The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell
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- Create Date：2022-02-21 08:58:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Aldous Huxley
- ISBN：0099458209
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Reviews
Gojee Berry
，
Omul care se întoarce prin Poarta din Zid （experiență psihedelică， trip） nu va fi niciodată același cu cel care a ieșit。 Va fi mai înțelept， dar mai puțin încrezător， mai fericit， dar mai puțin mulțumit de sine， mai dispus să-și mărturisească ignoranța， cu umilință， și mai bine pregătit să înțeleagă legătura dintre cuvinte și lucruri， dintre raționarea sistemică și Misterul insondabil pe care încearcă， pururi zadarnic， să-l priceapă。
Jake Crozier
，
（3）
Timothy Koski
，
I enjoyed the latter half， Heaven and Hell much more than the more well known The Doors of Preception。
Jamie Donovan
，
I feel like I've been deceived by societies retelling of this book。 It's referred to as the pre-eminent account of a mescaline trip - Michael Pollan goes so far as to state it as the basis of all future descriptions of psychedelic experience - the thread that holds all experiences together。 I agree， for roughly 10% of this book。 Huxley describes the infinity of the cords of his trousers， or the innate 'is'ness in a chair - the ability for mescaline to reduce the controlling valve of the brain to I feel like I've been deceived by societies retelling of this book。 It's referred to as the pre-eminent account of a mescaline trip - Michael Pollan goes so far as to state it as the basis of all future descriptions of psychedelic experience - the thread that holds all experiences together。 I agree， for roughly 10% of this book。 Huxley describes the infinity of the cords of his trousers， or the innate 'is'ness in a chair - the ability for mescaline to reduce the controlling valve of the brain to explore a level of consciousness not biologically adaptive or necessary for survival - but deeply spiritual and revealing。 However， the other 90% of the book is a comparison of psychedelic experiences and their relation to Eastern and western art。 Rather than describe his experience， he highlights elements of art that capture the essence of spiritual experience and those that fail to come close。 The focus was too much on the art， rather than the experience。 。。。more
Byron Crenshaw
，
Doors of Perception - 4/5Heaven and Hell - 3。5/5i enjoyed Huxley’s diary of his mescaline experience。 it was level headed though at times it felt overly academic and intellectual， absolutely STACKED with references。 imagine seeing SNL if you haven’t seen any pop culture in 20 years。 i also feel the “Hell” part of Heaven and Hell felt more of an afterthought than an equal or even notable secondary part to the Heaven section。 as a brief end to the essay， it felt less concluding and more OH ONE MOR Doors of Perception - 4/5Heaven and Hell - 3。5/5i enjoyed Huxley’s diary of his mescaline experience。 it was level headed though at times it felt overly academic and intellectual， absolutely STACKED with references。 imagine seeing SNL if you haven’t seen any pop culture in 20 years。 i also feel the “Hell” part of Heaven and Hell felt more of an afterthought than an equal or even notable secondary part to the Heaven section。 as a brief end to the essay， it felt less concluding and more OH ONE MORE THING。✨✨✨here are my favorite quotes i actually remembered to write down :pg 34What is important is less the reason for the experience than the experience itself。46Familiarity breeds contempt， and how to survive is a problem ranging in urgency from the chronically tedious to the excruciating。 58That was the problem — to remain undistracted。 undistracted by the memory of past sins， by imagined pleasure， by the bitter aftertaste of old wrongs and humiliations， by all the fears and hates and cravings that ordinarily eclipse the Light。 67The urge to transcend self-conscious selfhood is， as i have said， a principle appetite of the soul。69The rites of Christianity are incompatible with even religious drunkenness。 This does no harm to the distillers， but is very bad for Christianity。 71In sacramentalizing the use of peyote， the Indians of the Native American Church have done something which is at once psychologically sound and historically respectable。 In the early centuries of Christianity many pagan rites and festivals were baptized， so to say， and made to serve the purposes of the Church。 These jollifications were not particularly edifying; but they assuages a certain psychological hunger and， instead of trying to suppress them， the earlier missionaries had the sense to accept them for what they were， soul-satisfying expressions of fundamental urges， and to incorporate them into the fabric of the new religion。 