23. Research shows we’re more likely to keep habits: Katherine Milkman, “The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior,” Wharton School Research Paper No. 51, December 24, 2013.
24. “The road of excess”: William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (Benedictine Classics, 2010), p. 11. This general observation leads to the notion of left-hand and right-hand paths to knowledge. The right hand are the orthodox paths geared for the lowest common denominators, full of “Thou Shalts” and “Thou Shalt Nots.” Imagine techniques of ecstasy designed by lawyers and bureaucrats. The left-hand path (of which tantra is one of the better-known examples, but also including Western SexMagik and other pursuits) seeks to embrace all the most distracting and addicting pursuits—sex, drugs, rock and roll—among them, to get to realization faster. The left-hand path is, arguably, the fastest path to radical awakening, but also the one with the lowest completion rate. That is why we are advocating a “middle path” here that includes permission to explore ecstatic states with the flexible “liberating structures” built into hedonic calendaring. As far as we know, we haven’t seen this kind of synthesis offered before and hope it’s useful for current explorers.
25. As Hemingway reminds us: Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms (New York: Scribner, 2014), p. 318.
26. “[It’s] a widespread tendency”: John Welwood, Toward a Psychology of Awakening (Boston: Shambhala, 2002), p.5.
27. “Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving”: Brené Brown, “Power of Vulnerability,” TEDx Houston, June 2010.
28. “Love tells me I am everything”: Nisagardatta, I Am That (Durham, NC: Acorn Press, 2012). There are lots of variants on this quotation; we have chosen the one that seemed most descriptive.
29. “[Ecstasis] is absolutely ruthless and highly indifferent”: John Lilly, Dyadic Cyclone: The Autobiograpghy of a Couple (New York: Pocket, 1977). This is, as best we can tell, the original source for a quote of Lilly’s that has been widely requoted elsewhere. We took the small liberty of replacing Lilly’s “Cosmic love” with the word ecstasis here for continuity of terms—believing that both refer to comparable experiences of selfless information richness in altered states.
30. The Japanese get at this same idea: Leonard Koren, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers (Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press, 1994), p. 67.
31. “Ring the bells that still can ring”: Leonard Cohen, “Anthem,” The Future, Sony Music, 1992.
Conclusion
1. So the founder of Oracle Corporation: Stu Woo, “Against the Wind: One of the Greatest Comebacks in Sports History,” Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2014. All factual references to the race in this section drawn from here plus author interview/conversation with James Spithill at Red Bull’s Glimpses Conference, June 2014.
2. Epimetheus, whose name means “afterthought”: Robert Graves, The Greek Myths (New York: Penguin, 1993), p. 148.
3. That is why”: Aesop, Laura Gibbs, Aesop’s Fables (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 242.
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
Aaker, Jennifer, 41
Abulafia, Abraham, 109
accidental Prometheans, 4–6
acoustics/audio, 139–41, 147, 149, 150, 152
Adderall, 29, 56, 57, 63–64
ADHD. See Adderall; Ritalin
Advanced Brain Monitoring, 27, 49, 104
The Adventure of Self-Discovery (Grof), 67
advertising. See marketing
Advertising Research Foundation, 195, 197
Aesop, 222
The Aesthetic Brain (Chatterjee), 83
Aetna, 175
Afghanistan War, 165–66
Afterburn (E. Davis), 78–79
Aftermath (Kerouac), 77
agnostic Gnosticism, 131
“Ah-Ha insight,” 48
AI. See artificial intelligence
Air Force, U.S., 183
Akashic Book, 130
Al-Wazu, 9–12, 17, 23, 25
Alcibiades, 1–2, 3, 188
alcohol, 29, 62, 63, 64–65
Alexander, John, 190
altered states
to altered traits, 90–93
benefits of, 6
characteristics of, 11, 36–46
content of, 36
deliberate cultivation of, 5–6
and freedom, 35
longevity of, 77
and methods for changing states, 29–30
phenomenological reporting of, 36
and self-talk, 37–39
similarity/consistency among experiences in, 35–36
See also Altered States Economy; ecstasis; specific topic
Altered States Economy, 28–32, 37, 67, 214
American Indian Movement (AIM), 192
American Pediatric Association, 56
American Psychiatric Association, 84
American Psychological Association, 90
amphetamine, 64, 120, 211
amygdala, 40
anamnesis, 44
anandamide, 20–21, 24, 42, 45, 217
Andrews, Tony, 139–40, 142, 150, 157
The Anesthetic Brain (Chatterjee), 83
