Bob’s old lady in Laguna Beach
Kali
See Lisa
Kathy (Kathleen) Murray
Student at Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, political activist
Kevin
Artist and dealer in Haight-Ashbury, Christian and Bob’s contact
Krishna
Ashram manager and student of Hindu religion
Lama Loden Rinpoche
Christian’s teacher, Tibetan monk
Lance Bormann
One of the new “drug attorneys,” former Free Speech Movement activist
Larry
Kathy’s hitching partner from the Haight and love interest, dealer in Tucson, Carolyn’s old man
Lisa
Dropout philosophy major at the University of California, Berkeley; housemate with Christian and Matt; later, a devotee at the Ananda Shiva Ashram, renamed Kali
Mana
Shaman of the Ecuadorian Amazon, adopts Jerry as his son during the Ecuador expedition
Marcie (Marcelle) Arceneaux
Kathy’s best friend and college dorm mate at LSU, political activist, Richard’s old lady in the Haight-Ashbury
Mark
Richard’s Berkeley LSD crystal connection
Matt
Christian’s Berkeley roommate and business partner
Max Wilkes
Student, member of the ROTC at Berkeley, superior officer of Myles Corbet
Melvin Sparks
Bail bondsman working closely with Lance Bormann
Merlin
Richard and Alex’s runner, Greta’s old man, dealer in the Haight-Ashbury
Michelle
David’s old lady in the Haight-Ashbury
Mick Crogan
Dealer in Berkeley
Miguel
Larry and Jose’s housemate in the Tucson commune, Rosie’s old man
Myles Corbet
Botany student at the University of California, Berkeley; leader of the expedition to Gabon, Africa
Nareesh
Christian’s boyhood friend and brother in spirit
Nunes, Colonel
Regular army superior, ROTC, at the University of California, Berkeley
Padmananda
Disciple of the Master of the Ananda Shiva Ashram
“Phil”
See Ted “Phil” Phillips, Agent
Philip Corbet
Phillips, Agent Ted “Phil”
Northern California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, undercover agent
Richard Harrison
Dealer in the Haight-Ashbury, Marcie’s old man
Roger
Guru of the Family of Man
Rosie
Miguel’s old lady in Tucson
Tony
Manager of Electric Reason
Wade Tillich
Informant arrested by Supervisor Bremer, Alison’s old man
Wilson, Agent Ed
Northern California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, Bremer’s protégé
APPENDIX B
GLOSSARY
A
Acid: n. Lysergic acid diethylamide, a psychedelic drug altering thinking processes, producing visuals and synesthesia and documented spiritual experiences; a key sacrament in the 1960s counterculture; used currently by medical researchers in understanding death and dying and anxiety disorders
Ayahuasca: n. A hallucinogenic substance containing DMT (dimethyltryptamine), derived from vines found in the jungles of South America
B
Baez, Joan: American singer, musician, songwriter, and activist involved in the civil rights, pacifist, and human rights movements from the 1960s to the present
Big Brother and the Holding Company: American rock band formed in the 1960s, associated with the psychedelic music scene
Bodhisattva: n. An enlightened being; used by some New Age proponents to define one on the path to enlightenment with the intention of aiding others to Buddha consciousness
Brahmacharya: n. One who accepts celibacy in the practice of attaining higher consciousness through meditation of the sacred rather than the sensual
Brahman: n. The highest form of Ultimate Reality in Hindu religion; all Hindu gods are a manifestation of this Ultimate Reality, and man’s purpose is to unite with this Reality through self-awareness
Brahmin: n. One of the upper classes of the old Hindu caste system known for scholarly study and teaching
Brotherhood of Eternal Love: n. A loose-knit confederation of men and women who believe that higher consciousness can be achieved through the psychedelic experience; originally begun in the Laguna Beach area of Southern California by John Griggs
Bukhara: n. A distinctive rug from Central Asia made from wool, framed with a rectangular border and with geometrical designs in the center
C
Cap: n. A dose of a drug in a gelatin capsule; v. to place a drug into a gelatin capsule by stuffing one half of the capsule with powder and joining the two sides of the capsule together
Chakra: n. Any one of the seven major energy centers in the body in Hindu and Buddhist religions
Charas: n. Hand-rolled hashish from the Himalayan foothills of India, dark in color
Cocaine (coke): n. A naturally derived central nervous system stimulant produced from a plant grown in the Andean region of South America
Cop: n. A police officer; v. to buy from someone
Curtis, Edward M.: An ethnologist who wrote about and photographed Native Americas; born 1868, died 1952
D
DMT (dimethyltryptamine): n. An intense hallucinogenic drug with psychedelic properties lasting from fifteen minutes to a half hour; the main hallucinogenic property of the ayahuasca vine.
