It is now sixteen years since these interviews were conducted. Simply rereading them has brought back the richness of these encounters, and an immense appreciation of the expanded vistas that psychedelics make possible to the earnest explorer. They support and confirm a wealth of additional accounts given by other researchers (1).

Immersed in the impact of this work, it seems to me incomprehensible that our society has sunk so deeply into unconsciousness as to be unaware of such possibilities. The general public, unfamiliar with the power of our minds, remains for the most part locked in mass hypnotism, secured within the self-constructed walls that lock out the prodigious possibilities of life, the joy and exuberance waiting to be claimed. Our birthright of wisdom and compassion has been sacrificed on the altar of self-interest, materialism, and reductionism. So opposed are we to discovering the errors of our decisions that we have made practically all substances which can reveal to us our true nature illegal to possess.

Nothing would have pleased Jacob more than to know that the telling of his story has helped our society understand that there are powerful tools available for self realization -- that vast new possibilities in life await us when we take on the responsibility of making these new tools available and learn how to use them. We will then recognize Jacob as a true pioneer and dedicated servant of humanity.