Visceral Fat & Your One Thing: A Tribute to Dr. Stanley Krippner
Yesterday was the second day of the IASD annual conference (Healing Dreams, I think, is the theme).
It was fantastic.
I got the chance to talk with one of my former professors, who had a huge influence on my dissertation and the fact that I am even here.
Dr. Stanley Krippner is his name, and he is a bit of a legend.
He used to do telepathic experiments at Grateful Dead concerts. He was taking people to South America to meet with rainforest shamans and experience ayahuasca way before it became all the rage in the 2010s. He co-authored a book, The Mythic Path, which was a cornerstone resource for my dissertation studying the relationships among the personal myths, values, and callings of high-functioning, high-performing executives.
My program required a partial residency in the form of conferences two or three times per year.
At these conferences, Dr. Krippner held dream tables in the morning before breakfast and before courses and workshops began. For some reason, I felt called to go to these, and I did.
I started attending regularly, even having one of my “big dreams” processed by the table group.
Dr. Krippner used, and in essence was teaching us, the Ullman Method.
I had a chance to talk with Dr. Krippner and asked him what his epistemological framework was for his work on personal myths.
He thought that was one of the best questions he had heard and didn’t have a ready answer.
That’s a good sign you are talking to someone who is thoughtful.
He did talk about his belief that, as a species, we have one shot to get this right or go the way of the dinosaurs.
I wrote the song Epistemological Doubts on our Hot Burning Trash album partially based on this conversation.
At another conference, I met up with him and we ended up talking about my Cherokee heritage for some reason.
He was the one who pointed out to me that the seal of the Cherokee Nation has the seven stars of the Pleiades on it.
That, according to one of the elder Cherokee shamans included in some of his research, was because the Cherokee people believe they arrived on Earth from somewhere in that cluster of stars.
Fascinating.
Yesterday, Dr. Krippner gave a presentation on the use of Artificial Intelligence and dream work.
This man is 93 years old and still interested in being involved in the cutting edge of research.
It’s impressive.
He’s also a huge believer in the democracy of dreams.
That is, the importance of a dream group versus a one-person interpretation of dreams.
I think I am a believer in the Leavers, too.
More to come from the Highway to Yeah, but I wanted to share a story about a man who has clearly lived and designed a radical lifestyle he loves, and will continue to love until his last breath.
And yet, here I have been the last couple of days worried about having too much visceral fat.
I am slightly over the upper limit of what is considered healthy.
It’s a buildup of cortisol that contributes to this. The body stores fat around the midsection to prepare for potential stress and adversity. It can be influenced by a stressful career, poor sleep habits, lack of exercise, and too much sugar, particularly in beverages. (Beer has been my sin of choice, but any sugary drink can contribute.)
Important?
Yes.
Why I am here at this conference?
No.
But there you go.
Will be back tomorrow with some other, hopefully fascinating, tales.