The Steersman: Metabeliefs and Self-Navigation

by John C. Lilly

In this intellectually bracing work, John C. Lilly, whose groundbreaking research inspired Day of the Dolphins and Altered States, likens humans to biochemical robots without an operating manual. By learning to program the robot, he argues, humans gain spiritual independence. Knowing one’s core beliefs and understanding how they direct one’s actions are critical steps towards such independence. But for many people, spiritual beliefs are like clothes, put on and taken off for various occasions — and like clothes, become a kind of confining uniform, rendering one person virtually identical to the next. In The Steersman, Lilly shows readers how to identify their guiding beliefs and, most importantly, how to change them in ways that they choose, making it possible to break out of the confines of beliefs accepted without consideration and navigate a new path of self-discovery.

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2006

About the author

John Cunningham Lilly was an American physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher, writer and inventor.

He was a researcher of the nature of consciousness using mainly isolation tanks, dolphin communication, and psychedelic drugs, sometimes in combination.

Reviews

[Gerbik · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been an enthusiastic reader of Lilly's for a few years now, and I've been excited by these new editions Ronin Publishing has brought forth. "Center of the Cyclone" is well done, but "The Steersman" is highly suspect. Despite several recognizable Lilly-isms, a look on the inside copyright page states that the book was "translated" by Beverly A. Potter; nonetheless, this book is in English and Lilly himself wrote in English. What has been "translated," then? A note in small print at an opening page's foot states that this book was "derived" from Lilly's "Simulations of God: The Science of Belief." I have read that book, and it was certainly a good candidate for being clarified and elaborated upon, but I simply have no idea what to make of this supposedly "derived translation." To top it off, in one passage, there is a reference to the television show "Nip/Tuck" (albeit cited as "Nip and Tuck"), which Lilly certainly never saw - he was dead by then. There must have been some sort of copyright loophole that allowed this book to be put together as such. Without access to "Simulations of God," I have no way of knowing the degree to which this book is an effective update and synopsis or a badly put-together mishmash - it's been too long since I read "Simulations." Considering the awful syntax and grammatical errors I encountered on many pages, I assume it's a sort of cannibalizing of the Lilly corpus which Ronin has gained the rights to. Nonetheless, to be fair, it isn't entirely without merit: Lilly is a very underrated writer in the line of William James and C.G. Jung. The publishers simply needs to offer more disclosure to the reader who may be misled as to what they're reading.

[Marla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating investigation of the mind. I wish both he and his son were alive, I have so many questions...