The Doors of Perception: And Heaven and Hell |
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Aldous Huxley
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Pages: 144 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0099458209
Pub: Vintage
Pub date: 2004-09-02
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4754
Reader Reviews:
One of the most intelligent looks into the human mind there is (5/5 people found this helpful)
First I'd like to say this is a very hard books to read. Huxley is talking about a subject which is outside of our own perception; he does it with great eloquence and clarity but it may seem impenetrable for some, and certainly is no easy read, even at 100 pages.
It's eye opening, and gave me a whole new perception on religion, art, history, etc. Ultimately, it explains that visionary experience (the kind that mescalin induces), is a naturally occuring mechanism when the body is under stress that has disappeared. Read it, believe it and take the implications of that to be whatever you think it is.
reader (7/11 people found this helpful)
A truly inspiring book, every human should be issued with it at birth. I cant really describe it because, it wouldnt really explain it well, just read it......thats all, just read it. I promise it will make you feel something new. Widen your valve......
A glimpse of reality? (15/15 people found this helpful)
The Doors of Perception is the account of Aldous Huxley's experience with the hallucinogenic drug mescalin. It is full of incredible insights into human nature and apprehensions of an ultimate reality. Though his mystic experience was drug-induced, it was nonetheless genuin and astonishing. It was on that Spring morning in 1953 that Aldous came to a complete understanding of exactly what Blake had meant when he said "If men's doors of perception were cleansed he would see everything as it is, infinite". This account is beautifully written (compiled by Huxley after the event) with the aid of his recording, thus ensuring nothing he said was lost.
To quote from the blurb: "Hugely influential, still bristling with a sense of excitement and discovery, these intense and illuminating writings remain the most fascinating accounts of the visionary experience ever written."
At only 50 pages in length (excluding the later-added 'Heaven and Hell'), The Doors of Perception is an amazing glimpse into what Huxley called 'Otherness'; "To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness." I urge anyone interested by what's been said to pick up a copy (the Vintage Classic edition is your best buy) of this unique trip.
Sublime reading (10/11 people found this helpful)
It is only short but (for me) was quite a difficult book to read. The descriptions Huxley gives are enthralling, insightful and original. The subject matter of art and drugs are not to everyone's tastes but the way it is written allows you to experience these in your own personal way.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Health, Family & Lifestyle -> Psychology & Psychiatry -> Specific Topics -> Conscious & Unconscious
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> Authors, A-Z -> H -> Huxley, Aldous
Books -> Subjects -> Society, Politics & Philosophy -> Psychology Textbooks
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
uk-shops -> Education Resources -> Books -> Psychology & Psychiatry -> Specific Topics -> Conscious & Unconscious