Dear Toby, letters to my gay nephew

The Foray into Scientology When I first heard about the idea, I thought what a quixotic enterprise, and then, what a totally bizarre idea, and then what total insanity, and then, why not? I had after all “fallen away” from a very rigorous religious practice but I still found solace in the very Jesuit exercise of the “examen.” If Scientology had some powerful spiritual medicine, why not raid the cabinet?  Aubrey is correct to mention that Naranjo was interested in what L Ron Hubbard called “The Tone Scale,” but he also was truly fascinated by the use of the galvanometer, skin response lie detector, known as the e-meter in Scientology, and the technique of tracing of memories back in time, called in Scientology shorthand, a “run-down,” perhaps even back to past lives. A note about “kath.” At one meeting I was present when two members of SAT described being trained as Scientology auditors. They described “beating the e-meter.” The ethics officer asked them if they were currently invol...

  “By their fruits you shall know them.” Matthew 7:16-17  “And pay attention to who they're fucking.” Kenneth 8.12.21 Examine the myth of the “Man who Knows,” “The Person who never sleeps.” And other bullshit that persuades us to give up our power. Who we were Where we came from What we were seeking What we found What we did with it The involvement of the traditional religious practices Claudio’s banquet table concept Abby Hoffman, and the Hoffman Process Jerry Rubin and est https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rubin#Post-activism The Vietnam War The Apollo Space Project and Edgar Mitchell The Sexual Revolution Haight-Ashbury and drugs Psychotherapy Educated, even the painters and house builders Scientology/the nexus of a pragmatic epistemology and spirituality “The One who knows.” I ask myself why so little has been written about those early days? There was some reckless experimentation. Sexually it wasn’t Peyton Place even though at times that’s what it felt like. The rumblin...

I was too afraid, and probably at the time, didn’t have enough personally at stake to join ACT UP. In 1990 the Sixth International Conference on AIDS was going to be held in San Francisco. It was a huge event; the cases had begun to skyrocket, the death toll enormous, effective treatments few. San Francisco was one of the major epicenters of the outbreak. ACT UP had been founded by Larry Kramer in 1987 to push for more funding for research and treatment. In the face of the slow pace of development of the drug companies as well as their funding through the NIH, we knew that there were going to be massive protests and disruptions at the Conference. I remember that Rick Levine had a poster presentation about Maitri at the conference. I found it, tucked away in the tunnel that connected the hotels to Moscone Center. But Rick had convinced me that if I was to attend the conference, I should try to concentrate of seeing what therapies might be coming up that could be effective for "the ...

Swan's Oyster Depot and mother meeting the insane guy, what is his name, who knew me. LOL Emperor Norton “The first of these candidates was also the first to use costumes and/or gender blurring as part of his campaign. He ran under two names, Jesus Christ Satan and Crown Prince Arcadia. Jesus Christ Satan (born Robert Swallow) ran for supervisor in 1973 and in the voter's pamphlet listed his occupation as Androgynous Human Being. In discussing his qualifications for office, he said he held elected office as president of a hospital ward at Napa State Hospital.” Tommy and Dad were doing a lot of work on the upstairs at Julie and Tommy's house on King Street. I think that Katie was a toddler.

The father at Maylie’s house: My son came out to me.   I remember this afternoon well. It was a celebration for a Jean Courtney’s graduation from her social worker’s program. She had her certification, and finally after many years, had discovered a way to make a living. She was already working on team at Kaiser and had a steady incomer. Her many friends, mostly the Marin aging hippies and new age types had gathered for a lovely afternoon at Maylie Scott’s house on Ashby Avenue where we lived together. I introduced myself to a very nice man, about my age or perhaps a bit older. He had a company that designed houses with lots of prefab pieces that opened home ownership to new lower income group. He worked from home, with his family. They lived up in Camp Meeker near Saint Dorothy’s Rest where the zen group did extended retreats. His son had am older lover He said that this was a moment when he knew what he said would shape the future with his son Geo SeeberL: his dentist ...