Ep140: Quest for A Life of Meaning - Ralph White
In this interview I am joined by Ralph White holistic learning pioneer, international speaker on cultural transformation, and co-founder of the New York Open Centre.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
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
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
To find out more about Ralph White, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James