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134th out of 395 books
—
1,144 voters
Prometheus Rising
Imagine trying to make sense of an amalgam of Timothy Leary's eight neurological circuits, G.I. Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybskis general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, and the several disciplines of Yoga; not to mention Christian Science, relativity, quantum mechanics, and many other approaches to understanding the world around us!...more
Paperback, 22nd print, 284 pages
Published
September 1st 2010
by New Falcon Publications
(first published 1983)
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Robert Anton Wilson manages yet again to pull the rug from right under my reality-tunnel. Infused with contagious optimism for the future of us domesticated primates, his only fault might be in guessing too soon the dates of our future collective evolutionary benchmarks. But just because what he hoped would have happened by now hasn't, doesn't mean it won't.
Case in point, just today the BBC posted a news article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7... about the probability that by 2029 tiny ro...more
Case in point, just today the BBC posted a news article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7... about the probability that by 2029 tiny ro...more
Jan 25, 2009
Tyler
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone looking to expand their consciousness
This book is an eye-opening analysis of Dr. Timothy Leary's eight circuits of the brain. Wilson skillfully combines theories from Freud, Jung, ancient Sanskrit texts and other philosophers and scientists from all niches, and explains them in an easy to understand and often humorous manner while summarizing their differences to each other and their striking analogues to Dr. Leary's overarching physiological and psychological paradigm. He relates historical anecdotes of mental epiphanies and enlig...more
I regard this book as a masterpiece; R A Wilson manages to provoke the reader into mindblowing realizations about how we percieve our surroundings and how this effects our actions, by constantly skillfully playing with your thinking and fooling you into thought traps to prove his points. Some parts could at a first glance seem like pure hippie bullshit by a not-so-alert reader - especially the ones about superhuman or divine perceptions - but this isn't bullshit. It is his genious way of getting...more
Do I agree with everything written in this book? No, but that doesn't mean it's not a worthwhile read. RAW, as always, has given me something to chew on.
This is a book with a lot of wild claims, and plenty of it is completely off the wall, but there's a lot here that rings really true, and hits home for me. Everyone with any interest in how the mind works and what the ultimate truth of reality is should absolutely give this a read; it's funny, thought provoking, wildly optimistic and a little s...more
This is a book with a lot of wild claims, and plenty of it is completely off the wall, but there's a lot here that rings really true, and hits home for me. Everyone with any interest in how the mind works and what the ultimate truth of reality is should absolutely give this a read; it's funny, thought provoking, wildly optimistic and a little s...more
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This is a great book that explains how we have been programmed to be more robotic-like from evolutionary processes and how the ruling classes of the modern world have exploited these weaknesses and vulnerabilities via imprinting and conditioning.
The book focuses on Timothy Leary's eight circuits of consciousness, which to me seem to be the best model i've heard of in scientific regard to consciousness, explaining the divisions of our biological, instinctual consciousness to our higher and more...more
The book focuses on Timothy Leary's eight circuits of consciousness, which to me seem to be the best model i've heard of in scientific regard to consciousness, explaining the divisions of our biological, instinctual consciousness to our higher and more...more
This guy brings up a lot of interesting stuff that I hadn't heard before, maybe if I had had more of an education it would be old news to me, these different theories of mind, etc. but then there was a lot of stuff that I felt was more or less garbage, and nothing was substantiated other than by saying, like, "I'm a cool old hippy dude, trust me, I know what I'm talking about.." I need a little more.
Entertaining-ish, though, and thought-provoking.
Entertaining-ish, though, and thought-provoking.
This book had some interesting information regarding psychology. It is a VERY quick read, and it DOES have interesting ideas in it, so it is recommended as a nice "bonus card" in anyone's psychology collection.
