--- product_id: 22605386 title: "The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell" price: "$45.39" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.ec/products/22605386-the-doors-of-perception-and-heaven-and-hell store_origin: EC region: Ecuador --- # The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell **Price:** $45.39 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell - **How much does it cost?** $45.39 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ec](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/22605386-the-doors-of-perception-and-heaven-and-hell) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description "A genuine spiritual quest. . . . Extraordinary." — New York Times Among the most profound and influential explorations of mind-expanding psychedelic drugs ever written, this landmark work of consciousness exploration includes two complete classic books— The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell —in which Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World , reveals the mind's remote frontiers and the unmapped areas of human consciousness. This edition also features an additional essay, "Drugs That Shape Men's Minds," now included for the first time. This foundational work of psychedelic literature details Huxley’s transformational journey and includes: Firsthand Psychedelic Experience: Follow Huxley as he swallows four-tenths of a gram of mescalin and meticulously documents the profound changes in his perception of reality, from seeing the "Inner Light" in a vase of flowers to understanding the "divine source of all existence." Consciousness Exploration: Delve into the theory of the brain as a "reducing valve," a concept that explains how the mind filters reality and how psychedelics can temporarily open the doors of perception to a vaster, unfiltered awareness known as "Mind at Large." Visionary Art and Perception: Discover a new way of seeing art and the world, where the folds in a pair of trousers or the legs of a chair become "living hieroglyphs" and reveal the "unfathomable mystery of pure being." The Nature of Heaven and Hell: Go beyond a single journey to explore the crucial differences between blissful and terrifying visionary states, examining the psychological conditions that can turn a spiritual quest into an infernal experience. Review: Huxley's Doors of Perception: A Psychedelic Trilogy - This slim volume collects Aldous Huxley’s three essential works on psychedelics and consciousness, written between 1954 and 1958. Together they form a compact, influential trilogy on altered states of mind. The Doors of Perception is the centerpiece. Huxley vividly recounts his 1953 mescaline experience and introduces his famous “reducing valve” theory: the brain acts as a filter that restricts consciousness to a narrow, survival-focused trickle of reality. Mescaline temporarily opens this valve, allowing him to perceive everyday objects with overwhelming intensity, beauty, and profound “is-ness.” Heaven and Hell expand the vision. Huxley explores the mind’s inner “antipodes” — realms of dazzling beauty (Heaven) or nightmarish terror (Hell) — and links them to religious visions, sacred art, architecture, and even schizophrenia. Drugs That Shape Men’s Minds broadens the discussion to society and politics. Huxley examines humanity’s deep craving for self-transcendence and warns that powerful new chemicals could become tools of liberation or instruments of authoritarian control, echoing his Brave New World. Huxley’s elegant, philosophical prose makes these essays remarkably readable and insightful. The collection remains a landmark in psychedelic literature, blending personal experience, art history, mysticism, and social commentary with lasting relevance. In summary, it is a brilliant and timeless classic. Essential reading for anyone interested in consciousness, perception, and the human quest for meaning. Review: Published in 1954, this remains a classic in the literature of psychedelia and spirituality - I first read this book when I was 13. I am now 66. Did it influence my life? Looking back, perhaps even more so than I had realized. It was 1963 when I read it. I had been reading dystopias and had just finished "Brave New World." There was so much talk about LSD, mescaline, peyote and other hallucinogens as being "mind-expanding" and all that stuff that is now history. One interesting point of history regarding Aldous Huxley's life. He died the day JFK was shot. He was taking LSD at the time because he wanted to experience death as fully as he could. The title was taken from William Blake who had said, "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite." That quote and this book would later help Jim Morrison in naming his band, "The Doors." I read it with rapt attention. I was entranced. When I reread it recently, I was amazed at how much I remembered and how much of my life choices it had influenced. I do remember that I promised myself at that young age, that when I was older, I would try these drugs as the search for "God" and spirituality was very important to me then and is still now. In particular, I recall the passage where, staring at a simple chair, Huxley waxed eloquently about what the chair revealed about its maker. Most of all, I recall his referring to perceiving the "isness" of the chair. This book was originally published in 1954. It was an important book then and it remains so now. It is a "must-have" for the library of any seeker of the truth, any who seek "higher learning", (pun intended and not), any who are investigators of world spirituality. Very highly recommended. