Author Patrick O'Brien
PATRICK O’BRIEN continues the journey laid out by Kozmos Lovejoy. Originally from San Francisco, he now lives and dreams in northern New Mexico, near the locations of spiritual communities he used to frequent in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Adventures of Kozmos Lovejoy, Exp. is his first book.
THE adventures of kozmos lovejoy exp
book launch july 6
The Adventures of Kozmos Lovejoy, Exp. is a riveting story of adventure, enlightenment, love and personal discovery that wants to be told. Kozmos Lovejoy, Exp. sets out to discover the human potential hidden in the American culture during the revolutionary spiritual renaissance of the 1960s and ‘70s. Kozmos learns at age nine to hitchhike so he doesn’t have to walk up a steep hill to get home. Over the years, he discovers that he can go anywhere. He doesn’t need a car, or money, or even a destination. He knows he is free.
While attending art school in San Francisco, Kozmos has a dream that awakens him on a journey to enlightenment. Later, when invited to spend a couple of weeks at the beach in Puerto Vallarta, he discovers a pure water spring flowing into a jungle stream where he meets the girl in the dream. She introduces him to the Ancient Wisdom of the arcane human history, hidden for thousands of years in myths and metaphors.
After being arrested and forced to leave Mexico, Kozmos hops on freight trains and hitchhikes home to San Francisco; he recognizes he’s not the same. His spiritual experiences in Mexico have transformed him, which leads to spending the summer of 1969 learning more and more about new spiritual possibilities before returning to Vallarta and reconnecting with the girl in the dream.
However, things have changed in Vallarta. Kozmos finds himself on the road again. Not knowing where to go, he just keeps moving. Finally, he finds an abandoned building in Ohio, where he fasts and meditates until he hears a Voice that guides him to Santa Fe, NM. and joins a family of kindred spirits that are building a yoga ashram and vegetarian restaurant.
Inspired by the experiences in Santa Fe, he heads to Denver to open another yoga school and restaurant. But this is becoming all too stable for Kozmos. After a couple of years of spiritual politicking, an arranged marriage that falls apart, and a love affair that opens his heart, he splits and hitchhikes to Chamonix, France. He studies for two summers with the Sufis in the French Alps, living in caves, meadows and tents at 8,000 feet in the French National Forest before returning to Colorado to share the love, light and wisdom of The Adventures.
In addition to being an intimate look back to a great period of awakening consciousness, The Adventures of Kozmos Lovejoy, Exp. celebrates the greater journey of self-discovery. Patrick O’Brien blends his own experiences with his keen understanding of the period to create a story that is adventurous, poignant and transformative — one that will connect with hearts everywhere.
A LOOK INSIDE - Prologue
As I looked out across the Chamonix Valley toward the Mont Blanc, the Valle Blanche and the Mer de Glace it was a beautiful day in France. Not a cloud in the sky or even a breeze in the air. Two of my friends who had just returned from Lebanon gifted me a small piece of hashish. “Save it for the right moment,” they told me.
It had been at least four years since I’d used any drugs. Since then, my life had been transformed by Spirit. Finally, I had found the peace in my heart that restored my soul and forgiven myself. I felt grateful for all that had transpired over those four years.
Now we were closing Le Camp des Aigles, Pir Vilayat’s meditation camp at 8,000 feet in the French National Forest. I’d lived there the past two summers, working in the kitchen, studying with Pir and building his Crystal Cave.
I leaned back on the lichen covered boulder over the valley, the sun in my face, and took the pipe from my pocket. The right moment. Without any particular intention, I lit the pipe and took a hit. It tasted like chocolate and coffee. Within moments, I was totally relaxed and at ease, a deep sense of being at one with everything. I crossed my legs and put my hands on my knees, palms up. Rolling my eyes up to my pineal gland, I took a deep breath and released.
Suddenly, a bird cried loudly. An eagle soared out of the valley not 50 yards in front of me. It was huge, its wingspan, six feet, at least. As it circled upward, riding the thermal, a second eagle appeared and then a third, all moving fast. I heard a voice speak clearly, “You can have drugs or everything else.”
