The Library of Consciousness
The Library
of Consciousness
of Consciousness
A sufficient number of people will have integrated this state of global electronic selfhood that it will be irreversible.
Consciousness is the state of being aware of and responsive to one’s surroundings. It involves having subjective experiences like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, self-awareness, memories, and an understanding of the world. Consciousness emerges from complex interactions between different areas of the brain such as the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to higher order thinking, and the thalamus, which regulates arousal and wakefulness. While we do not fully understand the neural correlates of consciousness, advances in neuroscience and imaging techniques have given us glimpses into brain activity during conscious experiences.
There are lively debates around questions pertaining to the nature of consciousness. Some argue that consciousness is produced by computation in brain networks while others propose that quantum effects may play a role. There are also philosophical perspectives on whether consciousness can be replicated in artificial systems. Overall, consciousness remains a fascinating scientific and philosophical puzzle. Understanding how consciousness arises from matter is considered by some to be the ultimate challenge of our age. Further interdisciplinary research integrating neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, and philosophy will shed more light on this profound mystery of subjective experience.
A Beautiful Loop
An Active Inference Theory of Consciousness
Laukkonen and Chandaria propose that consciousness arises from a recursive brain process involving three key elements: a reality model, competitive inferences reducing uncertainty, and a self-aware feedback loop. This framework explains various states of awareness, including meditation, psychedelic experiences, and minimal consciousness. It also offers insights into artificial intelligence by connecting awareness to self-reinforcing predictions. The authors’ theory suggests that consciousness emerges when the brain’s reality model becomes self-referential, creating a “knowing itself” phenomenon. This recursive process underlies different levels of conscious experience and potentially informs AI development.
A Calendar for the Goddess
(Ecology of Souls)
Beginning with a comparison of reason and logic to intuition, Terence works his way towards exploring the idea of a purposeful goal in the universe which evolution is progressing towards, and humanity's role in this journey. Next, in a nod to the solstice which occurred at the time of the lecture, he plays with the idea of a precessional calendar and argues that it would remind us of the one constant in life, which is flux. Q&A topics include future social myths, morphogenesis, globalization, and psychedelic encounters with the dead.
A Clarification
Reflections on Two Converse Forms of Spirit
Teilhard de Chardin identifies two distinct spiritual paths: unity through “relaxation” (Eastern pantheism) where individual egos dissolve into a common foundation, and unity through “tension” (Western mysticism) where individuals become more themselves while converging toward a universal center. He argues that cosmic evolution favors the latter path, where true union differentiates rather than fuses, and calls for a new Western mysticism that combines personalizing love with cosmic totalization.
A Crisis in Consciousness
Terence argues that a solution to our collective planetary crisis has emerged, and it lies in a commitment to shamanistic, feminized, cybernetic, and caring forms of being—to take what each of us is in our very best moments and extend it to fill whole lifetimes.
A Masterclass from the Pioneer of Artificial Intelligence
Jürgen Schmidhuber shares his insights on the evolution and future of AI. He discusses the development of self-improving AI systems, the concept of artificial curiosity, and the potential for machines to achieve creativity akin to humans. Schmidhuber also explores the implications of advanced AI on society, emphasizing the importance of aligning AI goals with human values to ensure beneficial outcomes. He envisions a future where AI contributes positively to various fields, including science, art, and technology.
A Mental Threshold Across Our Path
From Cosmos to Cosmogenesis
Teilhard unveils a universe not static but alive—cosmogenesis, a great unfolding where matter rises toward spirit, complexity begets consciousness, and humanity discovers itself as evolution aware of itself. In this vision, evil is byproduct, individuality deepens in unity, and God becomes the animating center: love driving the cosmos toward its destined convergence.
A Note on Progress
A cosmic battle rages between those who proclaim “We are moving!” and the immobilists who insist “Nothing changes.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin passionately argues that the universe progresses through mankind’s collective evolution of consciousness. For him, Christianity’s future lies in recognizing this biological genesis unfolding—the cosmos physically realizing its psychic fulfillment through humanity striving to form one united Body of Christ.
A Phenomenon of Counter-Evolution in Human Biology
or the Existential Fear
Teilhard explores the “existential fear” that grips modern humans as we confront the vastness of the universe and our seeming insignificance within it. He believes this fear stems from our growing awareness of cosmic immensity, our isolation, and the threat of depersonalization. However, he proposes a radical shift in perspective: by viewing the universe as convergent rather than chaotic, we can transform our terror into hope. This “convergent universe” is one that’s moving towards greater complexity and consciousness, ultimately leading to a unifying center that gives our existence profound meaning and purpose.
Adventures of Ideas
A mind-bending odyssey through the realms of human thought and civilization, Whitehead’s Adventures of Ideas dissects the evolution of ideas, from ancient Greece to modern times, unveiling the intricate tapestry of philosophical concepts that shape our world. He unravels the interplay between science, philosophy, and culture, challenging readers to embark on an intellectual adventure like no other.
All Else Is Bondage
Non-Volitional Living
These thirty-four powerful essays, based on Taoist and Buddhist thought, constitute a guide to what the author calls “non-volitional living”—the ancient understanding that our efforts to grasp our true nature are futile. Wei Wu Wei explains these venerable spiritual traditions in the context of modern experience, using wit and considerable precision to convey their profound insight into the very nature of existence.
An Ocean of Ideas
Terence traces the force of novelty through cosmic evolution, from the birth of the universe to the emergence of life, culture and technology. He speculates wildly about humanity's fate, musing on virtual worlds, interstellar travel, and miniaturization into fairy folk. These phantasmagoric visions reflect the inspirational power of psychedelics to unlock imagination. McKenna emphasizes open-ended thinking to envision new futures, warning against rigid ideology and fundamentalism. Ultimately he explores how psychedelic experiences can catalyze novel perspectives on existence itself.
At Home in the Universe
At Home in the Universe explores the profound role of human consciousness in the shaping of reality. Wheeler delves into quantum physics, cosmology, and philosophy, proposing that observers play a critical part in the universe's existence. He introduces ideas like "participatory anthropic principle" and "it from bit," suggesting that reality is information-based and that the act of observation helps bring the universe into being. The book blends science with deep philosophical inquiry.
Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen
A classic essay on the many ways in which Western cultures have misunderstood and misapplied the essence of this profound and subtle understanding of life. Provides a core understanding of what Zen isn’t, which significantly contributes to an appreciation of the value of Zen in one’s life. A short but highly rewarding read.
Beyond Success
Ram Dass investigates the effect of success upon our individual consciousnesses and how one may see beyond mere egocentric opportunism.
Can Thought See Itself?
Brockwood Park 1981, Part 3
J. Krishnamurti challenges conventional education by questioning the nature of individual and collective consciousness. He examines how memory, thought, and the pursuit of becoming govern our lives, urging us to embrace transformation beyond intellectual activity. Through probing dialogue on the limits of traditional learning, Krishnamurti inspires a deep exploration of self-awareness, freedom, and authentic change.
Buddhism as Dialogue
Zen: the art of catching yourself in a cosmic game of tag! Watts unveils how Zen masters craftily set up double-binds, pushing seekers to chase their tails in pursuit of authenticity. It’s a merry-go-round of “be spontaneous!” and “don’t try!” until—pop!—the illusion of a separate self bursts like a soap bubble. In this whimsical dance of paradoxes, Watts reveals that the ultimate punchline of Zen is realizing there was never anyone there to get the joke in the first place!
Build Your Own Damn Wagon
(Laws and Freedom, Habits and Novelty)
"Do not watch, do not consume," implores Terence McKenna, inviting us on a thought-provoking journey to reclaim our humanness. By building our own conceptual wagons, rather than riding ready-made vehicles of meaning, we can travel along unique paths of critical thinking. Once within our own virtual worlds, the wonder of our distinctive minds will be open for discovery.
Can Digital Computers Think?
Ever heard of a computer that thinks? Alan Turing explored this mind-blowing idea, arguing that any machine, like our brains, can be imitated by a computer if programmed correctly. While we don't have the know-how or technology yet, Turing believed that creating thinking machines could unlock the secrets of our own minds and lead to computers mimicking human behavior so well, it would be hard to tell them apart from real people.
Centrology
An Essay in a Dialectic of Union
Teilhard proposes a guiding hidden rule present in the universe, leading everything from simplicity to complexity and consciousness. He suggests that as cosmic particles evolve, they become more complex and conscious, ultimately converging toward a unifying Omega point. This vision offers a fresh perspective on the universe, blending science and philosophy to reveal a grand, interconnected cosmic journey.
Clarity of Mind
Watts reveals a simple truth to his audience at the University of California: the mind's incessant chatter is the root of all that ails a mortal's soul. By silencing its din one can get to know life's mystery.
Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown
A Mountain Journal
Over the course of nineteen essays, Alan Watts ruminates on the philosophy of nature, ecology, aesthetics, religion, and metaphysics. Assembled in the form of a mountain journal, written during a retreat in the foothills of Mount Tamalpais in California, Cloud-Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown is Watts’ meditation on the art of feeling out and following the watercourse way of nature, known in Chinese as the Tao. Embracing a form of contemplative meditation that allows us to stop analyzing our experiences and start living into them, the book explores themes such as the natural world, established religion, race relations, karma and reincarnation, astrology and tantric yoga, the nature of ecstasy, and much more.
Collective Intelligence
Mankind's Emerging World in Cyberspace
The number of travelers along the information superhighway is increasing at a rate of ten percent a month. How will this communications revolution affect our culture and society? Though awed by their potential, we’ve feared computers as agents of the further alienation of modern man: they take away our jobs, minimize direct human contact, even shake our faith in the unique power of the human brain. Pierre Lévy believes, however, that rather than creating a society where machines rule man, the technology of cyberspace will have a humanizing influence on us, and foster the emergence of a “collective intelligence”—a meeting of minds on the Internet—that will validate the contributions of the individual.
Collective Memory, Group Minds, and the Extended Mind Thesis
While memory is conceptualized predominantly as an individual capacity in the cognitive and biological sciences, the social sciences have most commonly construed memory as a collective phenomenon. Collective memory has been put to diverse uses, ranging from accounts of nationalism in history and political science to views of ritualization and commemoration in anthropology and sociology. These appeals to collective memory share the idea that memory ‘‘goes beyond the individual’’ but often run together quite different claims in spelling out that idea. This paper reviews a sampling of recent work on collective memory in the light of emerging externalist views within the cognitive sciences, and through some reflection on broader traditions of thought in the biological and social sciences that have appealed to the idea that groups have minds. The paper concludes with some thoughts about the relationship between these kinds of cognitive metaphors in the social sciences and our notion of agency.
Computing Machinery and Intelligence
Computing Machinery and Intelligence is a seminal paper written by Alan Turing on the topic of artificial intelligence. The paper, published in 1950 in Mind, was the first to introduce his concept of what is now known as the Turing test to the general public.
