Which psychedelic book do you suggest I read first...?

Question

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

Your Brain is God by Timothy Leary

The Doors of Perception and Heaven and h**l by Adous Huxley

Change Your Brain by Timothy Leary

The Psychedelic Experience by Timonthy Leary

P.S. Note: I have no previous experience with psychedelic drugs; I've never taken them. I am interested in their effects, the acid culture, the revolution Leary led, and enlightening aspects of drug use.

Answer 1

"The Psychedelic Experience" book by Timothy Leary focuses on the mental and spiritual aspects of a psychedelic drug session.  These aspects are laid out and thoroughly explained

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this one is good also;

Altered States:Creativity Under the Influence,JamesHughes

The book considers how the components of creativity--awareness, energy, loss of self-conscious ness--are affected by stimuli to the brain such as meditative rituals, alcohol, and drugs. "

Answer 2

I'd read The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.

I'd also like to recommend a book not on your list:  "LSD:  My Problem Child" by Albert Hofmann, the chemist who first synthesized LSD.

Happy reading!

Answer 3

For a real understanding of the experience, I'd read Huxley first. Tom Wolfe's book is much more about the scene that developed around Ken Kesey. For that, though, it's fairly accurate for the bits I knew, and a good read.  As for Leary, I haven't read his books but I have read a few articles by him and met him a few times in the 60's; I thought he was on much more of an ego trip in his role of psychedelic guru, and nowhere near as insightful as Huxley, who approached it with a genuinely deep interest and an intelligent mind--and who is an excellent writer besides.

Another book that gives a chronologically ordered, colorfully detailed and at times dry-humored account of the subculture development in and around San Francisco is Haight-Ashbury: A History, by Charles Perry, who served as poetry editor in the early days of Rolling Stone during a good part of that period.

You might also be interested in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which was used by some acidheads as a metaphorical reference or guide for the use of LSD. It was written by a Tibetan buddhist sect centuries ago as a preparation for the realms beyond death and the many visions experienced there, culminating in eventual liberation or a safe rebirth.

--Enjoy your reading!

Donna H.

Answer 4

There are no "enlightening aspects of drug use", unless you have a very superficial, childish idea of what enlightenment is supposed to be.

Answer 5

1) Read Kerouac's "On the Road." for social setting.

2) Read "The Doors of Perception" next.

3) Then, "The Electric Koolaid Acid Test"

4) Finally, "The Psychedelic Experience." forget the other 2.

P.S. A few years ago I had a lot of experience with all the "mind altering" drugs available and have had some interesting things happen. On the other hand I've seen people go totally"Around the Bend"; some never came back and died in mental hospitals. Many kept chasing the sensation or "enlightenment" until their lives, and those of their families, were wasted beyond the point of no return. The only thing I got out of the drugs was the realization that "everything isn't as it seems". There really are more than 1 reality, and that has helped me understand theoretical quantum physics  (or ecosystems) better.  I knew Tom Leary when he was a graduate student and I can truthfully say that he was now more "enlightened" last year than before---just different.

By the way, if you are under about 20, don't mess with any drugs, including alcohol. At that age some neurons in the cerebral cortex have not yet grown and connected to the lower side of the frontal lobes. That means they can understand facts and situations but can not adequately connect actions to consequences. Many drugs inhibit this faculty from ever connecting.    michael