ynchronicities happen to me so often, especially when I travel, that I take them to be a part of nature. Such was the case at Pittormie Castle in Scotland, originally the home of the first Duke of Fife in 1593.

Club car at the grounds of Pittormie Castle

The castle and residences lie within a few miles of St. Andrews, the World Capital of golf, a center of pilgrimage and a spiritual site for millions who make the journey. Right next door, one finds the university village of St. Andrews, steeped in religious and esoteric history, going all the way back to when Christianity first arrived in Scotland.

Appropriately, Pittormie serves as the home base of the Eden Club, an elite top-level international private club in which membership is strictly by invitation. The membership is drawn from individuals that belong to other notable private clubs around the world who can prove they share the vision and principals upon which the Eden Club was founded. The Club can refuse membership to anyone it deems unsatisfactory, without providing any reason whatsoever. Upon acceptance, though, its members gain ultra-privileged access to some of the finest golf courses and accommodations across the globe.

Left: View from the lounge area;
Right: Pittormie features an exquisite collection of oil paintings

Throughout the last eight years, the property has been refurbished to standards rarely seen in a Scottish country mansion. The gardens are manicured with the precision of a diamond cutter. Inside, the luxurious castle includes eight en-suite bedrooms and a variety of lounges and rooms enabling club members to relax. Four main dining areas all operate under the supreme guidance of Michelin Star Chef Alan Donald.

Chef Alan Donald presides over the private kitchen

In addition to the castle, the property contains separate two- and three-bedroom residences, between 1,300 and 2,890 square feet, all of which have been furnished to the highest levels. One can purchase a residence in whole or in part, depending upon one's requirements. The maximum is 24 two-week fractions; the minimum is one two-week fraction per apartment. A fulltime, dedicated staff, including an entire fleet of drivers, are available for guests and/or owners.

En-suite bathroom at Pittormie

I was in the bar, stone sober, when enough of a synchronicity emerged to indicate a heightened sense of awareness. With several bottles of whisky in the foreground, I looked up at a Sky News program on the television. A special report discussed which particular hard drugs were considered least harmful and most harmful to humans--heroin, crack cocaine, LSD and ecstasy (see photo). Like a mystical white light, beaming through from another dimension, the imagery emanating from the television stood out amidst the more subdued illumination of the bar.

The white light of the Sky News report on drugs illuminated the bar

There I was, in the home of the Eden Club, mesmerized by the white hue of the drug broadcast. It reminded me of Timothy Leary's blasphemous comedy routine about how the Garden of Eden was the site of the very first drug bust.

Told to him by Aldous Huxley during a psilocybin session in the early '60s, the routine claimed "original sin" was the intelligent use of drugs in the Garden of Eden. The forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was the first controlled substance--that is, God established the first ever food-and-drug regulations. Adam and Eve were forbidden to partake, because if they did, they might actually see beyond good and evil and achieve immortality. But they partook and they got busted. Which explains, in Leary's view, why the church remains hysterically anti-drugs.

That's what I thought while viewing the mystical whiteness transmitting from the Sky News drug report, on the wall, in the bar, at Pittormie Castle, the home of the Eden Club. I have never done any of the drugs mentioned in the program, but I felt like someone somewhere was trying to tell me something. I felt a desire to achieve immortality and I needed to write a story. To me, that would constitute intelligence use of the situation.

Mesmerized by the white light of drugs in the bar at Pittormie

Therefore, I must claim that Pittormie left an indelible impression upon yours truly. Those who desire the highest possible levels of service will relish in the fine style of this lucrative private club. Aside from providing access to world-class golf, shooting, fishing, falconry and lowland deer stalking, the estate seems almost perfect for high-end gatherings, conference offsite events and business meetings. No need to feel sinful at all.

St. Andrews is steeped in esoteric history

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