73To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception， to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and the inner world， not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions， but as they are apprehended， directly and unconditionally， by Mind at Large —this is an experience of inestimable value to everyone and especially to the intellectual。74We must learn how to handle words effectively; but at the same time we must preserve and ， if necessary， intensify our ability to look at the world directly and not through that half opaque medium of concepts， which distorts every given fact into the all together familiar likeness of some generic label or explanatory abstraction。 Literary or scientific， liberal or specialist， all our education is primarily verbal and therefore fails to accomplish what it is supposed to do。 Instead of transforming children into fully developed adults， it turns out students of the natural sciences who are completely unaware of Nature as the primary fact of experience， it inflicts upon the world students of the humanities who know nothing of humanity， their own or anyone else’s。 92We are forever attempting to convert things into signs for the more intelligible abstractions of our own invention。 But in doing so， we rob these things of a great deal of their native thinghood。（heaven and hell）115Familiarity breeds indifference。 … The illumination of a city， for example， was once a rare event， reserved for victories and national holidays， for the canonization of saints and the crowning of kings。 Now it occurs nightly and celebrates the virtues of gin， cigarettes， and toothpaste。 *from Drugs That Shape Men’s Minds*10“In their ceaseless search for self-transcendence， millions of would-be mystics become addicts…” 。。。more
Gaspar
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"In the final stage of egolessness there is an "obscure knowledge" that All is in all-that All is actually each"Even though Huxley dives into the trascendental experience through the easy channel， the fast track， mescalin， ignoring thousands of years of eastern philosophy and spiritual practices， or at least scraping them on the surface to make comparisons， this is a beautiful， entertaining and enlightening read。 There are questions unanswered， and we can't take everything he says to be true or "In the final stage of egolessness there is an "obscure knowledge" that All is in all-that All is actually each"Even though Huxley dives into the trascendental experience through the easy channel， the fast track， mescalin， ignoring thousands of years of eastern philosophy and spiritual practices， or at least scraping them on the surface to make comparisons， this is a beautiful， entertaining and enlightening read。 There are questions unanswered， and we can't take everything he says to be true or universal law， but it's definitely a perspective many people may agree with at least in some aspect。 A hopeful outlook on drugs， trascendence and humanity as a whole。 。。。more
Gabi
，
The Doors of Perception is wonderful， and well worth the read。 I got a bit lost in Heaven and Hell - lost track of what Huxley was trying to say， the writing felt a little too academic， and some of his inferences felt far-fetched。
TapzZ
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I think this is by far the most amazing， readable and abstract book。 Strain on visionary experiences; their religious as well as art background are thoroughly mentioned with very well articulated examples and personages。 This is a highly recommend read for anyone who is interested in visionary poets and artists。 Huxley's capability to form linguistic models around a mescaline experience is solid and sound。 And then to even understand the power of that experience upto such extent that it became a I think this is by far the most amazing， readable and abstract book。 Strain on visionary experiences; their religious as well as art background are thoroughly mentioned with very well articulated examples and personages。 This is a highly recommend read for anyone who is interested in visionary poets and artists。 Huxley's capability to form linguistic models around a mescaline experience is solid and sound。 And then to even understand the power of that experience upto such extent that it became a necessity to convey that to a larger audience。 。。。more
flor d'estufa
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A testimony of Huxley's psychedelic experience and the origin of mescaline。 It dives a bit into human consciousness and what surrounds it。I liked it。Fun fact: Jim Morrison got the name for The Doors from Huxley's book， and Huxley got it from a William Blake poem。 A testimony of Huxley's psychedelic experience and the origin of mescaline。 It dives a bit into human consciousness and what surrounds it。I liked it。Fun fact: Jim Morrison got the name for The Doors from Huxley's book， and Huxley got it from a William Blake poem。 。。。more
