Bio: Gary Lachman is the author of several books on the link between consciousness, culture, and alternative thought. His books include Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius; A Secret History of Consciousness; Rudolf Steiner: An Introduction to His Life and Thought; and Jung the Mystic. As Gary Valentine he was a founding member of the rock group Blondie, played guitar with Iggy Pop, and fronted his own groups the Know and Fire Escape. New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation is an account of his years on the New York and Los Angeles underground music scenes in the 1970s and 80s, and in 2006 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is a regular contributor to Fortean Times, Independent on Sunday, Strange Attractor, What is Enlightenment and other journals in the US and UK. A frequent lecturer on the history of the counterculture, Gary has appeared in several UK television documentaries and has broadcast for the BBC.
Website: http://garylachman.co.uk/
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Comments
2 May 2004
11 hours 12 min
I keep bumping into Swedenborg stories recently. It's amazing how Swedenborg predicted the date of his own death; especially how upbeat he was about his imminent move to the great beyond. His maidservant said he announced his predicted death "as if he was going to have a holiday, to go to some merry-making."
~ * ~
@levitatingcat
21 January 2005
5 hours 3 min
Fantastic article, Gary (and nice picture, too!)--congratulations. It's justly deserved.
--Ray Grasse
18 September 2007
5 hours 21 min
I wrote my BA thesis on the American painter George Inness who was mightily inspired by Swedenborg. Inness' later works done in what the critic John Wilmerding calls the "luminist" style are representations of what Inness though might be the higher world described by Swedenborg where matter was more diaphanous.
7 September 2010
28 weeks 4 days
Hi Ray. Many thanks for the warm words. I think this interview is a good sign. I mean, how often does Steiner, Jung, or Swedenborg get a respectable mention in the Times? I'm happy if I can be a 'channel' for their work to get some wider attention.
Gary Lachman
http://garylachman.co.uk
23 April 2012
1 year 3 weeks
Dear Gary,
Perhaps you will simply istruct me to purchase your book and read it -- which I will be happy to do, haha.
But as one who myself has a metaphysical and spiritual bent, I really don't know what to do with Swedenborg.
His descriptions of the topography of heaven strike me as strange. His descriptions of the angels and their lives are eccentric. And his biblical interpretation is not exactly what I would find self-evident.
Simply put, Swedenborg is strange.
Yet I have to admit, he was an advanced mind and does have certain helpful insights.
What do you do with him? How "reliable" do you find him as a spiritual guide?
Kind regards
MichaelSeraph
18 September 2007
5 hours 21 min
Swedenborg to me is not strange at all. The painter George Inness was also considered strange, but his paintings are amazing. May I suggest you look at his work in his later years to see what Swedenborg may have been seeing. My father is an art dealer who pretty much founded his business on George Inness back in the 60's and 70's when they were easier to find. I grew up with a parade of Innesses trooping through our home, so perhaps I am biased.
http://www.georgeinness.org/
18 September 2007
5 hours 21 min
I was also very impressed that Lachman was part of "Blondie" which must have been a thrilling ride at times. Other than being able to recall and hum some of that groups bigger hits I was not that knowledgeable about them, but last month there was a good documentary on them playing on the telly. It was fascinating to watch. You guys definitely had the magic, and the magic is always mysterious.