Starting with 5 stars:
-1 for unwarranted claims
-1 for only half of the book being interesting [the first half]
-1 for not having all that much information from which to build a synthesis
More in-depth review:
1. It's view on psychology I found a bit limited and boxy, I also found the authors...more
Starting with 5 stars:
-1 for unwarranted claims
-1 for only half of the book being interesting [the first half]
-1 for not having all that much information from which to build a synthesis
More in-depth review:
1. It's view on psychology I found a bit limited and boxy, I also found the authors...more
3 likes · like · see review
I haven't read anything else of RAW's besides Quantum Psychology- but I'm a huge fan already. I will say that I liked Quantum Psych better-- it just seemed more focussed and a more productive read. This was fun-- but I think I would not have enjoyed it as much if I had read this first instead. So if you're new to RAW, this may or may not be the best starter book, but regardless, his wit, "insight," and subtle, dry humor were great, of course, and I recommend it to everyone. The exercises at the...more
A must read for anyone who seeks to expand their consciousness, Prometheus Rising is optimistic in its entirety. It is an in depth explanation on how our mind perceives "reality" and how we can unleash our minds to its full potential. Robert Anton Wilson explains in great detail Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness and posits that by understanding it, we can free ourselves from the roboticized roles society has imposed on us and, ultimately, our minds will know no boundaries. Althoug...more
Mam sporawy problem - jak tu zacząć recenzje tej książki? Robert Anton Wilson porusza w niej tyle tematów i zagadnień, że tak naprawde ciężko wyjaśnić to w kilku akapitach - czemu myślymi, w jaki sposób myślymy, co jest prawdą, a co nie? Czy istnieje Bóg, a może bóg; bogowie? Może nie ma boga? A może jest. A może to całe pisanie jest bez sensu? Może autor próbuję nam powiedzieć, że wszystko jest wytworem naszej wyobraźni? Albo jesteśmy produktem naszego kręgu kulturowego i wszystko czego się nau...more
I, too, got a kick out of RAW's book, but I also had a problem with several arguments. While perhaps not meant to be taken too seriously, and personally stashed in the fringe fun reading arena like something from Feral House Press, there are some great insights. There is something to the 8 "circuits" insofar as people do seem to possess these patterns, and they could probably be classed in a hierarchy like Wilson does. However, because of his occult views, he falls into the category of "psycholo...more
This book was suggested to me by a chat-room user on a site called deoxy.com. This user suggested this title as a "Primer", and a "Primer" it was in many ways to me.
"Robert Anton Wilson", who draws from "Dr. Timothy Leary" writings on the 8-circuit model of consciousness, planted a lot of seeds within my mind and has giving me a lot to digest on what exactly reality is, how I perceive it and my abilities to form and mold a better one for myself. there is alot missing outside of this short revie...more
"Robert Anton Wilson", who draws from "Dr. Timothy Leary" writings on the 8-circuit model of consciousness, planted a lot of seeds within my mind and has giving me a lot to digest on what exactly reality is, how I perceive it and my abilities to form and mold a better one for myself. there is alot missing outside of this short revie...more
I wasn't expecting too much from this book, but knew that I would find interesting things here and there. However, when I got the ebook I was very surprised to find that it is a very thought-provoking read. The more that I read alternative literature like this, the stranger reality gets. Here and there the author includes exercised to test theories that are outlined in the book. Personally, I'm a sucker for any self-improvement/new-age book that includes exercises to test out in daily life. I've...more
This is a good book for learning basic critical thinking skills that are all too lacking in the world today.
Robert Anton Wilson is the best person to tell you that you think a lot of nonsense. He's a smiling Buddha, reminiscent of a west coast Budai. The writing is secondary to the exercises. Do them. Again and again. To call these "thought exercises" is to do them a great injustice. Philip K. Dick was an admirer of this book, and with good reason. You can really clean out the ol' mental cobweb...more
Robert Anton Wilson is the best person to tell you that you think a lot of nonsense. He's a smiling Buddha, reminiscent of a west coast Budai. The writing is secondary to the exercises. Do them. Again and again. To call these "thought exercises" is to do them a great injustice. Philip K. Dick was an admirer of this book, and with good reason. You can really clean out the ol' mental cobweb...more
Anton Wilson sets down a lucid explanation of how the human mind is "programed" and of equal or greater importance how to reprogram one's self. Undoubtably the clarity of an author largely depends upon the meeting of the minds, author and reader. Wilson speaks to me. I follow the way that he thinks, writes. Become who you are, there are no guarantees. Wilson was often in correspondence with Timothy Leary and later worked with Christopher Hyatt. Hyatt's book "Undoing Yourself With Energized Medi...more
This is a pretty amazing book. I'm giving it 5 stars, but... for a book like this, that is more about the exposition of a philosophical point of view, you might easily confuse a five-star rating with an endorsement of that wold view, or as the author would say, with that reality tunnel. But perhaps it does. The mental exercises and models of understanding human experience always leave wiggle-room for subjective interpretation.
