🌀 Altered States

Explorations of consciousness beyond the ordinary — through psychedelics, meditation, sensory deprivation, or extreme experience. These books investigate what happens when the doors of perception swing open.

Stalking the Wild Pendulum

by Itzhak Bentov • 1977

At the still point between heartbeats, consciousness leaves the body and briefly touches the cosmos.

4.29

1k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⚛️ Speculative Physics 🌌 Panpsychism 📡 Holographic Universe 🌐 Vibrational Cosmology

Stalking the Wild Pendulum

At the still point between heartbeats, consciousness leaves the body and briefly touches the cosmos.

by Itzhak Bentov 1977

4.29

1k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⚛️ Speculative Physics 🌌 Panpsychism 📡 Holographic Universe 🌐 Vibrational Cosmology

How to Change Your Mind

by Michael Pollan • 2018

Psychedelics quiet the brain's ego network. Depression, addiction, and fear of death dissolve.

4.27

85k+

🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🔬 Psychedelic Science ✨ Mystical Experience 🧠 Neuroplasticity 🔗 Addiction Recovery

How to Change Your Mind

Psychedelics quiet the brain's ego network. Depression, addiction, and fear of death dissolve.

by Michael Pollan 2018

4.27

85k+ ratings

🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🔬 Psychedelic Science ✨ Mystical Experience 🧠 Neuroplasticity 🔗 Addiction Recovery

The Teachings of Don Juan

by Carlos Castaneda • 1968

Yaqui sorcerer's lessons: knowledge as warfare, peyote as guide, and seeing energy as ultimate aim.

3.93

46k+

🧭 Shamanic Apprenticeship 🍄 Entheogenic Traditions 🦅 Toltec Wisdom ⚔️ Spiritual Warrior 🌿 Indigenous Spirituality

The Teachings of Don Juan

Yaqui sorcerer's lessons: knowledge as warfare, peyote as guide, and seeing energy as ultimate aim.

by Carlos Castaneda 1968

3.93

46k+ ratings

🧭 Shamanic Apprenticeship 🍄 Entheogenic Traditions 🦅 Toltec Wisdom ⚔️ Spiritual Warrior 🌿 Indigenous Spirituality

Journeys Out of the Body

by Robert A. Monroe • 1971

To prove out-of-body travel was real, he pinched someone from afar and left bruises.

4.09

5k+

🔮 Astral Projection 🧠 Consciousness Studies 👻 Afterlife Exploration 📊 Modern Parapsychology 📐 Rational Mysticism

Journeys Out of the Body

To prove out-of-body travel was real, he pinched someone from afar and left bruises.

by Robert A. Monroe 1971

4.09

5k+ ratings

🔮 Astral Projection 🧠 Consciousness Studies 👻 Afterlife Exploration 📊 Modern Parapsychology 📐 Rational Mysticism

The Silva Mind Control Method

by José Silva • 1977

From the founder: a simple alpha-state technique that puts psychic perception within anyone's reach.

3.92

4k+

🔮 Psychic Development 🎨 Visualization Techniques 🌙 Dream Work 🎯 Mental Rehearsal 💬 Positive Affirmations

The Silva Mind Control Method

From the founder: a simple alpha-state technique that puts psychic perception within anyone's reach.

by José Silva 1977

3.92

4k+ ratings

🔮 Psychic Development 🎨 Visualization Techniques 🌙 Dream Work 🎯 Mental Rehearsal 💬 Positive Affirmations

DMT

by Rick Strassman • 2000

Injected with a molecule all humans carry, volunteers entered worlds of intelligent beings.

4.15

11k+

🧪 Psychedelic Research 👽 Entity Encounters 🌌 Mystical Experience 🧘 Transpersonal Psychology 🚀 Psychonautics

DMT

Injected with a molecule all humans carry, volunteers entered worlds of intelligent beings.

by Rick Strassman 2000

4.15

11k+ ratings

🧪 Psychedelic Research 👽 Entity Encounters 🌌 Mystical Experience 🧘 Transpersonal Psychology 🚀 Psychonautics

A Separate Reality

by Carlos Castaneda • 1971

A Yaqui sorcerer shows his apprentice the silence that makes the everyday world dissolve.

