Aldous Huxley’s Influence on Psychedelic Culture

Aldous Huxley is one of the many authors when we want to mention the most renowned authors.

Many people love his unique writing style and philosophy, but what attracts the psychedelic community to him?

Beautiful minds in the psychedelic world, like Alexander Shulgin and Terence McKenna, often mentioned his name and were fans.

While some people became interested in Brave New World, the psychedelic community held close to its heart, a book written after Huxley’s experiment with the cactus alkaloid mescaline, present in various species such as Lophophora Spp. and Trichocereus Spp.

 

 

Huxley heard about one of these cacti, Peyote, used by the Native American Church in New Mexico during his visit to the United States in 1937.

Around the same period, the British psychiatrist who coined the term psychedelics, Humphry Osmond, became fascinated by the effects of LSD and mescaline. He observed that these substances produced effects similar to those of schizophrenia, leading him to believe that schizophrenia was caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

In 1952, Osmond theorized that the similarities between mescaline and the molecules of Adrenaline could be a key to understanding schizophrenia. Osmond theorized that schizophrenia could be a form of self-intoxication caused by one’s own body.

He held that ideology with his heart but, at the same time, became interested in the potential of psychedelics to foster mind-expanding and mystical experiences.

Similar to the experiences of Eric Guttmann and Walter Maclay with artists, which led to the creation of two famous paintings by Julian Trevelyan: Elephants in Horse Boxes (Mescaline) and Horse with Bull (Mescaline).

Perhaps these compounds could make us explore the mind differently! 

 

 

 

 

One year later, Osmond’s ideas were validated by Aldous Huxley. After exchanging letters, Osmond traveled to the United States to meet Huxley, bringing with him the mescaline they had discussed. In Osmond’s presence, Huxley documented his experience in one of his most famous works, The Doors of Perception. This book details his observations of the Hollywood Hills and his reactions to various artworks while under the influence of the compound.

Such a book influenced a large amount of people in the psychedelic world. Huxley argued that psychedelics can ‘open the doors’ of the mind, allowing us to experience an unfiltered reality and tap into deep states of consciousness. He hypothesized that the brain functions as a ‘reducing valve’ limiting our awareness of reality.

 

 

 

This theory resonated deeply with the psychedelic community, suggesting that psychedelics could remove those boundaries and reveal profound insights.

 Hence, Huxley’s reflections introduced the possibility of psychedelics not only as recreational substances but for their potential as tools for philosophical and spiritual explorations.

Huxley’s ideologies about consciousness and the mind became foundational to the counterculture movement in the 1960s. They influenced figures such as Timothy Leary, one of the most predominant advocates for psychedelics of that era, who mentioned that psychedelics were not only agents of psychological exploration but also instruments of personal and social transformation in an era that sought to transcend conventional boundaries in search of individual liberation and change.

However, Huxley’s most significant contribution to the psychedelic community was his integration of Eastern mysticism with Western scientific thought.

Aldous Huxley’s interest in spirituality led him to explore and draw inspiration from the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. He believed these philosophies were in harmony with his insights into psychedelics. This perspective is particularly evident in his work The Perennial Philosophy, where he argued that all spiritual traditions share a fundamental truth about the unity of existence.

Inspiring countless seekers in the 1960s to explore beyond Buddhism, Hinduism, and other Eastern philosophies alongside their psychedelic experiences, helping create a new fusion of spirituality that had a lasting impact on Western society, which many view as an introduction of a spiritual dimension to the psychedelic experience,  and a central to the transformative potential of psychedelics.

A few years after his experience with Mescaline, Huxley became an advocate for the use of LSD in therapeutic settings, particularly for those with terminal illnesses, including himself. Shortly before he died on November 22nd, 1963, he requested and received an injection of LSD as he lay on his deathbed next to his wife, Laura Huxley, an experience that reportedly eased his transition and allowed him to confront his mortality with a sense of peace.

You can hear more about Huxley’s experience, reported by his wife Laura, here:

Today, in a psychedelic renaissance, Huxley’s influence remains highly relevant, as many researchers and authors cite many of his works in discussions of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and the therapeutic potential of substances like psilocybin and MDMA.

Researchers and therapists continue to follow Huxley’s ideologies on consciousness, suggesting that psychedelics may indeed play a role in addressing mental health issues, enhancing creativity, and facilitating spiritual growth, encouraging an approach to psychedelics not merely as recreational substances but as tools for exploring the deeper dimensions of human existence and reminding us of the profound potential that lies within the ‘doors of perception.’