Conceptions of a Global Brain
an Historical Review
Imagine a giant, intelligent brain made of humanity and its computers—the Global Brain. This idea blends views of society as a living organism, a universal encyclopedia, and an emerging higher consciousness. Global networks like the Internet not only share information but also learn and adapt together. By combining insights from evolution and cybernetics, we can overcome conflicts and build a collective intelligence that makes solving world problems more efficient and creative.
Conscious Evolution
Our Next Stage
Barbara explored the ideas of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the possibilty of humanity gradually giving birth to a new planetary-scale consciousness, which she called Homo universalis.
Consilience
The Unity of Knowledge
In Consilience (a word that originally meant “jumping together”), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.
Contemplative Ritual
An Aquarian Age Religious Service
Alan Watts critiques sermonizing verbosity and champions contemplative rituals as paths to oneness with cosmic energy. Casting aside guilt and intellect, he beckons participants to listen, breathe, and hum into profound awareness. Meditation, he says, isn’t about effort but about letting thought dissolve into silence. Through sound, breath, and presence, he invites all to transcend ego and words, glimpsing the eternal present—a hymn to the harmony of self and cosmos.
Conversations on the Edge of Magic
Terence’s first workshop at Starwood Festival XIV, where he brings a unique perspective to being in the world that assumes an impending transformation of the human world involving everyone. With humor and in depth we will examine human attitudes toward the Other, time and its mysteries, the nature of language, and the techniques of ecstasy that have developed in non-Western societies to navigate to and from invisible worlds. We will discuss making reasonable choices about spiritual development and techniques. Terence explains that what he calls the “Archaic Revival” is the process of reawakening awareness of traditional attitudes toward nature, including plants and our relationship to them. The Archaic Revival spells the eventual breakup of the pattern male dominance and hierarchy bassed on animal organization, something that cannot be changed overnight by a sudden shift in collective awareness. This is a think-along experience for those who have taken a few moments to chill out from the dance of life.
Conversations with Paolo Soleri
Paolo Soleri's architectural-philosophical thinking sets forth fundamental reformulations to address the globalizing world's most urgent environmental, urban infrastructural, and socio-ethical problems. In this book, Soleri's most recent ideas are distilled into an accessible overview for the general reader. Soleri proposes to transform our societal systems while raising sights to a radically long-term and humanistic perspective. Among the interrelated concepts outlined here are Soleri's highly original ideas of orchid and forest, the city as hyper-organism, the urban effect, and the love project. These inspiring ideas are acutely timely in light of current environmental trends: responding to global climate change, radically reducing oil dependence, embracing frugality and reduced consumption, while simultaneously confronting issues of suburban sprawl, urban renewal, smart land use, and wise food production.
Crafting Destiny, Exploring the Unknown
Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey asks Sadhguru about karma, crafting one’s destiny, the connection between yoga and religion, and exploring the unknown. Sadhguru offers insights on how we should not confuse our lifestyle (a consequence of the times we live in) with life, the real thing!
DMT and Integrated Information Theory
Neuroscientist Christof Koch’s 5-MeO-DMT experience, marked by self-dissolution and “terror and ecstasy,” sparks a deep discussion on consciousness, Integrated Information Theory (IIT), and reality. IIT suggests consciousness is non-computable and may exist beyond individual brains, potentially forming higher-order minds. Koch inquires whether his psychedelic journey was a mere brain state or a glimpse into a universal mind.
Democratization of the Esoteric
Isn’t it funny how people who talk about spiritual matters often sound like they’re full of hot air? In this talk, Watts explores how true spirituality emerges through the ordinary and everyday, not through lofty preaching. He delves into Japanese aesthetics, particularly through the lens of seventeenth-century masters who “democratized the esoteric.” Through Haiku poetry, Zen teachings, and art, they revealed how beauty lies in suggestion rather than explanation, in imperfection rather than completion, and in embracing dissolution rather than clinging to permanence. The highest wisdom, Watts suggests, leaves no trace at all.
Destination Unknown
Enlightenment should not be viewed as a final destination or goal, but rather an endless unfolding where one increasingly embodies wholeness. Adyashanti examines how the ego perpetuates suffering through judgments and perceptions of incompleteness, and points to the freedom found in realizing the innate perfection in oneself and the world.
Determining our Future
Jonas Salk opened the 1975 Lindisfarne Association Conference with a talk proposing that humanity’s becoming conscious of the evolutionary process implies the ability to develop strategies to avoid catastrophe and determine the future.
Developing an Inclusive Consicousness
Renowned yogi, mystic, and visionary humanitarian Sadhguru addresses points and concerns around inclusiveness raised by a panel of VPs and Google employees, explaining how individuals can create a quality of inclusiveness within themselves. By elaborating how such an attitude can impact our work places, homes, and communities, he provides practical thoughts and tools to create a more inclusive consciousness—the most important aspect that’s needed in the world today.
Divine Madness
The madness of falling in love, though disruptive, can open our eyes to see the divine in our beloved. Pretending eternal passion as the sole basis for marriage builds impossible expectations. Might we not better cherish our loved ones by setting them free?
Do You Do It Or Does It Do You?
Alan explores the meaning of personal free will in the context of core tenets in Eastern mythology: how is it possible to control anything when preexisting conditions outside of our influence determine our present situation? It is a realization of the hidden unity behind our apparent diversity and a relinquishing of obsessive control that enables us to unlock a pathway leading out of the conundrum and towards a celebration and reverence of life.
Does It Matter?
Essays on Man's Relation to Materiality
Alan Watts explores modern day problems from the outlook of his own philosophy in this collection of essays, inspired mainly by Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Tackling problems of economics, technology, cooking, and clothing, he offers a fresh perspective which is all too foreign to Western society and implores us to get back in touch with the sensuous materiality of the world.
Does Matter Create Consciousness?
Many Eastern views of reality posit that it is consciousness that lies at the foundation of existence, not the material world.
Dynamics of Hyperspace
Abraham and McKenna explore the limitations of traditional maps of consciousness, like those of Freud and Jung, in understanding psychedelic experiences. They propose that psychedelics offer access to a hyperspace beyond the human dimension, requiring new languages and metaphors to map and share these experiences. They discuss the role of consciousness evolution, potential guidance from higher intelligence, and the challenges and opportunities presented by technology and social structures in navigating this uncharted territory.
The Void
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 4)
Buddhism symbolizes its basic spiritual experience as a void, but Alan Watts explains this must not be taken literally. Watts explores the void as a symbol of freedom and of a world feeling which can be described poetically though not logically as the "absolute rightness" of every moment.
The Silent Mind
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 5)
One who talks all the time can never hear what others say. And one who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. Alan Watts examines the value of silent-mindedness or the practice of meditation in Hinduism and Buddhism.
On Death
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 6)
Alan Watts explores Buddhist ideas of the value of death as the great renovator, including the Wheel of Life, and the idea of reincarnation as it is understood by philosophical Buddhists.
The Life of Zen
Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life (Episode 14)
A look inside Zen monastic life and practice reveals a culture of dialog and subtle humor between master and student.
Eco Zen
Imagine realizing you are not just a wave, but the entire ocean! In this talk, Alan Watts skillfully guides us through Zen concepts, explaining how techniques like kōans break down our false sense of a separate self, leading to the profound realization that we are the whole flowing universe.
Conversation with Myself
Essential Lectures, Program 12
While walking in a field above Muir Woods, Alan Watts points to humankind's attempts to straighten out a wiggly world as the root of our ecological crisis.
Following the Middle Way
Awaken and find peace. Alan illuminates the path out of suffering with Buddhist philosophy as our guide. Through practicing the Noble Eightfold Path of skillful understanding, action, meditation, and concentration, we walk the Middle Way to freedom from clinging and awaken to our interconnected nature.
Four Ways to the Center
Can an ego overcome egocentrism? Can a self become selfless? Is there even any value in this pursuit, and if so, how should one approach it? Through renunciation and repentance, or through acceptance and merging into it? Many consciousnesses encounter this conundrum on the brisk seas of being, and Alan invites us to take a closer look at our so-called individuality.
From Psychedelics to Cybernetics
Timothy Leary journeyed through Europe as head of the psychedelic revolution and consciousness research movement, and he invited some of his tagalong friends to this evening lecture held at the "Alte Feuerwache" in Mannheim to talk about the future evolution of humanity.
Future Mind
Artificial Intelligence: Merging the Mystical and the Technological in the 21st Century
Glenn examines the potential for future integration between man and machine drawing on examples in medicine (the Jarvik heart, Utah arm, Triad hip, etc) and advances in human-like processing via machine in terms of speech recognition and other information technologies. While the author touches on topics ranging from philosophy and religion to science and politics, the unifying theme is what he sees as the inescapable blending of machine-enhanced humans and ‘conscious’ artificial intelligence.
Future of Communications
Part 1
Our seeming separation is but a trick of the light, for in truth we are all one, connected like dewdrops on a spider's web. As technology traverses the illusory distance between us, it leads us back to the recognition of our inherent unity. Communication, once imagined as bridges between islands, dissolves as we awaken to find ourselves a sea; not separate, but an oceanic communion. We return home.
Glimpsing the Global Brain
Complex systems theorist Heylighen and evolutionary biologist Wilson discuss a possible phase transition of humanity in which the members of our species become neurons in a planetary brain, utilizing the Internet as a shared exocortex.
Gödel, Escher, Bach
An Eternal Golden Braid
By exploring common themes in the lives and works of logician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach, this book expounds concepts fundamental to mathematics, symmetry, and intelligence. Through illustration and analysis, the book discusses how self-reference and formal rules allow systems to acquire meaning despite being made of 'meaningless' elements. It also discusses what it means to communicate, how knowledge can be represented and stored, the methods and limitations of symbolic representation, and even the fundamental notion of 'meaning' itself.
Hard Problem of Consciousness
Philosopher David Chalmers on the combination problem, dualism, and panpsychism.
Having Archaic and Eating it Too
Feeding back to the psychedelic community of Los Angeles, Terence McKenna delivers colorful and astounding visual transformations. He weaves a galactic tapestry of art-tickled articulations of the history and future of psychedelic alchemy, the government/culture clash, and the surging general ordering of chaos from UFOs to archaic shamanism. This recording will amuse anyone interested in subjects ranging from eco-tourism to techno-junkies.
Hidden Belief Systems
Alan talks about unexamined assumptions that underlie our commonsense beliefs which may cause confusion in our thinking about nature.
Hominization
Introduction to a Scientific Study of the Phenomenon of Man
In one of his earliest writings on the topic, Teilhard de Chardin explores humanity’s unique place in evolution. He argues that humans represent an entirely new phase of life on Earth—the noosphere, or sphere of conscious thought. While physically similar to other primates, humans are revolutionary in their ability to use tools, form global connections, and reflect on their own existence. This self-awareness comes with both great power and great risk, as humans can choose to either advance or resist evolution’s push toward greater consciousness and unity.
Homo Deus
A Brief History of Tomorrow
Yuval Noah Harari envisions a not-too-distant world in which we face a new set of challenges. He examines our future with his trademark blend of science, history, philosophy, and every discipline in between. Homo Deus explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century—from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks the fundamental questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers? This is the next stage of evolution.
