sixtieschick, upon closer reading of your "what I mean is..." explanation, I've got a few questions that would help clarify for me what exactly it is you are suggesting. I'll just quote, and ask, if you don't mind.

First, you started with:

"...in terms of spirituality as an inner exploration, many people initially took psychedelics and pot to gain insight and break perceptual boundaries. (Drugs were often called 'sacraments.') The music also reflected that."

Are you suggesting that drug takin, especially psychedelics, was a spiritual endeavor?

Then you said:

"Out of that culture, a number of musicians embraced a variety of formal spiritual practices, with or without drugs, and wrote music to express the meaning they found in their practices, or teachers, or religions."

Perhaps you could give us some examples of the musicians you are thinking of, and what spiritual practices you are referring to? This is a very big subject. For example, many children of the 60s "found religion" in the 1970s, especially in church run drug rehab centers that sprang up all over after the 60s drug culture came home from flying eight miles high. Sure a lot of Brit hippie musicians followed the Beatles to India, but how many of them were genuine rather than following the in crowd? How many of them are still actively involved in conventional religion (Buddhism is, after all, a very conventional religion) today as a result of their involvement with the music/musicians of that time?

Dylan had his Xtian phase. Cat Stevens converted to Islam and never looked back, but again, that was the 70s, and it was conventional religion that drew in Dylan and Cat Stevens, not the new age "spirituality" movement which was far less conventional. Is it that latter movement to which you are referring, or the trend among many 60s musicians to "find religion" (ie conventional religion, even if not the one they were raised in) in the 70s when their drug hangovers were taking a toll?

You also said:

"I was influenced by some sixties music to explore my place in the world, to look within, and to take action to try to make things better."

Again, it would help if you gave some examples if for no other reason than to help me get what you are talking about. If I knew you were talking about George Harrison and Ravi Shankar vs. Ray Charles or Aretha Franklin vs. Procol Harum vs Hendrix, it might be easier for me to understand where you are coming from.

I LOVED the Beatles. But I was pretty much embarrassed for them by the whole pilgrimmage to India & John and Yoko things.

I liked Dylan, but I like a lot of music and musicians much better than him. I grew up around traditional Irish music, so the whole 60s folk thing seemed very phony and inauthentic to me, especially the Dylan/Baez stuff. I was very into the Byrds, the Band, Buffalo Springfield, Poco, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins (I loved her Leonard Cohen phase!), Leonard Cohen, Rolling Stones, Traffic, Arlo Guthrie, Sly and the Family Stone, Ten Years After, and ESPECIALLY Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young! Their music influenced me and my thinking much more than Dylan's, to be honest. With Dylan, it was the occassional song that wowed me, but those songs never influenced me more than other equally as good songs by other very talented songwriters of the day, like Neil Young or Paul Simon.

I was never much of a fan of the Beats and hippies either, especially the way they interacted with women. And I had a few educated women friends in the 60s who did the San Fran/NY Beats scene, The Farm, Diggers, back to the landers, and Yippies sorts of stuff who were the first to abandon "the cause" because of the extreme sexism and exploitation of women among those groups. Not exactly my idea of "spiritually enlightened" people or music for that matter. For me, that came in the 70s, with the rise of the women's and environmental movement, not 60s folk rock and San Francisco psychedelia.

Finally you asked us:

"I am wondering what songs or musicians inspired YOU to undertake similar explorations, or that inspired you spiritually--in any way you wish to define your spirituality."

Well, I answered in my above 9:35 a.m. post that the music didn't influence me in a spiritual sense. For me, the influence of some 60s music was purely political, and in that sense I think music and musicians have some influence. But not very much. I mean, even album length "experiences" aren't all that meaningful. Especially because I believe most "spiritual" or "meaningful" memories of the time by people who were there are largely romanticized nostalgia trips back to their golden youth.

If you doubt that, look at your own kids views of their years with music. Music is the main glue that holds youth culture together. Nobody defined that youth culture in America better than our generation that came of age in the 1960s. But honestly, we haven't left much of a mark, even now. We are doing the very same things our parents did back then, right on down to waging another war against an invisible enemy of guerrilla warriors fighting off our imperial global reach.

Sorta makes you think that no matter how much things might change (as we thought they were in the 60s) the more they stay the same. I'd say that is as true of "spirituality" and religion as it is the music and politics.