In the Spirit: the Life and Work of Lex Hixon

WBAI and In the Spirit

An undated photograph of Lex Hixon, wearing WBAI studio headphones, circa 1970s. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 23, Folder 12. Divinity Library Special Collections 

 

In 1971, Paul Gorman, a former Yale classmate of Hixon’s, was working at WBAI, the New York City Pacifica radio station. New Yorkers were familiar with WBAI for the War Summary, nightly in-depth coverage of the Vietnam War, as well as more avant-garde programming, such as the four and half day marathon reading of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Gorman, interested in creating a program that would focus on religion and spirituality, approached Hixon to host a weekly show on Sunday mornings, titled In the Spirit. 

WBAI was hesitant at first. Founded by members of the secular left wing and former communists, religion was not a subject station members were interested in. “But eventually, the station agreed to try out my idea that religious life is not about what we believe, or what we do – it's who we are. It’s how we engage in everyday issues. It’s marriage, it’s childrearing, it’s work. The way to approach religion and spirituality is through the personal and transformative,” Gorman wrote. 

Dear Listener/ Sponsors: For eight years over WBAI, my program, In the Spirit has been a regular Sunday morning space for search, discussion and celebration concerning that dimension of human nature (and of the universe itself) which can be called "spiritual". The program has not just been an expression of my personal subjective search but has also accurately reflected a widely shared mood in our culture. In the Spirit has documented the growing mood of openness to spiritual quest, both through the mystical practices of sacred traditions and the rich possibilities uncovered by the human potential movement. The movement of inner quest during the 70's was subject toas many aberrations as the other social movements which emerged around the same time. Some of what was foolish' found its way onto In the Spirit but also a great deal that was of authentic value. Often a powerfully moving atmosphere was felt by New Yorkers on Sunday mornings as we spoke live over WBAI with a broad spectrum of cultural/spiritual figures from Allan Watts to Mother Theresa of Calcutta, from Ram Dass to the Dalai Lama, from Shlomo Carlebach to Daniel Berrigan. Now the program is transmuting for the new decade (as all of us must). Called Body/ Mind/ Spirit, it leaves the warmly protected space of Sunday mornings to be broadcast every afternoon, Monday through Friday, from 1 :00 until, 2:00. The program is subtitled, "A New Integration for the 80's" will document the new spiritual activism and mature commitment which concerns itself not only with mystical experiences for the individual but also with the healing, integration and illumination of the society and the planet. We are no longer focusing only on the inner quest but on the discovery in all fields of the mystery, the irreducible value, and even the sacredness of body/ mind/spirit wherever it is found on the planet or in the universe. It is not a separate five senses, separate reasoning faculty or a separate soul, but a living whole which we all are. The deeper experience of the wholeness is a source both of spontaneous joy and a profound sense of responsibility. Join me as we begin to explore the wholeness of body/mind/spirit with guests from all fields who are socially and spiritually committed, open-minded, loving and insightful. And if you want to know where I'm coming from, Doubleday has published in paperback a book of my essays called Coming Home: The Experience of Enlightenment m Sacred Traditions. in friendship, LEX HIXON

The WBAI Folio, a publication with the radio show's monthly schedule printed inside, from March 1980. This page shows a letter to listeners from Hixon, detailing the changes to his radio show, In the Spirit. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 7. Divinity Library Special Collections

In the Spirit WBAI Radio. 99.5 FM 100 mile radius of New York City Sundays from 11:00am to 12:30pm Exploring the possibilities of meditation and spiritaul exepereince in all their forms. Produced by Lex Hixon WBAI 359 E. 62 St New York City Cassette tapes and information IN THE SPIRIT 37 Crosby Street New York New York, 10013, (212)966-0554

A business card from Hixon's radio show, In the Spirit, circa 1970s. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 7. Divinity Library Special Collections
 