While he does seem to say that "this is how the human mind works" and...more
While he does seem to say that "this is how the human mind works" and...more
Really liked this! Zooming around, bits flying all over the place, and connections drawn from all over the shop. The exercises at the end of each chapter are fun and often unnerving.
Its a rich spread of ideas, without a dull sentence, even when it turns down some more mystical corners. It's the only thing I've read that makes me want to learn more about that side of the coin.
Hes not attached to the model either, just claims its the best he has at the time(the map is not the territory). But he s...more
Its a rich spread of ideas, without a dull sentence, even when it turns down some more mystical corners. It's the only thing I've read that makes me want to learn more about that side of the coin.
Hes not attached to the model either, just claims its the best he has at the time(the map is not the territory). But he s...more
I consider RAW to be one of my two greatest teachers, the other being my chi gung instructor.
This book may put you off if you are still firmly grounded in the rationist materialist paradigm. Try Quantum Psychology instead.
But if you are already living with a worldview outside the scientific reductionist materialist paradigm, then Quantum Psychology might seem a bit tame. Prometheus rising presents similar material but goes farther in exploring the potentials latent in the human consciousness, AN...more
This book may put you off if you are still firmly grounded in the rationist materialist paradigm. Try Quantum Psychology instead.
But if you are already living with a worldview outside the scientific reductionist materialist paradigm, then Quantum Psychology might seem a bit tame. Prometheus rising presents similar material but goes farther in exploring the potentials latent in the human consciousness, AN...more
1 like · like · see review
In life there's books and then there's pieces of living, changing books that
Morph over time with the perception of the reader. This is one of those living pieces of literature. Each read is different than the last providing new insights and realizations.
This book will challenge you to reassess your narrower views of reality and thought and, if you allow it, place you firmly upon a new path leading toward reprogrammed levels of perception never before contemplated.
If you happen to be the rigid,...more
Morph over time with the perception of the reader. This is one of those living pieces of literature. Each read is different than the last providing new insights and realizations.
This book will challenge you to reassess your narrower views of reality and thought and, if you allow it, place you firmly upon a new path leading toward reprogrammed levels of perception never before contemplated.
If you happen to be the rigid,...more
I got a kick out of Robert Anton Wilson's wit. Some of his observations are quite astute and eye-opening. It is almost a philosophy of psychology, that is quick to embrace and dismiss science. Sometimes I couldn't tell if he was trying to convert me into a Hindu yoga guy, a Crowlean, a Christian Scientist,a practitioner of Cabala, an atheist, a capitalist, or a Marxist, but most likely it was none of the above. He is quick to embrace and dismiss everything, often at the same time. Not sure how m...more
Wilson's sense of humor pulls you right in and holds your attention. While some of the material may be a little dated and his predictions about the future society off, this is a fascinating book. Wilson's reliance on Dr. Timothy Leary, might be a little off-putting to those who remember "Dr. Tim" toward the end of his career. However, Dr. Leary's early research in the 1950's was way out ahead of the curve and Wilson explains it in a way which the average person can understand. If you are serious...more
Robert Anton Wilson is a genius. This book elucidates a conscious evolutionary path for man. The most refreshing element of this book is that author makes no authoritarian claims. The reader is encouraged to create their own "reality tunnel" via their own investigation and insights. The author also explains the brainwashing process and how to know when it's happening and most importantly what level or "circuit" it has already happened on. This book is a modern intellectual sword with information...more
It all made sense. I mean I've been triggered onto this reality circuit since I read Illuminatus!, Principia Discordia or Condensed Chaos so I was already on this trip half way true. It was all very interesting though and the exercises were fun - I might even try out the ones I skipped on this first read (the ones I did worked surprisingly well).