Drop: v. To take LSD, to release a batch of LSD into the market
E
Ergotamine tartrate: n. An alkaloid of the ergot fungus from which lysergic acid can be made, used medically as a vascular constrictor and migraine medicine
F
Fit: n. Short for outfit; a small box containing a needle, syringe, bulb, string, and cotton—paraphernalia for injecting a crystal drug
Freak: n. A hippie, a political activist for peace in the 1960s
Front: v. To loan products for sale; after the sale, the established price of the goods is returned to the lender, any further profit belonging to the seller
G
Geshe: n. A Tibetan monk or lama with a high degree in the study of Buddhism
Graham, Bill: American rock music concert promoter, active in San Francisco in the 1960s
Grass: n. Marijuana, one of the various species of Cannabis: Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, or Cannabis ruderalis
Groovy: adj. Sixties colloquialism; really outstanding; cool
H
Hashish (hash): n. A product composed of compressed Cannabis resin
Head: n. A person who experiments with expanding consciousness through pharmaceuticals
Hep: n. Short for hepatitis, generally contracted in the underground by using contaminated needles for intravenous drug use
Hippie: n. One of the flower children of the 1960s, believing in the principles of peace and love, especially those of the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco
Hit: n. A single dose of a drug; v. to deliver a dose of a drug
Hold: v. To be in possession of a drug
House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC): n. A governmental committee whose purpose was to investigate a citizen of the United States for engagement in any activity considered Communist in nature
I
Iboga: See Tabernanthe iboga
J
Joint: n. A marijuana cigarette
K
Kachina: n. A masked dancer that embodies a spirit in Hopi religion; a small carved figure representing a masked dan
cer
Kali: n. The Hindu goddess of destruction
Karma: n. A complicated system of cause and effect that occurs on different levels of existence; in this world, the generally immediate results from personal choices, and in the next, the result of the accumulated actions that produce a destination of rebirth or afterlife.
Key, kilo: n. Short for kilogram
Kesey, Ken: American author involved in the counterculture of the 1960s
L
Leary, Timothy: Often called High Priest of the psychedelic movement in the 1960s and 1970s, a former professor of psychology at Harvard University who experimented with LSD and psilocybin with his students; coined the phase “Turn on, tune in, drop out” in the sixties; invited to live with the Brotherhood of Eternal Love in Laguna Beach, California
Lid: n. An ounce of marijuana
Lysergic acid: n. A crystalline alkaloid that is a major constituent of ergot
M
Man, the: n. The authorities, police, narcotics agents
Mandala: n. A design of concentric circular patterns emanating from a central core
Merry Pranksters: A communal group associated with Ken Kesey, known for promoting the use of psychedelic drugs
Mic: n. Short for microgram, usually relating to dosages of LSD
Mudra: n. A gesture or position of the hands, generally used in meditation or prayer
N
Namaste: n. A salutation among Hindus of South Asia; lit. “I bow to the divine within you”
Needle track: n. Small puncture wound that indicates the use of intravenous drugs
O
Old lady: n. A female partner and lover in common law living or marriage
Old man: n. A male partner and lover in common law living or marriage
Om: n. Onomatopoeic sound used in meditation that imitates the sound of the universe vibrating
P
PCP (phencyclidine): n. A powerful anesthetic used primarily on animals, accepted into the psychedelic scene of the 1960s as a sacrament until its adverse effects became apparent
Pig: n. Pejorative slang for police officer
Pink Wedge: n. A combination tablet of LSD and STP popular in 1967
Purple Haze: n. The name of a type of acid produced by Owsley Stanley popular in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco in 1967, during the Summer of Love
R
Roach: n. The short remains of a marijuana cigarette, often relit to smoke and held in a roach clip
Roach clip: n. Any metal holder that can hold a roach so that the fingers are not burned
Rolling box: n. A shallow box that allows for marijuana leaves to be separated from seeds by tipping the box so that the seeds roll to one side
Rubin, Jerry: Social activist and antiwar leader of the 1960s and 1970s who began the Vietnam Day Committee in Berkeley in 1965
Runner: n. A lieutenant who works for a dealer
S
Sadhu: n. An ascetic Hindu holy man
Satsang: n. A religious meeting in which practitioners listen to teachings on a religious, moral, or spiritual principle
Savio, Mario: One of the most well known leaders of the Free Speech Movement at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1965
Seva: n. Selfless service, work offered to God in Indian religions, often ordinary work that needs to be done but done with awareness and positive intention
Stanley, Owsley: LSD manufacturer, especially between 1965 and 1967, who worked as sound manager for the Grateful Dead, closely connected to the author Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters
Stash: n. A supply of drugs, usually hidden, for personal or business use
STP: n. 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine, a psychedelic amphetamine
