Our brains are constantly taking in information from our senses and using this information to paint a picture of what this moment looks like and from this picture we make sense of the world around us. The problem we run into is that two people experiencing the same situation will not see the same picture in their minds and so their understanding of the moment will not be the same. This is true because their brains are making different decisions about what sensations to pay attention to resulting in slightly different pictures being created in their minds. They will both believe that the picture they see is the correct and true picture but the truth is that they are both only seeing a part of the real picture and how close they are to the real picture is a matter of how much of the information from the senses they have chosen to ignore.
Now, imagine a very intelligent individual with amazing language skills who knows he is not seeing the whole picture deciding to put himself in a situation where he will not be able to block any of the information coming to him from his senses concerning the world around him. This is Aldous Huxley under the influence of mescaline and this book is his description of that experience and his thoughts about how the experience could be of value to those seeking the whole picture and even to those who, while not believing a whole picture is even possible, nonetheless are dissatisfied with the partial pictures they are always experiencing. Long before science had given us any clues concerning the mechanisms at work here, he was talking about a valve in the brain that filtered information based on our notions of what was and was not important and how these entheogens worked their magic by freezing them in the fully open position for a short period of time.
This book is not an easy read but it is important and worth the effort. Perception is the key here and, if it is to be altered, then we need to do the work of identifying whatever it is that is in the way of our seeing the whole picture and finding ways to eliminate these obstacles. This is the journey we are on and this is a useful guide left behind by a fellow climber who was reaching for the top to the very end.