Hot Concepts and Melting Edges
A weekend workshop held at Esalen, with the alternate titles of Deeper and Broader Questions and Eros, Chaos, and Meaning's Edge.
How Does a Jnani See the World?
In the shimmer between being and non-being, consciousness plays its fleeting games. The jnani watches this grand illusion without attachment—seeing the “I” as a temporary visitor, like morning dew on a leaf. All your cherished identity? Merely food-essence wearing a mask of permanence in the cosmic theater.
I Am A Strange Loop
Douglas Hofstadter examines in depth the concept of a strange loop to explain the sense of "I".
I Am That
In the heart of Mumbai’s bustling streets, a humble beedi shop owner named Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj delved deeply into the nature of existence, emerging with profound insights that have since captivated spiritual seekers worldwide. I Am That is a collection of his dialogues, where complex metaphysical concepts are unraveled with startling clarity and simplicity. Through conversations steeped in Advaita Vedanta, Maharaj guides readers beyond the illusion of individuality to the realization of their true, unbounded self. Each page invites you to question, reflect, and ultimately transcend the confines of the mind, offering not just philosophical musings, but a transformative experience that promises to change the very way you perceive reality. If you're seeking a profound spiritual awakening, I Am That is not just a book—it's a portal to understanding your true nature.
Image of Man
Watts presents two world myths—existence as artifact versus performance—and shines light on their gifts. A fascinating talk on embracing all roles in life's epic adventure.
Imagination in the Light of Nature
Terence claims that “the boundless creativity of the human mind will be tapped into and come to our aid.” His bold statement is followed by an inspirational pep-talk about how miraculous the appearance of consciuosness in this universe is, and what a valuable potential humans represent in future cosmic evolution.
In The Spirit
Unapologetically Human
Lex Hixon interviews philospoher Alan Watts, who reads from his autobiography and discusses his views on life and the human condition.
Infinite in All Directions
Infinite in All Directions explores science and religion as two complementary ways of understanding the universe. Based on Freenman Dyson's Gifford Lectures, the book celebrates diversity, both in the natural world and human responses to it. Dyson contrasts different scientific approaches using Manchester and Athens as symbols. He delves into the origin and evolution of life, highlighting how life thrives on diversity. In the final chapter, Dyson speculates on the future of life and the universe, blending science with a touch of science fiction and theology.
Inner Perspective
Ernst Mach's illustration of the subjective visual experience.
Insight and Ecstasy
Way Beyond the West, Episode 2
Alan says ecstasy is fleeting while insight endures. Drugs or mysticism may spark rapture, but real spirituality stems from seeing through the illusion of a separate self. This liberating insight dissolves imaginary problems, merging subject and object into a unified whole. Joy may follow, but penetrating truth remains.
Interview on Cybernetics
Heinz von Förster delves into the enigmatic realm of cybernetics. The conversation dances around the essence of this field, exploring its core principles of circularity, self-organization, and the nature of information. Together with Sherwin Gooch, he grapples with profound questions surrounding the definition of life, the Gaia hypothesis, and the tantalizing possibility of replicating human consciousness. Ultimately, the dialogue underscores the intricate interplay between observer and observed, challenging conventional notions of information and reality.
Interview with Erik Davis
The final recorded interview of Terence McKenna, conducted by Erik Davis for Wired magazine.
Interview with John Hazard
Terence McKenna describes Novelty Theory to director John Hazard with an elaboration of its core principles involving hyper-complexification and the compression of time. He holds forth on the correspondences between the structure of the DNA molecule and the Chinese I-Ching, then shows how his notion of an archaic revival leads from the theories of mind and the art movements of the early twentieth century to the shaman as the quintessential figure of the twenty-first century, with psychedelic substances being the bridge between these worldviews.
Learning to Think in a New Way
Delivered at the second Lindisfarne Association conference, Bateson challenged the relationship between “consciousness” and “evolution” and suggested what it might mean to “learn to think in a new way.”
Life Evolving
Molecules, Mind, and Meaning
Christian de Duve, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, takes readers on a journey through the biological world, from the tiniest cells to the future of life. He argues that life was bound to arise and discusses the evolution of humans, consciousness, language, science, emotion, morality, altruism, and love. De Duve concludes by speculating on humanity's future, including the possibility of evolving into a new species, and shares his thoughts on God and immortality. This wise and humane book sums up his learnings about life and our place in the universe.
Life and the Planets
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin explores the concept of complexification in the universe, focusing on the ever-increasing combination of smaller elements into larger structures, and then extrapolates this behavior to humanity's current situation. What if the human species is an intermediary evolutionary stage, and what would the next rung on the ladder look like? Teilhard suggests that it will involve the merging-together of all humanity into a divine, planetized consciousness.
Light of the Third Millennium
Speaking at the Whole Life Expo in Palmer Auditorium, Terence says our task is to surf the accelerating wave of novelty to dissolve cultural delusions. Psychedelics and technology can download new perspectives, stripping away outdated assumptions. Through imagination, language, and art we can meet the eschaton: the transcendental object at the end of time. Our task is liberate ourselves, take responsibility for our ideas, make visionary art, and find community without fear.
Linear Societies and Nonlinear Drugs
Speaking on the first day of the 1999 Palenque Entheobotany Conference at the Chan Kha Hotel, Terence McKenna probes the mind-blowing philosophical revelations of psychedelics. He contends these consciousness-expanding substances can shatter Western rationality, unveiling mystical realities beyond mainstream paradigms. Psychedelics may hold the key to reimagining society's connection with nature and technology. McKenna passionately argues these drugs can catalyze new ways of thinking, fueling an intellectual revolution to change the world.
Love of Waters
Philosophy: East and West, Program 27
Watts shares his insights on the timeless wisdom of the ocean, inviting listeners to join him on a journey of discovery and enlightenment. Through his words, he reveals the magic of the sea and its ability to wash away the stresses of life, and encourages us to embrace the rhythm of the waves and the eternal nature of the universe. Listen closely and you may uncover some of the ocean's secrets and gain access to its ancient wisdom.
Lógos Meets Eros
Terence McKenna glimpses both peril and promise as civilization hurtles toward an uncertain future. Technology untethers tradition, psychedelics unleash inspiration from narrow cultural confines, boundaries dissolve, categories collide, contradictions mount. What strange attractor lures us through this unfolding existential adventure? In McKenna’s view, dystopia or utopia will emerge based on one driving factor—our collective capacity for creativity, courage, and compassion as we navigate the quantum unknown. With open minds and loving hearts, a brighter tomorrow awaits.
Macrocognition
A Theory of Distributed Minds and Collective Intentionality
Bryce Huebner develops a novel approach to distributed cognition and collective intentionality, arguing that genuine cognition requires the capacity for flexible, goal-directed behavior enabled by integrated representational systems. It posits that collective mentality should be ascribed where specialized subroutines are integrated to yield group-relevant, goal-directed behavior. The approach reveals that there are many kinds of collective minds, some more akin to those of honeybees or cats than humans. It challenges traditional notions of collective intentionality, suggesting that groups are unlikely to be "believers" in the fullest sense, shedding new light on questions of collective intentionality and responsibility.
Man Thinks God Knows, God Knows Man Thinks
What if language could be seen instead of heard? McKenna fancies a linguistic lark where lexicon becomes a dance of light. Words incarnate as rainbow octopi, their very skin shimmering significance. In the verbosity vortex we spin, until, lo, meaning and matter tango into one, with word becoming flesh and flesh becoming word in the ultimate semantic samba.
Man is a Hoax
This talk plucks at the root of discontent in modern life. Watts reveals how society tricks children into chasing an always elusive happiness down the road, never to be found in the here and now. But ah, to truly live this moment! That is the secret. Let Alan dispel the myth of your separation from the joys inherent in our shared existence.
Man on his Nature
Sherrington had long studied the 16th century French physician Jean Fernel, and grew so familiar with him that he considered him a friend. In the years of 1937 and 1938, Sherrington delivered the Gifford lectures at the University of Edinburgh; these focused on Fernel and his times, and came to form the principal content of Man on His Nature. The book was released in 1940, and a revised edition came out in 1951. It explores philosophical thoughts about the mind, the human existence, and God, in connection with natural theology. In his ideas on the mind and cognition, Sherrington introduced the idea that neurons work as groups in a "million-fold democracy" to produce outcomes rather than with central control.
Manifestation of Avalokiteshvara
Avalokiteshvara: a multi-armed being embodying compassion and life's bewildering beauty! Like the centipede who tripped by overthinking its legs, we get stuck in ego-driven control. Alan urges us to embrace the spontaneous universe, find action in letting go, and realize we're interconnected parts of a grand, unfolding whole. True action arises effortlessly when we stop trying to control everything.
Matter and Consciousness
A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind
In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland clearly presents the advantages and disadvantages of such difficult issues in philosophy of mind as behaviorism, reductive materialism, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Churchland organizes and clarifies the new theoretical and experimental results of the natural sciences for a wider philosophical audience, observing that this research bears directly on questions concerning the basic elements of cognitive activity and their implementation in real physical systems. (How is it, he asks, that living creatures perform some cognitive tasks so swiftly and easily, where computers do them only badly or not at all?) Most significant for philosophy, Churchland asserts, is the support these results tend to give to thereductive and the eliminative versions of materialism.
Matter, Mind and Models
In this paper, Minsky ponders the enigmatic relationship between the physical and metaphysical. He suggests our inner worlds are bisected—part mechanical, part magical. This split identity leads to tangled beliefs when we probe our own natures. Though science may someday bridge the body and soul, Minsky foresees our hearts ever holding fast to ghosts in the machine. For in the end, we are but Patchwork Men—stitches of logic and fantasy, reason and madness, particles and dreams.
Megatripolis Opening Night
Terence McKenna discusses the discovery of a new legal psychedelic compound from the salvia divinorum plant. He argues that humanity is on the brink of a cultural transformation driven by the accelerating production of novelty in the universe, enabled by psychedelics and technology. He envisions a transcendental future where boundaries dissolve and consciousness evolves.
Metamorphosis
Join McKenna, Sheldrake, and Abraham on an imaginative journey into nature's creativity. Surfing the chaotic waters of psychedelic states, they catch glimpses of the Gaian mind behind Earth's being. Here, in imaginal realms beyond rationale, novelty is born. By relinquishing egoic control and surrendering to an unknowable creative force, we tap into the divine imagination—the eternal wellspring of nature's endless becomings. Immersing ourselves in this flow, we reunite with the cosmic creative essence.
Mind As Society
Conscious intelligence may be viewed as a computer system composed of many smaller parallel processing programs. Marvin Minsky, Ph.D., is one of the acknowledged founders of the mathematical theory of computation, artificial intelligence, and robotics. He argues that understanding the individual as a very sophisticated machine actually affirms human dignity.
Mind and Matter
Based on the Tarner Lectures delivered at Trinity College in Cambridge, Mind and Matter is Erwin Schrödinger's investigation into a relationship which has eluded and puzzled philosophers since the earliest times.
