Touched by the Presence

A memoir of magic, rock and roll, and becoming who you are • Traces the author’s journey from bassist and founding member of Blondie to writer on consciousness and the esoteric tradition • Explores his involvement in Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way, Crowley’s Thelema, and his relationship with the bestselling author Colin Wilson • Reveals how an early love of comic books, science fiction, and fantasy led him to the esoteric tradition Not many members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are also recognized authorities on the Western inner tradition. Gary Lachman is. In 1978, Blondie released the top-ten hit “(I am Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear.” Gary Lachman (then Gary Valentine) had written the song for his girlfriend after the series of shared dreams and telepathic experiences they had. Thus started his lifelong obsession with the potentials of consciousness. In this memoir, Lachman recounts how he went from being a successful rock and roller to a writer on consciousness and the Western inner tradition. He shares encounters with rockers such as the Ramones, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop and also his time with Timothy Leary, William Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg. Living with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein on New York’s Bowery, a block from CBGB, the birthplace of punk rock, Lachman discovered occultism via a follower of Aleister Crowley. Post rock and roll, Lachman’s occult studies brought him to the Golden Dawn, Manly P. Hall, Gnosticism, and a stint in Crowley’s O.T.O. He details his time in the Fourth Way, including a visit to the site of Gurdjieff ’s Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in France, and his years studying philosophy and literature and working as a science writer while managing a famous metaphysical bookshop at the height of the New Age movement. Excursions to Stonehenge, Avebury, and Glastonbury in search of ley lines and pilgrimages to Colin Wilson’s home in Cornwall are a few of the highlights of this introspective, often humorous account of a nascent writer’s struggle from rock and roll to individuation.

Gary Lachman is a prolific author and lecturer on consciousness, counterculture, and the Western esoteric tradition. His 25 works include The Return of Holy Russia, Lost Knowledge of the Imagination, Maurice Nicoll: Forgotten Teacher of the Fourth Way, and Dark Star Rising. A founding member of the rock band Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in London.

1 Faster Than a Speeding Bullet 2 Pulp Fiction 3 The Journey to the East 4 No Exit 5 Blood of the Poet 6 Touching the Presence 7 Knowledge Is a Funny Thing 8 Do the Work 9 Looking for the Miraculous 10 The Love of Wisdom 11 Into the New Age 12 Living in the Real World 13 The Crack Up 14 London Calling Acknowledgments