I grew up in San Jose, California, and went to Catholic schools for the first 9 years. By the 8th year I had come to the conclusion that the Catholic doctrine did not feel true to me and at the same time (around 1966) the Beatles and other musical groups began singing about mind expanding drugs and possibilities of better ways of being (as individuals and as society). Since both of my parents were pretty immature, they did not create a very happy family environment and my mother became an serious alcoholic and my father divorced her when I was around 13. Troubled by this I began to read books on psychology and spirituality. The Catholic Church not only failed to have any real answers, it actually contributed to the problems. Although the nuns and priests had some good qualities and contributions, they were also very psychologically dysfunctional and troubled people, who I found did NOT have much wisdom or true connection to God. I experienced them, as many did, as rather mean and controlling and fear/guilt tripping on little innocent children ("You will go to HELL forever if you do not believe what we teach", which was a load of crap anyway, and "live the way we say you must live.") Very damaging to young kids' psychological and spiritual health. I detached from that religion around 1966. 
I also explored psychedelic drugs, as was common in those days. I did not go looking for drugs. They were offered to me by my friends and seemed worth checking out. I was very curious. There was an attractive mystical intrigue about the psychedelics. Certainly the musical lyrics of those days suggested that. I really wanted to experience the expanded states of consciousness that were talked about in those times. And this inevitably led to exploring spiritual practices and such.

In 1969, when I was a Junior in High School, we had a major English Class assignment to read three books and write a term paper tying the three books together. I read Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, The Prophet by Kahil Gibran, and The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are, by Alan Watts. This last book by Watts is an amazing discourse on the nature of consciousness, oneness, and the ego (still highly recommended reading). I wrote the term paper titled “Man’s Role in the Universe” and got an A+ and the teacher was very impressed at such deep writing from a 16 year old. The day after getting my grade I was home alone and took LSD and had a profound awakening experience. I kept laughing at the idea that all that information had all been in my head as mental ideas and now I experienced pure consciousness and the illusory nature of the world I had known until then. Of course the drug wore off and I re-assembled to my regular state, but my life had changed by such a glimpse of the deeper, truer reality. I had a taste! I continued to read many books by Alan Watts and other spiritual books and went around telling everyone I came into contact with about what I had found, and came to see that unless it was experienced by someone, it just seemed like abstract ideas. Reminds me of that song by Jimi Hendrix – “Are You Experienced?”

During 1969 I began to do art projects on my own time (in addition to taking art classes for the last three years of high school) which was mostly imitating the art on Fillmore concert posters and record album art of the days. (see sample "1969" artwork in my Gallery One). I had been an avid Deadhead (Grateful Dead fan) since 1967 and read in Rolling Stone Magazine that they were into Scientology, saying it was beyond LSD, so I was curious and got involved in September 1969. At that time there were quite a few musicians and celebrities into it and it looked like what I was looking for.  It appeared to have answers I was seeking to fully bring conscious and stabilize the state of being I had experienced while on LSD, which I had done several times since 1967. After a couple years I decided to dedicate my life to its cause and joined their Sea Org (inner sanctum that lived on a 325 foot yacht named the Apollo in the Mediterranean Sea with L. Ron Hubbard, his family, and about 400 people). This was quite adventurous for an 18 year old and I got to know all the folks who were running the organization worldwide and after about 12 years came to realize that it was not what it claimed to be – it was not a path to enlightenment that I had been seeking, but a self contained belief system to make a stronger and polished ego (and glamorized power and force, rather than love and unity). Big disillusionment. Big disappointment! However, during that time life taught me many lessons – about blind faith, power and authority,  giving my own power away, and many life lessons in general (not things Scientology taught but lessons I learned from the experience of being in a cult. I have had no physical or philosophical association with Scientology since 1983; but because I knew L. Ron Hubbard, his family and most of the executives running the show, I consider myself to be an expert on the subject – basically telling the truth about Scientology and having deep insight into the nature of its teachings and processes. Unlike many who have left Scientology, I hold no ill-will or resentment; and hold no affiliation or alignment with it whatsoever.