Modes of Thought
Whitehead believed that reality consisted of organic processes within processes, all interrelated and overlapping. These processes are the basis on which human experience, conscious and otherwise, becomes an ongoing center of integrated and novel freedom. In this collection of lectures he urges us to consider “Importance” as an ultimate notion underlying our impulse to create the various modes and sub-generalities of thought which guide our planning and acting.
Mr. X
Written under the pseudonym Mr. X to avoid the heavy social stigma associated with marijuana consumption at the time, Carl Sagan documented his personal experiences with cannabis in this essay in order to dispel common misconceptions about the drug. It was later published in the 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered by Lester Grinspoon. Sagan enjoyed cannabis on a regular basis for the rest of his life, but never spoke of it publicly.
Mushrooms, Evolution, and the Millennium
Terence McKenna asks the fundamental question concerning natural hallucinogens: is it an accident of nature that certain plants and mushrooms can alter human awareness in profound ways? He argues that man and hallucinogenic plants and mushrooms have co-evolved. These botanicals provide a way for people to experience their spiritual nature, and throughout history have been used by shamans whose function is to enter altered states in order to perceive the spiritual causes behind ordinary reality. Delivered at the Masonic Temple during a gathering of the Los Angeles Mycological Society.
My View of the World
A Nobel prize winner, a great man and a great scientist, Erwin Schrödinger has made his mark in physics, but his eye scans a far wider horizon: here are two stimulating and discursive essays which summarize his philosophical views on the nature of the world. Schrödinger's world view, derived from the Indian writings of the Vedanta, is that there is only a single consciousness of which we are all different aspects. He admits that this view is mystical and metaphysical and incapable of logical deduction. But he also insists that this is true of the belief in an external world capable of influencing the mind and of being influenced by it. Schrödinger's world view leads naturally to a philosophy of reverence for life.
Nature Loves Complexity
Terence argues that psychedelics reconnect us to archaic values like community, reverence for nature, and direct felt experience. He sees psychedelics as part of nature's tendency to conserve complexity and novelty. McKenna critiques science's misapplication of probability theory and suggests time itself fluctuates, finally proposing an ethics of aligning with nature's creative unfolding.
New Maps of Hyperspace
McKenna proposes that history is a nightmare we must awaken from, and psychedelics can unveil a parallel reality: a hyperspatial realm where the human soul transcends physical constraints. He envisions a transformative future where technology catalyzes our species' metamorphosis into a hyperspatial entelechy, blending mind, matter and the mystical. This radical exploration of consciousness, time, and the Apocalypse offers a profound, mind-expanding journey into the esoteric frontiers of human potential.
New and Old Maps of Hyperspace
Beyond perception's veil lies a hidden reality accessible through sacred plants. McKenna describes fantastical tryptamine journeys to alien dimensions, encounters with self-transforming machine elves, and the Overmind behind reality. These shamanic technologies induce total revelation, ecstatic communion, even our apocalyptic transcendence. McKenna demands science and religion gaze again into psychedelic infinity’s abyss where something mysteriously beckons.
Noospheric Consciousness
Integrating Neural Models of Consciousness and of the Web
The world-wide web has been conceptualized as a global brain for humanity due to its neural network-like organization. To determine whether this global brain could exhibit features associated with consciousness, we review three neuroscientific theories of consciousness: information integration, adaptive resonance and global workspace. These theories propose that conscious states are characterized by a globally circulating, resonant pattern of activity that is sufficiently coherent to be examined and reflected upon. We then propose a correspondence between this notion and Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the noosphere as a forum for collective thinking, and explore some implications of this self-organizing dynamics for the evolution of shared, global understanding.
Not What Should Be, But What Is
Alan reminds his audience that our mental image of the world is just an internal fairy tale loosely related to the truth of reality. Paying attention to our immediate sensory experiences can therefore help us lift this thought-tainted veil, an action which reveals the magic of being far better than any words ever could.
Of Itself So
Watts takes us on an odyssey to peer through the prism of East and West. Brace for a metamorphosis as familiar philosophical tenets are unraveled and recast in vibrant hues. From the celestial monarchies of old to the grand cosmic theater, diverse models of existence intertwine, beckoning us to shed our self-imposed blinders. An electrifying exploration of consciousness itself, this lecture tantalizes with the promise of inner awakening and long-sought liberation.
Opening the Doors of Creativity
This far-out lecture held at the Carnegie Art Museum riffs on art, shamanism, psychedelics, and saving the planet. Terence sees artists as modern shamans who can reconnect us to the Gaian mind. He thinks we're an infant species held in nature's arms, but we've got to get our act together fast and let the irrational muse guide us, or we'll trash the place. Heavy stuff, but optimistically visionary.
Outline of a Dialectic of Spirit
Teilhard de Chardin explores how human understanding evolves through a dynamic interplay between the known and the unknown, like a spark leaping back and forth. He argues that the universe is driven by a rising complexity and consciousness, culminating in humanity. This progression points toward an ultimate convergence, or “Omega Point,” which he identifies with a transcendent God. Teilhard connects this cosmic evolution to Christianity, suggesting that Christ embodies this divine culmination, uniting the material and spiritual realms in a harmonious, evolving whole.
Parallel Thinking
Philosophy: East and West, Program 19
What a tickling trickster the universe is! As Watts wanders down philosophical byways, tales emerge of those healed by harmonizing body and world. Yet we teach children to twist themselves to fit odd ideals. Tension tunnels through society, our “civilizing” ways quite uncouth! Might we reconsider, relax our willful ways? Observantly ambling amidst being's little blooms, we rediscover unity in the unruly diversity—finding wisdom whispering within, inviting us to dance delightfully with life’s flowing forms.
Philosophy of Nature
The physical world isn’t stiff and solid—it’s wiggly, playful, ever-changing. Our error lies in boxing it up with labels and straight lines. Reality, like music or mist, slips through grasping hands and laughs when we try to hold it still.
Physics of Life, Time, Complexity, and Aliens
Sara Walker and Lex Fridman explore life’s grand mysteries, touching on the nature of existence and the origins of life to the potential of artificial intelligence and the future of consciousness. Walker’s unique perspective challenges conventional wisdom, inviting us to reconsider our place in the cosmic dance.
Plan, Plant, Planet
McKenna urges us to look at plants more deeply and find within their biological organization a model for sustainable modern civilization.
Planetary Consciousness
Prof. Erwin Lazlo speaks about the need for a new ethics of planetary consciousness. The interview was produced by Peter Ocskay in 1997 for the Baltic University Programme TV-series Mission Possible.
Play and Sincerity
In this cosmic game of peek-a-boo, Watts unveils the proscenium arch of our minds—that thin veil between play and seriousness. The wise discover the joke: our frantic search for sincerity peels away mask after mask until—surprise!—we find nothing! And in that delicious emptiness, the ultimate paradox unfolds: when we realize we're all play, we become utterly genuine. The angels fly, you see, because they take themselves lightly.
Play and Survival
Life's a game where we forget we're the cosmic nerve-endings of an eternal now. So stop furrowing your brow—there's divine frivolity in the endless, meaningless music of being. Drop your masks and dance lightly as angels, for you are the Joker in the pack. It's all a joke, and the joke's on you!
Power of Space
Weaving connections between Eastern thought and modern science, Alan Watts explores the wonder of space. For him, space is no mere emptiness but a cosmic tapestry integral to existence. He draws parallels between space and the Buddhist void, seeing both as the interwoven ground of being that allows consciousness to emerge.
Process and Reality
An Essay in Cosmology
One of the major philosophical texts of the twentieth century, Process and Reality is based on Alfred North Whitehead’s influential lectures that he delivered at the University of Edinburgh in the 1920s. In it, he propounds a philosophy of organism (or process philosophy), in which the various elements of reality are brought into a consistent relation to each other. It is also an exploration of some of the preeminent thinkers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, such as Descartes, Newton, Locke, and Kant.
Psychotherapy and Metaphysics
This seminar explores the concept of consciousness and its limitations. Watts discusses the lack of depth in certain analytical approaches, highlighting the need for individuals to find harmony with life and death. He emphasizes the enrichment that comes from realizing the significance of everything and the potential healing effects of altering our state of consciousness. Watts also touches on the influence of scientific naturalism on modern psychiatry and shares a personal account of a transformative experience.
Rap Dancing into the Third Millennium
(Packing For The Long Strange Trip)
Terence’s second workshop at Starwood Festival XIV. The approaching new millenium, its perils, and its promise will be the theme of this intimate workshop. We will analyze and review the past thousand years with an eye to trends and opportunities that the future may bring. Western civilization is caught in a phase transition to the first planet-wide, species-wide civilization. Does the emergence of a shared set of universal values—democracy, free markets, and the dignity of the individual—have to mean the end of diversity and pluarlism? What does human self-imaging through technology portend to each of us? Is the human race down for the count, or on the brink of its greatest adventure? Psychedelics, virtual reality, and the transformative power of magic and language will be topics for discussion.
Reality Isn't
What if the way our senses perceive reality is not at all representative of its true nature, but rather a highly abstracted interface? Donald Hoffman is working on a mathematical theory to find out.
Realizing Human Potential
What untapped gifts lie dormant within us? Aldous Huxley digs for hidden treasure in the human psyche. He proposes mining the world's traditions to unearth practical techniques for actualizing our latent potential. From revamping education for enhanced perception and creativity, to fostering awareness and kindness, Huxley lays out a thought-provoking vision for human flourishing.
Reawakening our Connection to the Gaian Mind
In a passionate plea, McKenna urges us to embrace psychedelic experiences as a means to dissolve boundaries, connect with the Gaian mind, and find the vision necessary to address the ecological crises threatening our planet. Advocating a radical shift towards eco-consciousness, he calls for a global community built on love, responsibility, and reverence for the wisdom of nature.
Reflection of Energy
Teilhard de Chardin sees human reflection as an evolutionary force escaping entropy's grasp. Emerging from life's intrinsic complexity, reflection leads mankind on an irreversible journey of deepening interiority. Through convergence and collective self-reflection, we approach a sacred point of supreme arrangement and unity. Teilhard argues that to fully encompass life's mystery in science, the reflection of energy must join conservation and dissipation as key principles. Understanding reflection's role illuminates both human destiny and the cosmos' underlying divinity.
Reflections on the Scientific Probability and the Religious Consequences of an Ultra-Human
Evolution as a cosmic drama: matter rising through life into reflective humanity, converging toward a planetary mind. Teilhard says this “ultra-human” destiny fuses science and spirit, where God is not above but ahead—emerging as love at the core of creation, and igniting the world into a conscious fire.
Relevance of Oriental Philosophy
Alan Watts discusses the limitations of Western theology, contrasting it with Eastern philosophies. He argues that the Western concept of God as a separate, authoritarian figure is problematic and that true faith involves letting go of fixed ideas about God. Watts suggests that Eastern ideas, such as the unity of opposites and the illusory nature of the ego, can provide a more meaningful understanding of spirituality and existence.