Summer of Love: n. The summer of 1967, when approximately 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco as part of the hippie movement
T
Tab: n. A pharmaceutical tablet; v. to create tablets, usually by machine
Tabernanthe iboga: n. A West African perennial rainforest shrub used as a hallucinogen in a sacred ritual by the Bwiti people of Gabon, currently used in Western medicine to treat addiction to opiates
Tantra: n. A complex system of prayer, meditation, and ritual that fosters union with the Divine Mother, eliminating the ego and furthering the path to enlightenment; influential in Buddhism, particularly in Tibet
Thangka: n. A Buddhist religious painting on a scroll that can be easily rolled for storage and travel
Toke: v. To inhale while smoking, usually marijuana
Trip: n. A psychedelic experience brought on by drug use; v. to use a psychoactive drug
V
Vietnam Day Committee: n. A coalition of student groups, labor, and antiwar activists, organized in Berkeley in 1965 by Jerry Rubin
W
Weed: n. Marijuana, any species of Cannabis
White Lightning: n. Very good LSD made by Owsley Stanley in 1966 and 1967
A PREVIEW of
A NATION OF MYSTICS
__________
BOOK II
TRIBES
KATHLEEN MURRAY
TUCSON, ARIZONA, TO BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
JANUARY 1968
Even in the cold of January, Kathleen Murray loved the desert—the high peaks that rose roughly from dry, rolling hills; tall saguaro cactuses, green sentries by day and silver monoliths in moonlight; the quick rabbits with white tails; flocks of bright red cardinals; anxious roadrunners dashing across tar and gravel roads; the crying howl of the coyotes piercing the night.
And then there was the hawk, the bird that called to her spirit, because in the bird she saw grace, perfection of form, and freedom as it circled high above the earth.
She was beginning to understand that she liked many places—the beautiful, old city of New Orleans, where she’d been born and raised; cool summers in the San Francisco Bay; the bookstores of Berkeley; the winter green hills of Marin County; the rough coastline of Big Sur; and tonight, the desert south of Tucson, with its star-filled sky so large that she was once again a tiny speck in the universe, overwhelmed by the vastness of creation and humbled by the tiny thread she wove in this life.
As she walked the moonlit road in solitude, the desert was cold, but she was in no hurry to return to the warmth of the fireplace. This was a new year—1968—and with the turning of the earth, there were infinite new possibilities. The original plan had been to see how California could mobilize thousands to political action, and Kathy had thought to take those ideas back with her to LSU. Instead, she had discovered a new kind of politics, one of spiritual revolution through psychedelic awareness. For the moment, she was deeply involved in bringing kilos of marijuana to the San Francisco Bay from the old barn on this ranch near the Mexican border.
Overhead, a shooting star exploded across the sky.
A good omen, she thought.
In the first week of January, she’d bought a Volkswagen van in California. Running suitcases of keys through the San Francisco airport was becoming risky. That she’d managed this long without getting caught was a miracle. With wheels, she could drive on a regular basis without attracting attention—and she could carry a larger load. Like the hawk she admired, she was between worlds—a part of the Fairfax house in Marin County and also a part of the Tucson ranch and its family. The road between the two was fairly straight, from Richard and Alex to Larry and Jose.
In the morning, she would leave this place and begin a new journey on her own. The thought of leaving Larry after spending months with him through a hepatitis illness and hospitalization, holidays, and trips of discovery, had caused her to consider long and hard. Once she was gone, the threesome with Carolyn would dissolve. Larry would turn to Carolyn to live in the day to day that ranch life demanded, while she would be on the road, facing a new horizon each morning. When Larry had asked her to stay and become his partner, saying again that he’d work something out with Carolyn, she’d learned someth
ing else about herself. She wanted to remain the hawk—graceful, in balance with air and earth, and free.
“Kathy,” Larry called to her the next morning, “come out to the barn and take a look at the van. We’ve finished loading up.”
“What do you think?” Jose asked. “I opened the panels in the rear, stuffed them with kilos, then repaneled. No one looking in here will be able to tell you’re carrying.”
“Is there anything I can do about the smell?”
Jose shook his head. “Not a whole lot. We’re going to have to come up with a better way to wrap the product. Someone was telling me about something called shrink wrapping.”
“It’ll be all right,” Larry told her. “We bought the car secondhand in Berkeley for the license plates. When you get to the California Agricultural Inspection Station at the state border, just get in the free lane of local returning traffic.”
“I couldn’t get everything in the panels,” Jose said. “Some of it had to go into these two trunks, but we’ve made you a bed to cover them. You’re going to want to sleep sometime anyway. It’s at least a good two-day ride.”
“How many are here?” she asked.
“Two hundred. All primo weed.” Larry put his arm around her shoulders. “You know what you need? A partner. Someone to help with the driving.”