Back in 2014 Mark Gilbert interviewed me for an article he had in mind for Science of Mind magazine. As often happens in the world of journalism, the article didn’t appear but Mark kept the recording of our chat and he recently posted it on his Conscious Bridge website. We talked about quite a few things, so many in fact that Mark edited the interview into three parts. In the first part, posted here, I talk about my reading habits in my late teens, my introduction to the occult, and my early days playing rock and roll.
Tag: counter culture
Secret Teachers and a New Dawn: An Interview with Richard Smoley
Here’s a link to an interview I did for New Dawn magazine with the writer and scholar Richard Smoley about my new book The Secret Teachers of the Western World. We cover quite a lot of ground, exploring among other things the idea of secrets, and not only those known by teachers.
Secret Teachers at the Library Journal
Here is a review of The Secret Teachers of the Western World from the Library Journal:
Library Journal
11/15/2015
Lachman (Evolution of Consciousness, California Inst. of Integral Studies; Politics of the Occult) presents this work as “a serious study of our ‘rejected knowledge’ and an engagement with some of the people pursuing it today” and successfully achieves his first goal of a scholarly study of the “rejected” knowledge of the Western esoteric tradition. This comprehensive history engagingly traces a way of thinking and living that was often at the margins of accepted Western society. While it would be easy to sensationalize such a past, Lachman deftly navigates between the extremes of presenting a unified “conspiracy” behind hermeticism and a polemical attack on its opponents. It is an academic work, not a practitioner’s guide, which ranges from discussions on Plato to Carl Jung and onto the New Age as well as current explorations in alternative spiritual traditions. Lachman further briefly considers important mystics from the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions who informed the esoteric tradition. VERDICT This solid introduction to occult and esoteric history provides a sensible foundation for any reader who finds appeal in the current interest in participatory spirituality as distinct from simply holding specific religious beliefs.—Daniel Wigner, South Plains Coll., Lubbock, TX
Secret Teachers at the New York Journal of Books
Here’s a review of The Secret Teachers of the Western World at the New York Journal of Books. I am glad the reviewer pointed this out: “This narrative of the history of these ideas could be stultifying or confusing for non-specialists and the curious. Luckily Mr. Lachman creates a history of ideas that fascinates and excites.” That’s what a good history of ideas should do.
Legalise Consciousness: A Secret Interview at Legalise Freedom
Here’s a link to an interview I did recently with Greg Moffitt at his Legalise Freedom website. I’ve done interviews with Greg before; they’re always a pleasure because he always reads the books and asks intelligent questions. This time its about The Secret Teachers of the Western World, the rivalry between our two modes of consciousness and their possible collaboration.
The Outsider Returns
Here’s a sneak preview of the cover of the new edition of the book that started it all, Colin Wilson’s The Outsider, with a new foreword by me. It will be published later this year by Penguin Random House, who are also publishing my introduction to Wilson’s life and work, Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson. Needless to say it was an honour for me to write the foreword, as it was to write my forewords to Wilson’s brilliant phenomenological novels The Mind Parasites and The God of Labyrinth. Last year I was asked to write an Introduction to Gurdjieff’s classic spiritual adventure story, Meetings With Remarkable Men. I count myself lucky to be able to introduce these important works in the evolution of consciousness to a new generation of readers.
An Interview for the Jean Gebser Society
Here’s a link to a recent interview I did with Aaron Cheak for the Jean Gebser Society. Gebser is one of the most important philosophers of the last century, and as you most likely know, I write about him in several of my books: A Secret History of Consciousness, The Quest for Hermes Trismegistus, Revolutionaries of the Soul and my most recent book, The Secret Teachers of the Western World. The theme of the interview is the link between western philosophy and esotericism, but as you’ll see we cover a lot of ground, from my first introduction to these ideas to my latest approach to them. Aaron Cheak has done some very interesting work on Gebser, digging into his biography and associations with people like the poet Frederico Garcia Lorca, and he is currently translating more of Gebser’s work into English. I will certainly be happy to see this, as Gebser is so far under-translated and we can use as much of him as we can get.
Coast to Coast with the Secret Teachers of the Western World
I’ll be on Coast to Coast Radio in the wee hours of Tuesday, December 8, talking about my new book The Secret Teachers of the Western World. The book is released that day and everyone awake at 3:00 AM will hear about it. Give a listen if the insomnia keeps you up…
A Roccult and Roll Halloween
Here’s a Halloween interview I did with Sirius XM. Hope you like it.
An interview about the evolution of consciousness and other things
Here’s a link to a recent interview I did with the musician Justin Robertson. We talk about the evolution of consciousness, my background in music, science, esotericism and quite a bit more.
