The young Ram Dass, Dr. Richard Alpert with Timothy Leary and their LSD induced "Spiritual Experiences"

 This is a photo of a very young-looking Richard Alpert, sitting to the left of Timothy Leary, who has his arm raised. This photo was taken in October of 1964 by my aunt. My mother and my aunt were attending a three-day seminar at Esalan Institute on the Big Sur coast of California. The presenters were Richard Alpert, Timothy Leary and Ralph Metzner. Those three men had recently authored a book called The Psychedelic Experience. That book laid out specific directions on how to use psychedelics to achieve a chemically induced spiritual experience. I am fortunate to have inherited the copy of that book that my mother had Timothy Leary autograph to her at this event.