Audio Samples from "Visions of the Erotic Life"

1 - The Leary ‘Mission Statement’ In l969, less than a year before he was convicted, imprisoned, and hunted halfway around the globe, Leary works the college lecture circuit.  In these lectures Leary sees himself as a celestial psychologist merely sharing ideas that were occurring to Rosemary and him and to many others. Sample »

2 - The audience input was wild and unpredictable. Unrestrained, unscripted, and exuberant, Leary refers to these gathers as “our circus”. The audience passionately embraces a wide range of issues: there are warnings about combining certain drugs, questions about Leary’s possible bias against homosexuality, and even a young woman who removes her clothes.  Sample » 

3 - The body as a biochemical instrument. Leary’s academic perspective supported the notion that all conscious reality was mediated by elaborate biochemical events which could be affected by the use of psychoactive drugs.  Leary proposed exploring this biochemistry of consciousness as a means of discovering one’s genetic potential and harmonizing interpersonal relationships. He called this hedonic engineering. Sample » 

4 - Choosing the atomic or laser approach to ‘tuning in’ In his role as “Johnny Acidseed”, Leary free associates about the cosmic imperatives of living the erotic life after “turning on”.  He contrasts two different ways of dealing with the outpouring of energy which comes from turning on. Sample » 

5 - Leary recommends the yin/yang hookup for the psychedelic lifestyle At least for those genetically and astrologically so inclined, Leary clearly favors sharing the energy released in this process with a member of the opposite sex .Sample » 

6 - Understanding the psychedelic marriage Leary refers to the energy-sharing male-female relationship interchangeably as a psychedelic marriage, a spiritual marriage, a neurological marriage, or a tantric marriage. Sample » 

7 - The psychedelic marriage is infidelity-proof Monogamy and fidelity are identified as natural attributes of a psychedelic marriage. Sample » 

8 - Psychedelic marriages thrive in  rural, tribal communities Leary recommends what McLuhan called the tribal community as best suited for enhancing the psychedelic marriage.  He proposes established communities on remote rural land, “free territory”.  Sample » 

9 - Some of Leary’s visions of the erotic life in tribal communities Leary envisions some of the specific characteristics of tribal communities made up of psychedelic marriages.  Community rituals,  focus on children, and festivals that “blow minds” are among the important aspects of successful tribal communities. Sample » 

10 - Erotisizing all human experience  The essence of living the psychedelic lifestyle in a psychedelic marriage was the “erotization of routine”.  Sample » 

11 - The ethos of the time reflected in a Black Panther’s poem The political realities of those turbulent days after the Kennedy and King assassinations, the war in Viet Nam, and the agony of the Civil Rights Movement are acknowledged.  He reflects the anger of the Black Panthers in Eldridge Cleaver’s poem. Sample »