Ken Kesey was the link between the Beats and the Hippies. He knew Kerouac, Neal Cassidy, Allen Ginsberg and the rest, but was also onto the new movements arising with the introduction of LSD, free love and his favourite band the Grateful Dead. Kesey got involved with the military's LSD experiments early on as a test subject and segments of the recordings from his experiences can be found in the documentary film Magic Bus which detailed his journey across America with the Merry Pranksters. Kesey is best known for his book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was later made into a film staring Jack Nicholson. He is possibly more well known than most people realize with reference made to him often, though usually not by name. Kesey for example, with the Merry Pranksters, drove a technicolored, hippie, school bus named Further from California to New York for a book signing while also stopping along the way to document their trip and drop acid --  the classic vision of the hippie bus…him. What really intrigues me about Kesey was his belief in a graduation from psychoactive drugs to something more, where people were able to use the drugs to expand their minds but sustain themselves in an extended state of consciousness without them. Kesey was a huge player in one of my favourite counter-cultural movements. I highly recommend reading Tom Wolfe's book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, to learn more about Kesey, the Beats, LSD and the forming of the Hippie movement.

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in 1935 in Tibet and began his Buddhist monastic studies at the age of 6. After China's invasion of Tibet, Lama Yeshe was forced into exile in India for 8 years, finally establishing himself in Nepal in 1967. Outside Kathmandu Lama Yeshe founded the very famous Kopan Monastery and began his education of the West. Lama Yeshe was special and influential for a number of reasons but his real passion was in his thoughts that dharma should not be something exclusive, rather, it should be shared with all. He made it his mission to spread Tibetan Buddhism to the West and his influence can be seen by the extensive network of Mahayana followers and institutions in North America and Europe. You can find some of his publications at http://www.wisdompubs.org and they are all worth the read.

Lama Yeshe's story gets particularly interesting though after his death at the early age of 49. He had spoken often of how when he died he wanted to be reincarnated as a Westerner; no longer a mystic from the East but someone his followers could relate too. Not even six months after his death a disciple of his in Spain became pregnant and when the child was only two the Dalai Lama confirmed he, Ösel Hita Torres, was the reincarnation of Lama Thubten Yeshe. He had succeeded. 

Seen as the father of the transcendental movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson has been influencing great minds for over a century and a half. This collection of 9 essays is one of his most famous works. He delivered them on a speaking tour of the American midwest during the 1850s and explore the thoughts, trends, and beliefs of the times seeking to resolve arguments about the basis of life and proper moral conduct. The subjects these essays touch on are: fate, Power, Wealth, Culture, Behaviours, Worship, Considerations by the Way, Beauty, Illusions.
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Read these essays slowly, taking your time, and contemplating Emerson's arguments for yourself in our present day. Its always interesting for me to read classic works like this one and be able to see similarities with my own current contemplations. After 150 years it seems when you get down to the essence of people and society, not much has changed despite much changing.