The Doors Of Perception & Heaven And Hell

By Aldous Huxley

Long before the psychedelic drug movement of the 1960s, Aldous Huxley wrote about his mind-expanding experiences taking mescaline and participating in ecstatic meditation in his essays The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell. In The Doors of Perception, Huxley blends Eastern mysticism with scientific experimentation to produce one of the most influential works on the effects of hallucinatory drugs on the human psyche. Heaven and Hell focuses on how science, art, religion, literature, and psychoactive drugs can expand the everyday view of reality and offer a more profound grasp of the human experience.

Huxley’s essays The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell ushered in a whole new generation of counter-culture icons such as Jackson Pollock, John Cage, Timothy Leary and Jim Morrison. In fact, Morrison’s band name The Doors was inspired by The Doors of Perception.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781443434492

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) is the author of the classic novels Brave New World, Island, Eyeless in Gaza, and The Genius and the Goddess, as well as such critically acclaimed nonfiction works as The Perennial Philosophy and The Doors of Perception. Born in Surrey, England, and educated at Oxford, he died in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews for The Doors Of Perception & Heaven And Hell

[sashame-485567 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

most interesting part is def the connections made bw (1) various mystical (non)conceptions of splendorous emptiness, (2) the xp of mescaline, and (3) the aesthetic meanings of material ornaments in religious art

[jasoncomely-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Incredible. The Doors of Perception is like a zen haiku turned up to 11! Heaven and Hell is equally as fascinating (and scholarly). Wish I'd read this years ago.

[joeydag · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think I read this when I was in college years ago. I don't remember much but it was interesting material.

[rajivc_18 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second time that I read this book. The first time was when I was in college, and we were very open to all things psychedelic. At that time we were all reading the books of Carlos Castaneda, and were fascinated by anything and everything that had to do with mescalin and peyote.When I read the book at that time, I read it as an endorsement for the use of mescalin. However, times changed, and when I read it again, I read it as a rather erudite writing on the use of the drug, as well as the experience. Some of that earlier, innocent, magic was missing in this re-reading of the book.Having said that, it is a very good book. The appendices are well worth the read, and while he does reduce some mystical experiences to the level of an increased amount of carbon dioxide in the body, I don't think that he debunks the actual experience. This is a remarkable book, by a remarkable author.

[felixelhombre · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this around the time I first experienced hallucinogens for myself in the late 60s. This book had a profound effect on my thinking at the time. I really should re-read it and find out if I see it differently all these years later. What do you think? Ha!

[curtisclennon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reads like no other book - mesmerising! The title incidently, is where the band 'The Doors' took their name from.

[hectigo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an interesting read, especially in the reference frame of more modern research on human perception. Our knowledge of the inner workings of the brain has expanded considerably since Huxley's days, but he's got the basic idea narrowed down surprisingly well. It's quite a testament to how reality can be explored by looking into within.What especially stands out in this book is the quality of the writing. Huxley has extraordinary ability to convey exotic internal experiences in text, and it's no wonder the book gained quite a following during the rise of the hippie movement. I disagree with the spiritual implications Huxley drew from his experiences, but the parallels to how artists perceive the world are doubly interesting. Transporting, indeed!

[uh8myzen_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Aldous Huxley will always be one of my favourite writers as he has a way of capturing my imagination in a unique way. I read Brave New World when I was about fourteen years old and was blown away. I have since reread it a few times, and each time I am equally amazed.I found this book in my dad's library when I was eighteen, and took to it immediately. I could not help but be swept up by Huxley's writing style, his intellectual examination of the drugs effects and the theories he applies to his observations. There is no doubt that his experiences had a profound effect on him as it did many other intellectuals and doctors of the time, and his arguments are profoundly compelling.As an aside, when I discussed the book with my father, I learned that he had worked with the psychiatrist Humphry Osmond at the Weyburn Mental Hospital in Saskatchewan during early experimentation with LSD. At the time, Dr. Osmond believed that the mescaline "trip" was similar to the early stages of schizophrenia and so was given research grants by the Saskatchewan government to conduct trials (not to be confused with the CIA funded experimentation of the same time that were conducted in Montreal). My father was a Doctor and he assisted in the research.Here's the interesting part and why my dad had a copy of the book. Dr. Osmond administered the mescaline to Aldous Huxley at the Weyburn Mental Hospital that he writes about in the book... my dad actually met one of my literary heros and had an incidental role in the writing of one of the most important books of the 20th century.Cool huh?

