The Joyous Cosmology: Adventures in the Chemistry of Consciousness

by Alan W. Watts

Book Overview

A classic account of the psychedelic experience The Joyous Cosmology is Alan Watts's exploration of the insight that the consciousness-changing drugs LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin can facilitate "when accompanied with sustained philosophical reflection by a person who is in search, not of kicks, but of understanding." More than an artifact, it is both a riveting memoir of Watts's personal experiments and a profound meditation on our perennial questions...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1608682048
• ISBN13: 9781608682041
• Release Date: April 2013
• Publisher: New World Library
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Top notch. Alan Watts at his finest...

This is a quick and wonderfully inspiring read. In it seems to be the buds that blossom throughout the rest of Alan's amazing works. This book conveys the power and immensity of that unified ground of being from which all the patterns of the world spring, without dissociation or apprehension, but with identification and joyous exuberance. Great book. Highly recommend it to anyone.

Psychedelic Rememberance: Ecstacies & Early Warnings

This classic by Alan Watts is one of my favorite books for remembering the elevating side of the psychedelic experience. Itwas sensitively written during the period when psychologists weremore optimisitic about lsd psychotherapy: after all, it gets thepatient to talking, and that is what pays, especially if the result is elevating fascination. Furthermore, many ofthe effects were memorable and salutory. Of course, since thosedays it has become evident that lsd-25 is not entirely foolproof, and that frequent use at unknown dosages using material of unknown quality can easily lead an explorer to a hospital where he may have to recover from an induced nervousbreakdown. The reveries of Alan Watts concerning his experiences are agreeable and have a sacred quality to them. However, Interested investigators would be well-advised to read LSD: MY PROBLEM CHILD by Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered lsd-25. This book is less sanguine, more medically realistic, and contains specific information about disagreeable effects at high dosages, information on specific toxicity, other accounts of pharmaceutical industry professionals regarding the usefulproperties and post-use side-effects, scenarios for safe usage,and so on. All that will be left is a hunt for some blessed land of freedom where men may still take lsd once in a while without the hauting side-effects of police pursuit, imprisonment, and jailhouse blues.

The Joyous Cosmology

My best friend let me borrow 'The Joyous Cosmology' and I read it in 2 hours. An intellegent perspective of such things was very interesting to read because most of the time when you hear about Acid, Mescaline, and shrooms, all you hear is a bunch of incohearent praise with nothing to back it up. With a scientific understanding of it, I would feel a lot safer doing such things. A super book!

Entheogens: Professional Listing

"The Joyous Cosmology" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomathy." http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy

A mind blowing joy ride

The Joyous Cosomology is one of the most powerful and at the same time fun books I've ever read. It is unfortunate that it is out of print because it has much to show readers concerning the imaginative construction and deconstruction of this universe. This is perhaps Watts' most direct and creative work and it has the potential to open up many doors in the readers mind. The photography in the book is a wonderful addition and works well to spark the imagination into re-creating our perceptions of reality.