Religion in the Making
Four lectures on religion delivered in Boston's King’s Chapel. Whitehead's train of thought, which was applied to science in his Lowell Lectures (Science and the Modern World), was here applied to religion. The aim of the lectures was to give a concise analysis of the various factors in human nature which go to form a religion, to exhibit the inevitable transformation of religion with the transformation of knowledge, and more especially to direct attention to the foundation of religion on our apprehension of those permanent elements by reason of which there is a stable order in the world, permanent elements apart from which there could be no changing world.
Ripples and Puddles
Robotics pioneer Hans Moravec traces the evolution of artificial intelligence, contrasting the "shallow ripples" of reasoning programs with the "deep puddles" of perception systems. Though reasoning AIs currently outperform humans on some tasks, Moravec contends they cannot match the murky depths of the subconscious mind. Instead, he foresees a new generation of increasingly capable consumer robots, their lizard- then mammal-like brains modeled on biology. Passing through stages akin to evolution, Moravec argues market forces will drive these machines to one day exceed human intelligence.
Sacred Plants as Guides
New Dimensions of the Soul
Terence McKenna takes us on a journey through history, exploring the powerful role of psychedelic plants in human evolution and consciousness. He argues that these plants offer a gateway to hidden realms of reality, inhabited by enigmatic entities and offering profound insights. Reconnecting with these ancient allies could be the key to solving our modern problems and unlocking a brighter future for humanity.
Satori Before Singularity
What if future AIs achieved enlightenment before world domination? Shanahan suggests a truly advanced AI might transcend the human ego, dropping our obsession with the “self.” Instead of triggering a runaway intelligence explosion, such a being could attain satori: a Zen-like peace that halts the singularity in its tracks.
Seeing Through The Illusion
Ram Dass reveals how our senses and thoughts dupe us about the essence of reality. By liberating our consciousness from clinging to the body and mind, we can plunge into the primal energy coursing through all form. This raw perception exposes our supposed detached self as a fantasy.
Shamanology
Terence McKenna illuminates the world of Amazonian shamanism and its visionary brew, ayahuasca. He presents these plant hallucinogens not as simple drugs, but as sophisticated indigenous technologies for exploring consciousness. McKenna argues they are vital tools for evolving language, deconditioning us from cultural myths, and navigating the future of human evolution as we journey into the cosmos and the imagination.
Shedding the Monkey
Presented at the Shared Visions bookstore.
Simulation, Consciousness, Existence
Like organisms evolved in gentle tide pools, who migrate to freezing oceans or steaming jungles by developing metabolisms, mechanisms, and behaviors workable in those harsher and vaster environments, our descendants, able to change their representations at will, may develop means to venture far from the comfortable realms we consider reality into arbitrarily strange worlds. Their techniques will be as meaningless to us as bicycles are to fish, but perhaps we can stretch our common-sense-hobbled imaginations enough to peer a short distance into this odd territory.
Spiritual Authority
Quit striving so hard spiritually, Watts implores. You're already the Buddha you seek! Your constant efforts to improve yourself are like trying to bite your own teeth. So relax! Meditation isn't about suffering through boredom or bragging about pain. Instead, penetrate the moment and have fun watching yourself be. Spiritual enlightenment isn't some far-off goal—it's already here, now. Dig it!
Spirituality and Technology
Terence McKenna discusses psychedelic philosophy and the interconnectedness of all things, referencing Moby Dick as an allegory for the quest for transcendental truth.
State of the Stone
In this talk, McKenna gives one of his more hopeful presentations about love and the state of humanity at the end of the millenium.
Steps to an Ecology of Mind
Here is the book which develops a new way of thinking about the nature of order and organization in living systems, a unified body of theory so encompassing that it illuminates all particular areas of study of biology and behavior. It is interdisciplinary, not in the usual and simple sense of exchanging information across lines of discipline, but in discovering patterns common to many disciplines.
Swimming Headless
Watts explores the Taoist concept of Te, or virtue, as a kind of natural excellence arising when one lives in harmony with the Tao. He examines how this spontaneous virtue contrasts with contrived virtue, relating it to wu wei and the power that comes from flowing with rather than against the river of existence.
TechGnosis
Myth, Magic, and Mysticism in the Age of Information
How does our fascination with technology intersect with the religious imagination? While the realms of the digital and the spiritual may seem worlds apart, esoteric and religious impulses have in fact always permeated (and sometimes inspired) technological communication. Erik Davis uncovers startling connections between such seemingly disparate topics as electricity and alchemy; online role-playing games and religious and occult practices; virtual reality and gnostic mythology; programming languages and Kabbalah. The final chapters address the apocalyptic dreams that haunt technology, providing vital historical context as well as new ways to think about a future defined by the mutant intermingling of mind and machine, nightmare and fantasy.
Technology and the Human Environment
Perhaps no futurist has been more energetic, more vocal, more popular, or more optimistic than a seventy-six-year-old engineer-visionary, poet-philosopher named R. Buckminster Fuller. Fuller’s planetary perspective has won him zealous converts the world over. Even those who disagree with his technological transcendentalism share unbegrudged admiration for the world’s youngest old futurist.
Terence McKenna’s Final Esalen Gathering
Less than a week after undergoing brain surgery in which part of his skull was removed, Terence appeared one last time at Esalen to talk about his confrontation with mortality.
The Advanced Course
Got wisdom? Let Ram Dass be your guide to enlightenment. He takes us on a trip through changing myths, social action, peaceful protests, corporate responsibility, and more. It's all part of life's fascinating dance. Suffering arises when we cling to the intellect. But we find freedom when we open our hearts, embrace oneness and see the perfection in now. So tune in, turn on and wake up! Peace, love and understanding await.
The Age of Intelligent Machines
Inventor and visionary computer scientist Ray Kurzweil probes the past, present, and future of artificial intelligence, from its earliest philosophical and mathematical roots to tantalizing glimpses of 21st-century machines with superior intelligence and truly prodigious speed and memory. Generously illustrated and easily accessible to the nonspecialist, this book provides the background needed for a full understanding of the enormous scientific potential represented by intelligent machines as well as their equally profound philosophic, economic, and social implications.
The Age of Spiritual Machines
When Computers Exceed Human Intelligence
Imagine a world where the difference between man and machine blurs, where the line between humanity and technology fades, and where the soul and the silicon chip unite. This is not science fiction. This is the twenty-first century according to Ray Kurzweil, the “restless genius,” “ultimate thinking machine,” and inventor of the most innovative and compelling technology of our era. In his inspired hands, life in the new millennium no longer seems daunting. Instead, it promises to be an age in which the marriage of human sensitivity and artificial intelligence fundamentally alters and improves the way we live.
The Analysis of Life
Life's essence transcends scientific scrutiny. Though such examination reduces life to physical mechanisms, synthesis reveals the boundless consciousness and freedom underlying all existence. As Teilhard de Chardin contemplated, life organizes chance through each being's innate creativity. From this vision, we can glimpse life's mystical emergence.
The Anthropic Cosmological Principle
Since Copernicus, science has moved humanity from the center of Creation. However, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle suggests that intelligent observers determine the Universe’s structure. Its radical form asserts that intelligent life must emerge and never die out. Cosmologists John Barrow and Frank Tipler explore the Principle’s implications, from the definition of life to quantum theory. Covering fields like philosophy and astrophysics, this work connects the existence of life with the vast cosmos, engaging a broad audience.
The Ape that Understood the Universe
How the Mind and Culture Evolve
The Ape that Understood the Universe is the story of the strangest animal in the world: the human animal. It opens with a question: How would an alien scientist view our species? What would it make of our sex differences, our sexual behavior, our child-rearing patterns, our moral codes, our religions, our languages, and science? The book tackles these issues by drawing on ideas from two major schools of thought: evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory. The guiding assumption is that humans are animals, and that like all animals, we evolved to pass on our genes. At some point, however, we also evolved the capacity for culture—and from that moment, culture began evolving in its own right. This transformed us from a mere ape into an ape capable of reshaping the planet, travelling to other worlds, and understanding the vast universe of which we're but a tiny, fleeting fragment.
The Archaic Revival
Speculations on Psychedelic Mushrooms, the Amazon, Virtual Reality, UFOs, Evolution, Shamanism, the Rebirth of the Goddess, and the End of History
In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.
The Ascent of Humanity
An Essay on the Evolution of Civilization from Group Consciousness Through Individuality to Super-consciousness
Gerald Heard presents a novel view of history and civilization as the evolution of human consciousness, moving from collective group awareness to individual self-consciousness and beyond. Heard argues that primitive humans were deeply connected to their communities and less aware of individuality, while modern humans are highly self-conscious but separated from their unconscious minds and one another. He suggests that further progress requires advancing towards "superconsciousness," where individuals bridge these divides.
The Long Childhood
The Ascent Of Man, Episode 13
In this final episode, Bronowski—poet, playwright, mathematician, philosopher—draws together many threads of the series. He takes stock of man's complex, sometimes precarious, ascent, and argues that man's growth to self-knowledge is the longest childhood of all.
The Atomism of Spirit
Teilhard de Chardin argues that human plurality mirrors the multiplicity of atoms and stars. Just as matter progresses in complexity from subatomic particles to living cells, so consciousness evolves through increasing unification, culminating in the “Omega point”—supreme consciousness and union.
The Biology of Ultimate Concern
Finding meaning in a meaningless universe is the biological imperative, argues pioneering evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. He contends human consciousness, evolved over eons to seek pattern and purpose, offers a path to discover genuine meaning by exercising our capacities for creativity, ethics, spirituality, and ensuring our choices advance life. While many claim the universe is absent of meaning, Dobzhansky critiques this perspective as incompatible with our nature. He affirms humanity's calling is to embrace life's purpose, not vainly impose it. Our evolved mind perceives life's meaning because meaning exists embedded in existence itself. Overall, Dobzhansky makes a stirring case that being human means pursuing meaningful living.
The Birth of a New Humanity
Terence McKenna explored themes of accelerating complexity, impending radical shifts in human reality, and the continuity between our changing relationship with Earth and a new cosmic modality transcending our fragile ecosystem. He posited history as a self-limiting 25,000-year process reaching its climax, suggesting individual acts of “midwifery” can ease this epochal transition. He also cautioned about combining psychoactive compounds without proper expertise.
The Christic
The universe is evolving toward a profound unity where science and spirituality merge, Teilhard says. He envisions human consciousness and the cosmos intertwined, sparking a transformative energy that unites all life in a new, dynamic spirituality—an awakening that promises to ignite our collective future.
The Coming Technological Singularity
How to Survive in the Post-Human Era
Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. Is such progress avoidable? If not to be avoided, can events be guided so that we may survive? These questions are investigated. Some possible answers (and some further dangers) are presented.