The ideas on the future (that would be present for me) were a bit on the over optimistic -side, but nevertheless intriguing ideas to be mulled over. I f...more
The ideas on the future (that would be present for me) were a bit on the over optimistic -side, but nevertheless intriguing ideas to be mulled over. I f...more
Once in awhile, a person discovers a book that he/she will re-read and learn something new each time. Prometheus Rising is such a book for me. I read it once through to try to catch a glimpse of the subject matter, but how does one write (or in any other way, communicate) about something that MUST be experienced to be understood? Unless the reader is already familiar through practice, the ways of advanced yoga, reprogramming the mind and/or quantum theory, then the effort will most likely be los...more
A hugely influential book in my formative years...eh, 20, or so...RAW has the Irishman's wit and a keen way to explain complex psychological issues. "Belief systems" "Reality tunnels" Carl Jung...Orson Welles...he runs the gamut, and helps explain why we think a certain way, and perhaps thinking that way is the cause for a reaccessment. I need to revisit this book to see if it's principles are still relevant to me; it's been 15 years since I read it...nonetheless, it was a major influence on my...more
Jan 10, 2013
Annalise
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommended to Annalise by:
Nathan Stier
Shelves:
never-finished
Grab your tin foil hats, kids! The soapbox man wrote another book about drugs, neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, sociology, human development, and some sort of quantum bullshit.
I really wanted to like this book. I tried. But the pseudo-academic preachiness alone is too much. Despite being in its, like, millionth printing and having gone through revisions, it really shows its age with crazy notions about abnormal psychology, brain chemistry, evolution, and enlightenment (to name a few sore th...more
I really wanted to like this book. I tried. But the pseudo-academic preachiness alone is too much. Despite being in its, like, millionth printing and having gone through revisions, it really shows its age with crazy notions about abnormal psychology, brain chemistry, evolution, and enlightenment (to name a few sore th...more
I have to admit, I was so caught up in the ideas expressed that I totally ignored Wilson's "Excersizes" on the first go-round. I plan to go back through the book more thoroughly now that I've finished, taking time at the end of each chapter to try out some of them. On the whole, this book is revelatory. It offers up a model of human mind and behavior which can be used to assess the thoughts and actions of yourself and others to a startlingly accurate degree. What it does not do (other than to la...more
Fantastic book written with Robert Anton Wilson's typical sense of humor that blurs the lines between laughing and wonderment. Originally written as a graduate thesis and based on some of the early writings and conversations with Timothy Leary, Wilson explores the programming circuitry of the human species. Like the chakras, Wilson travels up the body from our basic survival circuitry all of the way to the most recent human evolution to the crown and our meta-programming circuitry which is an ex...more
For me, this is Robert Anton Wilson at his best. If "The Illuminatus! Trilogy" is non-fictionalized fiction, then "Prometheus Rising" is fictionalized non-fiction. Of course, there are elements of this type of thinking and writing in all of RAW's works that I have come across so far. Things that are considered "real" versus "not real" are constantly juxtaposed with each other in his work. But unlike "The Illuminatus! Trilogy," which is my favorite RAW book, this book is a tad more grounded in wh...more
Jul 31, 2008
Brandon T.
rated it
1 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
My Recycling Bin
Recommended to Brandon T. by:
My Best Friend
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Robert Anton Wilson became, at various times, an American novelist, essayist, philosopher, polymath, psychonaut, futurist, libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized as an Episkopos, Pope, and Saint of Discordianism by Discordians who care to label him as such, Wilson helped publicize the group/religion/melee through his writings, interviews, and strolls.
He described his work as an...more
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“Human society as a whole is a vast brainwashing machine whose semantic rules and sex roles create a social robot.”
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23 people liked it
“The easiest way to get brainwashed is to be born. All of the above principles then immediately go into action, a process which social psychologists euphemistically call socialization.”
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16 people liked it
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