Here is a clip from a filmed documentary digitally converted and posted on YouTube of my former teacher, the Chief Boo Hoo of the Neo-American Church, talking about LSD and God. When I say it is “newly discovered,” I mean newly discovered to me. Art’s daughter, Kristen, sent me the link.
Sarabande by Mary Jo Call
Listen to another of Mary Jo’s beautiful compositions. https://myiapc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Sarabande-1.0.mp3
Book Review: Timothy Leary and the Mad Men of Millbrook
Here is what I wrote to a friend recently about Timothy Leary and the Mad Men of Millbrook (edited slightly).
I just finished reading Ted Druch’s book. I enjoyed reading it and think you probably would too. It tells pretty much the same story that Art Kleps told in Millbrook but from someone else’s viewpoint. Early on while reading it, I was turned off by Druch’s anti-philosophy philosophy, where humor seems to be the highest and maybe only value. Have you watched Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm? The way I felt about this book at first reminds me of how I feel about that. It is entertaining and wonderfully funny at times, but I still don’t like Larry David’s worldview. I feel the same way about Woody Allen. I guess it’s a secular Jewish worldview. Serious claims about the meaning of life are all bullshit. Just enjoy the pleasures of life while they last. It will all end in nothingness. But as I read on, I enjoyed more and more Ted Druch’s zest for life, and his descriptions of the personalities involved. Bill Haines and Art were allies more than I realized from Art’s version, with Tim Leary and Billy Hitchcock being very influential but less central to the day to day life of the place. Around fifty people in those early stages of wanting to drop acid at every opportunity, and in a place where everybody believed in the spiritual value of it, even Ted Druch, in spite of himself. By the end, I was wishing it would go on longer, not because it was too short or incomplete, but because it was describing a time and state of mind that were so much fun.
A neuroscientist discusses her DMT trip
I would like to share this YouTube clip where a neuroscientist discusses her DMT trip. It sounds like psychedelic Christianity to me!
Somebody likes Life in a Psychedelic Church
Somebody likes my new book, Life in a Psychedelic Church! Also, the audiobook version is coming soon! Check out this customer review:
A Conversation with Danielle Kingstrom
I recently had an enjoyable conversation with Danielle Kingstrom about Psychedelic Christianity on her podcast, Recorded Conversations. Listen to it here: https://recordedconversations.podbean.com/e/psychedelic-christianity/?fbclid=IwAR0G9zBA_uLoBHuwnzUzHND1xO6tU9fx9mbQ6FLF3QwljvZ2VYvmb9ZHlcM
In other news, the paperback edition of Life in a Psychedelic Church is now available, and an audiobook version will be coming out in June. And you still have the choice of the Kindle edition as well.
Life in a Psychedelic Church available now
A wild ride in a psychedelic church, then reflections on the meaning of it all. Available now on Kindle and soon to be available in paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086P85X7N/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=life+in+a+psychedelic+church&qid=1585853277&s=books&sr=1-1
Part I was originally published as The Long Watch in 1987, and has been out of print for 33 years. Rare copies sell for $200-$300 by 3rd party sellers on Amazon. Part II incorporates some of the material I have published on this website. Both parts together show that time does not pass in vain.
Another rave review of Psychedelic Christianity
Danielle Kingstrom has posted a thoughtful review of Psychedelic Christianity on her Patheos page.
Coming soon: 2nd edition of The Long Watch
Coming soon! The 2nd edition of my memoirs of being a member of the Neo-American Church, from 1972-1978. First published in 1987, in a very limited edition of just 75 copies, under the title The Long Watch, the new title is Neo-American Days and Nights. The text is revised minimally to correct for stylistic errors, and there is a new epilogue and an appendix with material that reflects my current thinking about psychedelics and religion. Check back here for further updates as this project progresses.
Papa Panov’s Special Christmas
Enjoy Mary Jo’s latest musical, presented on Dec. 15, 2019 at St. Matthias Episcopal Church, Whittier, California. Music and words by Mary Jo Call, based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy, lyrics to “Night of Wonder” and “Night Turned into Day” by Jack Call. Doug Overstreet as Papa Panov, directed by Terry Dodd. Click on the link to watch. The musical starts around 6:45 minutes in and lasts about 30 minutes. https://www.facebook.com/stmatthiaswhittier/videos/759686084525840