I finally got the opportunity to talk to my dear friend Paul Newell from Dallas, TX. Paul is one of the people who introduced me to the Awareness Techniques back in the day, along with the late Miguel Paredes. Paul was the person I worked with the most on the techniques, and he and I even talked to Diane Swygard at one point in the mid-1980's. I was able to get the details on how he learned of the Awareness Techniques.
It was an ad in the back of Beyond Magazine, which was similar to the still in publication (!) Fate magazine. (One of the few references I found online for this long out of print mag was a collection of issues of Fate and Beyond on Ebay with the heading 'Weird,, Unknown, UFO, Psychic", that says it all.) In the classifieds in the back was an ad titled "Develop Super Cosmic Consciousness." Who could resist? Not Paul, he sent what he remembered as $11 and received copies of instructions for all 3 Awareness Techniques. The ad was placed by someone in, small world, Dallas by the name of Roy Webb, who had gotten permission from William Swygard to promote the technique. Paul and Miguel worked together running past lives, and when the opportunity came up for Miguel to visit family in Miami, Florida, where Swygard was still alive and working, Miguel was sent on a mission. And Miguel did meet Swygard, and even attend some of his informal sessions at his house. Unfortunately, Miguel Paredes passed away just as I was getting settled in Asheville so I was unable to talk to him myself. And Paul said that the enigmatic Miguel wouldn't talk about his experiences, so Paul and I were comparing notes on what Miguel had told us over the years. Not much, but Swygard may have had a used bookstore in the Miami area and Diane Swygard remarried after her husband passed away.
All of the books and tapes that I have (some of which I have digitized and will be posting) came to me because Paul invested in them, a precious resource. Miguel, you are missed, and Paul, my deepest appreciation for introducing me to this work.