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Summary: Credible Argument for Responsible Use of Hallucinogens
Review: In the first half of the book, DOORS OF PERCEPTION--originally a separate volume--Huxley offers a cogent and erudite argument for the use hallucinogens (specifically, mescaline) as a means for opening up the thinking mind to new ideas and perceptions, or even as a method for jumpstarting human creativity in the common man. Not only does he offer compelling historical precedents and sound medical research, but he also reveals positive details about his own personal experimentation with the drug. As is always the case with Huxley's essays, his various hypotheses are very articulately expressed and not easily dismissed.The second part of the book, HEAVEN AND HELL--also originally published separately--Huxley introduces the idea that spiritual insight and personal revelation can also be achieved through the use of hallucinogens. (By the time he had written this volume, Huxley had added LSD to his psychedelic repertoire.) While just as articulately written and researched as the first volume, the idea that religious insight can be gained through drugs may offend some readers (theists and atheists alike), and the premise seems odd and contrived or expedient (was he trying to gain support of the clergy?) coming from a generally non-theist thinker-philosopher such as Huxley. Nevertheless, it is still thought-provoking reading for both professionals and amateurs interested in the positive potential of mind-altering drugs.
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Summary: Huxley shows us a few of the uncounted paths to Infinity
Review: In the path to spiritual enlightenment, few works become more neccessary a read than those of Aldous Huxley. His views and ideas are timeless, as much as they are creative.. The doors he opens, or perhaps merely unlocks and leaves us to open, left me in awe of the possibilities he presented to me. These two books allow those who are prepared, to explore the most mysterious and least traveled territory known to us all; the human mind.
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Summary: triptoe through the two lips
Review: Is it any coincidence that if Aldous Huxley's surname began with B instead of H, you could rearrange the letters of his name to form the words doubly sexual?
The answer is probably, yes.
You see, in just the same way, you could rearrange the letters of Paris Hilton's name to spell I Shot Marilyn. Granted, you have to replace the P with an M and squeeze in a sneaky little y, but there you have it. Spooky, no?
And if you rearrange the letters of MaryKateandAshleyOlsenIncdotcom the results are a truly frightening message that would make even John Wayne wet his pants, and which I fear would be too much for the delicate sensibilities of the gentle reader.
What is my point? Good question. Let me explain...
Words. They're just letters. And sometimes those letters will make other words. And sometimes those other words will mean things. And sometimes they won't.
Just like when you take drugs. Sometimes your mind will rearrange the symbols around us into new and interesting configurations... and then sometimes you'll just end up curled up on the end of your bed for 12 hours because if you step off the floor will swallow you and you'll disappear forever.
So in conclusion, I think it was a little irresponsible of Mr Huxley, despite the saucy connotations hidden in his name, to tempt innocent young things into taking drugs. There are plenty of wholesome, non-drug related activities they could be tempted into.
Aldous Huxley completely redeemed himself, however, in his later years, by penning such wonderful family musicals as Cats, Starlight Express and Evita. Good stuff!
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Summary: Huxley's Wild Ride
Review: It is from this book that Jim Morrison's band's name was taken. Hopefully, that should be enough to garner the opening of pages.
If not, then the idea of a book that, at its essence, is an acid trip should draw at least a certain audience. Huxley's cutting edge ideas move well within the bound of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, but his presentation is fearless. The man does what few of his time dared to do...question the solidarity of human perspective. His vision is dynamic and psychadelic, and should be explored by anyone willing to peek through the keyhole of their own door to perception. Hopefully, some will open up.
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Summary: a visionary classic
Review: It's been a long time since I've touched any illicit drug. I remember in my teens I went through my Rimbaud phase of experimentation to see if I could write poetry under pot. But as with drunkenness, creative writing while you're high has little or no good effect. Often it's not even possible to create in such a state. The notion that you'll get all these visions and reach a higher creative reality is all, unfortunately, bullsh*t. However, in very moderate doses, drugs and alcohol can help stimulate an artist's creativity. "The Doors of Perception" was the result of Aldous Huxley taking an hallucinogenic called mescaline to see what would happen to him. He sat down and closed his eyes, waiting for it to take effect. When he next opened his eyes, his perception of everything was completely altered. Even the flowers in the vase were different. Huxley referred to this mystical experience as a "sacramental vision of reality" and "the miracle, moment by moment, of naked reality." David Rehak
author of "Love and Madness"
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Summary: Doors of perception
Review: Mr Huxly delivers a succint, utilitarian, and utterly descriptive account, of his attempt to unburden himself of humanity's mandatory rational restriveness. While often being guilty of referring superfluosly to artists, poets and the like, he more than compensates with an unrivaled genius, and command of the written word, that is simply a pleasure to savour. His vast knowledge on myriad subjects was revealed to the reader in all its grandiose splendour, with a shrewd and insightful profundity, to rival even that of the great Dostoyevsky. He states "Most people, most of the time, know only what comes through the reducing valve and is consecrated as genuinely real by the local language. Certain persons, however, seem to be born with a kind of by-pass that circumvents the reducing valve". This utilitarian usage of the word permeates this work, like the flashes of light, and beauty of flannel that it descibes, and is surely a reference to Plato's notion that the mind works as a calming device to the natural instincts of the body. Also, by refusing to be restricted to a Western discourse, he illumanites a far greater area of his experiment, which in its own right is a recondite philosophical statement. This book was plainly stated written by a genius.
