An important part of Alex’s development as an artist came from visionary insights while on psychedelics, particularly during formative years in the '70s.  As anyone who lived through the '60s and '70s will probably tell you, psychedelics can give you "some pretty wild experiences."  But at what point does a "wild experience" give way to a life-changing spiritual or religious experience?  Lots of people have taken psychedelics; some report seeing God, some don’t.  So what’s going on here?  In your own life, if you have experimented with psychedelics, how did you interpret your experience?  Secularly, spiritually, or as just scary as hell?  

In this dialogue, Alex and Ken almost exclusively use the term "entheogen" when referring to psychedelic substances such as LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms, peyote, and so on.  One meaning of entheogen literally translates as "that which reveals the Spirit within."  As Alex elaborates, the intention you had when you chose to take such a substance is extremely important in determining what your experience will ultimately be.  Were you simply looking to have some fun, or were you earnestly searching for Spirit, God, or Reality, by whatever name?  Both uses are clearly valid within their own purposes, but in Alex’s case, it was very much the latter—and he did see something far more Real than anything he had seen before. 

Alex and Ken go on to discuss the process by which Alex, as an artist, tried to depict some of these profound experiences in his paintings, resulting in masterpieces such as "Universal Mind Lattice," "Theologue," and "Deities and Demons Drinking From a Milky Pool," so that others might be able to glimpse aspects of their own deeper and truer nature.  Such is one of the most important roles of visionary and integral art—whereby it becomes transformative art—and Alex is among the most accomplished artists in this important and specialized realm of creativity. 

"Not everyone who takes mushrooms is going to interpret this as a religious opening for themselves… they might just see it as, 'Wow, that was weird.'"

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Integral Naked continues to be an excellent source of stimulating content and provocative conversations with the world's greatest thinkers, leaders, artists, and visionaries. Be sure to stay tuned to the IN Podcast for more weekly audio updates....


Previously on Holons:

Deepak Chopra on Integral Naked
Integral Art on IN
Recent Guests on Integral Naked