Ralph Metzner Ph.D. is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 psychologist, writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary

Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...

 and Richard Alpert (later named Ram Dass). Dr. Metzner is a psychotherapist, and Professor Emeritus of psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies

California Institute of Integral Studies is a private institution of higher education founded in 1968 and based in San Francisco, California. It currently operates in three locations just south of the Civic Center district...

 in San Francisco, where he was formerly the Academic Dean and Academic Vice-president.

Dr. Metzner has been involved in consciousness research, including psychedelic

Psychedelic

The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...

s, Yoga

Yoga

Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...

, meditation

Meditation

Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....

 and Shamanism

Shamanism

Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...

 for over 45 years. He is a co-founder and President of the Green Earth Foundation, a non-profit educational organization devoted to healing and harmonizing the relationship between humans and the Earth, and a signatory to the 9/11 Truth Statement. Metzner was featured in the 2006 film Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within, a documentary about rediscovering an enchanted

Disenchantment

Disenchantment is a term in the social sciences used to describe the cultural rationalization and devaluation of mysticism apparent in modern society...

 cosmos in the modern world.

He has conducted numerous workshops on consciousness transformation and alchemical divination, both nationally and internationally. He is also a poet and singer-songwriter and has produced one CD.

Discography

• 1966 - The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
  The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead
  The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an instruction manual intended for use during sessions involving psychedelic drugs. Started as early as 1962 in Zihuatanejo, the book was finally published in August 1964...
  
  (with Richard Alpert & Timothy Leary) (reissued on CD in 2003 by Folkways)
• 2006 - Bardo Blues - and Other Songs of Liberation (with Kit Walker) Music CD (Green Earth Foundation)
• 2009 - Cognition Factor (2009)