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Aldous Huxley: The Most Beautiful Death

66 points by cj 16y ago

harscoat 16y ago
Wao thanks for posting this. Soon the day of his death. RIP Aldous Huxley and thanks for having written Brave New World. It changed my life.
aerique 16y ago
I'd like to try DMT before I die, but even while living in the Netherlands I'm having a hard time obtaining it. I might try extracting it myself some day but I'm not much of a DIY in that respect and I'd probably light up my garden shed.
- die_sekte 16y ago
  You could try Ayahuasca. It should be a bit easier to prepare than pure DMT, and more pleasant to consume too. The plants needed to make it are legal; the result is not, but since you're going to consume it soon after, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure that you consume no tyramine some time before and afterwards.
- thret 16y ago
  I'm interested in trying it myself, 'self-transforming machine elves' sound very interesting. The Doors of Perception is his best work. I always felt that there was something lacking in his fiction. Enjoyable, but I could never quite call it literature.
  - Alex3917 16y ago
    If you want to know more about DMT-related stuff then check out podcast Gnostic Media on iTunes and download episodes #35 and #58. Both of these are actually about 5-MeO-DMT, which is very different but equally interesting. Also there are a lot of really good Terence McKenna interviews on the Psychedelic Salon podcast, e.g. this Under The Teaching Tree series: http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1509 http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1509 Of course there is also Rick Strassman's book The Spirit Molecule, as well as James Orock's book Tryptamine Palace which is about 5-Meo-DMT. I'm way too scared to try either, but really interesting stuff.
- korch 16y ago
  There are Ayahuasca tourist businesses in Peru and in that general region. They cost less than typical vacations to the same area. You pay a local Shaman to take you into the jungle with a small group of other Western tourists, and the group goes through the important multi-day long ritual and ceremonial process of consuming ayahuasca. There's a lot more to the experience of ayahuasca than just taking it like a recreational drug. It is such a fundamentally different neurological/existential state that the ancient native ritual components are necessary in order to equip you with a conceptual context that can handle the experience. It's a belief system based on animism, where you seek out and encounter various plant teachers to learn their lessons about the Universe and yourself. Being well prepared matters. After all, those mechanical chattering elves are just the first set of gatekeeping Platonic Archons along to way to total self-annihilation. (Whatever that is.) This kind of trip is not exactly a major tourist draw, so there aren't that many shamans to choose from, but they do have their own websites!
CoreDumpling 16y ago
It was a cruel twist of fate to claim the life of a visionary such as Huxley on the same day as JFK and C.S. Lewis. Much like Sergei Prokofiev, who had the misfortune of passing on the same day as Stalin, this event flew completely under the radar. It's comforting to hear the back story to this, of the strength of the bond between Aldous and Laura. In a world that was steadily moving toward the dystopia he feared in Brave New World, at last he found the courage to face death and go peacefully. What a pity his message is now so misunderstood (cf. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919530 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919530)!
- corin_ 16y ago
  To be fair, I think those of us who might care about the death of Prokofiev wouldn't have paid more/less attention just because Stalin also died.
  - cema 16y ago
    Many would (and did) -- consider the Russians.
anthony_w 16y ago
Note that there is a transcript underneath the pictures, it's a lot easier to read.
geden 16y ago
Had me tearing up. Must re-read 'Island'. It's the perfect antidote to Brave New World.
- pstuart 16y ago
  'Island' should be required reading, right along with 'Brave New World'.

66 points by cj 16y ago

Wao thanks for posting this. Soon the day of his death. RIP Aldous Huxley and thanks for having written Brave New World. It changed my life.

aerique 16y ago

I'd like to try DMT before I die, but even while living in the Netherlands I'm having a hard time obtaining it. I might try extracting it myself some day but I'm not much of a DIY in that respect and I'd probably light up my garden shed.

die_sekte 16y ago
You could try Ayahuasca. It should be a bit easier to prepare than pure DMT, and more pleasant to consume too. The plants needed to make it are legal; the result is not, but since you're going to consume it soon after, I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure that you consume no tyramine some time before and afterwards.
thret 16y ago
I'm interested in trying it myself, 'self-transforming machine elves' sound very interesting. The Doors of Perception is his best work. I always felt that there was something lacking in his fiction. Enjoyable, but I could never quite call it literature.
- Alex3917 16y ago
  If you want to know more about DMT-related stuff then check out podcast Gnostic Media on iTunes and download episodes #35 and #58. Both of these are actually about 5-MeO-DMT, which is very different but equally interesting. Also there are a lot of really good Terence McKenna interviews on the Psychedelic Salon podcast, e.g. this Under The Teaching Tree series: http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1509 http://www.matrixmasters.net/blogs/?p=1509 Of course there is also Rick Strassman's book The Spirit Molecule, as well as James Orock's book Tryptamine Palace which is about 5-Meo-DMT. I'm way too scared to try either, but really interesting stuff.
korch 16y ago
There are Ayahuasca tourist businesses in Peru and in that general region. They cost less than typical vacations to the same area. You pay a local Shaman to take you into the jungle with a small group of other Western tourists, and the group goes through the important multi-day long ritual and ceremonial process of consuming ayahuasca. There's a lot more to the experience of ayahuasca than just taking it like a recreational drug. It is such a fundamentally different neurological/existential state that the ancient native ritual components are necessary in order to equip you with a conceptual context that can handle the experience. It's a belief system based on animism, where you seek out and encounter various plant teachers to learn their lessons about the Universe and yourself. Being well prepared matters. After all, those mechanical chattering elves are just the first set of gatekeeping Platonic Archons along to way to total self-annihilation. (Whatever that is.) This kind of trip is not exactly a major tourist draw, so there aren't that many shamans to choose from, but they do have their own websites!

CoreDumpling 16y ago

It was a cruel twist of fate to claim the life of a visionary such as Huxley on the same day as JFK and C.S. Lewis. Much like Sergei Prokofiev, who had the misfortune of passing on the same day as Stalin, this event flew completely under the radar. It's comforting to hear the back story to this, of the strength of the bond between Aldous and Laura. In a world that was steadily moving toward the dystopia he feared in Brave New World, at last he found the courage to face death and go peacefully. What a pity his message is now so misunderstood (cf. http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919530 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1919530)!

corin_ 16y ago
To be fair, I think those of us who might care about the death of Prokofiev wouldn't have paid more/less attention just because Stalin also died.
- cema 16y ago
  Many would (and did) -- consider the Russians.

anthony_w 16y ago

Note that there is a transcript underneath the pictures, it's a lot easier to read.

geden 16y ago

Had me tearing up. Must re-read 'Island'. It's the perfect antidote to Brave New World.

pstuart 16y ago
'Island' should be required reading, right along with 'Brave New World'.