Shadowrider - Field notes of a psychonaut #58333

Many people have asked me: „George, do you believe in life after death?“ Well, I don‘t know what happens after death. No one ever came back to tell me about it. But what I firmly believe in is a life before death. This is not a matter of course. On the graves of many people we could write quite truthfully: Died at the age of 52, buried at the age of 75. That is what happens when the shadows win. And, as I see it, our task as humans is not to let this happen. Facing and riding our shadows is a good way to avoid this fate. A Psychonaut, a modern portmanteau of the Greek psyche (soul) and nauthes (sailor), that is, a sailor of the mind/soul, is a person who experiences intentionally induced altered states of consciousness in an attempt to investigate his or her mind, and possibly address spiritual questions, through direct experience.
Goals of psychonautic practices may be to answer questions about how the mind works, improve one‘s psychological state, answer existential or spiritual questions, or improve cognitive performance in everyday life. (Wikipedia) George Pennington, born 1947 in the USA, spent most of his life in Europe (Austria, France, England and Germany). During his studies in Heidelberg he became fascinated by psychological issues. He spent his entire life investigating the human mind and wrote several books on related topics. In 2005 he produced a popular TV-series on the Soft Skills. Now he lives in Bavaria where he works as a Soft-Skill-trainer and coach.