Category Archives: Psychadelics
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Sadly, I believe that this version is out of print. In a fit of luck, I easily scored a copy of the audio book at my local library. You can buy a copy of this in print in conjunction with a follow-up book called “Heaven and Hell.”
Here’s my take: In general, some very intelligent people have consumed high doses of mescaline and then written some very obscure stories about their trips. Their experience can differ as completely as the observer; “The Doors of Perception” was a version that, with a stream-of-consciousness structure, helps to elucidate the experience in a very “scientific” manner.
Huxley, a man famous for his epiphanies described within his stories, liked to consume LSD and then write about the amazing things he’s realized and discovered while under the influence. He comes from the angle that there are certain things you can do to become enlightened: meditate, practice spiritual behaviors, or do hallucinogenic drugs (et cetera).
Personally, I am on my own quest to find enlightenment. However, between Aldous Huxley and Carlos Castaneda, I’ve come to believe that sometimes the expression of said enlightenment, especially under the influence of mescaline, can become what is a combination of “enlightening concepts” and drug-induced nonsense.
I’m not knocking mescaline, as I have never done it (albeit unlikely that I would because it sounds uber craaa-zzzy); the profundity of mental experience, when written down into words can sometimes be… more beloved for its entertainment value than its spiritual meaningfulness.
However, a significant part of this book that I did find interesting was that Huxley examined the human experience of being absolutely grounded within this present moment. Much of the awe and wonder we experience as children is reproducible through some medium (yoga, meditation, mescaline, etc). I have personally experienced this lucidity on a number of occasions, although I’m not sure that it was under the influence of any of the above mentioned helpers.
Huxley questions the ability of all people to reach this state of awareness.
Ah, fuck. I mean, being present… isn’t that what all of us “enlightenment-seeking” folks want to find? Isn’t that the goal? Whether we need religion or drugs or sex or to reach the extreme focus of eunuch martyrdom, one way or another, we’re seeking to be whole. Complete. Of god. Continue reading
The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda
lthough there is speculation that much of these stories are purely images from within Castaneda’s imagination, there is reason to trust that there really was a Don Juan of the Yaqui natives, and that the stories contained within these pages are truth as Castaneda saw them.
I mean, how much truth do you need when you’re disclosing the intricate functions of extreme peyote (etc) hallucinations? In his mind, this is exactly how he experienced it.
Castaneda was chosen by the gods to be Don Juan’s next pupil. After much awkward, fumbly, Bad-Yoga-Bob style approaches, eventually Don Juan convinces Castaneda that the drugs must like him. In a story that is part ritual ceremony, part sorcery, and part really strange tripping, Castaneda reminds me of why I’ve never had the balls (figuratively speaking of course) to try the more extreme hallucinogens available in nature.
The first part of the book was enjoyable. In fact, I caught myself laughing out loud at several parts. The second half of the book, where Castaneda attempts to analyze the non-sensical processes of the sorcery, however, was sort of a snooze. It’s almost as though he was trying too hard to justify his balls-to-the-wall tripping experiences with some sort of circular logic that explained the whole purpose.
Frankly, I don’t think there was much explanation necessary. He could’ve just said, “A Yaqui Brujah wanted to teach me the way of his magick” and I totally would’ve accepted that.
If you do try to read it yourself, keep this in mind. Don’t read too much into the second half. Hell, you might just be like me in that you decide to skip most of it. But the first half? Definitely worth your while. Continue reading
