Doors Of Perception, The

Great read

Aldous Huxley takes you, the reader, on a trip to explore the myriad possibilities that lie unexplored deep within, without you having to use Mescaline for it.

Book is great just loved it

good book

Pages were ripped up.

Classic piece!

good book

One afternoon in Los Angeles in 1953, Aldous Huxley took mescalin, the active hallucinogen from a sacred cactus known to Mexicans as peyotl. The Doors of Perception is his account of his experience that day.Perhaps best known for Brave New World, which sits alongside George Orwell's 1984 as two of the great dystopian novels written in English, Huxley took a keen interest in the human species, evolution and neuroscience. In particular, it was his belief that the workings of the brain, which had evolved over many millions of years with the primary instinct to ensure survival, mitigated against the true experience of the world around us. Thus it is not psychoactive substances that distort our perceptions of reality; rather, it is evolution that has, for perfectly sound reasons, eliminated elements of reality that we do not need for survival. It is the human mind as a filter of reality.In Huxley's telling, mescalin opened doors that otherwise block our view of the richness of the boundless plains of reality all around us. In that afternoon in LA, he experienced the suspension of time and space, and the melting away of the ego. He talks about artists and their heightened ability to perceive things. He talks about the experiences of schizophrenics, portraying their moments not only of despair, but also of unadulterated joy. He talks about the profundity of religious experience, in particular of the philosophical divergence between the Eastern and Western views of the world. In each case, they provide access to a reality we do not otherwise perceive or need for any practical purpose.Not the easiest read, perhaps because of a certain grandiosity in Huxley’s prose, but it is worthwhile to end with a quote: "The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge, by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment, and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful."

Aldous Huxley's name might well have faded into history but for one event. This short book charts that turning point. The significance and experience he recorded taking the psychoactive chemical mescaline. His aim being to expand his consciousness and record the result. It became an experiment as important as early investigations into anaesthesia. And like those, something of a risk given that he used an obscure drug. The effect on him came as a series of labile progressive revelations. The importance of what he experienced came not with his impression, but the effect on others. A respectable writer became influential as a pioneer. He became a key figure for those who would follow a path to inner enlightenment. This flourished into the sixties with the emergence of psychedelic art and music. Never before had such experimentation become rife as a mass subculture. It venerated Huxley as a visionary. Yet his warnings about addiction and other associated problems went unheeded. The very act of taking mescaline lifted Huxley into the timeless cultural pantheon. The augments against Huxley came with the criticism that his experiences were unique. Personal only to him and about as important as dreams. And furthermore that they had little significance. The book remains interesting because it freezes a time and a moment. It gives us a lucid and readable viewpoint on a subject on the verge of becoming part of mainstream culture. It will remain an essential book.

To have had the thought at different points in my life, that I should read 'The Doors of Perception', it's a good thing to have finally gotten hold of the book. What surprised me was how short it is. It took about 2 hours to read it and yet although it seems more like an essay written around 1953, Aldous Huxley's writing is so intellectual and astute, that I have to say it made me laugh out loud and also I liked the fact that part of it becomes a good footnote to how ahead of his time, Mr. Huxley was. However I would not say it's essential reading, not as much as Brave New World is, which is a far superior novel. Still worth reading 'The Doors of Perception' if you want to know more about Mescalin and it's effects on the mind.

A very intriguing read in which Huxley discusses the psychedelic experience. The book is very wordy and profound, yet manages to capture meaning which I could relate to. He communicates his visions and feelings whilst 'tripping' on substances and introduces the term 'isness' to decribe that which just is! Recommended!

It's hard to believe how an account of a psychedelic experience can be so dull. It's OK but I'm baffled why this book has become so highly rated and inspired other artists. I guess it was simply because there was so little information about these things around at the time. The early part of the second section "Heaven and Hell" was promising but then wandered off into irrelevance. I did enjoy some of the perspectives in the appendices, but overall not memorable.