22. Aldous Huxley on Altered States of Consciousness

In this episode we unpack British novelist and public intellectual Aldous Huxley's 1954 essay "The Doors of Perception."

This essay explores...

• Huxley's experience on Mescalin
• The Reducing Valve Theory of Consciousness
• The human desire to transcend self-conscious self-hood
• The ethics of the contemplative life

Links to Reading & Articles mentioned

The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

General Resonance Theory (paper)

Entropic Brain Hypothesis (paper)

Pivotal Mental States (paper)

Nested Observer Windows (paper)

The Bhagavad Gita translation by Eknath Easwaran

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

*note* reading is not required to enjoy this episode!

Host: Zach Stehura UnpackingIdeas.com

Guest: Nikki Johnson linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-johnson-free-thinker/

Theme Music: Polyenso

Timestamps

00:00:00 introduction

00:03:05 background about Huxley’s trip

00:05:58 the challenge of trying to communicate direct experience

00:11:30 Nikki's multi-sphere model of consciousness

00:14:28 the various terms for “God”

00:16:36 the reducing-valve theory of consciousness

00:27:52 types of people who filter out less primary consciousness

00:28:09 The Artist

00:31:26 The Schizophrenic

00:35:40 The Genius

00:36:33 the terror of witnessing God directly

00:43:06 the morality of the contemplative life

00:46:32 Huxley’s conception of enlightenment

00:48:46 the desire for self-transcendence

00:50:45 the war on psychedelics

00:54:27 integrating lessons from past lives

00:56:15 how a psychedelic experience changes a person’s character

00:57:23 wrapping up/outro