Don Lattin

In God on Psychedelics, veteran journalist Don Lattin trains his eye on some previously unexamined questions. Why do relatively few people in the burgeoning psychedelic renaissance connect chemically induced mystical states with their own religious traditions? Can sacred plant medicines be a source of renewal for Christians, Jews and other people of faith? Some clergy and laity think they can. Judaism and Christianity each have centuries-old mystical paths. Yet since the early 1960s, and in the current psychedelic revival, countless North American psychonauts have turned to Buddhism, Hinduism or Native American spirituality to understand the revelatory experience they encountered on magic mushrooms, LSD and other psychoactive drugs. Today, psychedelics are increasingly used as therapeutic tools to help those suffering from depression, trauma and substance abuse. Meanwhile, decriminalization campaigns and cognitive freedom crusades are sprouting up across the nation, inspiring churches and other fellowships to move beyond the divisive doctrine and denominationalism of old-time religion. Don Lattin has been writing about altered states of consciousness since the 1970s - first as an award-winning religion reporter for daily newspapers in San Francisco and more recently as a bestselling author. God on Psychedelics takes the reader on a magical mystery tour across the nation's changing religious landscape, exploring a new kind of trinity that blends psychedelic insight, psychological healing and spiritual revival. Praise for some of Don Lattin's previous works: "I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy just about every page," NY Times critic Dwight Garner on The Harvard Psychedelic Club." Carefully researched and disarmingly honest," religion scholar Huston Smith on Distilled Spirits." Reaches beyond market themes to social issues, culture wars, the search for community, and the varieties of spirituality," American religion historian Martin Marty on Shopping for Faith.

Seattle has a long tradition of being at the forefront of technological innovation. In 1919, an eager young inventor named Alfred M. Hubbard made his first newspaper appearance with the announcement of a perpetual motion machine that harnessed energy from Earth's atmosphere. From there, Hubbard transformed himself into a charlatan, bootlegger, radio pioneer, top-secret spy, millionaire and uranium entrepreneur. In 1953, after discovering the transformative effects of a little-known hallucinogenic compound, Hubbard would go on to become the Johnny Appleseed of LSD, introducing the psychedelic to many of the era's vanguards and an entire generation. Join author and historian Brad Holden as he chronicles the fascinating life of one of Seattle's legendary figures.

CHANGING OUR MINDS tells the inspiring and very human stories of pioneering neuroscientists, psychotherapists, shamans and ordinary people seeking to live more aware and compassionate lives by combining the miracles of modern chemistry, therapeutic techniques and the wise use of ancient plant medicines. As a new era of research and university curricula addressing psychedelic-assisted therapy is now underway. LSD micro-dosing is becoming the new get-ahead strategy in Silicon Valley. Use of the Amazon's shamanic brew ayahuasca is taking the form of an international movement. Use of increasingly legal cannabis to cure Alzheimers, PTSD - and cancer! - is becoming commonplace. All of these add up to a transformational movement that advocates the use of properly administered mind-altering substances to promote mental health and spiritual growth. CHANGING OUR MINDS is the essential primer for understanding and navigating this new territory.

"Distilled Spirits" blends a religion reporter's memoir with the compelling stories of three men - Aldous Huxley, Gerald Heard, and Bill Wilson - who transformed the landscape of Western religion and spirituality in the twentieth century. Huxley, celebrated author of "Brave New World", ignited a generation that chased utopian dreams and sought enlightenment through psychedelic drugs. Heard, an Anglo-Irish mystic, journeyed to California with Huxley in the 1930s to lay the foundations for the New Age and human potential movements. Wilson, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, joined forces with Huxley and Heard in the 1940s and 1950s, when Wilson began a series of little-known experiments to see if LSD could be used to help diehard drunks. Their life stories are gracefully brought together by veteran journalist Don Lattin. Lattin recounts his own rocky personal journey from 1960s and 1970s counter-culture, through the fast-living, cocaine-fueled 1980s and 1990s, to his long struggle to get sober. By weaving an intimate account of his own recovery with the lives of the book's three central characters, Lattin shows us the redemptive power of story telling, the strength of fellowship, and the power of living more compassionately, one day at a time.

This book is the story of how three brilliant scholars and one ambitious freshman crossed paths in the early sixties at a Harvard-sponsored psychedelic-drug research project, transforming their lives and American culture and launching the mind/body/spirit movement that inspired the explosion of yoga classes, organic produce, and alternative medicine. The four men came together in a time of upheaval and experimentation, and their exploration of an expanded consciousness set the stage for the social, spiritual, sexual, and psychological revolution of the 1960s. Timothy Leary would be the rebellious trickster, the premier proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD, advising a generation to 'turn on, tune in, and drop out'. Richard Alpert would be the seeker, traveling to India and returning to America as Ram Dass, reborn as a spiritual leader with his 'Be Here Now' mantra, inspiring a restless army of spiritual pilgrims. Huston Smith would be the teacher, practicing every world religion, introducing the Dalai Lama to the West, and educating generations of Americans to adopt a more tolerant, inclusive attitude toward other cultures' beliefs. And young Andrew Weil would be the healer, becoming the undisputed leader of alternative medicine, devoting his life to the holistic reformation of the American health care system. It was meant to be a time of joy, of peace, and of love, but behind the scenes lurked backstabbing, jealousy, and outright betrayal. In spite of their personal conflicts, the members of the Harvard Psychedelic Club would forever change the way we all view religion and practice medicine, and the very way we look at body and soul.

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, ... and Religion

Shopping for Faith is as good as it gets in assessing the U. S. religion scene at millennium's end. Cimino and Lattin present a picture of multiple trends headed in often contradictory directions. -- Robert Ellwood, emeritus professor of religion, University of Southern California American religion flourishes in a consumer culture, and presents us with a bewildering array of choices as we navigate the shopping mall of faith. The authors identify dozens of trends which will shape American religion in the next century and bring together the latest research and intimate portraits of Americans describing their beliefs, their religious heritage, and their spiritual search. With warmth and style the authors document how consumerism shapes religious practice -- from conservative evangelical worship to the most esoteric New Age workshop.