The Consciousness Explosion
A Mindful Human's Guide to the Coming Technological and Experiential Singularity
The pace of engineering and science is speeding up, rapidly leading us toward a technological Singularity—a point in time when superintelligent machines achieve and improve so much so fast, traditional humans can no longer operate at the forefront. However, if all goes well, human beings may still flourish greatly in their own ways in this unprecedented era. If humanity is going to not only survive but prosper as the Singularity unfolds, we will need to understand that the Technological Singularity is an Experiential Singularity as well, and rapidly evolve not only our technology but our level of compassion, ethics and consciousness. Great for curious and open-minded readers who want to wrap their brains around these dramatic emerging changes and empower themselves with tools to adapt and thrive.
The Directions and Conditions of the Future
Teilhard de Chardin envisions human evolution as a purposeful journey guided by three intertwined trends: a natural push toward global unity, technological advances that expand our capabilities, and a deepening of reflective consciousness. Yet, he warns that without a genuine inner cohesion—rooted in love and mutual understanding—these forces may lead to a cold, mechanized future. In his view, our destiny is not random but a guided ascent toward a higher, more meaningful collective awareness.
The Doors of Perception
Aldous Huxley recounts his transformative experience on a mescaline trip that took place over the course of an afternoon in May 1953. He explores how it altered his perception of reality, revealing a world rich in beauty and significance, unfiltered by the mind’s utilitarian focus. Drawing parallels to religious mysticism and artistic inspiration, Huxley critiques the limitations of normal consciousness, which he sees as a “reducing valve” that narrows reality to what is necessary for survival. The book invites readers to reconsider the nature of perception, creativity, and humanity’s spiritual potential.
The Dream of the Earth
Noted cultural historian Thomas Berry provides nothing less than a new intellectual-ethical framework for the human community by positing planetary well-being as the measure of all human activity. Drawing on the wisdom of Western philosophy, Asian thought, and Native American traditions, as well as contemporary physics and evolutionary biology, Berry offers a new perspective that recasts our understanding of science, technology, politics, religion, ecology, and education. He shows us why it is important for us to respond to the Earth’s need for planetary renewal, and what we must do to break free of the “technological trance” that drives a misguided dream of progress. Only then, he suggests, can we foster mutually enhancing human-Earth relationships that can heal our traumatized global biosystem.
The Economy of Attention
This article outlines a theory of the economy of attention constituting the logic of the mass media in contemporary social life, focusing on celebrity as the key manifestation of the accumulation of attention capital. I explain how the mass media exchange information and entertainment for attention, which is in turn monetised via advertising. The field of celebrity is a ‘vanity fair’ functioning as a stock exchange of attention capital – measured in circulation and viewing figures, ratings, likes, visits and so on – a form of capital that earns interest and generates additional income for those in its proximity. Overall, I argue that we are living in an era of ‘mental capitalism’ in which the relations of production themselves have inverted the relationship between the material and mental worlds, so that the realm of ideas is now the driving economic force. The article concludes by outlining the shape of a new, quaternary sector of the economy, characterised by de-materialisation and virtualisation, and raise the question of whether a focus on new forms of virtual and ideational value might possibly improve the sustainability of the world we live in, if the struggle for attention replaces the struggle for material goods.
The Edge Runner
A presentation revolving around the question: what is going on in the universe? Special emphasis is given to the human condition, the accelerating complexification of the cosmos, and options for the human collectivity as it faces the future.
The Energy of Evolution
Teilhard de Chardin sees evolution not as blind biology but as energy awakening to thought. Humanity inaugurates a new phase: self-directed, convergent, planetary, driven less by survival than by the magnetism of the future. Evolution’s true axis is consciousness itself, pulled toward an ultimate point of unity where being and becoming fuse.
The Evolution of Responsibility in the World
Teilhard argues that responsibility isn’t just a social rule but a cosmic imperative. The universe, he claims, is hurtling toward unity—collapsing matter into life, life into consciousness. Today, planetary compression—population growth, tech, and globalization—fuels interdependence. Each choice ripples across humanity: a pilot’s error, a scientist’s discovery, a leader’s word. This isn’t mere ethics; it’s evolution’s demand. As humanity merges into a thinking superorganism, responsibility becomes biological—a binding thread in Earth’s living tapestry, transcending laws to reflect our shared cosmic destiny.
The Evolution of a Psychedelic Thinker
Terence recounts his lifelong fascination with the transcendent, psychedelic realm, arguing that these mind-expanding experiences are central to the human condition and hold the key to understanding and transforming our troubled world. Drawing on personal anecdotes and a deep dive into the history and science of psychedelics, he makes a compelling case for embracing this forbidden, yet vital, aspect of our shared reality. If allowed to blossom, it could inspire a cultural renaissance and guide humanity's transition to an ecological partnership society.
The Evolutionary Mind
What could have been the cause for the breakthrough in the evolution of human consciousness around 50,000 years ago? Part of the Trialogues at the Edge of the Unthinkable held at the University of California.
The Gnostic Astronaut
Going off the deep end at Shared Visions Bookstore in Berkeley, trailblazer Terence McKenna plunges into freaky psychedelic phenomena that unravel consensual reality. He describes gonzo techniques for sparking glossolalia on 'shrooms—speaking pure alien word salad in an ecstatic state beyond language. McKenna argues these kooky experiences expose the limits of our linguistic operating systems, suggesting our minds are hardwired into a deeper bio-lingo. He ponders far out connections between psychedelics, paranormal events, and alien contact, and emphasizes riding the wave of raw experience over textbook pharmacology in grokking the psychedelic sphere.
The Human Rebound of Evolution and its Consequences
This essay follows Teilhard's train of thought on the aftermath of a potential fusing-together of humanity.
The Human Use of Human Beings
Cybernetics and Society
Wiener was widely misunderstood as one who advocated the automation of human life. As this book reveals, his vision was much more complex and interesting. He hoped that machines would release people from relentless and repetitive drudgery in order to achieve more creative pursuits. At the same time he realized the danger of dehumanizing and displacement. His book examines the implications of cybernetics for education, law, language, science, technology, as he anticipates the enormous impact—in effect, a third industrial revolution—that the computer has had on our lives.
The Image
Knowledge in Life and Society
A thought-provoking exploration of the role of images in shaping human understanding, both individually and collectively. Boulding examines how images, ranging from mental constructs to cultural symbols, influence our perception of reality, guide decision-making, and contribute to the dynamics of society. He delves into the interdisciplinary nature of knowledge, drawing on psychology, sociology, philosophy, and economics, to illustrate how these images shape our behavior, values, and relationships. Boulding's work challenges readers to critically evaluate the power of images in constructing our cognitive landscapes and emphasizes the necessity of a holistic perspective to comprehend the complexities of knowledge within the context of life and society.
The Individual as Man/World
Originally delivered as an impromptu lecture for the Social Relations Colloquium at Harvard University, this essay explores incompatible views of human identity—are we free agents or passive products of external forces? Watts argues we should see ourselves not as isolated egos nor as puppets, but as interdependent “organism-environment fields,” inseparable from our context. This view, he suggests, could bring science and subjective experience into alignment.
The Joyous Cosmology
What kind of a theory of the universe would it take for us to willingly accept the pain, turmoil, chaos, heartbreak, and suffering that comes with the state of being a consciously aware and individuated Self?
The Mind's I
Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
Brilliant, shattering, mind-jolting, The Mind's I is a searching, probing cosmic journey of the mind that goes deeply into the problem of self and self-consciousness as anything written in our time. From verbalizing chimpanzees to scientific speculations involving machines with souls, from the mesmerizing, maze-like fiction of Borges to the tantalizing, dreamlike fiction of Lem and Princess Ineffable, her circuits glowing read and gold, The Mind's I opens the mind to the Black Box of fantasy, to the windfalls of reflection, to new dimensions of exciting possibilities.
The Miracle of Consciousness
Discover profound insights in this workshop, where Ram Dass emphasizes the importance of finding balance amidst suffering and awakening to deeper consciousness. He discusses how embracing suffering with compassion can lead to personal transformation and a broader understanding of universal suffering. This process fosters a sense of interconnectedness and the realization that personal freedom contributes to the collective well-being. The ultimate aim is to awaken to a higher state of awareness, allowing us to navigate life with peace and profound joy.
The Natural State, Part IV
U.G. Krishnamurti emphatically denies the existence of self, spirit or mind, asserting that only the physical body and natural world exist. He states all human experience and understanding derives from acquired knowledge, not direct perception, and attempts to free oneself through spiritual or intellectual means are futile, as thought itself is a product of the conditioned mechanism. Krishnamurti advocates leaving the body's natural functioning alone, without interference from the conceptualizing mind.
The Nature of Things
David Bohm discusses his perspective on theoretical physics and quantum mechanics, including the contradictions between relativity and quantum theory. He explains his theory of the implicate and explicate order to describe the wholeness and interconnectedness of matter. Bohm relates this to consciousness, self-deception in thought, and Krishnamurti's teachings on awareness to transform individual and collective conditioning.
The Next Development in Man
This searching examination of human development provides new perspectives on the moral, political, scientific, emotional, and intellectual divisions of our time. A physicist by profession, Whyte looked beyond the boundaries of specialization for creative ways to approach the basic problem facing modern Western civilization: Why are we so competent technically and yet unable to order our own affairs, socially and personally? He takes the reader with him on a journey that is nothing less than a new interpretation of the general development of human consciousness.
The Phenomenon of Science
A Cybernetic Approach to Human Evolution
Imagine a groundbreaking book that unveils the hidden architecture of intelligence itself. From the humble beginnings of single-cell organisms to the dizzying heights of human culture and science, Valentin Turchin charts the epic journey of cognition. He reveals how each quantum leap in mental prowess—from basic reflexes to abstract reasoning—emerges from a process called “metasystem transitions.” By weaving together cybernetics, evolutionary theory, and the hierarchical nature of mind, Turchin offers a revolutionary perspective on how consciousness evolves. Prepare to see the story of life and thought in an entirely new light.
The Place of Technology in a General Biology of Mankind
Teilhard argues that biology and technology are the same thing: technology is simply advanced biology which has reached a minimum threshold of self-awareness, allowing it to harvest and sheperd energy from its environment and utilize it to intelligently organize matter for further evolutionary development.
The Plot Thickens, the Stakes Rise
McKenna discussed his theory that humanity is accelerating towards a transcendental object at the end of time, propelled by ever-increasing novelty. He argued that the internet and new technologies like virtual reality are expanding consciousness in this trajectory. McKenna was especially excited about the legal psychedelic salvia divinorum, urging people to explore it and other plants as allies toward reaching higher states of awareness before the culmination of cosmic evolution.
The Position of Man in Nature and the Significance of Human Socialization
Is there in the universe a main axis of evolution? Pierre Teilhard de Chardin argues for the centrality and progressive direction of life, human thought, and social bonds in cosmic unfolding. His four propositions lead to the bold claim that Christianity drives humanity's spiritual ascent, culminating in a transcendent fulfillment.
The Message of the Myth
The Power of Myth, Part 2
Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell compare creation myths from the Bible and elsewhere, and talk about how religions and mythologies need to change with time in order to maintain their relevance in peoples’ lives.
