He was one of a dozen or so very influential trance workers in the history of American alternative spirituality. Like most of the others, he became very popular in the latter part of his own lifespan and for some decades after his death, mostly by way of popular books; a great many mid-20th century American occultists and alternative thinkers were strongly influenced by him. That influence has faded out somewhat at this point as more recent generations of trance workers have seized the limelight; last I heard, though, the organization he founded is still thriving, and it seems to have an unusually sane attitude toward his teachings, recognizing that some of them need to be taken symbolically rather than literally. A great many of his ideas are still very much in circulation, often at second hand and not always attributed to him!
For my part, I read quite a bit of his material when I was a teenager and found it rather more interesting than the competition. He's also in my initiatory upline -- one of his many students was Dr. Juliet Ashley, who was the main teacher of my teacher John Gilbert. I would have to revisit his writings to have any more detailed opinion of him -- it's been a long time -- but I don't recall spotting anything in his work that waved a red flag, and much of value.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2023-08-07 06:35 pm (UTC)For my part, I read quite a bit of his material when I was a teenager and found it rather more interesting than the competition. He's also in my initiatory upline -- one of his many students was Dr. Juliet Ashley, who was the main teacher of my teacher John Gilbert. I would have to revisit his writings to have any more detailed opinion of him -- it's been a long time -- but I don't recall spotting anything in his work that waved a red flag, and much of value.