Bob Schwartz

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is: Infinite.”
–William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Aldous Huxley used this quote for the title of his 1954 essay, The Doors of Perception, about his experiences with mescaline.

It is commonly, if simplistically, thought that psychedelic experiences open the floodgates of perception and cognition, control valves that in everyday life are regulated and closed down to allow our lives to go on in a relatively orderly and productive way. The response to those experiences may be happy delirium (Oh wow!) to scary delirium (Oh shit!), and levels in between and with variously lasting impact. One might conclude, as Blake, Huxley and others have, that one will have experienced infinity—whatever that might be.

It is mentioned here to suggest what may be one of the biggest overall problems we now face—and it is not psychedelics, though strangely related.

We are living in a time when in some ways the floodgates of perception and cognition are wide open 24/7. Just as most people, despite their confidence in their balance and stability, are not ready or able to handle 24/7 psychedelic experiences, or at all, so are most not ready or able to handle the flood of everything we seek or is thrown at us. This is not to say that most people are walking around tripping, though that imagined scene is intriguing. This is to say that with those floodgates of perception and cognition open, keeping balance is an overwhelming challenge.

Immediately some will point out that this analysis fails, because so many are still engaged in productive and constructive activities. That would be impossible if, as is posited, everyone is going around, doors cleansed, experiencing infinity all the time.

That misses the point. We can find a way to handle this flood, which for the moment seems inevitable and unavoidable. Just as, from the earliest days of psychedelics, there are those able to manage the flood beneficially, so that they become or remain balanced, stable and sane.

Since we are now drowning in media and thinking, this is not going to be easy. So much stuff. If we want to extend this possibly tortured metaphor, we need to pay attention to our dosage. Whether or not is good for us, here it is, not going away, just growing everywhere all the time.

Handled right, we might even find infinity.