This is, by the way, exactly my story. My literary career fell apart just as I started having these profound spiritual experiences, which enriched my life in a new way. I thought: ‘oh, cool, this is my fun new interest, this is the new thing I’ll build my identity around.’ And I had developed a sense of pride around it—I’d become a consciousness explorer, this was a new type of guy, a new way I could evaluate myself, situate myself socially, earn affirmation from a different crowd.