In setting up "The Enigma Group" Paris-based, American counselor, lecturer and independent filmmaker Zachary James Miler has called upon his lifelong study and personal experience in examining the unexplained.The former psychotherapist and holistic health counselor has since earliest childhood been interested in all things unusual, paranormal, supernatural and unexplained. He is a Magus and Shaman and is a former member of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis) magical order. His interest in the brain and the mind developed his interest in psychology but long before his work as a therapist he had a fascination for, as William James put it, « the uncharted realms of the human consiousness » which led him to look deeply at the work and life of some Hindu yogis and their remarkable powers.

By the age of twelve he had set up an intensive personal meditation and prayer regime and was reading Paramahansa Yoganandas " Autobiography of a Yogi ". He had also begun studying ritual magick, psychic phenomena and Tae-Kwon-Do (Korean karate) by age 12. Later other interests and fields of study included psychology, parapsychology, chaos magick, ninjitsu, kung fu, isolation tanks, quantum physics, parallel times, fasting, consciousness expansion, astral projection, remote viewing, holistic health, massage, energy work, tantric yoga, brain machines, comparitive religions and more. He felt that only by being a generalist or a Renaissance human could one get a true picture of how the universe works and how individuals could become their ultimate selves. This was and remains his goal. His unique background allows him to separate real phenomena from hallucinations of a psychopathological nature. He has studied psychology and related subjects with many of the pioneers in their fields. His teachers have included Dr. John Lilly, (isolation tank inventor & dolphin communication pioneer) Dr. Will Schutz (encounter group therapy pioneer), Dr. Joan Halifax (anthropologist, study of Shamans), Dr. Carl Rogers, Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Dr. Timothy Leary, Dr. Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), Swami Muktananda, Colin Wilson, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (head of the Sufi Order), and others. In addition to creating his holistic heath center (Center for High-Level Wellness) he has worked at Akron Childrens Hospital, Blick Clinic (for developmentally disabled), Mentor Critical Care, and St George Homes, Berkeley, CA (for adolescent schizophrenics), among others. He counts as interesting life experiences seeing his first and only "very impressive" UFO sighting in 1984 while at Harbin Hot Springs in Northern California and having his first astral projection experience at age ten. Mr. Miller attended The University of Akron then transfered to Antioch College and did his Masters work in psychology and holistic studies at Antioch College/ West, San Francisco, CA under the direction of Dr. Will Schutz. He subsequently dropped out of the PH.D program temporarily. While greatly crediting his studies and his teachers he felt he had reached a point where he wanted to renew his studies outside of academia. He has since completed his Ph.D in Parapsychology and is about to embark upon an advanced degree progarm in Energy Medicine

In 1990, several months after his Mother died, he took a sabbatical and moved to Paris with his then girlfriend, Violaine. For over a year after his move to Paris he had a series of unexplained shamanic-like experiences. These occurences included changes that seemed like the classic Kundalini-rising type experiences he had dealt with before and that have been written about by various yogis. During this time he often felt as though he were experiencing more than one reality and he found many answers in his dreams. He recorded this experience in his article "The Power of The Bear". He began to write other articles and essays and then was moved to develop his film and tv production company. He has continued to live in Paris for the last ten years and the couple now have a son who was born on Halloween, Oct. 31,1999. Miller feels that whether people see him as a therapist, urban shaman, freelance wizard, paranormal investigator, magus or new age spiritual tour guide really doesn't matter. He states « What matters is getting to the truth of any given situation or phenomena and finding real answers and personal solutions for those involved. I feel we are going through a time where more and more people are experiencing things they cannot explain and have no frame of reference for. The veil is lifting. If I can assist them to find answers through personal counseling / investigations or through my film and t.v. work - It makes happy me either way. »

Zachary James Miller * The Enigma Group * 25, rue des Apennins * Paris * France * 75017