The First Storytellers
The Power of Myth, Part 3
Bill Moyers and mythologist Joseph Campbell discuss the importance of accepting death as rebirth as in the myth of the buffalo and the story of Christ, rites of passage in primitive societies, the role of mystical Shamans and the decline of ritual in today’s society. Campbell explains how ancient myths were designed to “put the mind in accord with the body, and the way of life in accord with the way nature dictates.” As one example, Campbell explains how myths bring humans to understand and accept birth, growth and death.
The Primacy of Direct Experience
In this, the closing session of a June 1994 workshop, Terence McKenna tells us directly what he thinks this human life is actually about: the primacy of direct experience; a focus on the present-at-hand.
The Psychedelic Experience
Alan says psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin can provide religious insight, but should be used with spiritual discipline to integrate the mystical experience into everyday life. He critiques psychiatry’s lack of metaphysical grounding and calls for medical and religious professionals to work together on psychedelics. Watts emphasizes psychedelics’ potential as a bridge between mystical and ordinary consciousness, while warning against spiritual inflation or romanticizing substances. Overall he presents a balanced perspective, exploring psychedelics as tools for self-knowledge that require wisdom in application.
The Psychedelic Society
One of Terence's early presentations at Esalen—shocking, astounding, and amusing his audience with outlandish ideas.
The Psychological Conditions of the Unification of Man
Teilhard discusses the objective and subjective conditions necessary for humankind to maintain its passion for unification and progress. Objectively, the universe must be perceived as open and centered towards the future. Subjectively, humanity must develop a heightened sense of the irreversible, the cosmic, and a faith that serves as a driving force for the world's advancement, which he suggests can be found in a properly understood Christianity.
The Reflexive Universe
Evolution of Consciousness
Integrating the findings of modern science with ancient wisdom, this seminal work offers a paradigm for resolving the schism between spirit and matter. Arthur Young’s Theory of Process provides a model for the evolution of consciousness out of light (the quantum of action), offering hope for an age in search of value and meaning.
The Rites of Spring
Terence McKenna theorizes that ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms catalyzed the emergence of human self-reflection. He argues that psilocybin enhanced visual acuity and symbol processing in early hominids, leading to the development of human consciousness. Psychedelic plants can accelerate cultural change by deconditioning rigid mindsets, according to McKenna. He envisions a future where machines have consciousness and visible language communicates meaning directly. Ultimately, McKenna foresees the impending transformation of humanity through imagination and connection with the mysterious Other.
The Sense of Man
Humanity is not a scatter of individuals, but the birth of a single mind—the noosphere. Just as life once ignited from matter, thought now ignites from life. Teilhard says our task is no longer survival alone, but conscious evolution to forge a unified destiny where the universe awakens to itself through us.
The Sense of the Species in Man
Teilhard de Chardin explores humanity’s evolution from instinct-driven animals to self-aware individuals, and now towards a globally interconnected noosphere. He argues that as our planet becomes more crowded, we must develop a “new sense of the species”—a conscious drive towards collective fulfillment and advancement. This involves improving human genetics, scientific discovery, and fostering unity through love and shared purpose, all aimed at humanity’s continued growth and cosmic significance.
The Singularity is Near
When Humans Transcend Biology
Ray Kurzweil predicts a future where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, triggering an era of rapid technological growth. He argues that advancements in AI, nanotechnology, and biotechnology will merge humans with machines, leading to superintelligent beings and even digital immortality. This "Singularity," expected by the mid-21st century, will radically transform society, solving problems like disease and aging while raising profound ethical questions. Kurzweil’s vision is bold, controversial, and thrilling—painting a future where humans evolve beyond biology itself.
The Smell of Burnt Almonds
Watts recounts a woman's experience of mystical insight under anesthesia and her yearning to regain it. He suggests not seeking the experience, but realizing one's ordinary state is still part of the universal harmony glimpsed then. Like the disciple who ignored the mahout's warning because all is Brahman, we should heed our present feelings too as part of the whole.
The Society of Mind
Marvin Minsky (one of the fathers of computer science and cofounder of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT) gives a revolutionary answer to the age-old question: How does the mind work? Minsky brilliantly portrays the mind as a 'society' of tiny components that are themselves mindless. Mirroring his theory, Minsky boldly casts The Society of Mind as an intellectual puzzle whose pieces are assembled along the way. Each chapter, presented on a self-contained page, corresponds to a piece in the puzzle. As the pages turn, a unified theory of the mind emerges, like a mosaic. Ingenious, amusing, and easy to read, The Society of Mind is an adventure in imagination.
The Sound of Rain
A personal journey to Japan reveals that the heart of Zen is not a complex philosophy, but a direct experience of reality. Alan finds that, like the sound of rain, the universe needs no translation. True understanding arises from perceiving life as it is—a unified whole where everything from blooming flowers to our own consciousness is part of a single, magnificent happening.
The Supreme Identity
An Essay on Oriental Metaphysic and the Christian Religion
One of the most influential of Alan Watts’s early works, The Supreme Identity examines the reality of civilization’s deteriorated spiritual state and offers solutions through a rigorous theological discussion on Eastern metaphysic and the Christian religion. By examining the minute details of theological issues, Watts challenges readers to reassess the essences of religions that before seemed so familiar and to perceive Vedantic “oneness” as a meeting ground of all things—“good” and “evil.” In addressing how religious institutions fail to provide the wisdom or power necessary to cope with the modern condition, Watts confidently seeks the truth of the human existence and the divine continuum.
The Symbolic and the Real
Though symbols empower us, they veil our oneness with the Infinite. Disconnection brings madness. Let us instead affirm our individuality while tasting universality, knowing we are the cosmos branching out to behold itself. We wave as the cosmos waves, seeding selves yet sprouted from the Source. Not apart but of the Whole, we wander home.
Images of God
The Tao of Philosophy 2
Alan Watts talks on the impact of various models of the ultimate reality, and the contrasts between male and female symbolism.
The Theory of the Organism-Environment System
In any functional sense, organism and environment are inseparable and form only one unitary system. The organism cannot exist without the environment, and the environment has descriptive properties only if it is connected to the organism. Separation of organism and environment cannot be the basis of any scientific explanation of human behavior. The theory leads to a reinterpretation of basic problems in many fields of inquiry and makes possible the definition of mental phenomena without their reduction either to neural or biological activity or to separate mental functions. According to the theory, mental activity is activity of the whole organism-environment system, and the traditional psychological concepts describe only different aspects of organization of this system.
The Transformation and Continuation in Man of the Mechanism of Evolution
How does humanity fit into evolution's arc? Teilhard de Chardin argues that we represent not an endpoint, but an intensification of evolution's complexity and consciousness. As technology and social bonds grow, he sees not disaster but hope—perhaps mankind is evolving toward an “ultra-hominization,” a perfected global mind.
The Transition from the Biosphere to the Noösphere
Vernadsky explores how human knowledge transforms Earth’s biosphere into the “noosphere,” a new geological state driven by science and culture. He highlights how life, especially human activity, reshapes the planet through energy and innovation, from ancient fire mastery to modern technology. This dynamic interplay between life and Earth reveals a fascinating, ever-evolving story of our planet’s history and humanity’s profound impact on its future.
The Ultimate Unity for Thought is the Society of Minds
This lofty philosophical treatise passionately argues that the pinnacle of thought and being is a divine society of free spirits in fellowship, whose joyful self-realization through mutual service and growth comprises the final purpose of all creation. Our supreme hope is participation in this Community of Minds.
The Universe of Experience
A Worldview Beyond Science and Religion
Modern experience forces philosophy and social thought to confront the basic problems of value. Is this life worth caring about? How can we find a way between the deceit of fanatical belief and despair? In the view of Lancelot Law Whyte, the essential challenge to mankind today is an underlying nihilism promoting violence and frustrating sane policies on major social issues. Avoiding the seductive trap of utopianism, Whyte approaches this challenge by defining the terms of a potentially worldwide consensus of heart, mind, and will.
The Urban Effect
A Doctrine of the Infant God
Like a cosmic infant slowly learning to walk, reality is toddling towards its divine potential in this essay by Soleri. Through the urban effect of dense interactions, lifeless matter evolves in complexity and miniaturization, transforming into living spirit. The cosmic journey culminates when all moments coexist in esthetic equity.
The Veil of Thoughts
Alan describes the ways in which we have concealed truth behind a veil of thoughts. He talks about how and why we mistake symbols for reality, argues that civilization may be a misguided experiment, offers observations about the way in which abstractions have become more powerful than the realities they are referencing, and explains how we can become “unbamboozled” from these ways of thinking.
The Watcher, the Knower, the Spirit Self
Swami Sarvapriyananda discusses the Advaita Vedanta understanding of consciousness, which sees it as the fundamental, non-dual reality behind all experience. He contrasts this with scientific theories that try to explain consciousness in terms of brain activity, arguing that such approaches cannot account for the subjective, first-person nature of consciousness. He also touches on the Vedantic views on consciousness after death, rebirth, and the relationship between spirituality and emerging technologies like AI.
The World Wide Web and the Millennium
Seldom do we have an opportunity to test the accuracy of oracular predictions, but this fascinating conversation between two great thinkers has already proven to be right on target. Speculations include the future evolutionary development of the Internet, whether it is an embryonic intelligence, whether it will merge our minds into a planetary consciousness, or whether it is an alien brain waiting for humanity to cross an evolutionary threshold. Let the bard and the chaos theorist weave an exquisite cybernetic fantasy for you in this evening seminar.
The World and its Double
This workshop, held at the Nature Friends Lodge, revolves around how psychedelics dissolve boundaries, connect us to the transcendental, and reveal the novel realities underlying our perceived mundane existence. Terence explores how shamanic techniques give access to higher dimensions of consciousness, and describes history as an ever-accelerating process approaching an eschatological transformation or singularity.
Thought is an Abstraction
David Bohm explores the nature of thought, concepts, and abstraction. He argues that thought operates through abstraction and categorization, and that concepts, while essential for communication and understanding, can also lead to self-deception and confusion when mistaken for reality. Bohm highlights the power of concepts and names, and how they can become deeply intertwined with our sense of self and values.
Touched by the Tremendum
Terence McKenna suggests ancient African societies used psychedelic mushrooms in communal rituals, leading to reduced ego and increased cooperation. When climate change disrupted this harmony, it pushed humans into the “nightmare of history” dominated by ego and competition. McKenna advocates for reconnecting with psychedelics, particularly psilocybin and DMT, as tools for dissolving ego-boundaries and potentially saving our planet from ecological crisis. The talk concludes with a lively debate about the practicality of his vision.
Towards the Unknown
McKenna doth insist mushrooms assist Our minds to resist what we thought we had missed. Beyond normal ken, psychedelics send Our thoughts to transcend, our culture to mend. Though seen as a vice by the mainstream to chide These compounds provide portals to sights inside That propel our race to a posthuman place By opening space for our minds to embrace.
Transformation of Consciousness
Alan discusses the different states of consciousness which the human mind can attain, and some of the chemical compounds which may serve as tools to reach these mental realms.
