In this interview I am joined by Ralph White holistic learning pioneer, international speaker on cultural transformation and the history of the Western tradition, and co-founder of the New York Open Centre.

Ralph reveals his difficult upbringing in working class England, and how his intellect served as his escape route, emigrating to America as a Fulbright scholar in 1970.

Ralph shares a life-changing spiritual experience on Route 66, reflects on the role of psychedelics in raising consciousness, and details his personal path as a nature mystic heavily influenced by Western Esotericism.

Ralph recounts his adventures throughout Canada, hitch hiking to Machu Picchu, getting streetwise in Columbia, and eventually landing in New York to co-found the world-famous Open Centre.

Ralph also reflects on what years of booking spiritual teachers taught him about spotting spiritual fakes, what it means to be in the third of act of one’s life, and shares his vision for the future of world culture

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Video version: www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep140-quest-for-a-life-of-meaning-ralph-white

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics Include:

00:00 - Intro

03:22 - Ralph’s childhood in working class England

08:12 - Education as the escape route

12:45 - Move to America and travelling Route 66

17:19 - A life-changing spiritual experience

22:01 - Ralph on psychedelics

25:01 - The future of psychedelics research

29:37 - Ralph’s meditation practice and explorations in Western Esotericism

34:35 - Nature mystic

38:17 - Misconceptions about Western Esotericism

50:14 - Ralph’s Esoteric Quests

52:21 - Adventures in Vancouver

58:39 - Hitch hiking for 6 months to Machu Picchu

01:00:30 - Profound experience in the Andes

01:06:55 - The role of pilgrimage in finding one’s purpose

01:16:21 - Streetwise in Colombia and New York

01:20:11 - How to spot spiritual fakes and baloney

01:29:10 - Integrity and the spiritual marketplace

01:35:06 - Ralph reflects on the erotic

01:41:28 - The third act of one’s life

01:45:41 - The future of world culture

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To find out more about Ralph White, visit:

- https://www.ralphwhite.net/

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James