I included this section for those who may want to know more about Perennial Philosophy. Like single-malt scotch, a Picasso painting, or a Duke Ellington phrase, it is an acquired taste. "A-ha" moments usually come in drips and splashes over time.  Some are lucky to get the whole thing in an instant, and a few mystery schools are set up to achieve that, such as Zen.

But most of us have to let new neural nets form in our minds through diligent study and disciplined practice. Academic study through a writing-intensive masters degree program at Prescott College in northern Arizona was the first phase in my re-education. The six papers presented are the result of steps in that direction, and I focused on the originators of Perennial Philosophy. By analogy, if you want to master electric blues guitar, you can't just listen to the great Stevie Ray Vaughn. You have to penetrate deeper into BB King, Johnny Guitar Watson, and Albert Collins.  And to understand King, Watson, and Collins, you have to go back even further to Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, and John Lee Hooker.

I used this approach as I was designing my graduate study plan. I wanted to travel quickly through the traditionally studied philosophers, so I could pierce deeply into the great Perennial Philosophers of the classical East & West, also called the Axial Age, circa 500 BC.​​ The rarefied geniuses of this ancient era spanned the Old Silk Road from Europe to the Far East. A few names you may recognize…Heraclitus, Plato, and Plotinus in the West…and Patanjali, Gotama Siddartha, and Chuang Tzu in the East. There are several more.

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I was relentless about identifying a Ph.D. in my field who understood that I could study this area in-depth in a single masters degree program.  Once I found that advisor--which took awhile--it took even longer to get accepted at an accredited graduate school to actually do the work in a rigorous self-directed program.  As I finally proceeded through these labyrinths, an authentic education began to unfold for me.

This stuff isn't for everyone. You may have to toke some sativa or burn some high-grade aloeswood to get into this material. Or perhaps you just need to be ready to hear it. Though I was only required to write a standard graduate research paper for each course, I challenged myself to write each paper at a masters thesis level, which really paid off in the end (see The Education of Adam Speaker on BOOKS page). Click on each photo to link to the accompanying research paper.