Here’s four classic techniques for consciousness change from Discordian Pope Robert Anton Wilson.
Robert Anton Wilson should need no introduction. Alternately dubbed a
“stand-up philosopher” or a “sit-down comic,” Wilson favored an
unorthodox approach to thinking (and doing). He traversed many different
fields of thought and systems of belief—ranging from
General Semantics and quantum physics to Sufism and Aleister Crowley’s
Thelema—and
synthesized them all into a structure of mutable reality. To many of
his faithful readers, his books are like the driver’s manual for the
universe.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once you start doing the exercises in books like
Prometheus Rising,
you realize that you’re not just reading a driver’s manual of the
universe—you’re also behind the driver’s seat! Most of the consciousness
changing exercises in Wilson’s books take little effort but can produce
lasting change in perception. All they require are commitment,
patience, and practice.
Wilson possessed an uncanny ability to introduce his readers to their
own mental projections of themselves and the universe—and thoroughly
distort the boundaries between the two. His thoughts and ideas remain
ever relevant well after they were published some 3o-odd years ago, and
will only continue to gain relevance well into the 21st century.
Ultraculture’s Jason Louv even wrote a piece at
Boing Boing recently on the dawning future that Wilson predicted in
Cosmic Trigger.
Below are four classic techniques for consciousness change taken from Wilson’s classic
Prometheus Rising.
1. The Quarter Experiment
Vividly visualize a quarter (or a pound or euro, etc.), and imagine
vividly that you will find that quarter in the street. Look for that
quarter in the street every time you are out while still continuing to
visualize it, and see how long it takes you to find it.
Next, explain the experiment using “selective attention”
hypothesis—that is, of the bounty of lost quarters everywhere in the
street, you were bound to find one sooner or later discover one. Then
explain the experiment using the “mystical” hypothesis. In other words,
you believe that you made the quarter manifest into this universe.
Now go looking for a second quarter. Compare the time it takes to
find it using the “selective attention” hypothesis with the time it
takes you to find it using the “mystical” hypothesis.
This experiment is designed to help the reader understand the role of
thought and belief in structuring the universe. Whatever it is that you
think, your mind will immediately set about proving—the existence of
God, the sovereignty of the American President, or any number of
conspiracy theories. Your mind will find proofs of those things
everywhere.
2. Right Where You Are Sitting Now
Sit in a space where you will not be disturbed for half an hour.
Begin thinking, “I am sitting here doing this exercise because…” and
continue to list as many causes of performing this exercise as you can.
For example, you’re doing this exercise because you read about it on
Ultraculture. But why do you read Ultraculture? How did you find it? Did
somebody share a link with you? How did you meet that person? If you
just happened across it on social media, what were you doing on social
media that day? Was it in a particular group or forum?
Why do you belong to groups on that topic—be it magick, spirituality,
consciousness? How did you get interested in those topics? Did someone
influence you? What factors of your background and upbringing inclined
to an interest in those topics?
Why are you sitting where you are and not somewhere else? How did
your parents meet and why are you here at all? Why is this planet
capable of supporting life, and why the kind of life that conceives of
these types of experiments?
Repeat a few days later trying to answer questions you did not the
first time around. Avoid metaphysical explanations—the exercise is mind
blowing enough without bringing karma or reincarnation into the mix.
This experiment will help you understand the difference between
software and hardware—or mind and matter, consciousness and brain.
Hardware can only exist at one place locally (i.e., iPhone) but software
is nonlocal and exists outside the hardware (i.e., Facebook profile).
3. Learn to Meditate
Take up a
meditation
practice. You can take a class or try to learn from a book. Practice
for two fifteen-minute sessions every day for a month. Afterwards, visit
someone who always manages to upset you or put you on the defensive.
Can they still still press your buttons in the same way as before?
(You can also take courses on meditation at
Ultraculture University.
4. Alternative News Sources
If you are a progressive, spend a week reading nothing but conservative or libertarian news sources like
The Drudge Report,
The Blaze or
Reason. If you are a conservative, spend a week reading nothing but progressive or socialist websites like
Think Progress,
The Daily Kos, or
Jacobin.
If you are a spiritual person, read nothing but the skeptic and atheist
subreddits. If you are a free thought rationalist, follow the
/r/psychonaut subreddit—or read Ultraculture’s
Consciousness archives, or even
take a class on Chaos Magick.
Do your best to convince yourself and your friends that you
sincerely hold these alternate beliefs. This exercise will help you
break your
reality tunnel—Wilson’s oft-used term that means a
worldview conditioned in the individual through biological programming
and socioeconomic factors. We are all trapped in
reality tunnels, and every single one seems totally crazy except for our own.
These exercises are designed to allow you to see beyond your
reality tunnel and take an active role in collectively shaping the universe. For more, read Robert Anton Wilson’s
Sex, Drugs and Magick, Prometheus Rising or
Quantum Psychology.
You can read about Wilson’s work with Timothy Leary’s 8-circuit model of consciousness
here.
In the interview below, Wilson discusses further techniques for consciousness change.
