Jean Houston In Memoriam

Jean Houston, visionary philosopher and teacher who dedicated her extraordinary life to expanding what is possible for humanity, passed into the spirit world on May 16, 2026. One of the original founders of the Human Potential movement, Jean helped millions of people awaken to their true purpose in life. She actively worked in over 100 countries, wrote over 25 books, and touched so many souls in a profound way, myself included.

I was blessed to talk with her around the time I released my first book, Original Thinking: A Radical ReVisioning of Time, Humanity, and Nature, which she read, very much liked, and endorsed. She understood what I was all about, and I was not unusual in that way. She had a knack for recognizing other people’s gifts and encouraging them to achieve their full potential. Because of this, I feel her loss acutely. At the same time, I know I haven’t really lost her, nor have others who were far closer to her than me. I can already tell she will continue to feed me and many others from the beyond. I call souls like her “living ancestors,” because they go on living inside our hearts.

I would go as far as to say that everyone has been influenced by Jean Houston, including the people who never heard of her. She was that powerful a force in the cosmos. It was Margaret Mead, one of her mentors, who said “Never doubt that a small group of citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that has.” Thought leaders like Jean Houston greatly changed the world for the better through their interaction with others. I have no doubt.

There were at least two ways Jean’s work particularly appealed to me. She was all about going to the origin, understanding that origin is not a beginning but an eternal well of remembrance, a timeless Source; she also knew that the era we now live in is extremely important, a “jump time” period of rapid change and growth that has the potential to transform humankind for the better. We are living through times comparable to being in labor, enduring painful contractions to give birth to new life and new ways of perceiving.

I personally believe that the way we perceive time, individually and collectively, is of utmost importance in our lives. It wasn’t just Jean Houston that understood this. The Swiss philosopher Jean Gebser also did, as did other 20^thcentury philosophers Sri Aurobindo, Martin Heidigger, and Henri Bergson. Gebser, who coined the terms archaic, magical, mythical, mental, and integral structures of consciousness, understood that integral consciousness has the potential to integrate the wisdom of the ages into a time-free, a-temporal awareness. Origin or Source is time-free. Love and wisdom operate much the same in this regard, which is why I titled my last book Original Love: The Timeless Source of Wholeness.

Houston understood that linear time is an illusion, if a “stubbornly persistent one,” as Einstein once said. Jean coined the term kairotic in an attempt to capture both kairos time (the opportune time to act) and the passion for life associated with eros. The energy in a term like kairotic is palpable. Now is the time we must seize the moment and act kairotically. Jean wrote, “Jump time is the most critical time in Earth’s history. Never has the ultimatum ‘grow or die’ been a greater imperative.” People like Jean inspire me to believe it is possible for humanity to awaken, reverse its destructive course, and begin to integrate the wisdom of the ages.

She not only understood; she did everything she could in her lifetime to act upon this knowing. She became one of the most proficient catalysts for awakening others to grasp the importance of this moment in history. In her mystery schools, she brought people together for memorable weekends filled with intellectual stimulation, energizing discussions exploring new ways to perceive, and also dance, poetry, and internalizing and acting out the great myths. She understood that working in groups required what she called “transformational synergy,” enabling us to “travel faster and deeper together than we can travel on our own.” Through holding the highest dreams of individuals in the group, she evoked a collective dream for the future of the world. And she did so with a wonderful sense of divine play and humor.

I was moved by her understanding of myth as continuing to live inside us. She considered the ancient Greek story of Psyche and Eros to be a guiding story for our times, in part because it addressed the activation of the soul, and in part because Psyche’s success was dependent upon making alliances with the entire natural world. I wholeheartedly agree with Jean that it is absolutely necessary for moderns to rediscover our connection with the natural world, and that could have been the reason why I decided to incorporate the story of Psyche and Eros in my book Original Love—but it wasn’t.

The real reason was more magical. After finishing the first half of the book, I thought I would take a break. I was taking a drive from Taos NM, heading north about thirty miles, when I suddenly turned, like a homing pigeon, toward one of favorite places. I was not just headed to the Rio Grande Gorge, but to a specific spot known as Junta Point. Junta in Spanish means joining. This is the place where the Rio Grande and Red Rivers meet in a confluence, known as Wild Rivers, or Del Norte National Monument. I arrived on a cold winters day in early January and was the only person there. I said a prayer of gratitude, and was gazing out on the confluence for the longest time until I suddenly realized that I was being visited by a swarm of moths. Only they didn’t look like moths; they looked like angels, fluttering around and blessing me that day. Why moths in January? Must have been magic. It was only upon returning to Taos that I thought of the myth of Psyche and Eros, because psyche in Greek means butterfly or moth. I realized then that the goddess was asking me to write about Psyche and Eros!

It was then I remembered Houston’s assertion that Psyche and Eros is the guiding story for our times. And she was right. There is no greater imperative than for moderns to awaken to reconnecting with the natural world. Psyche represents all of us in the story, and also the whole of nature, the Anima Mundi, or World Soul. In the myth, Aphrodite assigns four tasks to Psyche, and all of these tasks are successfully assisted by allies from the natural world. Ants help her separate a giant pile of seeds in the appointed hour; a reed tells her how to gather the fleece from battering rams without confronting them; an eagle helps her retrieve the waters of life held on the highest mountain guarded by dragons; and a physical tower tells her how to successfully enter the underworld and return with the beauty ointment of Persephone. The story of Psyche and Eros is similar to many ancient Indigenous stories, like the Blackfoot story of Scarface, or the Haudenosaunee story of Skywoman Falling, where the protagonist must rely on helpful alliances to accomplish their goals. Reciprocity between human and nature is the key to living a meaningful and fruitful life.

The modern West has stubbornly persisted in maintaining a separative consciousness from nature. This is not only non-ecological; it is a painful alienation from a potential source of great sustenance. Mother Nature is a place of blessing and wholeness if we choose to see her that way. Instead of maintaining a distance from nature, we can recognize the ubiquitous love that surrounds and enfolds us at all times.

Psyche represents us all. All of us, men and women, need to awaken to the soul of the world. Houston understood that myth continues to live inside us. And now she too, after crossing over, has entered the timeless world of myth. She taught us that we are a child of the universe, and that the universe is conspiring to help us become who we truly are. Let us remember and be inspired by Jean’s vision. Let each of us, in our own way, help restore a loving and compassionate humanity. Thank you Jean for your tireless efforts, vision, and determination to see a better world in formation. We are grateful for your inspiration, and will do what we can to continue the quest.