In the journey to spiritual awakening, we may find assistance and information from teachers, gurus, mentors and guides. Many treat these assistants as authority figures who have something they do not and become willing to act on whatever they say in order to attain their state or status, suspending their own inner voices in the process. Unconsciously following deeply ingrained patterns of authority may leave seekers at risk for emotional or physical injury and even death. To reach the true liberation of enlightenment we must free ourselves from the subtle influence of authority and discover our true power within. Join us as we talk with Joel Kramer, co-author with Diana Alstad, of The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power, an exploration of authoritarianism in religion, institutions, the family and more. An esteemed philosopher of science, ethics, comparative religion, epistemology, and consciousness, Joel led seminars on the evolution of awareness at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California from 1968-1970. Joel and Diana believe that the real battle on the planet today is for people’s minds and for human survival, and they offer new perspectives on our challenges and our untapped potential.