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Summary: Transcending self...principal appetite of the soul.
Review: On that fateful day, 4 May 1953, Aldous Huxley, novelist, philosopher, poet and world famous intellectual, drank a glass of water mixed with silvery white mescalin. As Humphrey Osmond, a Canadian psychiatrist, specializing in schizophrenia, wrote, "It was a delicious May morning in Hollywood, no hint of smog to make the eyes smart, not too hot." Osmond had supplied the drug to Huxley for the experiment, and acted as 'observing recorder' of the historical event. Huxley had high hopes for the experience, and believed that the drug would in fact admit him into the world that Blake painted and tried to describe in his poetry; and also possibly transport him into the mystical world of Meister Eckhart. The reality of the situation exceeded his hopes - as Huxley wrote in ~The Doors of Perception~, "I was seeing what Adam had seen on the morning of his creation - the miracle, moment by moment, of naked existence." ~The Doors of Perception~ is an important commentary from a man of rationality and science, attempting to investigate what some call 'Intuitive knowledge'. As a researcher and writer, he knew second hand these reported heightened states of awareness, had observed and dimly 'felt' these states through painting, architecture and art in general, but wanted desperately to experience them first hand. The book describes his feelings, perceptions and thoughts about the experiment. Huxley writes that one of our basic universal human needs is to transcend our, at times, banal consciousness, "...the urge to transcend self conscious self-hood is...a principal appetite of the soul." (P.54) We have been doing it and continue to do it since time immemorial. Our methods, however, particularly in modern times, has been destructive. He writes, "When, for whatever reason, men and women fail to transcend themselves by means of worship, good works and spiritual exercises, they are apt to resort to religion's chemical surrogates - alcohol and 'goof-pills' in the modern West, alcohol and opium in the East, hashish in the Mohammedan world, alcohol and marijuana in Central America..." (P.54) Unfortunately these sad and destructive alternatives have mounted since this writing, but the central message is the same. He goes on to say, "Ideally, everyone should be able to find self-transcendence in some form of pure or applied religion." But, for the most part, "...the hungry sheep look up and are not fed." ~Heaven and Hell~ is a sequel to ~The Doors of Perception~ describing or more so reflecting on the visionary experience through various means. Huxley also explores the understandings of other minds in their perceptions and cosmological notions expressed through art, and why they are impelled to express these notions. He also describes the dark side to spiritual insight of the divine nature: the dark, empty journey of the soul when overwhelmed by such experiences, manifested in mental illness such as schizophrenia. This important book was first published in 1954, and has become a classic that continues to communicate the plight and experince of the human condition: concise and easy to read - an absolute must.
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Summary: Exploration of the Mind at Large
Review: One of the most fundamental things to keep in mind when reading this work is that Huxley is no telling the general populous to go find the nearest meth dealer but rather to remain open to the possibilities of other perceptions. Additionally, this book explores the various perceptions of the mind asking the reader to be more open minded in his/her experiences.
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Summary: Don't Believe the Hype
Review: Since this book was written, millions of people have taken...., mescaline, mushroooms, whatever. If you've never tried it, chances are you know somebody who has, and they could probably give you a far better story. Huxley's book is boring as hell. He goes on and on with endless descriptions of some work of art (which unless you are an art major, you've never seen) and is constantly referring to artist and people whom you've probably never heard of. Most the time, I had no idea what this guy was talking about. Maybe my drug addled brain just has a hard time with such high-falutin concepts such as 'Gesualdo's madrigals' . The rest is just a lot of big talk. Read it if you must. People will think your're hip and that's worth two stars I suppose.
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Summary: A Groundbreaking Work
Review: The only reason I gave this book only 4 stars instead of five is that the second essay, _Heaven and Hell_, struck me as rather weak. Taken by itself, _Doors of Perception_ is definitely a 5 star work. This book is a watershed moment in the psychedelic literature movement. It is beautifully written, with a clear and understandable style. Huxley has a particular knack for knowing when he has come up against the unknowable, and is able to recognize the unknowable for what it really is. He sort of maps out the edges of the unknowable, highlighting what is within the grasp of our knowledge, while defining a clear boundary demarcating the realms of knowledge that can only become known in another life. This, of course, was the book that inspired the great philosopher Terrance McKenna, and after reading it, you might also become inspired to try to become the next great philosopher. _Doors of Perception_ is notable in that it triggers a desire for knowledge rather than simply expounding data. This is definitely a good thing, and the reader can't help but be infected with a love for the astonishment and wonder that philosophy can provide.
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