It is easy to think that the counterculture in the United States began with the Beats in the 1950s. But it is far older than that. At the end of the 19th century there was the Parliament of World Religions which introduced westerners to Eastern Religion. But at the same time there emerged the community of “Ascona”, which was a rebel community of anarchists, artists, and even psychologists like Carl Jung. Like the 60s counterculture, they ate “healthy” foods and met sometimes in the nude. One of their lynchpins providing continuity over the following 50 years was Aldous Huxley.
Read Cynthia Chung in The Mad Truther
