Origins of the Tarot

A lifelong student of East-West philosophy and contemplation, Dai Léon has served for twenty-five years as a cultural emissary between modern and traditional, scientific and spiritual domains. He promotes the rich benefits of holistic and interdisciplinary studies and practices with respect to perennial wisdom traditions throughout the world. His primary retreat is on Waiheke Island, New Zealand.Dai began his studies of esoteric ritual, yoga, alchemy, and martial arts at the age of eight in France, where he was raised as a youngster. As a Catholic altar boy, he realized that he was destined to a life of spiritual awareness and service. He was subsequently schooled in America as a young mathematics savant during the 1960s and ’70s, when esoteric knowledge, meditation, yoga, and body movement were mixing together, flowering into a postmodern mélange of beauty and wisdom. From that heady mix of cultural alchemy emerged new paradigms of science and a re-appreciation for traditional nondual understandings of philosophy. Lao Tzu met Plotinus and Einstein, and the world has never been the same since.After studying the philosophies and spiritual ways of the great traditions at the University of Illinois, Dai was invited to directly study under the Venerable Gia-fu Feng, head of Stillpoint Foundation in Colorado. Adept Feng had been a co-founder of Esalen Institute at Big Sur, California, and was renowned as a founding father of the East-West movement, merging nondual traditions from China to Spain to America. In the spring of 1978, Sifu (indicating “monk” or “teacher”) Dai Sealed Heart-Mind with Master Feng (a traditional method of Lineage or Dharma Transmission). Following this, it was requested that he teach the Tao that is none other than the One of Heraclitus, Plotinus, and Western wisdom through the ages.Dai has authored several books and interactive media titles. He has served as a Director of multicultural, educational, interactive companies for twenty-five years. Since 1994 he has advised industry and governmental bodies on the socio-cultural impact of financial, wellness, and interactive technologies. Through many forms of media, with a particular love and focus upon that of the ecstatic body-mind, Dai has taught in a traditional yet postmodern way. His flowing mantra is to empower, enlighten, and entertain.