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #10,312 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #13 in Popular Psychology History #14 in Individual Philosophers (Books) #21 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 5,022 Reviews | ## Images ![The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71zXiph-SZL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Huxley's Doors of Perception: A Psychedelic Trilogy *by P***H on May 31, 2026* This slim volume collects Aldous Huxley’s three essential works on psychedelics and consciousness, written between 1954 and 1958. Together they form a compact, influential trilogy on altered states of mind. The Doors of Perception is the centerpiece. Huxley vividly recounts his 1953 mescaline experience and introduces his famous “reducing valve” theory: the brain acts as a filter that restricts consciousness to a narrow, survival-focused trickle of reality. Mescaline temporarily opens this valve, allowing him to perceive everyday objects with overwhelming intensity, beauty, and profound “is-ness.” Heaven and Hell expand the vision. Huxley explores the mind’s inner “antipodes” — realms of dazzling beauty (Heaven) or nightmarish terror (Hell) — and links them to religious visions, sacred art, architecture, and even schizophrenia. Drugs That Shape Men’s Minds broadens the discussion to society and politics. Huxley examines humanity’s deep craving for self-transcendence and warns that powerful new chemicals could become tools of liberation or instruments of authoritarian control, echoing his Brave New World. Huxley’s elegant, philosophical prose makes these essays remarkably readable and insightful. The collection remains a landmark in psychedelic literature, blending personal experience, art history, mysticism, and social commentary with lasting relevance. In summary, it is a brilliant and timeless classic. Essential reading for anyone interested in consciousness, perception, and the human quest for meaning. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Published in 1954, this remains a classic in the literature of psychedelia and spirituality *by P***N on April 28, 2016* I first read this book when I was 13. I am now 66. Did it influence my life? Looking back, perhaps even more so than I had realized. It was 1963 when I read it. I had been reading dystopias and had just finished "Brave New World." There was so much talk about LSD, mescaline, peyote and other hallucinogens as being "mind-expanding" and all that stuff that is now history. One interesting point of history regarding Aldous Huxley's life. He died the day JFK was shot. He was taking LSD at the time because he wanted to experience death as fully as he could. The title was taken from William Blake who had said, "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite." That quote and this book would later help Jim Morrison in naming his band, "The Doors." I read it with rapt attention. I was entranced. When I reread it recently, I was amazed at how much I remembered and how much of my life choices it had influenced. I do remember that I promised myself at that young age, that when I was older, I would try these drugs as the search for "God" and spirituality was very important to me then and is still now. In particular, I recall the passage where, staring at a simple chair, Huxley waxed eloquently about what the chair revealed about its maker. Most of all, I recall his referring to perceiving the "isness" of the chair. This book was originally published in 1954. It was an important book then and it remains so now. It is a "must-have" for the library of any seeker of the truth, any who seek "higher learning", (pun intended and not), any who are investigators of world spirituality. Very highly recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A shaky finger pointed toward Oneness *by J***N on October 19, 2021* An English intellectual seeks self-transcendence by taking mescaline, his stunning account shakes hippies everywhere out of “the rut of ordinary perception,” helps kick off the counterculture movement, and inspired the name of the 1960’s rock and roll band The Doors. It is full of spiritual insights rich with the influence of Vedanta and Buddhism like these: ”...Reality shines out of every appearance…” ”...see the All in every this…” ”...a perpetual present made up of one continually changing apocalypse.” ”...the blessed Not-I, released for a moment from my throttling embrace.” Oh, and Huxley’s other book with references to hallucinogens, Heaven and Hell, is usually bound together with the 79-page book to give it a respectable thickness. I wouldn’t bother reading Heaven & Hell, though, unless you’re a huge art history buff. For a man who had to read with a magnifying glass his whole adult life (due to childhood keratitis), he sure loves art. Among the dualism-piercing totalities explored through Huxley’s psychedelic adventure, we also encounter outdated cultural references, lots of art history, and detailed comparisons to Christian theology. I’m glad I finally read this one, but I wouldn’t jump up and down to get you to read it too. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell (P.S.) - The Perennial Philosophy: An Interpretation of the Great Mystics, East and West - Brave New World --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ec/products/22605386-the-doors-of-perception-and-heaven-and-hell](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/22605386-the-doors-of-perception-and-heaven-and-hell) --- *Product available on Desertcart Ecuador* *Store origin: EC* *Last updated: 2026-08-15*