The Human Experience · Episode

Episode 99 – Zach Leary on the everyday Grind, Futurism, Consciousness, Mysticism & so much more

A conversation with Zach Leary on the everyday Grind, Futurism, Consciousness, Mysticism & so much more

Zach Leary is a writer and podcast host who enjoys raising all manner of issues in the cultural philosophy sphere. Alongside his interest in psychedelics, he is also a futurist, a technology consultant and a…

Published
July 10, 2017
Runtime
29:33
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Zach Leary is a writer and podcast host who enjoys raising all manner of issues in the cultural philosophy sphere. Alongside his interest in psychedelics, he is also a futurist, a technology consultant and a socio-cultural theorist. He is the adoptive son of well-known psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary. 

Zach is the host of both the “It’s All Happening with Zach Leary” podcast and “The MAPS Podcast.” They have helped to cement him as one of the most thought provoking podcasters in the cultural philosophy genre of podcasting. He’s also a blogger/writer, a futurist, spiritualist, a technology consultant and socio-cultural theorist.

In all of Zach’s work he blends his roles as a spiritual aspirant and a futurist into a unique identity all his own. His spiritual background has it’s roots in being a practitioner of bhakti yoga as taught through many of the Vedantic systems of Northern India, in particular, Neem Karoli Baba as taught by Ram Dass. Through the practice of bhakti yoga, he has found keys that unlock doorways that allow the soul to experience it’s true nature of being eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. In addition to bhakti yoga, Zach is influenced by many different methods and traditions of consciousness exploration ranging from trans-humanism to Buddhism and clinical psychology. Zach is also a frequent pundit on the political systems that are fueling today’s economic and cultural structures. At the core of all of Zach’s work is the belief that we have been fused together by the collective practice of using technology to expand our species imagination with spirituality and mysticism to define the very nature of who we are.

Zach has appeared in a number of films, including some about Timothy Leary and Ram Dass.The Reality of Truth(2016) explores the relationship between psychedelics and religion.Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary(2014) is a celebration of the friendship between two complex characters that helped shape a generation.Tim Leary: The Art of Dying(2008) follows the last days of Timothy Leary and how he chooses to experience his “custom death.”Timothy Leary’s Dead(1996), a chronicle of Timothy’s last year before dying of cancer.

The Reality of Truth (Documentary)
Himself
 2014Dying to Know: Ram Dass & Timothy Leary (Documentary)
Himself
 2008Tim Leary: The Art of Dying (Documentary)
Himself
 1996Timothy Leary’s Dead (Documentary)
Himself

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Find Zach here: www.zachleary.com

Twitter: @zachleary

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Transcript

A full transcript has been published for this conversation.

Click here for transcript

Ideas worth returning to

Quotes

Five substantial excerpts from the published transcript, lightly edited for clarity without changing their meaning.

  1. “I am sympathetic to transhumanism, but I do not know whether consciousness can ever be reduced to firmware. I regard consciousness as a phenomenon that exists beyond the individual body, while a human being’s interaction with it is a form of perception. If that is true, consciousness would continue even when one biological receiver no longer does.”
    From the conversation
  2. “When technological change creates panic, it helps to step back and look at the human condition as a whole. It seems presumptuous to assume that our present form is the final stop in human evolution. We may be something like humanity 1.0, with future forms of human life still impossible for us to picture clearly.”
    From the conversation
  3. “Ram Dass said that meeting Neem Karoli Baba gave him a new map of consciousness. The Vedantic and Hindu frameworks for understanding consciousness, energy, and spirituality provide a map that works for me. A daily practice makes that map experiential rather than merely intellectual.”
    From the conversation
  4. “As a child, I knew Timothy Leary was famous, wrote books, and traveled on college lecture tours, but I could not understand the depth or context of his work. A child sees the public events without yet having the framework to interpret their cultural meaning. It took a long time for me to understand what he had actually done.”
    From the conversation
  5. “I cannot claim access to the hidden workings of Timothy Leary’s mind; I can only speak from my own experience as an observer and family member. That distinction matters. A famous relative’s public story creates pressure to provide definitive answers, but proximity does not make someone the owner of another person’s inner life.”
    From the conversation

About the guest

Zach Leary on the everyday Grind, Futurism, Consciousness, Mysticism & so much more

Zach Leary is a writer and podcast host who enjoys raising all manner of issues in the cultural philosophy sphere. Alongside his interest in psychedelics, he is also a futurist, a technology consultant and a socio-cultural theorist. He is the adoptive son of well-known psychedelic drug advocate Timothy Leary. 

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