at left and bottom: detail from the painting "Taxonomic Mandala" by former BEL member Dion Wright
As Patty mentioned earlier, The Brotherhood of Eternal Love started out as a pseudo-religious organization and, ironically, incorporated themselves as such just a few days after LSD became illegal in the US. The idea was that all of life is interconnected, and that LSD is the sacrament that allows one to realize one's true purpose and place in the universe. Tim Leary associated with the BEL and wrote a book based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead entitled The Psychedelic Experience that was a supposed "user's guide" to the drug. In it, he wrote of "dying in one's mind," which was taken from the eighth century philosopher Padmasambhava's notion that "the chikhai bardo (or the moment of death) features the experience of the 'clear light of reality', or at least the nearest approximation of which one is spiritually capable."
Dying in one's mind. Hmmmmm. Heard that one before?
However, Patty digresses. Is it pure coincidence that both the BEL and The Family lived in and frequented some of the same places (London, Hawaii, Oregon, San Francisco, Mendocino County)?
1) Could Bruce going to London have anything to do with drug smuggling?
2) What were The Witches doing in Mendocino, anyway? Why weren't they back at Spahn with their beloved leader? Could they have been running a safehouse instead of or in addition to a brothel? Could CHP Officer Dulaney's wife (Clyda) and mother (Nancy) have been murdered because he was getting too close to "the truth"?
3) Could Ruth Ann have disappeared on Barbara Hoyt in Honolulu to hop over to Maui and pick up a shipment? What kind of LSD was in that burger, anyway, and where did it come from?
4) Where did the Family get most of their LSD, for that matter? Did people really just give Charlie things because he was so enlightened, or was the money coming from something else? Was it weird that Charlie shared his space, his women, his weapons and everything else with a bunch of bikers?
5) Who ended up distributing MDMA in Los Angeles after Voytek was killed?
6) Did Rosemary's family history and Leno's money have anything to do with Mexican marijuana?
1) Could Bruce going to London have anything to do with drug smuggling?
2) What were The Witches doing in Mendocino, anyway? Why weren't they back at Spahn with their beloved leader? Could they have been running a safehouse instead of or in addition to a brothel? Could CHP Officer Dulaney's wife (Clyda) and mother (Nancy) have been murdered because he was getting too close to "the truth"?
3) Could Ruth Ann have disappeared on Barbara Hoyt in Honolulu to hop over to Maui and pick up a shipment? What kind of LSD was in that burger, anyway, and where did it come from?
4) Where did the Family get most of their LSD, for that matter? Did people really just give Charlie things because he was so enlightened, or was the money coming from something else? Was it weird that Charlie shared his space, his women, his weapons and everything else with a bunch of bikers?
5) Who ended up distributing MDMA in Los Angeles after Voytek was killed?
6) Did Rosemary's family history and Leno's money have anything to do with Mexican marijuana?
Uh huh, these are the makings of some awesome conspiracy theories. But, are they that far out? Maybe...probably...but the circumstantial evidence is compelling, and Patty's got still more..