animals: and pharmacology, 115–19
Animals and Psychedelics (Samorini), 117
“Anthem” (Cohen song), 218
apophenia, 203
Apple, 141–42, 177, 193–94
Apple Watch, 177
Applewhite, Marshall, 67
Arcy-sur-Cure caves (France), 140–41
ARISE (Associates for Research into the Science of Enjoyment), 212
Army, U.S., 183
art, immersive/visionary, 142–45, 149, 150, 157, 198
art cars, Burning Man, 210
artificial intelligence (AI), 100–102, 104, 111, 177
Arzy, Shahar, 108–10
Asprey, Dave, 176
AT&T, 185
athletes. See sports; specific person
Atlantic, 64, 82
audio. See acoustics/audio
awareness, 4–5, 177. See also self: awareness of
Barlow, John Perry, 159–60
Batiste, Jon, 169
Baudelaire, Charles: hashish salons of, 34
BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism, and masochism), 84–85
“Be All You Can Be” slogan, 190
“Beam Me Up Spock” (Alexander), 190
Beat generation, 77, 78, 81
Beer for Data program, 166
Begley, Sharon, 90
Beyond Boredom and Anxiety (Csikszentmihalyi), 43
beyond the pale, 51–52, 67, 84
Bhagavad Gita, 80
Big Data, 131–32
bin Laden, Osama, 10
bio-hacking. See consciousness-hacking technology
biofeedback, 79, 147, 151, 190, 198. See also biometrics
biology. See Pale of the Body; specific topic
biometrics, 96, 104–5, 111, 150, 151, 177, 197–98. See also biofeedback
Black Panthers, 192
Black Rock City. See Burning Man
Black Rock City Census, 160
Blahnik, Jay, 177
Blake, William, 155, 216
Bliss Point, 212–13
Blockchain Summit, 173
boat race, Ellison-New Zealand, 219–20
body
distrust of, 99–100
See also mind-body relationship; Pale of the Body
body language, 98
Book of Mormon, 127
Boom Festival (Portugal, 2014), 142, 143
The Botany of Desire (Pollan), 118
Botox, 96, 97
Bradford, Nichol, 148
brain
complexity of, 37
and default mode network, 125–26
and enlightenment engineering, 147–48
and neurobiology, 24, 74, 107–8, 109–10
and neurotheology, 107–8, 109–10
pleasure system of, 183, 191
and psychedelics, 124–26
and richness, 44–46
and STER, 36–46
and techniques of ecstasis, 24–25
temporal-parietal junction in, 109–10
and time, 40
training of, 114
and transient hypofrontality, 38, 40, 45, 125
See also brain imaging; brainwashing; EEG technology; specific part of brain or neurochemical
Brain Games (TV show), 33
brain imaging, 101, 107–8, 109–10, 177, 191. See also EEG technology
Brain (journal): Sacks comments in, 141
brainwashing, 182–85, 187–88, 193, 199
Branson, Richard, 6, 170, 173–74
Brave New World (Huxley), 3, 199
Brigham Young University: Valentine and, 52–53
Brin, Sergey, 18–22, 151–52, 157
British Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs, 60–61
Britton, Willoughby, 86–87, 88
Brooks, David, 110
Brown, Brene, 217
Brown, Patricia, 82
Browning, Robert, 65
Brugger, Peter, 203
Bryant, Kobe, 170
Buddhists, 99, 107, 113, 129
Bulletproof Executive, 176
Burners without Borders, 164–68
Burning Man
activities at, 157–58, 178
art cars of, 157, 210
communitas at, 162–63, 164, 168
culture of, 163
“demonstration projects” of, 167–68
and everyday lives, 177
FBI program at, 192
Fly Ranch as site of, 163
and Google, 19–22, 27
government surveillance at, 191–92
impact/influence of, 158–59, 161–68, 169, 172, 173
and intelligence community, 191–92
and MaiTai Global, 172
and modern-day Prometheans, 6
radical inclusion principle of, 166
“regional burns” of, 167
research about, 160
similarity in experiences at, 35
and solving wicked problems, 159–63
and STER, 158
Summit Series and, 169, 170
and training for nonordinary states, 203
Ulmer at, 210
volunteers (Burners) of, 163–68, 172, 200
Cabela, 195
caffeine, 29, 64–65
Calvert, Gemma, 194
cameras
and AI, 102
See also webcams
Cane Ridge, Kentucky: Second Great Awakening at, 178–79
cannabidiol, 133
cannabis, 176
Carbon Warroom, 173
cardiac coherence devices, 26
Carhart-Harris, Robin, 124–26, 131
Cassady, Neal, 189
Castro, Fidel, 187
Central Intelligence Agency. See CIA
Channon, Jim, 190, 191, 192
chanting, 23–24, 57, 108
Chatterjee, Anjan, 83
children
bullying of, 197–98
and pipers of Hamelin, 66, 69
Chin, Jimmy, 99
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. See Mormons
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), 182, 183, 187, 188
Cicero, 2, 71
Clark, Andy, 56, 59
Clark, Wesley, 160
Clarke, Arthur C., 22
Claxton, Guy, 97
Clear Channel Communications, 185
Clinton, George, 100
cocaine, 29, 62, 197
cognition
embodied/disembodied, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 111, 152, 175
and information technology, 186
and neurobiology, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 111
and pharmacology, 119
“repatterning” of, 119
and technology, 152