Dear Listener and Potential Listener: Enclosed is a partial list of the programs we have produced for "In the Spirit" over the last four years. This will give you some idea of the scope and depth of our endeavor. This program, unique in the New York area and the first of its kind in the entire country, has been made possible by the financial contributions of loyal listeners to listener-sponsored radio station WBAI in New York City. "In the Spirit" has created its own family of listeners and we are approaching you to help expand our listenership. After four years of service to those who wish to explore the field of spiritual practice, the program has proven itself to be one of the more valuable human resources in the New York area. We are not aligned with any particular spiritual group or tradition, and we are intensely interested in exploring all the authentic possibilities. Please pass this along to an interested friend. With love and friendship, Lex Hixon Partial list of the programs available on cassette tapes. Descriptive brochure of all programs available: Salik Media, Inc. 50 W. 97 St., #10A, New York City, 10025. Khalsa String Band Performs Live and Speaks about Music Arica Awareness Techniques Mary Bailey of the Arcane School Peter Caddy, Founder of Find horn Sri Chinmoy, Hindu Meditation Master Pir Vilayat Khan, Sufi Meditation Master Happy Birthday Ramakrishna: Music and Praise Lama Kalu Rinpoche Gives Buddhist Refuge Ceremony On Padre Pio the Stigmatist Conversation and Chanting with Swami Satchidananda Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach Teaches and Sings Thakur, A Bengali Scientist and Mystic Zen Master Eido Roshi Speaks and Chants Christmas Readings from New Testament and Quaker Writings Trungpa Rinpoche, Tibetan Meditation Master Brother David and Friends Sing, Talk, and Celebrate Communion Conversation with Lama Geshe Wangyal Indira Danks Plays and Sings her own Spiritual Songs Gene Keiffer on Gopi Krishna Guru Bawa, Sufi Meditation Master Swami Muktananda, Hindu Meditation Master Udhar Pinto, Secretary to the Mother of Aurobindo Ashram William Irwin Thompson, Spiritual Intellectual Alan Watts Speaks about his own Autobiography On Me her Baba, Parsi Spiritual Master The "Trees," Musical Group and Christian Commune Munisri Chittrabhanu, Jain Meditation Master Disciples of Gurdjieff: J.G. Bennett and Pierre Elliot Eric Pace, Minister of Religious Science Dr. Patricia Carrington, Psychotherapist and T.M. Meditator WBAI Radio, 99.5 FM, is a non-profit, listener- supported, non-commercial, and unconventional 24- hour-a-day radio station which transmits from the Empire State Building to a 60-100 mile radius of New York City. Tax-deductible subscriptions of $30 a year ($18 for students or unemployed persons) may be sent to: Pacifica-WBAI, Box 12345, Church Street Station, New York, New York. KEEP " IN THE SPIRIT" ON THE AIR All communication, In The Spirit, 37 Crosby St., New York, New York 10013, (212) 966-0554

Pamphlet from In the Spirit, detailing programs available on tape for purchase, circa 1970s. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 7. Divinity Library Special Collections
 

Gorman was looking for an interviewer who could connect deeply with guests and translate the experiences discussed on In the Spirit for those listening at home. In Hixon, Gorman found his host. Hixon spoke with religious leaders from every global tradition and innovators from the burgeoning new age. He also took calls from listeners and shared his experiences from his personal spiritual past with thousands of listeners from 1971 to 1984. Hixon described his endeavor as “fieldwork in the newly emerging spiritual consciousness.” 


Sheila Hixon described Hixon’s work on the radio as a “working laboratory, in which to make extended inquiries into the varied spiritual traditions and to continue to immerse himself in those multiple traditions.” Hixon was able to share these ideas across a community of listeners, many of whom supported WBAI solely because of Hixon’s show. These letters, highlighted below, sent to Hixon and WBAI illustrate the profound impact of In the Spirit on WBAI’s listeners. 

70 Haven Avenue New York, N.Y. 10032 February 2, 1977 A comment on the "experiment" the other Tuesday morning, which I listened to because I heard you mention it on the previous Sunday's "In the Spirit." I thought it was great, something I need, rather than filling my mind with all the latest disasters while trying to get ready for going to work. Around 10:45 that morning, something happened in the office that gave me that falling-apart, I-can't-take-it feeling, and just then I happened to glance at my watch and thought: "Well, I stayed calm until 11 - that's something." . A positive view, which helped me get over my reaction. I am writing this to support the idea and with the hope that it can be done more often, or regularly perhaps. I listen to "In the Spirit" and although I can't understand much of it, I think it is such a good idea to have a station promoting being rather than doing . I hope that many other people will write in letters like this , so you will know you have an audience wanting and needing the kind of awareness you are trying to encourage, so that such programs and such awareness may become more accessible to us who need it but find it difficult or impossible to get into on our own, and also difficult or impossible to join the various groups who are trying to do the same in various ways. I agree with you, from my experience, that there are countless people out here who want such programs, need them, and would welcome them. I hope you hear from others so that you can go ahead with your plans. E.M. Sheehan

Letter from E.M. Sheehan, dated February 2nd, 1977, in support of In the Spirit. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 3. Divinity Library Special Collections
 

August 19, 1974 Ms . Marnie Mueller, Program Director WBAI 359 East 62 Street New York, New York 10021 Re: Let IN THE SPIRIT Live Dear Ms . Mueller: Sometime after 12:30 p.m. yesterday I was alarmed to hear a woman say that IN THE SPIRIT may be on its way out. I shudder to think what that would mean for 'BAI and for all of us. I support WBAI for my own reasons, some of which are perhaps your reasons, OUR reasons. I want the station and all its staff to grow stronger, healthier, and to do better than survive. Whatever your reasons and the station's reasons may be for feeling that IN THE SPIRIT is one of the programs which must be cut, I am sure if you will consider a bit longer and a bit more deeply, you will find it to be an unsound decision, and you will let this fine, fine program live and grow and inspire US further. And may the living Spirit in you tell you all this is so. LEX HIXON , as well, should continue to produce IN THE SPIRIT. He knows, truly knows, Ms ., Mueller, what "it's" all about; yes, he knows his job. He is one of 'BAI's treasures. Let Lex and IN THE SPIRIT continue to shine. If this letter has even in some tiny way helped you to make the right decision regarding the above-mentioned program, I'm thankful. I wish you, Ms. Mueller every success in your key position at WBAI and al fulfillment in your own indwelling Spirit. Sincere best wishes, Prabha c/o Lanni Residence 3182 Benjamin road Oceanside, New York 11572

Letter from Prabha, dated August 19, 1974. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 7. Divinity Library Special Collections

Global Concepts, INC Miss Patricia Neighmond, Program Director WBAI Radio 505 Eighth Avenue New York, New York March 3, 1980 Dear Miss Neighmond: I am happy to know that Lex Hixon's program, "In the Spirit," will now be on the air five days a week instead of only one. But at the same time I am very disappointed that it can no longer be heard on Sundays. As you know, so many of us cannot tune in to WBAI during business hours. It is only on the weekends that we are able to enjoy the station. Frankly, programs such as "In the Spirit" are needed now more than ever. In a world in which crime, violence and fear are becoming a way of life for millions more each year, it is really necessary that the spiritual side of man be nourished in every possible way. I fully appreciate all that WBAI is trying to do. The decade ahead will present an awesome challenge. A large percentage of New Yorkers, I feel, will find it increasingly difficult to maintain their mental well-being. Tremendous pressures will build up over the next few years. Lex Hixon has provided a much needed touchstone of sanity and rational discourse for many of us. Isn't just good, common sense that he be given the opportunity to continue broadcasting on the one day each week when the maximum number of his friends can hear him? Sincerely yours, Gene Kieffer, President

Letter from Gene Kieffer, dated March 3rd, 1980. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 1, Folder 3. Divinity Library Special Collections

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