Bio - On the Origin of Being

Jenny Powers, PhD

Jenny Powers has embodied many incarnations in her life: an athlete, a scientist, a wife, a mom, and a writer. Each one led her closer to discovering her genuine self. Collegiate basketball trained her to push her body beyond physical limits. Earning her PhD in Immunology taught her to push her mind past mental barriers and soak in how research works. Becoming a mom caused a tectonic shift in her identity, as she learned what is truly important in life, which included finally pursuing her passion for writing.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to combine many of her “incarnations” into one purpose, Jenny researched and wrote On the Origin of Being. She is continually toppled over in awe by the research and discovery of human nature and humbled by the study of our amazing ancestors. She lives in Colorado with her human and furry family.

“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.”

– Charles Darwin

Luke Comer

Luke Comer held the vision for On the Origin of Being and conceptualized this entire project. Luke is an independent producer, writer, and director who owns all of his own projects and works in different mediums. He was the author of the novel, Yoke of Wind; the creator and director of the multimedia production, The Portal, which toured the country for several years; the producer and director of the Arise Music and Arts Festival that took place in Colorado for ten years; and the originator and conceptualizer for the book, On the Origin of Being. He is currently in production on his next book, Sapient: How to Design the Optimum Meal. In the background, he also works on another series of books called The First Supper, subtitled: How Evolution Designed You to Eat. He is also one of the original investors in Meow Wolf.

He also works towards providing “freedom of assembly” in the state of Colorado for artistic and alternative cultures that, he knows from experience, are persecuted by the government without cause, other than their own prejudice.

He was born and raised in small towns in Alabama where he ran around with his buddies, building forts, racing bikes, throwing mudpies, and always playing football or other games. He loved books, drew pictures, and played drums in rock and roll bands. Later, he was shipped to prep school where he felt imprisoned and bided his time reading books. He soon dropped out, traveled through Southeast Asia for many months, and soon thereafter attended Oberlin College, where he studied as many things as he could. After college, he ran 30-day, therapeutic wilderness courses for adjudicated teenagers from Philly for several years. After some time in the corporate world, he moved to Boulder, CO, where he supported his climbing and skiing habit with his own restaurant, called “Native,” serving organic and nourishing fast food. In his late 20s and early 30s, he faced a crisis in life where he suffered from insomnia, senseless anxiety, and other maladies—but then dedicated himself to healing, experimenting with many different modalities: yoga, psychotherapy, psychedelics, nutrition, trance dancing, and festival culture.

He always engaged in multiple forms of outdoor sports and adventures, attaining upper levels of expertise in white-water paddling, rock climbing, and snow skiing—as well as multiple ocean sports, including windsurfing and kitesurfing.

He splits his time between Boulder, Colorado; Cabarete, Dominican Republic; and New York City.