Jeffrey J. Kripal (Ph. D., University of Chicago, 1993) is the J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University, Houston, Texas. His areas of interest include the comparative erotics and ethics of mystical literature, American countercultural translations of Asian religions, and the history of Western esotericism from ancient gnosticism to the New Age. Jeff is the author of five books and over fifty essays. His most recent books include Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion (Chicago, 2007) and Authors of the Impossible: The Paranormal and the Sacred (Chicago, 2010). He is presently working on a documentary film project on the last book with XL Films of Richmond, Texas.