Born with a silver knife in his back, Ben Wright's exploits and ordeals in his rites of passage toward self-discovery, range from the extreme to the bizarre. His adventures were enhanced and refined by extraordinary encounters with such Twentieth Century luminaries as John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Admiral Ruthven Libby, Jonas Salk, G. Gordon Liddy, Ray Charles, Paul Robeson, Colonel Robbie Reisner, Herbert Marcuse, Angela Davis, Eldridge Cleaver, "Free-Wheeling" Frank Reynolds, Jim Morrison, Richard Brautigan, Michael McClure, Kenneth Rexroth, Robert Graves, Juan Goytisolo, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Claribellle Alegria, and cunning Charlie Bludorn. To escape upper-middle class mind-numbing conformity and ennui, Ben joined the U.S. Navy after graduating with honors from an Ivy League university. He served his country as a commissioned line combat naval officer, was involved with the first SEAL team, and became a court martial, Intelligence officer in the Viet Nam era. Following military service, and after failing as an Episcopalian priest, Ben became a blue-water sailor, survived a North Sea mine-field Force 12, and also engaged in working as an archeologist/mythographer. He worked as an actor in American feature films, radio broadcaster and producer, but was redeemed to near bodhisattvahood in Tibetan Buddhism. He also served in prisons for forty-eight years as an alcohol and drug counselor (himself a recovered alcoholic of thirty-one years sobriety), founding Clarion Call, a foundation to end recidivism through education. So indulge yourself within these pages, savoring these true life adventures of this Twenty-first Century Renaissance Man, and you will be asking for more. Reserve the second volume, Authenticity: Inimitable Quintessential.

Sixteen lively essays illuminate different aspects of the spiritual journey. The introduction presents the author as a ?travel agent” on a journey to the spiritual world within us. The essays are metaphorical travel brochures, invitations to take the plunge into self-discovery through the adventure of meditation. Edited from his extemporaneous talks, this inspiring collection of essays gives the flavor of hearing this great spiritual teacher and storyteller in person. Easwaran successfully combines his Eastern and Western wisdom, which includes a thorough knowledge of English literature, into an eight-point program usable by followers of all religious traditions.