Mind altering books

[Snail]

I was reading Arch Druid Report earlier, and one of the commenters mentioned Gurdjieff. It made me remember a big yellow book I brought once by Colin Wilson about the Paranormal. I thought it would just be about Ghosts and stuff, but it included all sorts of other things. Like relativity, and 'outsiders', mystics, and doomed romantics who glimpsed perfection. People like Ouspensky, and other strange philosophers who experienced the world in a different way to most. As an eleven year old, this sort of stuff blew my mind.

For me, it was an incredibly exciting book and changed the way I thought about myself and others, and the world around me.

The Arch Druid also recently talked about some people 'getting' peak oil, while others don't. I think this book helped me 'get' peak oil. I was wondering if other people have experienced a similar thing and read a book which significantly altered their neurones in some way. If so, what?

[Ballard]

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance is quite good in this regard

[Snail]

Thanks Ballard. I recognise the title but would never have thought of reading it before. The online reviews sound interesting, and its 2nd hand price is cheap, so i'm gonna order it tomorrow. Cheers.

[biffvernon]

zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance is quite good in this regard

+1 A classic.

[Ludwig]

"Hidden Depths: The Story of Hypnosis" by Robin Waterfield.

"Quantum Reality" by Nick Herbert.

"Crossing the Rubicon" by Michael Ruppert.

"Uri Geller: Magician or Mystic?" by Jonathan Margolis. Seriously. It surprised me.

Plus any number of novels.

[UndercoverElephant]

People like Ouspensky, and other strange philosophers who experienced the world in a different way to most. As an eleven year old, this sort of stuff blew my mind.

Eleven year olds are not supposed to read books by Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. Most adults are incapable of understanding them.

The Arch Druid also recently talked about some people 'getting' peak oil, while others don't. I think this book helped me 'get' peak oil. I was wondering if other people have experienced a similar thing and read a book which significantly altered their neurones in some way. If so, what?

Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson.

And for the perfect mix of half-mysticism half-peak-oil, Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann.

[Snail]

The used prices are so cheap I decided to order all of them : ) , even the Uri Geller one (could never make my mind up about'm). Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully they'll help clear some clouds and give me some interesting reads during this insomniac period. Thanks.

[Ludwig]

The used prices are so cheap I decided to order all of them : ) , even the Uri Geller one (could never make my mind up about'm).

I still can't entirely, either, but much of the strangeness in the book doesn't involve him. Margolis digs deep in investigating not just Geller's life, but also the phenomenon of telekinesis, and it leads him to some interesting places.

I wouldn't normally have read it, but Derren Brown (surprisingly) recommended it on his old Web site. And it's well-written.

[eatyourveg]

This topic got me thinking, and I realised that I could narrow down to just 3 books the ones that were most formative for me personally, read as a teenager.

Narziss and Goldmund - Herman Hesse

On the Road - Jack Kerouac

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson

It's no bloody wonder I had no trouble accepting PO.

[Snail]

It's no bloody wonder I had no trouble accepting PO

It's been a while since i've read his work, but Gurdjieff I think would've called it developing a magnetic centre. It's interesting that an often accidental encounter can alter your outlook, and leave you more open to ideas later in life. Hopefully the internet generation, with their relatively easy childhood and free access to information and ideas, will produce significantly more people open to peak oil, climate change etc. And maybe with a larger number of these people in existence, substantial change at a societal level will occur.

[sweat]

David Bohm - Thoughts as a System

[PS_RalphW]

'Surely you're joking, Mr Feynman'

Taught me that scientists were humans, not machines. That there is no one way of 'doing' science.

I've read a lot of the 'mind altering' stuff many moons ago, but it was still 'fringe'.

When I was at primary school I had a teacher who said you had to check things out for yourself, not to accept 'facts' as presented. He gave the example of Von Danegan.

I checked him out, and he was in fact a fraud. Taught me that even teachers get it wrong!

[Ludwig]

When I was at primary school I had a teacher who said you had to check things out for yourself, not to accept 'facts' as presented. He gave the example of Von Danegan.

I checked him out, and he was in fact a fraud. Taught me that even teachers get it wrong!

That doesn't mean his advice was wrong though!

[biffvernon]

In fact they may have been a great teacher, but you didn't spot the double bluff.

My best teacher was certainly the one that deliberately demonstrated that teachers should not be believed. Primary observation always trumps secondary accounts.