Richard Smoley is editor of Quest: The Journal of the Theosophical Society in America. He is also former editor of Gnosis Magazine. His books include Hidden Wisdom: The Guide to the Western Inner Traditions, Inner Christianity: The Guide to the Esoteric Tradition, Forbidden Faith: The Secret History of Gnosticism, The Essential Nostradamus, Conscious Love: Insights from Mystical Christianity, The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the Universe, The Supernatural: Writings on an Unknown History, The Deal: A Guide to Radical and Complete Forgiveness, and How God Became God: What Scholars Are Really Saying About God and the Bible.

In this interview from 2016, he notes that many of the great spiritual teachers of the twentieth century (Blavatsky, Steiner, Gurdjieff, Jung) had teachers who remain unknown. He suggests that this reflects the desire of all these individuals to avoid the limelight of public scrutiny. While describing most channeled material as “banal”, he praises Jane Roberts’ Seth material as well as A Course in Miracles. He reviews the history of Satanism and, paradoxically, associates it with the objectivist philosophy of Ayn Rand. He also comments on the writings of Aleister Crowley as well as tantra.

(Recorded on August 7, 2016)

Published on August 26, 2022