EDITOR'S COMMENTS

     In addition to being the editor and publisher of The Caldron, I am also a Clinical Psychologist, a father of three young boys, and a longtime wanderer and life adventurer.

     I earned my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 1971. I have had a private practice ever since. I work primarily with individuals. I also offer dreaming sharing groups and what we call kitchen table holy work groups.

     I have been a fulltime father for most of the time since May of 1961. It's been over forty-five years now. These days, I am raising three sons: Zane aged one, Jake aged four, almost five, and Callahan aged seven. I see a lot of my older daughter Ariana who lives here in town. My oldest, my son Jonathan, lives in Los Angeles, works in TV, and has two kids of his own. I'm their granddad. My life task now is to stay healthy and strong until my three little boys are all grown into men. I'm seventy-three years old now.

     I love to write. I always have. For years, I wrote just for myself, but then a few years back, I decided I had something to say to the world and wanted to be heard. At first, I tried submitting some of what I wrote to various magazines, but my submissions were always rejected. Because of this, I decided to start my own magazine. I knew that the editor of it would publish everything I wrote.

     I'm also a wanderer and an adventurer. I love to wander along the back roads and wilderness trails of the world. I love to wander in the deeper reaches of the psyche too. My inner teacher's name is Wanderer. He came to me a long time ago, back when I was tripping a lot. He has guided me ever since.



     A year ago this spring, The Caldron published a message from the Hopi Elders. In it, they say that it is no longer the eleventh Hour. It is now The Hour.

     They say that we are all in a river (the Tao) and we should not try to hold onto or reach the shore (any sort of stability or order in our lives.) Instead we should flow along with the river and trust that it is taking us to our destination.

     The Hopi say that the time of the long wolf is over. It is a time to gather together. They say that those who are with us in the river are the folks we are supposed to be with.

     In my personal life, I am witnessing this gathering. I am meeting many wonderful folks for the first time, folks who are furthering me along my path. I am also reconnecting with many old friends, especially some of my psychedelic friends from the seventies and eighties. Many of them are saying the same, that they are reconnecting to many old and new friends too.



     The themes for each issue of this, our fifth year, all share a common meta-theme. Last fall, our theme was "Beyond Politics - Consciousness and Social Change." That issue argued that individual and group work leading to increased consciousness - with the resulting clarity, compassion, and responsibility - would have a greater and much more beneficial effect upon the reality that we all live within than politics and that whole negative trip has ever done.

     This winter, our theme has been "Beyond Religion - Consciousness and Spiritual Growth." This issue maintains that working to raise our consciousness will lead us invariably to our center where we will connect to our inner God consciousness, that center of consciousness that I call my inner teacher.

     This issue, our spring issue, is dedicated to the theme "Beyond the mundane - Consciousness and Nonordinary Reality." In it, we will show that working to raise our consciousnesses will lead us back to that magical world that is ours by birthright.

     In our next issue, our summer one, the theme will be "Beyond Body - Consciousness After Death." When I was a little boy, I left my body while on the operating table. The doctor told my dad that I was gone. I came back though, and, because of this experience, I have a lot to say about consciousness separate from body.



     This issue of The Caldron has a wide selection of interesting and inspiring pieces, from magical three-dimensional sidewalk art to getting out of jail free, well almost free.

     Guy Errickson interviewed me on KGNU public radio here in Boulder last month. We talked about my work and The Caldron. The interview is worth listening to, especially for those of you who are new to our magazine.

     "BeHereNow" contains some actual headlines, some bumper stickers, and several articles. One of the articles describes how Stephen Hawking is going into space soon - briefly this time, but who knows what he'll do next. A second article presents a study that shows that having sex makes people feels sexier afterwards. It works for me.

     "Wisdom's Corner" shares some high spiritual wisdom from both Stephen Gaskin and Carlos Castaneda. In this issue, the focus is upon the nonordinary. For Gaskin, this means being a bodhisattva, working in small groups to raise consciousness, as well as contact highs and telepathy. For Castaneda, this means developing and using our will, seeing, being impeccable, listening to the sounds of the world, and stopping our world.

     Brigitte Mars shares her life with us in her delightful piece, "Hippie Chick Seeks Revelation." In it, she shows us how someone with a worthy goal has only to follow the flow in order to end up making a difference in the world. She also lets us see the powerful influence the Urantia Book has had on her spiritual development.

     I have included a short piece that I wrote many years ago called simply "Magic." It is a prose poem honoring true magic.

     In my essay, "Consciousness and Nonordinary Reality," I suggest that, if we wish to be whole beings, we need to live in both ordinary and nonordinary reality - and be able to move between these two realities at will in order to honor the conditions of the time.

     "Soul Food," by Aspen Marks is a reprint of her moving prose poem from the spring of 2003. In it she leads us to see how being outdoors, especially out working in our gardens, can lead us to soul.

     In "Journey to India," Ariana Saraha shares some of her wonderful and fulfilling experiences from her recent journey to India.

     We are excited and proud to be sharing with our readers the exciting and uplifting conclusion to Motorcycle Michael Sommer's wonderful book, Acid Trip. For our new readers, the previous two parts of this book may be found in The Caldron's archives. It is worth reading this book in its entirety. It is a gem.

     We have also provided a link to a wonderful web site where our readers will be given a powerful visual perspective on what it would be like proportionately if the world's population existed as a village of one hundred people.

     We are also happy to share several pictures of Julian Beever's awesome sidewalk art. He is an incredible artist and magician!



     Finally, those of us involved with The Caldron are considering making it a bi-monthly magazine, with 6 issues each year. We would like feedback on this. If you like this idea and would be willing to help, please let us know.

     Enjoy

     Eugene Marks, Editor