Ella
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if the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is， infinite" - william blake if the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is， infinite" - william blake 。。。more
Sammy Tiranno
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An interesting look into mind-altering drugs （especially mescaline）， and the transcendental experiences that occur with their usage。 A bit sluggish at times， but this edition does include a supplemental essay - “Drugs that Shape Men’s Minds” - that should not be ignored for a more complete reading。
Saška Balaban
，
they’re legit just doing drugs idk why did I expect something out of it😅
Nicolas Turrill
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cool trip report， bro。 but actually cooler than the other because this one was written in the 50s。 if you can handle seeing the word "preternatural" more than once per page， you should read this。 cool trip report， bro。 but actually cooler than the other because this one was written in the 50s。 if you can handle seeing the word "preternatural" more than once per page， you should read this。 。。。more
Kb
，
don’t do drugs。 （golden brown by the stranglers is a really nice compliment to this one。 different kinda psychoactive。 Still a vibe。）
Rachel
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 As a companion piece to William James and Michael Pollan， this work has value。 Taken on its own merits， the account of this one dude who takes LSD this one time is … less so。 Like， sure， you found the universe in a grain of sand， or to be more specific in the crease of your trousers， but I join with detractors mentioned in this book by pointing out that this is just a chemical reaction。 It’s not enlightenment that has been worked for in any way。 It’s similar， by all accounts， to the sort of ‘con As a companion piece to William James and Michael Pollan， this work has value。 Taken on its own merits， the account of this one dude who takes LSD this one time is … less so。 Like， sure， you found the universe in a grain of sand， or to be more specific in the crease of your trousers， but I join with detractors mentioned in this book by pointing out that this is just a chemical reaction。 It’s not enlightenment that has been worked for in any way。 It’s similar， by all accounts， to the sort of ‘connection with the universe’ experienced by practitioners of yoga， but with a key difference – it took them years and huge effort to attain that。 As opposed to eating/drinking/sniffing a substance （I can’t remember if Huxley mentioned how he took the mescaline）。 I did find it interesting that the ‘set and setting’ emphasised by modern proponents of therapeutic psychedelics was in evidence here also， although he failed to make the complete connection。 （“That’s the point， I suppose， of the Tibetan ritual – someone sitting there all the time and telling you what’s what。”） He acknowledges the reason why people retreat to their inner worlds by any means possible:“Most men and women lead lives at the worst so painful， at the best so monotonous， poor and limited that the urge to escape， the longing to transcend themselves if only for a few moments， is and has always been one of the principal appetites of the soul。 Art and religion， carnivals and saturnalia， dancing and listening to oratory – all these have served， in H。 G。 Wells’ phrase， as Doors in the Wall。”“The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the currently popular Doors in the Wall。 The only reasonable policy is to open other， better doors in the hope of inducing men and women to exchange their old bad habits for new and less harmful ones。”There was also an effort in the second book， Heaven and Hell， to explain why humans love shiny things， and how impressed we were with spectacles before neon lights stole our imaginations。 “The illumination of a city， for example， was once a rare event， reserved for victories and national holidays， for the canonization of saints and the crowning of kings。 Now it occurs nightly and celebrates the virtues of gin， cigarettes and toothpaste。”（He’s not wrong， just a bit insufferable。） Fundamentally， though， this lacks the psychological rigour of James or the scientific backing of Pollan。 It is what it is – one man narrating his high and giggling。 “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。”Something I find quite useful in trying to explain to people why they notice so many weird things happening in their body after a vaccine – they’ve opened up what used to be shut out。“In the inner world there is neither work nor monotony。 We visit it only in dreams and musings， and its strangeness is such that we never find the same world on two successive occasions。”