Timothy Leary was one of the most famous countercultural icons of the 1960s. In 1957, the Harvard psychologist experienced a "profound transcendent experience" while taking hallucinogens in Mexico. No longer content with his work in personality assessment, Leary began advocating the psychotherapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD.Ralph Metzner is a professor of psychology at the California Institute for Integral Studies and president of the Green Earth Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting humans and the environment. He is also well known for his decades of research and writing on the subjects of consciousness, psychedelics, the practice of yoga, meditation and shamanism.Richard Alpert, also known as Ram Dass, is a former professor who conducted controversial LSD experiments with Timothy Leary at Harvard and Millbrook. He eventually made a philosophical split from Leary and traveled to India to study Hinduism and yoga. This transformational experience led him to write the classic spiritual text Be Here Now, which is currently in its 37th printing and has sold over one million copies. Having founded a number of spiritual organizations that promote personal growth, the importance of serving others, and unity among different religious traditions, Ram Dass is considered one of the most important spiritual teachers of the 20th century.Daniel Pinchbeck is the author of Breaking Open the Head- A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism (Broadway Books, 2002) and 2012- The Return of Quetzalcoatl (Tarcher/ Penguin, 2006). His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, ArtForum, and many other publications. He is currently the editorial director of Reality Sandwich (realitysandwich.com), and a regular columnist for Conscious Choice Magazine (consciouschoice.com).Author Residence- Timothy Leary - deceased; Ralph Metzner - Sonoma, California; Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) - Maui, Hawaii; Daniel Pinchbeck - New York City