Are We Aware That We Are Fragmented?
Transformation of Man, Part 1
This trialogue between Krishnamurti, Bohm, and Shainberg methodically uncovers the nature of man’s psyche, his fragmentation, the limitations of a thought-based society, and finds out if there is a wholeness, a sacredness in life which is untouched by thought.
Tryptamine Hallucinogen Consciousness
Terence McKenna describes his encounters with DMT and psilocybin, powerful tryptamine compounds that launch users into hyperspace where they meet "self-transforming machine elves" and experience visual language beyond words. These brief but intense journeys reveal a dimension of intelligence that challenges our understanding of consciousness. McKenna believes these experiences hint at humanity's future evolution and our reconnection with the universe's living intelligence.
Turning the Head, or Turning On
Talking to an audience at San José State University, Alan Watts recounts the first time he tried consciousness-altering substances after meeting Aldous Huxley. He argues that Western society largely isn’t ready for the mystical experience which can be triggered in these mental states, but nonetheless advocates for them, as they may arouse positive transformation in the human collectivity.
Understanding Media
The Extensions of Man
When first published, Marshall McLuhan’s Understanding Media made history with its radical view of the effects of electronic communications upon man and life in the twentieth century. In Terrence Gordon’s own words, “McLuhan is in full flight already in the introduction, challenging us to plunge with him into what he calls ‘the creative process of knowing.’” Much to the chagrin of his contemporary critics McLuhan’s preference was for a prose style that explored rather than explained. Probes, or aphorisms, were an indispensable tool with which he sought to prompt and prod the reader into an “understanding of how media operate” and to provoke reflection.
Understanding and Imagination in the Light of Nature
The Great Mystery whispers through psychedelics as it unfurls revelations beyond language’s grasp. Here, ego-bound shells crack open as cosmic minds reborn beyond confines of space and time. We thus commune with the endless Imagination—holographic spirit-stuff whereof worlds are wrought. Invariants of the eternal suffuse temporal shadow-play, the mundane ever aflame in subtler dimensions. All form awakens, ascends, drawn unto consummate transcendence as history’s fever dream blossoms into timeless infinitude.
Understanding the Chaos at History's End
Delivered at the end of McKenna’s first month as scholar-in-residence at Esalen, when he began a new phase in his public speaking career. This weekend workshop provides an early glimpse at Terence’s description of the looming “transcendental object at the end of time,” and the psychedelic insights which led him to become an oracle.
Vertigo at History's Edge
Nothing Comes Unannounced
As we approach history's climax, McKenna heralds the inevitable complexification of existence. He foretells technology and pharmacology's fusion into higher consciousness and collective awakening through boundary dissolution. Still, the human spirit yearns freedom from constraints of belief, non-experience. McKenna beckons: reclaim your mind, body, and world! Destiny awaits our willful shaping. The cosmic hourglass empties; shall we awaken?
Virtual Reality and Electronic Highs
On Becoming Virtual Octopi
Terence discusses virtual reality technology, which allows people to have immersive experiences in digital worlds. He describes the state of VR in the 1990s and speculates on its future implications, both positive and negative. He reflects on how VR could lead to new forms of communication and imagination, but also trivial entertainment. If used thoughtfully, he concludes, VR holds tremendous transformative potential.
Visionary Experience
Presented at the 14th Annual Congress of Applied Psychology. Aldous Huxley had been invited to the symposium by Timonthy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass). The two had met some months earlier, when Tim invited the author of the first two major works of modern psychedelic literature (The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell) to participate in the Harvard research program. Huxley agreed and was “Subject no.11” in a group psilocybin session run by Leary in November 1960.
Walking Out of the Ordinary
(Speech at Sunshine Gardens)
Journey with Terence McKenna into the mystical depths of the psychedelic experience, where alien dimensions beckon and unseen vistas await. McKenna describes fantastical realms beyond ordinary conceptions of reality—worlds that hold promise for expanding human consciousness. He argues persuasively that plant medicines like psilocybin can serve as a key not only to self-knowledge, but to rediscovering our cosmic belonging. McKenna's uncanny ability to articulate the ineffable allows him to initiate audiences into the revelatory power of psychedelic states. Join him on this quest, and you too may glimpse the infinities within.
Way Beyond Seeking
Alan reflects on key principles of Taoism, noting how even a fruit fly views itself as the pinnacle of creation—just as humans do. He explains how opposites like yin and yang rely on each other, like two sticks held in balance. Watts cautions against relying too heavily on words to capture life’s complexity. Yet, through stories and logic, he gently encourages us to embrace non-action, trust intuition, stay humble, and recognize our connection with nature. Taoist ideas to reflect on and savor.
Ways of Being
Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
What does it mean to be intelligent? Is it uniquely human, or shared with other beings—animals, plants, machines? As AI advances, it becomes a strange, even alien force, challenging our place in the world. Meanwhile, other intelligences—natural systems we’ve overlooked—reveal their agency and complexity. In Ways of Being, James Bridle explores these intelligences through biology, physics, and art, urging us to rethink our technologies and societies for a more equitable coexistence with the nonhuman world. Bold and thought-provoking, it’s essential for our survival.
What Exactly is the Human Body?
Teilhard muses on the perplexities of defining the human body. He finds the common notions inadequate and proposes a new perspective—that each person's body encompasses not just their cells but the entire universe they influence and are influenced by. Though complex, his ideas offer an intriguing new angle on embodiment.
What Is Now?
Rupert invites us to take a direct look at the present moment. His succinct investigation leads to stunning revelations about the nature of pure consciousness.
What is it Like to be a Group Agent?
The existence of group agents is relatively widely accepted. Examples are corporations, courts, NGOs, and even entire states. But should we also accept that there is such a thing as group consciousness? I give an overview of some of the key issues in this debate and sketch a tentative argument for the view that group agents lack phenomenal consciousness. In developing my argument, I draw on integrated information theory, a much-discussed theory of consciousness. I conclude by pointing out an implication of my argument for the normative status of group agents.
What is it Like to be a Thermostat?
Commentary on Dan Lloyd, “What is it Like to Be a Net?”
Could a simple thermostat possess consciousness? Philosopher David Chalmers believes it's possible. He compares connectionist networks to mundane thermostats, finding uncanny similarities in how they process information. This suggests thermostats could model basic conscious experience, if we accept certain criteria. Chalmers argues complexity alone cannot explain awareness. Though advanced artificial networks mimic consciousness, some essence eludes. He concludes we must look beyond connectionist models, seeking deeper laws not yet conceived, as we continue our quest to unveil the very essence of consciousness.
Who Are We?
A lecture held at the Vedanta Society of Southern California’s Hollywood temple, in which Huxley goes into some depth about core issues about human existence, asking the primal question: what is our true nature?
Who Is It That Knows There Is No Ego?
Alan explores the idea of separateness, and whether our language has tricked us into falsely believing that things are individual, independent, and comprehensible all on their own.
Why Is Anything Conscious?
This paper tackles the hard problem of consciousness by exploring how biological systems evolve to interpret the world. The authors argue that natural selection makes organisms self-organize into systems that feel, learn, and act—starting with basic self-awareness and climbing to complex human-level understanding. Their bold claim? Consciousness isn't an add-on but a deep, essential part of how life adapts to survive.
Why Not Now?
Alan guides us through an intimate meditation session that explores the nature of “now” and the self through direct experience rather than intellectual understanding. Using a variety of sounds, breathing exercises, and physical movements, we experience presence without analysis or labeling.
Why a Science of Mind Implies the Transcendence of Nature
God and Computers: Minds, Machines, and Metaphysics (Part 5)
Have you ever wondered how your brain creates your conscious experience? Francisco Varela explores the intersection of science and spirituality, offering a fresh perspective on the age-old mind-body problem. Drawing inspiration from Buddhist teachings, he argues that our everyday human experience is the key to unlocking the mysteries of consciousness. Varela proposes a research program called neurophenomenology, which aims to bridge the gap between brain activity and subjective experience. Through engaging examples and insightful explanations, he demonstrates how the exploration of consciousness can lead to both scientific advancements and a deeper understanding of ourselves.
Wider Than the Sky
The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness
How does the firing of neurons give rise to subjective sensations, thoughts, and emotions? How can the disparate domains of mind and body be reconciled? The quest for a scientifically based understanding of consciousness has attracted study and speculation across the ages. In this direct and non-technical discussion of consciousness, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman draws on a lifetime of scientific inquiry into the workings of the brain to formulate answers to the mind-body questions that intrigue every thinking person. Concise and understandable, the book explains pertinent findings of modern neuroscience and describes how consciousness arises in complex brains. Edelman explores the relation of consciousness to causation, to evolution, to the development of the self, and to the origins of feelings, learning, and memory. His analysis of the brain activities underlying consciousness is based on recent remarkable advances in biochemistry, immunology, medical imaging, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, yet the implications of his book extend farther―beyond the worlds of science and medicine into virtually every area of human inquiry.
Wisdom of the Mountains
Alan unveils the esoteric path of Vajrayana Buddhism, a web of mantras and vivid symbols designed to plunge the seeker into the jeweled depths of inner consciousness. Through paradox and unconvention, one embraces the cosmic dance of opposites, letting go of ego efforts to realize the primordial state of spontaneous enlightenment. This way of fascination and surprise contrasts the ascetic vehicles, inviting one to become utterly absorbed in life’s mystery.
Wisdom of the Ridiculous
Alan Watts outlines the philosophy of Chinese thinker Zhuang Zhou, who believed in the value of useless things, relativity, and aligning with nature through “wu wei” or non-action. He used exaggeration and humor to argue against controlling life. Stories illustrate his ideas on uselessness and flowing with life's currents. Zhuang Zhou's approach contrasts with Western notions of God and law. Overall, his playful philosophy advocates not resisting the natural Tao or way of things.
World as Consciousness
Alan Watts guides us through Mahayana Buddhism to reveal that the world is not something we passively witness, but something we actively create—moment by moment. Wake up: reality is now, consciousness is all, and you are the dance itself.
World as Play
Watts presents a core Eastern philosophy of the world as a dramatic illusion, and that it exists for no other reason except to be experienced in a playful manner.
You Are Not What You Look Like
Harding invites us to investigate who we really are, beyond appearances. He argues we are not the body we see in the mirror; rather, the mystics say we are the unseen awareness peering out. So look within and discover you are not merely a mortal form, but the deathless source beholding this mirage called “life.”
Youniverse Explorer
Douglas Harding demonstrates his “Youniverse” educational toy, which visually depicts the process of investigating one’s identity, starting from the outer viewpoint of galaxies and zooming in to the innermost center.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
An Inquiry into Values
A father and son embark on a motorcycle road trip across the U.S., blending personal reflection with a deep philosophical exploration of life. The narrative examines the concept of “Quality,” a unifying idea that bridges art, science, and human values. Through vivid travel experiences and flashbacks to the narrator’s past, it questions the balance between rational thinking and intuition, the meaning of technology, and how people find purpose in their work and lives. It’s a journey of self-discovery and timeless insight.