[guhlitz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This particular reading had my mind space cornered in several areas of subjective reality. Huxley's illucidating writing was defined and very subjective of course from his own experience with the ontological experiences of perception. Subjectivity begets subjectivity, and the beauty which is invoked within this text is provacative beyond reasonable doubt, and in my opinion unparralled by any other pschedellic laureate from this particular era. Huxley was well into his fifties when Albert Hoffman's LSD came to market; leading me to believe Aldous had quite the foundation of intellect and knowledge to extrapolate upon. And the greatest Door of Perception...Huxley's wife administering LSD directly into his blood, while he lay dying in the hospital, sending him to the heavens on Nov. 22, 1963....the day John F. Kennedy was assasinated...."People are strange, when you're a Stranger"

[andyray_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As did AA co-founder Bill Wilson and former senator Eugene MacCarthy and Ram Doss and manyh others, Huxley writes of the experience of ingesting mescalinl, also known as peyote, a drug that southwest American natives have used for eons as a spiritual aid. he explained things that put its proper use into place for me. When I was raging and thinking hurtful things, if I had dropped that or LSD then I would have had a "bad trip," but now that I have a serene heart and a loving soul, I want to have some; i want the experience.

[carlym_35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Huxley's theory is that the mind takes in all sorts of incredible experiences but that it then filters those (through what he calls the "reducing valve") into what we're conscious of. In the first part of the book, The Doors of Perception, he experiments with peyote. He has a psychiatrist present and records everything he says, so the account of his actions and experiences is presumably reliable. This part of the book was highly entertaining. He is fascinated by details like chair legs, and he sees cosmic significance in them. He also advocates allowing the use of peyote over alcohol and tobacco because he thinks it has fewer downsides (and because he thinks people will always seek some kind of drug-induced escape from their lives). In the second part of the book, Heaven and Hell, he talks about "transporting" artwork--stained glass, jewels, and certain kinds of paintings. He thinks that the colors and ways of representing landscapes are similar to what people experience when they have visions of an "other world" or heaven, and we like these because they give us a glimpse of that world. He also argues that while for most visionaries the visions are blissful, for some, like schizophrenics, visions of this other world are terrifying and hellish. At the end, he includes a couple of short sections on the various ways to have visions--carbon dioxide, strobe lights, fasting, etc. I thought his comments on fasting were really interesting. He speculates that people in earlier times had more religious visions because they were malnourished and engaged in more religious fasting, and the lack of vitamins affects brain chemistry enough that the "reducing valve" is opened to allow for visionary experiences. I read the more scientific sections with skepticism because I'm not sure Huxley is a reliable source, but the book is nonetheless interesting and often entertaining.

[tony_landis_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Some very deep and though provoking ideas and observations.

[juliana_t_10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed Huxley's perspective as a research subject experiencing the effects of mescalin for the first time. Also enjoyed the description of art/artists and how Huxley sees art history as connected to the visionary experience of a 'mescalin taker.'

[sarahtakash · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was good- but pretty matter-of-fact. I felt as though he was just recounting what he did. It was interesting, but nothing novel or inspirational for me- probably because I had already known.

[jwcs81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Huxley's "The Doors of Perception" is one of the most interesting books i've encountered. Obviously, its notable for its account of an experiment with the drug mescalin, found in peyote. The fundamental notion of the work is that the mind acts, in its most normal and evolved state, as a "reducing valve." The world of perception is way too intense for one mind to encounter so it seeks to reduce experiences as a need for survival. A drug induced experience allows for the opening of said "reducing valve" ushering in opportunities to see things "isness" and "suchness." I found it particularly interesting that Huxleys suggested that the increase in drug use is in direct relationship to the lack of "transcendance" provided by organized religion. A shortcoming Huxley thinks the church should be addressing. I found this book to be interesting, informative, and challenging. All symptoms of a good read.

[drwhy_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Huxley's fascinating account of LSD experimentation in the early 1950's.......Title of his book was taken as a nameby the Rock group, "The Doors of Perception"

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

anyone who has interest in the future and everyone who has experimented with acid or psychedelic drugs in general must this book (preferably before the drugs)

[autumnc_12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Careful- the Doors of Perception is a life-changer.

[janepriceestrada · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This small book is extraordinary. It made me see the world in a new way. Although the main plot is about drug use the idea that artists see the world in a different way and are able to express that through their medium is beautiful and true.

[hennis_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read about how a great writer experiences mescalin. Second part (heaven and hell), I found less interesting. Appendices are interesting again..

[vvilliam_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting read, although very lacking in parts. I enjoyed Doors of Perception quite a bit, and found Huxley's insights onto mystic visions and their relation to religion insightful. He also does a nice job giving the feeling of experiencing mescalin with him. Heave and Hell, however, was very dissappointing. I felt that most of his claims were ill founded and that he made several leaps in logic that weren't valid (like religious singing's purpose is to expel oxygen to create visions). Huxley is also very much an art scholar, so familiarity with various art styles is a must. The appendixes are worth a read as well. I would recommend this book to someone interested in how visions/drug experiences are reflected in art and the social conscience.

[vyode_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"the doors..." changed the way i look at things [ like black moon (movie) ]. "heaven hell" brings to mind jewels. i am thankful for the former.

[pancakekiller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

could huxley get any better? i think not.