so that I may be able to help others heal themselves - develop
  my service as path
• Spend more time by the sea - surfing, sailing, writing, being

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Psychedelic Salon
Your source for cutting edge information about the exploration and expansion of consciousness. Featured speakers include Terence McKenna, Alex Grey, Daniel Pinchbeck, Erik Davis, Ann and Sasha Shulgin, Nick Sand, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson and more. You can access all of these podcasts for free at PsychedelicSalon.org or through MatrixMasters.com/podcasts.

07/23/2009 04:36 PM
192-Leary: "Live at the Stone - 1987"
Think back to the Summer of 1987. Did you own a personal computer then? If so, you were in rare company. And in today's podcast we get to hear Dr. Timothy Leary explain why this new technology was going to revolutionize the world. But he doesn't confine himself to only talking about computers in this presentation that was given at The Stone in San Francisco. ... He also has some amazing stories to tell about the Summer of Love, Abbie Hoffmann, Hunter S. Thompson, and other fun people and events.

07/16/2009 06:35 PM
191-McKenna: "The Ethnobotany of Shamanism" Part 5
This brings to a conclusion the series of recordings from a Terence McKenna workshop that he led over the weekend of November 5-7, 1988 at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS). One of the more fascinating questions that he answers is, "How do you remember to bring back what you've learned?" And his answer, dealing with state-bounded memory, is something I hadn't thought of before. And like the preivous four programs in this series, Terence again peppers this one with provocative thoughts such as, "This is in fact what shamanism is all about, what the end of history is all about, what psychedelic drugs are all about, we are edge-walking on an ontological transformation of what it means to be human."

07/08/2009 01:17 PM
190-McKenna: "The Ethnobotany of Shamanism" Part 4
This week we pick up with Terence fielding questions about the visions he sees on various substances and where he thinks they come from. One of his more controversial comments this week may be: "The psychedelic experience is the beginning of the spiritual path. That's why it's not important that yogas claim that they can deliver you the psychedelic experience, because it begins with the psychedelic experience, and then you go from there."

07/01/2009 03:01 PM
189-McKenna: "The Ethnobotany of Shamanism" Part 3
We continue with a Terence McKenna workshop recorded on the first weekend of November in 1988. The workshop was conducted at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. One of the more interesting segments of this talk is that it is one of his clearest public statements regarding the relative merits of natural psychedelics vs. synthetic ones. And his opinion on November 6, 1988 was, "I really think there is a very large distinction between synthetic and naturally occurring drugs." ... He also goes on to say, "I have never felt that the primary use of these things [psychedelic medicines] was to cure what is called in modern parlance neurosis, what I call unhappiness. It isn't for that."

06/24/2009 03:38 PM
188-McKenna: "The Ethnobotany of Shamanism" Part 2
In today's podcast we pick up where we left off last week with Terence McKenna conducting a workshop in November of 1988. Among other topics, Terence begins his "World Tour of Psychedelic Plants". One of my favorite McKenna quotes from this talk is, "We now have no choice in the matter of business as usual. There will not, apparently, be business as usual." ... and then there is, "Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage."