Walt Baptiste
Nov 12, 1975
Dear Wali Ali,
Have received your letter requesting our relationship with Samuel Lewis for your data toward biography.
Sam Lewis was one of our students for several years. When he first came to us he was old, stiff and unhealthy, full of philosophy but no practical mystical reality. He did not believe in or practiced meditation or exercise, breathing or subtle concentration. He was all intellect and criticized nearly everyone, most of the time. I insisted that he exercise with dumbbells and barbells and taught him practical yoga, subtle breathing and meditation and brought him to new understanding through inner light and experiences.
He had theories on the elements my wife Magaña developed for him as a dance form and she gave him a new body that could move and dance—the old man in him went and he was a new person with a new heart. He was a part of our concert performing group. He wanted desperately to inform others of what he knew but wherever he went no one would take him seriously—finally, to help him, my wife and I arranged some public lectures for him at our centre for which he was overjoyed as we were the first to arrange and give him support. He did have something to give which was unique to him.
He went to Japan, India and Egypt where he met two different mystic adepts on two different times who told him that Walt Baptiste was his teacher and that he still had work to be done as devotee when he returned. Magaña gave him much time and Sam took daily classes with her as with me. His dance evolved as a result of the dances Magaña gave him.
Sam never did pay for his classes though he always said that he would.
During periods of my absence, Sam began to form meetings for meditation of his own amongst our group which meditations went negative and some unhappy occurrences and dissensions took place and students came to me in remorse and complaint—he caused dissensions, and so I sent him away from the Teachings.
Thereafter on his own, yet using what he had been given, he made his way for which we are proud of him—even though he did not give credit.
Walt Baptiste