Sounds creepy。 Continue。“Therefore an experience which is chemically conditioned cannot be an experience of the divine。 But， in one way or another， all our experiences are chemically conditioned， and if we imagine that some of them are purely ‘spiritual，’ purely ‘intellectual，’ purely ‘aesthetic，’ it is merely because we have never troubled to investigate the internal chemical environment at the moment of their occurrence。”But again， he’s failing to appreciate that sometimes the striving is necessary to convince the mind that the state thus achieved was indeed as good as promised。 Witness the failure of anti-depressants to live up to their magical promise when Doing The Work isn’t a concomitant part of the treatment。 Basically， I reject the assertion that it’s a worthy goal to dump all your reality-based problems and sail off on a cloud with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds。 I can see why that might be the only appealing choice， for sure， but it’s not as ultimately gainful as staying here in the dirt and squalor and doing your best。 I think。 。。。more
Harry （otherworldsthanthese）
，
The Doors of Perception is a great example of a brilliantly intriguing concept shrouded and ruined by over-pretentious prose。 Once Huxley gets his point across， everything which follows it is dull and repetitive。 The descriptions of his fascination with the texture of fabrics is fairly interesting， but that lasts about a paragraph。 Out of the 50 pages which make up this essay， there were about three interesting ones。Heaven and Hell gives the most intense "go girl give us nothing" energy I have e The Doors of Perception is a great example of a brilliantly intriguing concept shrouded and ruined by over-pretentious prose。 Once Huxley gets his point across， everything which follows it is dull and repetitive。 The descriptions of his fascination with the texture of fabrics is fairly interesting， but that lasts about a paragraph。 Out of the 50 pages which make up this essay， there were about three interesting ones。Heaven and Hell gives the most intense "go girl give us nothing" energy I have ever seen。The eight attached Appendixes are even more useless than the human appendix。 Enough said。 。。。more
Zoe Swain
，
The Doors of Perception was nothing like I expected it to be。 First of all， it is much harder to read than I thought it would be。 Aldous Huxley uses words like “unconceptualized，” “sacramental，” “circumvent，” and “Pickwickian” on the regular。 He also has a good grasp on the science behind drug usage。 He spends the first twelve pages talking about how chemicals like mescaline affect the brain。 Third， Huxley seems to have a positive opinion of psychedelics， which is odd because anyone who has read The Doors of Perception was nothing like I expected it to be。 First of all， it is much harder to read than I thought it would be。 Aldous Huxley uses words like “unconceptualized，” “sacramental，” “circumvent，” and “Pickwickian” on the regular。 He also has a good grasp on the science behind drug usage。 He spends the first twelve pages talking about how chemicals like mescaline affect the brain。 Third， Huxley seems to have a positive opinion of psychedelics， which is odd because anyone who has read A Brave New World would think that he is anti-drug。 Fourth， he spends a lot of time talking about paintings。 If I didn’t know any better， I would guess that he was an art critic， not a novelist。 Fifth， he is well-versed in Eastern mythology。 He knows about Sat Chit Ananda， an obscure concept in Hindu philosophy， as well as Bodhisattvas， arhats， and nirvana。 。。。more
Marty Swo
，
try acid
Chance Sigafoos
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Doors of perception was very interesting and vibrant。 It was an eloquent descriptive experience of the psychedelic journey。 I found Heaven and Hell was disorganized and found difficulty understanding the point of it。
Arthur Heymans
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An amazing account of the mescaline experience and of how filtered regular day to day experience is。
Rose Chaplin
，
defiantly was a difficult read for me！ I struggled with the dense academic style and sheer amount of references which quite a few went over my head。 It was very interesting however and I will reread in a few years and hopefully will be more in tune to the cultural references without having to look up everything！！
Ricardo Olave Montecinos
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Me cambió la vida。
Stuart Craig
，
As interesting as it is to read about Aldous Huxleys mescaline trips， it is a real struggle to get through page after page of abstract， meandering ideas。 In spite of being a short book， I’m calling it a day after completing only 50 pages。
Cormac Greig
