My doors of perception have been opened...

It's true. Huxley is/was/will be considered a genius in my book. He is one of the most influential people in the psychedelic world and his influences permeate my thoughts on a daily basis. Next time you listen to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", check out Huxley on the album cover. I have read this book several times and some things I get perfectly, some things I still don't get, and some things I can never understand because of the importance of personal experience. I believe so far we have just been fed facts and theories about these altered states - Huxley is our first example of what someone can do while influenced by one of these ASCs. It is obvious that just because someone takes a drug, it doesn't mean they are some crazy, drug fiend. Huxley shows us that these substances can take us to levels of awareness and consciousness that help us better understand our ability as a human and he did so in an appropriate way. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Huxley talks about this chair. He describes the chair in all of its brilliance being a possibility of mankind. I think what he is saying is that our possibilities as a human are LITERALLY ENDLESS. Whether someone needs a drug to realize this is irrelevant. The fact is simply that he has realized it. Huxley speaks and writes with such a graceful tone that it is not hard to be pulled directly into the state of mind that he is in. I remember the first time I read the entire book in one sitting. After reading it I felt like I had dropped the Mescalin with him. I can definitely dig his theories and ideas about schizophrenia. He shows us that there are always two sides to everything and this thing is called life. There are obviously going to be positive and negative aspects to entering (and exiting) these states. I love when he describes the aesthetically pleasing things in life to be these gateways to heaven. I totally agree with him. It's not a place that you go after life, with him it's seeing beauty here in the Now. If anyone really dug this book, I highly recommend looking for a documentary/movie about Huxley called "The Gravity of Light". It is filled with all of the brilliance of Huxley featuring interviews with him and interviews with people who have devoted their life to the psychedelic state of mind and how it can help us as humans. I think the moment I put this book down I became one of these "mind-at-large" recruiters. I hope that this book encouraged some people to think twice about pointing the finger at people who use these drugs (and other drugs even). To each their own right?