7' - The Joyous Cosmology

These are excerpts from Alan Watts's "The Joyous Cosmology," a book exploring the expansion of consciousness, primarily through the use of psychedelic substances like mescalin, LSD, and psilocybin. The book, written in 1962, argues that these substances can act as tools to temporarily suspend the normal limitations of human perception, allowing users to experience a more holistic and interconnected understanding of the universe. The book draws heavily on Eastern philosophies like Taoism and Zen Buddhism, which emphasize the interconnectedness of all things, and contrasts these ideas with the prevalent Western dualistic view of the world, which separates mind from body and subject from object. Watts uses his own experiences with these substances to illustrate how they can lead to profound shifts in perception, revealing the underlying unity and interconnectedness of the cosmos. He argues that the "ego," or the sense of a separate and independent self, is a social construct that can be overcome by experiencing the true nature of reality, which is a continuous, interconnected, and ultimately joyful dance of existence.