See also precognition
Cognitive Processing journal: and peak experiences of athletes study, 93
Cohen, Leonard, 218
colander analogy, 205
Cold War, 182, 199
collaboration. See community/communitas
commercialization. See marketing
communal vocational ecstasy: at Google, 20, 21, 27–28
community/communitas
and Branson, 173
at Burning Man, 162–63, 164, 168
ecstasis as fostering, 222
and Great Awakening, 179
and hiding of Steal Fire revolution, 68–69
and marketing, 198
music and, 141, 142
and revivals, 179
at Summit, 169–70, 171
See also “unity” experience
Comstock, Beth, 170
consciousness
in animals, 115–19
brain signature of, 24
and flow, 4–5
limitations of, 16
as limitless, 208
and music, 140, 141
processing of, 45
and sensory deprivation tanks, 26–27
See also consciousness-hacking technology; nonordinary states of consciousness; specific topic
Consciousness Hacking (Siegel company), 148
consciousness-hacking technology, 6, 146–48, 149, 200
Consumer Electronics Show (Las Vegas), 157, 173
contemplative states, 23–24, 29, 175. See also specific technique
Controlled Substances: Chemical and Legal Guide to Federal Drug Laws (Sager), 122
cortisol, 24, 98, 112, 141
costs
and Altered States Economy, 28–32
of Navy SEALs, 12–17, 26
counterculture: “kooks” of, 187–93
creativity
and Burning Man, 158
and Great Awakening, 179
importance of, 46
open-sourcing ecstasis and, 200
and psychology, 153
and solutions to wicked problems, 46–50
and Summit Series, 170
training for, 46
Crockett, Molly, 20, 160
Cronin, Lee, 132, 133
CrossFit, 26, 195–96
Crossing the Chasm (Moore), 174
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, 42, 43
Cuddy, Amy, 98, 104, 112, 152
cults, 67–68, 69. See also specific cult
culture
of Burning Man, 163
evolution of, 134
“high and slow,” 220
and “kooks” of counterculture, 187–93
and Pale of the State, 63–65
and pharmacology, 118–19, 123, 134, 153
psychedelic, 189
Current TV, 35, 43
The Curse of the Self (M. Leary), 37
cyborgs, 56
“the Cycle”: of access and control, 185–87, 191, 200
Daedone, Nicole, 81–82
Damer, Bruce, 164
dance, 23–24, 57, 141, 204. See also electronic dance music (EDM)
Danger Ranger. See Michaels, Michael
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), 49, 100, 103, 104, 197–98
Davis, Erik, 78–79, 128, 158
Davis, Rich (pseud.), 11–12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 25
Davis, Steph, 137
Dawson, Justine, 81–82
daydreaming, 44–45, 125
default mode network, 125–26
Defense Department, U.S., 101, 164, 166, 168, 182–85, 189–91, 192, 193. See also DARPA; military, U.S.
Deloitte (business consultants), 31, 43
“depatterning”: and pharmacology, 117
depression, 89, 96, 97, 100–101, 112.
See also PTSD
DEVGRU. See SEALs, U.S. Navy
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 84, 208–9
Dick, Phillip K., 103
Divine, Mark, 13
diving: and training for nonordinary states, 206–7
DMT (dimethyltryptamine), 121, 122, 129, 130–31
Doblin, Rick, 123
dolphins: and pharmacology, 115–16, 118
Don’t Become a Bliss Junkie, 205–6, 208
Don’t Dive Too Deep, 206–9
dopamine, 16, 20–21, 24, 31, 42, 44, 85, 141, 197, 203, 217
doppelgangers, 109–10
Downer, John, 115–16
Downtown Project (Hsieh), 161, 163, 210
Drucker, Peter, 28, 31
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S., 119, 122–23, 129, 133, 200
drugs. See pharmacology; specific drug or type of drug
Drugs-Without the Hot Air (Nutt), 61
Eckhart. See Tolle, Eckhart
economy
“experience,” 195
“transformation,” 195–96, 197
See also Altered States Economy; costs
ecstasis
advances in understanding of, 153
beginning of, 44
case for, 7–69
definition of, 23, 67
in everyday lives, 174–78
four forces of, 71
and “I” replaced be “we,” 68
as information technology, 46
“legitimately earned,” 59
as long-term practice, 214
misuse/dangers of, 181–200
onset of, 136
open-sourcing of, 128–29, 184–85, 187, 200
Plato’s views about, 11
Silva as ambassador of, 33–36
as solving wicked problems, 50, 158–79
and stealing kykeon, 5
as “stepping beyond oneself,” 11
as “sufficiently advanced technology,” 22
as teacher, 217
unconsciousness as alternative of, 7
user manual for, 201–18
validation of, 93
what is, 9–32
and why it matters, 33–50
and why we missed it, 51–69
See also specific force or topic
Ecstasis Equation, 209–16
ecstasy
and Pale of the State, 61–62
purposes for use of, 54
Shulgin development of, 121
traditional techniques of, 57, 69
Ecstatic Kabbalah, 109
Edwards, Trevor, 170
EEG technology, 26, 104, 194, 197
effortlessness
benefits of, 42
“known issues”/downsides of, 193, 205–6
and learning, 220
and open-sourcing ecstasis, 200
as STER category, 41–43, 45
Tolle and, 76