When I left Scientology in 1983, it took me a couple years but I finally released all their proprietary thinking and all associations related to it. I deprogrammed myself from their indoctrination.  It is indoctrination as many cults and religions are.
And I resumed my exploration of life, consciousness and spirituality. This was like being reborn after having become limited and stagnated within Scientology. I did all kinds of workshops and listened to channeled teachings and read lots of books, etc. One of the main sources of inspiration was the Pathwork Materials by Eva Pierrakos. I read all her lectures over the course of some years. In 1989 I bought a house in Grass Valley and had a weekly talk-radio show called the Conscious Café, where I spoke about the spiritual awakening process, did interviews and also read Pathwork Lectures on the air. This period led me to various Spiritual Teachers whom I respect and learned a great deal from (Eckhart Tolle, etc). It is basically the same conversation of Awakening that I started out reading about in The Book on the Taboo Against Know Who You Are by Alan Watts in 1969, only much clearer and updated.
In 1989 I also started painting, not having painted since High School. I had been doing various jobs to try to make money so that I could open a Spiritual Center ( a vision never realized). I heard Joseph Campbell saying “Follow your bliss” and remembered that I really enjoyed art when I was in High School, so in mid-1989 I bought a bunch of art supplies and just started painting on canvas, which I did for a few years. In 1997 a dear friend, Chris Prima, gave me a computer and I scanned photos of my paintings into Photoshop and began to manipulate and make new versions of my art on the computer. My intent with art has always been to inspire people to spiritual feelings and upliftment.

Drug use is a very charged and judged subject. I am not promoting or condoning drug use. And there is a huge distinction between escape drugs like speed and heroin vs psychedelic mind expanding drugs and plant medicine.  I do promote and encourage meditation and commitment to truth. The simple truth is that with some drugs there are apparent rewards and there are various dangers. It is wise to be informed and responsible if one is drawn to explore drugs. Some drugs can amplify or bring to the forefront what Shadow issues may be suppressed, denied or avoided (fears or other issues one has not fully faced in life). This can be scary, and it tends to be blamed on the drug rather than the wounded or unstable psychology of the person. People who blanketly condemn things they are not well familiar with are not wise. They usually are fixated on a psychological complex of being a "Know-it-all" and taking delight in "enforcing the rules" and punishing others - often rather sadistic and cruel and compassionless. They use fear and intimidation and punishment as means to try to control others. (sound like our political "leaders"?) 

And on the other hand, taking drugs can be entrapping spiritually and thus potentially dangerous territory. If one happens to have (by grace) a euphoric or awakening experience, one tends to want to do it again and again attempting to GET the experience again. That is a recipe for trouble, as the Buddhists will explain - our suffering stems from obsessive craving toward pleasure and aversion from pain. So I do not encourage drug use. But if one is drawn to it I urge caution and be very clear about why you are doing so and find moderation. If you are taking drugs because you think they will bring you happiness you are sadly mistaken. Some drugs, when taken for purposes of exploration and discovery, may open doors and provide glimpses, but please remember that it is consciousness, not the substance that is the source of all experience. Naturally facing one’s life and experience and practicing focused presence in mediation are a much more effective approach.

To all law enforcement, politicians and related people – please hear that compassionless punishment will never work to help with drug related problems in our society. And if you are truly sincere about your hope to improve, rather than perpetuate and make the problems worse, you will know this is true. If you do not see the truth in these words then you are part of the problem and in need of compassionate healing yourself…You are battling your inner demons and projecting that battle onto “other” troubled beings in our world. Seek truth, face everything you may have been inclined to avoid, and bless others with kindness and compassion as you would your own brother/sister.
Note: Since writing the above, psychedelics have become much more accepted and used now in healing therapies to treat depression and other issues.