Ralph Metzner (May 18, 1936 – March 14, 2019) was a German-born American psychologist, writer and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...

and

Richard Alpert Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

(later named Ram Dass). Metzner was a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

, and Professor Emeritus of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he was formerly the Academic Dean and Academic Vice-president.

Early life

Metzner was involved in consciousness research, including

psychedelics Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

and

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...

for over 50 years. He was a co-founder and President of the Green Earth Foundation, a non-profit educational organization devoted to healing and harmonizing the relationship between humans and the Earth. Metzner was featured in the 2006 film ''Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within'', a documentary about rediscovering an enchanted cosmos in the modern world. He conducted workshops on consciousness transformation and alchemical divination, both nationally and internationally. He was also a poet and singer-songwriter and produced two CDs with Kit Walker: A spoken word CD ("Spirit Soundings," with music by Kit Walker) and one music CD of original songs ("Bardo Blues"). His books include ''The Well of Remembrance'', ''The Unfolding Self'', ''Green Psychology'', and two edited collections on the science and the phenomenology of Ayahuasca and Teonanácatl, and a collection of reports about MDMA experiences. Metzner provided the foreword for ''Through the Gateway of the Heart: Accounts of Experiences with MDMA and Other Empathogenic Substances''. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard.

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *(1979). ''Know Your Type: Maps of Identity'' (Anchor Press; 1st edition) * * *

Discography

* 1966 – '' The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead'' (with Richard Alpert & Timothy Leary) (reissued on CD in 2003 by Folkways) * 2006 – ''Bardo Blues – and Other Songs of Liberation'' (with Kit Walker) Music CD (Green Earth Foundation) * 2009 �
''Cognition Factor'' (2009)

References

External links

* Ralph Metzner'
''The Web of Life''
(Song, 2009, 15 min)
''Through the Gateway of the Heart, Second Edition - Accounts and Experiences with MDMA and other Empathogenic Substances''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metzner, Ralph 1936 births 2019 deaths American male non-fiction writers American psychology writers German emigrants to the United States Psychedelic drug researchers American psychedelic drug advocates Harvard University alumni 20th-century American psychologists