，
An academic analysis of psychedelia。 The effects of psychedelics turning every day objects into mystifying works of art that remind our subconscious of the greater power it knows to be true。 'Heaven and Hell' goes on to discuss that these places are within our own head and that psychedelics are just one method of transporting our mind there。 Also some philosophy and art history。 Good book。 "。。。the man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never quite be the same as the man who went ou An academic analysis of psychedelia。 The effects of psychedelics turning every day objects into mystifying works of art that remind our subconscious of the greater power it knows to be true。 'Heaven and Hell' goes on to discuss that these places are within our own head and that psychedelics are just one method of transporting our mind there。 Also some philosophy and art history。 Good book。 "。。。the man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never quite be the same as the man who went out。 He will be wiser but less cockspur， happier but less self-satisfied， humbler in acknowledging his ignorance。。。" "The nature of the mind is such that the sinner who repents and makes an act of faith in a higher power is more likely to have a blissful visionary experience than the self-satisfied pillar of society with his righteous indignations， his anxiety about possessions and pretensions， his ingrained habits of blaming， despising and condemning。" 。。。more
Julie Mallozzi
，
I listened to the DoP audiobook today on a long car trip。 I love Huxley's writing in general （also The Art of Seeing and of course Brave New World） and the reader was good。 I appreciated how Huxley uses his personal experience of taking mescaline as a way of investigating the meaning of life， of the divine， of language。。。 of the "is-ness" of things。。。 I listened to the DoP audiobook today on a long car trip。 I love Huxley's writing in general （also The Art of Seeing and of course Brave New World） and the reader was good。 I appreciated how Huxley uses his personal experience of taking mescaline as a way of investigating the meaning of life， of the divine， of language。。。 of the "is-ness" of things。。。 。。。more
Issy Stephens
，
This book has been in my reading pile for so long， ever since I was recommended it by an indie boy in high school as a ‘profound read。’ It’s fair to say I agree with a review online that said ‘Huxley is overrated。’ The book was only 123 pages， it was by no means an arduous task， I struggled through some parts and was easily distracted by other things。 However， between long mescalin fuelled ramblings， I found some very poetic and beautiful work （some pictured）。 My favourite part of the book was A This book has been in my reading pile for so long， ever since I was recommended it by an indie boy in high school as a ‘profound read。’ It’s fair to say I agree with a review online that said ‘Huxley is overrated。’ The book was only 123 pages， it was by no means an arduous task， I struggled through some parts and was easily distracted by other things。 However， between long mescalin fuelled ramblings， I found some very poetic and beautiful work （some pictured）。 My favourite part of the book was Appendix II， which talked about the history of body and brain chemistry due to different diets， and how society has altered their views of visionaries because of this。 I would recommend this book to a friend， as although I don’t believe my life has been forever altered by it， I am glad I can say I’ve read it。 。。。more
Krishanu Sanyal
，
A Book that opens the doors for you， always！
Benjamin Brown
，
An interesting look into Huxley's experience with mescaline and the "doors" that are available to us when we are under the psychedelic compound。 Those that dare to enter this door get to experience the highs of a schizophrenic and rarely the hell that comes with。 It is possible to reach the depths of hell on the drug， this can be avoided if one's health （both mental and physical） are in order before hand。 An interesting look into Huxley's experience with mescaline and the "doors" that are available to us when we are under the psychedelic compound。 Those that dare to enter this door get to experience the highs of a schizophrenic and rarely the hell that comes with。 It is possible to reach the depths of hell on the drug， this can be avoided if one's health （both mental and physical） are in order before hand。 。。。more
Adam Rosén
，
Huxley trippar på meskalin och återger sin upplevelse i Doors of Perception。 Han beskriver sin trip på ett pretentiöst och torrt sätt。 Tripp-rapporter på Flashback är mer underhållande。Heaven And Hell är intellektuell rappakalja om psykedelians koppling mellan religion， kultur och filosofi。 Skippade 1/3
A Need to Read
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