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What does it means to have a spiritual life?

Alex Grey: It means that you have a spiritual practice that aligns and connects you with the dimension of the Divine. A spiritual life means having a transcendental and multi-dimensional intuitive perspective as well as a rational and grounded physical perspective on reality.  The wisdom traditions all emphasize truth, justice, compassion, charity, and creativity as the basis for human civilization, so your spiritual life should provide a moral compass, guidance in a way that we can become better people. Today I believe this demands of us an ecological imperative.  The Earth is Sacred, God created it. Humanity must stop destroying the web of life.

What does it mean to have God in your life? 

Alex Grey: To be appreciative, to not take the credit, to Thank everyone, to Praise Allah, Jehovah, Christ Consciousness, Buddhamind, the Atman in the Brahman, Sophia, Yahweh, Adonai, Aton, the only One, the Cosmic Source, the All as it is and as it is evolving. To Be in tune with Creative Force.

How has art helped you in your spiritual path?

Alex: Art is my religion, my spiritual life, my path and my practice. I view God as the Divine Artist and the cosmos as the evolving masterwork of Creation. All world religions have sacred art and architecture, music, dance and scripture. The visionary mystical creative imagination is part of all wisdom traditions and manifests through sacred art and artifacts. When art is your religion you are connected with all world religions. Our consciousness is the ultimate artistic medium. We sculpt our thoughts. Each moment can be contemplated aesthetically, opening to its unique beauty. We are all artists of our own lives that we co-create with our Creator. As a spiritual practice, art can be a cathartic and healing experience, allowing artists to literally objectify the emotional or subjective state, a prerequisite to transforming your state of mind as a healing component. We may be depressed and paint a dark painting. They have gotten the monster "out of the box."Our despair has been materialized to be viewed from a distance, reflecting on our state of mind is necessary in order to transcend it. This is the subtext of my book, The Mission of Art.

If you had the chance of knowing one of the secrets of human kind which one would you like to know?

Alex: What was the reality of the relationship between the Neanderthal and Homo sapiens?

How would you describe the LSD?

Alex: I would describe LSD as a religious event, a revolutionary sacrament, an opening to the visionary mystical experience, ultimately the most healing occurrence in my life and in the lives of many because it is an awakening to spiritual reality.

You think that the knowledge you receive from LSD, psilocybin and Ayahuasca can be learned without these tools?

Alex: The mystical experience has been something seers from all sacred traditions have documented over the centuries, so yes there are many paths to spiritual knowledge. Meditation IS the Royal Road. Including meditation in one's daily routine can offer amazing openings for the health of the body, mind and spirit. A cautionary note must be included whenever considering mind expansion. Even meditation has been known to trigger Kundalini arousal that can turn spiritual emergence into a spiritual emergency for the latent few. On any journey, the proper mind set and a peaceful setting is essential. Having a trusted friend nearby can be very helpful if support is needed.

As of today, psychedelics are the only scientifically proven way of achieving the visionary mystical experience. To my knowledge, statistics do not exists for a discipline or world religion that compares with psilocybins measurable ability to bring 65% of all "seekers" to a full-blown unity with the Divine within a single five-hour experience. The use of psychoactive substances should be considered with the utmost care. Any previous evidence of mental unwellness or instability or any family history of that nature needs to be taken into account before making the profoundly important decision to experiment with ones own mind.

If you had the chance to change one characteristic of the human race, which would you change?

Alex: I would strengthen the human capacity for compassion.

Do you believe that the awareness of a superior God, and the full devotion to him is the path that souls should follow?

Alex: The transcendental ground of being is beyond gender. God is neither masculine nor feminine. There is nothing BUT God so God IS ALSO masculine AND feminine. We are one networked Godself occurring as separate nodes. You can call it God or you can call it Primordial Awareness, the Ultimate Mystery, the Transcendental Ground of Being, the Creative Force running through all nature, the Cosmic Order... How many names does God have? Endless, as God has endless faces. Every face is the face of God. Absolutely, full devotion to the service of the Divine is the Bodhisattvic Path, the Royal Road, the path of altruistic intention to benefit all beings.

Do you think there is right and wrong ? Because Krishna says that it takes only the awareness of his existence to live?

Alex: In the realm of our incarnation in the material world, there are karmic consequences to our actions. In the realm beyond material form, the transcendental void, there is no justice nor injustice, there's no existence or non-existence and therefore there is no good or evil, but there is potential for all manifestations of existence. The ocean of compassion, bliss and infinite awareness co-arises with the Transcendental Ground of Being.

How would you describe the universe?

Alex: As a university. It's a learning environment and journey, a cathedral for the awakening human spirit.

Please describe to us a bit about Maynard Keenan.

Alex: Maynard Keenan is a demonstrated world-class multi-tasker, wine-maker, entertainer, and curmudgeon.

How do you feel about being a spiritual leader? In what way does it affect you?

Alex: Allyson and I are co-founders of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, CoSM. As well as co-directing a spiritual center in the Hudson Valley of New York, we travel the world together, speaking as a couple to our spiritual community. Allyson inspired and named the Sacred Mirrors, which have become a context for our spiritual community who join with us to build temple grounds for the world-wide Love Tribe. Our intention is to act as leaders that promote gender balance and unity that crosses all characteristic boundaries of age, race, sex, and tradition. All paths leading to the Divine are honored in the trans-denominational community of CoSM.

Considering your years of spiritual experience, how you view the body?

Alex: The body is a miracle of cosmic and biological evolution. The human creative imagination is the world's most sensitive instrument for receiving transmissions from God.

How has studying human anatomy led you toward becoming a spiritual person?

Alex: Awareness of the body allows us to appreciate the intricate web of flesh that weaves our physical vehicle together as a host for consciousness. Billions of years of morphogenetic development from blue-green algae to our present multi-celled bodies, argues for intelligent design.

Thank you very much for your time, it's a real honor being able to communicate with you, we are such huge fans. I want to thank you one more time for collaborating in this issue because your art and spirit gives the deepness and force we need.

Alex: We send all our love and our best vibrations.

Featured art 'New Man 4 : Christ Mind' by Alex Grey