Here he tells how he was introduced to Rolling Thunder by Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. That was the beginning of a friendship that lasted for twenty years. During their time together Rolling Thunder exhibited an uncanny ability to communicate with animals and even, it seemed, directly with nature. With help from the Grateful Dead, Rolling Thunder established a small growth center, called Meta Tantay, where he offered workshops on native American healing arts and on his philosophy. Krippner notes that Rolling Thunder felt close to Asian philosophies such as Taoism.