A Note from Jeff
I have known Professor Charles T. Tart (1937 – 2025) for over a half-century. Throughout that entire time, he has been recognized as a leading light in both psychology and parapsychology. He has been an inspiration to uncountable thousands of people. The last time my wife, Janelle, and I visited Charley, at his home in Berkeley, he was just turning 87 and not in the best of health. His last breath was on March 5, 2025. My world has lost one of its brightest stars. I owe Charley a considerable debt of gratitude. Let me explain why.
In 1973, I embarked upon an unusual academic adventure. After receiving a Master of Criminology degree from the University of California, Berkeley, I decided to switch fields. Taking advantage of an obscure rule of the Graduate Division, I created an interdisciplinary doctoral program in parapsychology, of which I was the sole student. To do so, I was required to enlist the support of at least three faculty members from the vast University of California system who would be willing to guide my program.
I enlisted the support of C. West Churchman, a business professor and systems theorist. Additionally, the renowned educational evaluator and philosopher of science, Michael Scriven, agreed to become my dissertation supervisor. Most importantly, I secured the support and guidance of Charles T. Tart who was an active parapsychologist and specialist in the study of altered states of consciousness.
The 1970s were a very heady time for parapsychology in the San Francisco Bay Area. Experiments conducted with the Israeli psychic, Uri Geller, at the Stanford Research Institute (now known as SRI International) were being covered by the international press. News was already also leaking out concerning the successful experiments in remote viewing. It seemed, then, as if we were on the cusp of a scientific revolution. In fact, we were then, and we still are now.
In retrospect, I can see I was very idealistic and naïve. I had little appreciation for the strength of the opposition. However, I soon learned that the closer I came to matriculating with the world’s first doctoral diploma that stated “Parapsychology” as the single field of study, the more obstacles were placed in my path. There was a professor of statistics who, initially, reached out to me in a supportive tone. Later, however, he revealed himself to be, in his own words, “a hatchet man,” whose job was to see that I never graduated. Charley stood by me. Thankfully, we were able to overcome this assault against academic integrity.
Later, there was a Graduate Division Dean who tried to revoke my degree after it had been awarded in 1980, claiming, “Major universities do not award degrees in parapsychology.” A campaign was being launched by prominent figures outside of the university to, essentially, destroy my reputation. I ended up fighting a libel suit for six years.
Looking back upon this period of turmoil and stress, I realize that it was the major living nightmare of my life. It affected my sense of well-being and my health. At the end of the day, good people came to my support and, together, we prevailed against these obstacles and threats. Throughout this period of high academic drama, Charley Tart was among my closest advisors and supporters. He was on the inside of this situation and saw exactly what was going on. I can honestly say that he understood, and even felt, the pain I was enduring.
The sixteen interviews presented herein testify to the fact that throughout the decades, Charley and I have remained close. There is no doubt that he has been a major influence on my own thinking. Furthermore, he has been a supporter of my work as an interviewer on topics related to parapsychology and consciousness. At one point, for example, he provided funds to the Vipassana meditation teacher, Shinzen Young, to travel to San Francisco for a series of interviews on the original Thinking Allowed television series. On another occasion, he donated signed copies of his classic anthology, Altered States of Consciousness as a fundraiser for the New Thinking Allowed channel.
A particularly memorable experience occurred on November 8, 2016, when Charley was a guest in our home, then in Las Vegas, NV, on the evening of the shocking presidential election. That was the occasion when ten of the interviews in this book were recorded.
Last year, Charley reached out to me to let me know he was in poor health. Our book of interviews with Russell Targ had just been published; and Charley suggested that, if we were considering doing a similar book featuring my interviews with him, it would be good to get started right away, because he didn’t know how much longer he would be around. As you now know, we did do that. I’m so grateful that Charley was able to see the completed manuscript, and cover, before he passed.
My last conversation with Charley was three days before he left this earthly plane. He knew that he was very close to death then, and we had a brief conversation about after-death communication. In fact, just the week before, he had been in the hospital. He would have died then, I think, but they used electroshock to revive him. He made a point of telling me that he did not have a near-death experience on that occasion.
But he knew that his heart was weakened and that he had atrial fibrillation. He didn’t believe that he would be able to survive another similar trauma. Nor did he wish to be revived once more.
Charley lived a very full life. He has been a teacher, mentor, and supporter of my work for the past half-century. He put such terms as “altered states” and “state-specific science” into our vocabulary. His research was even spoken about, by actor, William Hurt, in the movie Altered States.
Throughout the decades, Charley has been a consistent source of wisdom and guidance. He has been a phenomenal teacher able to discuss transcendental matters in a soft and down-to-earth manner. As a student of spirituality, himself, Charley has practiced various disciplines, ranging from Aikido to the Gurdjieff work. I can testify, based on decades of friendship, that—for me—he is the embodiment not only of knowledge and wisdom, but of compassion.