The 1990s: The Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism, and Castalia II
After leaving the Museum, Conforth was appointed one of six "founding faculty" designated to create the programs for a "New College of Global Studies" being created by Radford University in Radford, Virginia. While there he worked with noted neuro-psychologist Dr. Karl Pribram at his Center for Brain Research.
In 1995 Conforth took his first trip to Nepal and immediately developed a deep interest in the region and in the religion of Tibetan Buddhism. For the following five years he worked as a trekking guide in that area, during which time he conducted extensive ethnographic research with the Yeti population of northern Nepal. The New College eventually closed when Virginia Governor George Allen stripped its budget.
In 1996 Conforth founded, with his third wife Cynthia Swartz (since divorced), Castalia II, an organization dedicated to the exploration of consciousness. Board members included Dr. Timothy Leary, Dr. Charles Tart, Dr. John Beresford (of the Albert Hofmann Foundation), physicist Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, and other "psychedelic" notables.
Read more about this topic: Bruce Conforth