Thaddeus Golas

Born in 1924 in Paterson, New Jersey, to Polish Catholic parents, Thaddeus Golas was a child of Einstein's Relativity but also of the Great Depression. He served a long European tour of duty in WWII, and was in Patton's Third Army in Antwerp, but narrowly avoided combat at the Battle of the Bulge. The G.I. Bill helped him earn a BA in General Humanities from New York's Columbia University where he studied under Jacques Barzun, among notable others. He went on to work as a proofreader for Betty Ballantine, as an editor for The Tatler in Paterson, NJ., a book editor for Redbook, and later, in Oklahoma, as a sales representative for Harper & Row. He saw the rise of the Beat Movement in Manhattan, with its onset of mind-altering substances. His ideas on human consciousness had gathered over many years of pondering Eastern Mysticism and popular Quantum Science; when he moved to California in the '60s, he was encouraged by Alan Watts, Timothy Leary, and former high school mate Allen Ginsberg to self-publish his Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment. Thus, it was in the psychedelic maelstrom, in the midst of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury turmoil at the start of the Seventies, that Thaddeus Golas achieved recognition as a major philosopher. He stood on street corners with his third wife Nancy Monroe, come rain or come shine, selling copies to passersby to make ends meet. The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment caught-on like wild fire, and Golas, the reluctant guru, became a bit of a sensation. His book remained in print for nearly 30 years. Often shunned by members of the New Age community for his biting criticism of their manipulations, Thaddeus Golas remained a nomad and led a discreet life, declining to lecture or exploit his readers with seminars. Twenty years after it was completed, Love and Pain, the second book by Thaddeus Golas, picks up where The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment leaves off. It is a deeper investigation of his metaphysical message; a more modern and more complete look at his metaphysical map -- by some accounts his "masterpiece" ! Similarly, The Cosmic Airdrome, his third book, is a great companion to the Guide. The Lazy Man's Life is the Biography of Thaddeus Golas.

14 Books Written

Sort by:

The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment

by Thaddeus Golas

Rating: 4.8 ⭐

• 2 recommendations ❤️

$10.95 cloth hardcover 1-58685-190-X 5 x 7 in, 112 pp, W, Self-Help Originally published by the author in 1972, the underground classic Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment teaches how to improve the quality of life, to feel good, and to determine what's real. Golas leads the reader down the path toward enlightenment with simple steps, like memorizing key phrases and incorporating them into daily life and thought. Think of how much better your life might be if you reminded yourself to "love as much as you can from wherever you are" or "love it the way it is." This classic book is full of useful tips on how to live a more conscious life and to be an engaged and aware member of the universal community. "While we have humility and pride enough to act on the knowledge that we exist in an infinite harmony, that we are neither greater nor lesser than any others, we can enjoy exquisite spiritual wealth and pleasures. When you love yourself, you are in truth expanding in love into many other things. And the more loving you are, the more loving the beings within and around you. On all levels we are mutually dependent vibrations. Play a happy tune and happy dancers will join your trip." - From The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment After serving in World War II, author Thaddeus Golas graduated from Columbia College in New York. He later moved to San Francisco, where he became involved in the activism and spiritual quests of the 1960s. He was an editor of Redbook magazine and a book representative for publisher Harper and Row.

Year: 1996Pages:

Love and Pain

by Thaddeus Golas

Rating: 4.2 ⭐

[The Collected Works of Thaddeus Golas Vol.3 - From Seed Center Books]Love and Pain - A Map of Consciousness. The Collected Works of Thaddeus Golas Vol. 3 A follow-up to The Lazy Mans Guide to Enlightenment or perhaps a final revision to it. The Guide is still very significant to all those who sense the consciousness with which it was written but Thaddeus goes deeper with this new writing; he wanted leave behind a blueprint of his metaphysics that would withstand the test of time, beyond the euphoria of the '60s. He was, after all, a self-described hard-nosed critic of the many charlatans of the New Age; he didn't settle for benign therapies that passed for 'spirituality.' For all the comfort that an uplifting book can bring to our imagination, Thaddeus Golas wanted to write a text that he would like to find for himself, or give to a good friend; information that is solid, and that can be relied upon, even when the Universe fails to sustain all our fondly held beliefs about it. "I am a destroyer of ideas," he proposed, "and whatever I could not destroy is in Love and Pain." Love and Pain is a major work, intricate and subtle. It is an audit of our beliefs, and a wake-up call. It is also revolutionary! In time, it may come to be seen as one of the most important metaphysical books ever written; it is sure, at the very least, to illicit strong reactions from readers.

Year: 2010Pages:

The Cosmic Airdrome

by Thaddeus Golas

Rating: 4.3 ⭐

The Cosmic Airdrome is a Rosetta Stone to The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment.Originally written as a series of annotations to The Guide it contains explanations and further descriptions of its many concepts.The cosmic Airdrome is a book of aphorisms and wisdom that you can open anywhere, to any page. Thaddeus Golas collected his thoughts and diary entries over a period of twenty years.The cream of these philosophical gems, compact ideas, and graceful metaphors, is collected in one elegant volume that can work as a decoder to many of Thaddeus Golas’ ideas and visions as first delivered in The Lazy Mans Guide to Enlightenment. The Cosmic Airdrome is a pocket companion, and friend.Available from www(dot)evenlazier(dot)com

Year: 2010Pages:

The Lazy Man's Life

by Thaddeus Golas

Rating: 4.8 ⭐

The Lazy Man’s Life ~ Autobiography of Thaddeus Golas, is not a book of metaphysics, but at 523 pages (complete with a 16-page leaflet of era color photographs) it covers much of the story of the journey from the Great Depression to the psychedelic ’60s.It is a historical account of the birth of the psychedelic movement in America; a parade of the era’s greatest players: Timothy Leary, Baba Ram Dass, Steven Gaskin, Allen Ginsberg, and all the rest. The book features original poems by Thaddeus Golas, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of The Lazy Mans Guide to Enlightenment, and some definitive answers to the questions: “Was the book channeled?” and “was Thaddeus Golas a mere typist for higher consciousness?”The Lazy Mans Life will leave you feeling like an expert on the psychedelic and metaphysical ’60s. A great read!Available from seed-center(dot)net

Year: 2010Pages:

The lazyman's guide to enlightenment

by Thaddeus Golas

Rating: 3.5 ⭐

This book has something special to say to each person who reads it. It is unique because it allows each person to find his or her own way. There are no strict rules. No daily regimen. Just a handful of simple reminders. It is most definitely a book for everyone. The author came upon the idea for the book back in 1952, when he decided to try to listen to God instead of praying to Him.

Year: 1973Pages: