Martin W. Ball, Ph.D., is a writer, independent publisher, nondual guide and consultant, visionary artist, and musician currently living in Ashland Oregon.  In the spring of 2009 Martin underwent a profound energetic opening and transformation - the product of intensive work with entheogenic medicines and a year of profound self-exploration.  The result is Martin's articulation of what he calls the "Entheological Paradigm," a Grand Unified Theory of all of reality from God to the direct experience of each human being, which he characterizes as an articulation of his view on “radical nonduality.”  His approach is unique in that he sees the tension between duality and nonduality not as a spiritual or religious issue, but as an energetic issue that can best be addressed through the intentional use of powerful entheogens, such as 5-MeO-DMT.  As such, his approach is thoroughly practical, straight-forward, and free of metaphysics, speculation, and attachment to spiritual or religious ideologies and mythologies.  The result is a view of the nature of reality and the self that is challenging, liberating, and powerfully transformative, pointing to the true nature of being and personal responsibility as an energetic being.

    Martin earned his B.A. at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1994 where he studied Philosophy and Religious Studies. From there he went to graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies in 2000 with an emphasis on Native American traditions, Philosophy of Science and Religion, and the Phenomenology of Mystical and Shamanic Experience, as well as the role of entheogens in religious and spiritual experience. For his Ph.D. dissertation, Martin performed fieldwork at the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico where he studied with a number of medicine people and researched the Mescalero Mountain Spirit tradition.

    After completing graduate school and being frustrated with not finding work in his field, Martin began writing fiction, which resulted in the four-book fantasy epic, Tales of Aurduin, with the first book in the series, Orobai's Vision, written in 2002. The series was completed in 2005 with the final installment, The Fifth Temple. It was then that Martin had the idea that he'd included much of what he'd learned from psilocybin mushrooms and Salvia divinorum in the series, and shortly thereafter produced Mushroom Wisdom, which was published in December of 2006. Following that came Sage Spirit and the POD release of Tales of Aurduin. His best-known books are his 2009 publication, Being Human, and his 2017 release, Entheogenic Liberation.

    It was with the release of Mushroom Wisdom that Martin started his career as a public advocate for entheogenic reform and education. Since then, he has been a self-published author and public speaker and has become known internationally as an authority on 5-MeO-DMT and for his uncompromising nondual take on entheogenic experience.

    Currently, Martin works as an adjunct professor teaching Religious Studies at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, where he is also active on the local music and art scene. In 2008 he started hosting "The Entheogenic Evolution" podcast, and since 2014 has been organizer for the annual "Exploring Psychedelics" conference at SOU, held in the spring and open to the public in Ashland.

    Martin continues to share his nondual approach to entheogens and awakening via his books, music, artwork, articles, and interviews on numerous podcasts, YouTube channels, print and online media and magazines, and through presentations at local and international conferences on entheogens and psychedelics. As a prolific author, he is continually producing new books, articles, and essays, and is an avid creator of art and music.