Mission Statement: I believe the human race is here to do two things: To explore inner and outer space. Our problems, by and large, come from a failure to fully do either of those things. So here I am, fostering both.
Personal Details of the Flesh-Suit: Born and raised in San Diego, California; educated at UC Santa Cruz and King’s College, London. Spent long apprentice period under Genesis Breyer P-Orridge. Dropped out in India and Nepal, ended up studying shamanism in foothills of the Himalayas, never been the same since. Spent time as a counterculture publishing grunt in New York, published a book, became famous for fifteen minutes, lived my own VH1: Behind the Music special, bounced back, published another book, left publishing, got into Green advertising helping corporations clean up their act, had one of my ads (for Scotland Week) up on a billboard in Times Square. Dropped out again, went back to the Himalayas. Moved to Hollywood, grew fangs. Published another book. Ended up working for the United States space program as a designer and helped Buzz Aldrin open a clear path for the human race to get to Mars. Normal lives? I think I heard about them once. I might have seen a TV special on that.
The Lost Decade: I spent my twenties exploring the world’s spiritual traditions with the attitude of a kid trying out different DIY science experiment kits and occasionally blowing himself up in the process. I spent the majority of my post-adolescent years undergoing spiritual training in, among others, the Western Hermetic Tradition, Sufism, Nepali shamanism and multiple branches of the Nath Sampradaya or Hindu Tantric tradition. This long and often bitter experience with “off the beaten track” spiritual paths underlies and informs just about everything I do. If I’m left with anything from my experiences so far, it is this: We are exactly 7 billion beings all trying to co-exist on a world that we have by and large turned into a shithole, but it doesn’t have to be that way, and I also believe that the resources to change that are available to anybody who cares enough to truly go for it. The future is literally right there to grab. I’ve edited and published three anthologies on consciousness studies: Generation Hex, Ultraculture and Thee Psychick Bible. Publisher’s Weekly once called me a “publishing guru,” comic book writer Grant Morrison called me a “real life Harry Potter” and the author Howard Bloom called me “A director and producer of text… a bloody fucking genius.”
Writing: So, down to business: If I care about anything these days, it’s fully developing myself as a thinker and an imaginer. I’ve been putting myself through a whole new training phase of creating stories and constructing new futures, both in the realm of science fiction and science journalism. I’m bored of our old inherited, apocalyptic, moribund ideas of what the future should look like. I’m sick of nuclear fallout and zombies, and I suspect we can do a lot better than that. So here I am, doing my best and hopefully being entertaining along the way.
www.jasonlouv.com