This is my first of four entries into the December Challenge "Who Are You & Your ‘Aha’ Moment - Self-discovery and Personal Growth" by Lew Corcoran and Patricia Feager .
This will probably be my most entertaining entry. This "Aha" moment happened during the summer of 1974. If you lived in the 60's and 70's you know it was a crazy time socially all across the United States.
On one side Dr. Timothy Leary was advocating:
- Advocated for the exploration of consciousness through psychedelics.
- Promoted the use of LSD as a tool for personal and spiritual growth.
- Encouraged people to "turn on, tune in, drop out" to embrace alternative lifestyles.
- Criticized conventional societal norms and institutions, particularly education and government.
- Emphasized the importance of individual experience and self-discovery.
- Became a prominent figure in the counterculture movement, influencing art and music.
For the young people who had never heard of Dr. Timothy Leary I found a good article on him: FROM HARVARD TO THE HIGH PRIEST OF LSD.
On the other side Chuck Smith started "The Jesus Freak Movement". Chucks philosophy turned many away from Timothy Leary's "turn on, tune in, drop out" life style.
Beginning with the 25-person Costa Mesa congregation in 1965, Smith's influence now extends to "more than 1,000 churches nationwide and hundreds more overseas", some of which are among the largest churches in the United States.
In 1974 I was living in both cultures as opposed as they were to each other. I had about five years of Dr. Timothy Leary's life style and the rock n roll culture of sex, drugs & R&R culture thoroughly mixed in.
While I had gone to church every Sunday in an evangelical church none or little sunk in, I didn't even have a clue who or how Jesus fit in. That being said the Holy Spirit had been planted in me and just started sturing. I'd go to rock concerts, stoned for sure, and yet there were always "Jesus Freaks" there. Still being impressionable I was being drawn to them by the Holy Spirit despite my life style.
Because of the Jesus Freak movement I knew I needed to drop the psychedelic portion of my life style. I was concerned about the prospect of permanent brain damage and the possible damage to future generations (anyone remember the term "jelly babies"?). I quit all chemicals in 1973.
That is the background that lead to my Aha moment.
A full year later, chemical free, I found out what a "flash back was/is). My Aha moment: I drove to the grocery store, a Piggly Wiggly, three blocks from my home. I pulled up to the store, literally, as there was just a wide sidewalk between the parked cars and the storefront.
Standing outside the car, I was locking it, and I could hear a train coming. It was coming fast and blasting it's train horn nealy deafening me. I looked back behind me and a huge thain was just feet away bearing down at high speed between me and the storefront. The wind from the speeding train and the blasting horn spun me around where I stood. Even the earth was shaking. Then it was gone... back to oblivion where it had come from.
That Aha moment told me that I was on the wrong track and headed to oblivion myself. I narrowly missed the train to hell that day and it was time to find out what faith was/is all about.
R&R was still a very large part of my life. I liked "off beat" artists and one of my top 3 was Be Bop Deluxe at the time. Thay had a fantastic song called THERE IS NO TRAIN TO HEAVEN that had such an influence on me that when I became ordained I used it in several sermons. The cover of the LP (Axe Victim) the song is on is a little startling BUT if you are a musician you will understand. If you are not a musician just replace the word Axe with guitar. Many guitarists call their guitars an axe.
Another train song that perfectly fits this post is:
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