Somewhere around twenty years ago, maybe nine months before he died of cancer, I was invited to tag along to an evening reception in San Francisco honoring Dr. Timothy Leary. You remember him; the Harvard professor turned LSD guru, who got tens of millions of people around the globe to 'tune in and drop out'.
Well, having been an enchanted acolyte hippie during the 70's in Santa Barbara, I was eager to go.
The reception had a very large front room, maybe 80-100 feet wide, with two smaller rooms in the back. When we arrived, Dr. Leary was holding court on the right side within a large circle of people. My wife Janice, celebrity rave DJ friend Pete and myself quietly wound our way slowly along the left opposite wall towards the back. When we were perhaps 10-20 feet from going in, I happened to turn my head and look back across towards the hub and noise surrounding Dr. Leary.
Well, he almost immediately caught my gaze and our eyes locked. Then, he had the presence to simply stop what he was doing, and walked through the circle towards where we were standing.
When Dr. Leary was no farther than 10 inches from me, gazing straight into my eyes, he simply said , "You have a very nice face".
I was transfixed and speechless. And couldn't say a word in reply. After a few more seconds of eye contact, he turned around and returned to his guests. And that was it.
Ever since, I have felt anointed.
It is one of the most profound experiences I have ever had.
- Raven
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