Jean Houston (born 10 May 1937) is an American author involved in the

human potential movement The Human Potential Movement (HPM) arose out of the counterculture of the 1960s and formed around the concept of an extraordinary potential that its advocates believed to lie largely untapped in all people. The movement takes as its premise the b ...

. Along with her husband, Robert Masters, she co-founded the Foundation for Mind Research.

Biography

Early life and education

Houston was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to Mary Todaro Houston who was of Sicilian descent, and Jack Houston who was related to

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

.Houston, Jean 1996 ''A Mythic Life.'' New York: Harper Collins Her father was a comedy writer who developed material for stage, television and the movies, including for comedians

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

and George Burns. His work required him, and the family, to move frequently. After the breakup of her parents' marriage, she spent her teen years in New York City. Houston attended

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Col ...

in New York City in the class of 1958. She subsequently earned a Ph.D. in psychology from Union Graduate School and a Ph.D. in religion from the Graduate Theological Foundation.

Career

While participating in a US Government sanctioned research project on the effects of LSD, Houston became acquainted with Robert Masters, a writer and researcher into the varieties of human behavior and potentials. They married in 1965 and soon became known for their work in the

. Together they conducted research into the interdependence of body, mind, and spirit at the Foundation for Mind Research for 14 years. The psychedelic experience research Houston and Masters conducted culminated in the 1966 publication of ''The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience''. The U.S. government banned

psychedelic research Psychedelic therapy (or psychedelic-assisted therapy) refers to the proposed use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, and ayahuasca, to treat mental disorders. As of 2021, psychedelic drugs are controlled substances in most countrie ...

that same year. Their book on psychedelic studies detailed the expanded cognition and creativity participants experienced under the influence of LSD. After the research ban, Houston and Masters shifted their focus to exploring other ways of achieving

altered states of consciousness An altered state of consciousness (ASC), also called altered state of mind or mind alteration, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state. By 1892, the expression was in use in relation to hypnosis, though there ...

without the use of drugs. Houston and Masters' 1972 book ''Mind Games'' detailed their findings that guided imagery and specific programs of bodily movement could reprogram the brain toward more integrated ways of experiencing the world.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

called ''Mind Games'' "one of the two most important books of our time". Houston taught at

Marymount College, Tarrytown Marymount College, Tarrytown (also known as Marymount College of Fordham University) was a women's college in the United States which eventually became part of Fordham University. The Marymount campus was located in Tarrytown, New York. The last ...

, from 1965 to 1972. She was a lecturer at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also adm ...

for less than a year in 1961. Her interest in anthropology brought about a close association with

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

, who lived with Houston and Masters for several years before her death in 1978. In 1982, Houston began teaching a seminar based on the concept of "the ancient mystery schools". Houston explores the ancient idea of entelechy and proposes that individuals possess an innate potentiality which motivates their experience and actions. A technique she advocates for acknowledging and developing this inner spiritual self involves imagining the realization of one's potential in full embodied form in order to integrate it with one's present physical self.

Controversy

During the first term (1993–1997) of the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory ove ...

, First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

, while she was writing '' It Takes a Village'' (1996), invited Houston to work with her in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. preside ...

as an advisor. Houston facilitated a creative thinking, role-playing exercise wherein Clinton engaged in imaginary dialogues with

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...

's book ''The Choice'' revealed this exercise publicly in 1996. After both the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' and the '' Daily News'' labeled Houston "Hillary's Guru" and the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'' dubbed her the "First Lady's Spiritual Adviser", ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...

'' reported that Houston had "suddenly found herself the hapless butt of a thousand gags". When the media subsequently "beat a path to her door", she was compelled to explain that "We were using an imaginative exercise to force her ideas, to think about how Eleanor would have responded to a particular problem", Houston said. "I have never been to a seance."

Selected writings

*''Mystical Dogs: Animals as Guides to our inner Life'' Inner Ocean Publishing (2002) *''Jump Time: Shaping Your Future in a World of Radical Change'' Sentient Publications (2nd Ed. 2004) *''The Passion of Isis and Osiris: A Union of Two Souls'' Wellspring/Ballantine (1998) *''A Mythic Life: Learning to Live our Greater Story'' HarperSanFrancisco (1996) *''Manual for the Peacemaker: An Iroquois Legend to Heal Self'' (with Margaret Rubin) Quest Books (1995) *''Public Like a Frog: Entering the Lives of three Great Americans'' Quest Books (1993) ASIN B0026SIU0G *''The Hero and the Goddess: The "Odyssey" as Mystery and Initiation'' Ballantine Books (1992) *''Godseed: The Journey of Christ'' Quest Books (1988) *''A Feminine Myth of Creation'' (with Diana Vandenberg, in Dutch) J.H. Gottmer (1988) *''The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology'' Tarcher (2nd Ed. 1997) *''The Possible Human: A Course in Extending Your Physical, Mental, and Creative Abilities'' Tarcher (2nd. Ed. 1997) *''Life Force: The Psycho-Historical Recovery of the Self'' Quest Books (2nd. ed. 1993)

With Robert Masters

*''Mind Games'' Doubleday (1972) *''Listening to the Body: The Psychophysical Way to Health and Awareness'' Delta (1979) *''The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience'' Park Street Press (2000 edition) (1966)

Film and television appearances

Nightline Face-Off: Does God Have a Future?"
ABC Nightline program March 2010. With Deepak Chopra,

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedel ...

, and

Michael Shermer Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of '' Skeptic'' magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientif ...

.
Oprah and Jean Houston on the Hero's Journey
'' Super Soul Sunday'' (OWN TV), November 2012.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Jean 1937 births Living people New Thought writers American spiritual writers Religious Science clergy Writers from New York City Hunter College faculty Fordham University faculty Barnard College alumni Union Institute & University alumni American non-fiction writers American philosophers American people of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent Nautilus Book Award winners Graduate Theological Foundation alumni