4.09

19k+

🦅 Shamanic Apprenticeship ✨ Mystical Experience 🤫 Silencing The Mind 💀 Memento Mori ⚡ Energetic Body

A Separate Reality

A Yaqui sorcerer shows his apprentice the silence that makes the everyday world dissolve.

by Carlos Castaneda 1971

4.09

19k+ ratings

🦅 Shamanic Apprenticeship ✨ Mystical Experience 🤫 Silencing The Mind 💀 Memento Mori ⚡ Energetic Body

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

by Stephen LaBerge • 1989

Learn to notice when you are dreaming, and then rewrite the script: the original training manual.

4.22

4k+

🌙 Lucid Dreaming 💤 Sleep Science 🧠 Consciousness Studies 🛡️ Nightmare Treatment 💡 Creative Incubation

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

Learn to notice when you are dreaming, and then rewrite the script: the original training manual.

by Stephen LaBerge 1989

4.22

4k+ ratings

🌙 Lucid Dreaming 💤 Sleep Science 🧠 Consciousness Studies 🛡️ Nightmare Treatment 💡 Creative Incubation

This Is Your Mind on Plants

by Michael Pollan • 2021

Coffee, opium, and peyote: why culture, not chemistry, decides which plants are drugs.

3.87

34k+

🪴 Ethnobotany ☕ Everyday Drugs 🌵 Psychedelic Science 💊 Opioid Crisis 🌿 Plant Medicine Traditions

This Is Your Mind on Plants

Coffee, opium, and peyote: why culture, not chemistry, decides which plants are drugs.

by Michael Pollan 2021

3.87

34k+ ratings

🪴 Ethnobotany ☕ Everyday Drugs 🌵 Psychedelic Science 💊 Opioid Crisis 🌿 Plant Medicine Traditions

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide

by James Fadiman • 2011

Your mind is about to open. The safety arrangements that ensure the experience heals, not harms.

4.17

3k+

🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🧠 Consciousness Studies 💧 Microdosing 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology 🌿 Plant Medicine

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide

Your mind is about to open. The safety arrangements that ensure the experience heals, not harms.

by James Fadiman 2011

4.17

3k+ ratings

🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🧠 Consciousness Studies 💧 Microdosing 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology 🌿 Plant Medicine

The Holotropic Mind

by Stanislav Grof • 1992

The brain filters consciousness, it doesn't make it. What birth imprints and altered states reveal.

4.02

1k+

🧠 Transpersonal Psychology 🔬 Consciousness Studies 👶 Birth Psychology 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🏺 Jungian Psychology

The Holotropic Mind

The brain filters consciousness, it doesn't make it. What birth imprints and altered states reveal.

by Stanislav Grof 1992

4.02

1k+ ratings

🧠 Transpersonal Psychology 🔬 Consciousness Studies 👶 Birth Psychology 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 🏺 Jungian Psychology

Yoga Nidra

by Satyananda Saraswati • 1976

Body asleep, mind alert: the tantric method for releasing tension and making a resolve that holds.

4.33

1k+

🕉️ Tantric Yoga 🧘 Body Scanning 🌬️ Breathwork 🎯 Intention Setting 💭 Visualization

Yoga Nidra

Body asleep, mind alert: the tantric method for releasing tension and making a resolve that holds.

by Satyananda Saraswati 1976

4.33

1k+ ratings

🕉️ Tantric Yoga 🧘 Body Scanning 🌬️ Breathwork 🎯 Intention Setting 💭 Visualization

Food of the Gods

by Terence McKenna • 1992

A single psychoactive mushroom may have sparked language, religion, and human consciousness itself.

4.12

13k+

🧬 Human Evolution 🌿 Ethnobotany 🍄 Psychedelic Studies ✨ Entheogens 🪶 Shamanic Practices

Food of the Gods

A single psychoactive mushroom may have sparked language, religion, and human consciousness itself.

by Terence McKenna 1992

4.12

13k+ ratings

🧬 Human Evolution 🌿 Ethnobotany 🍄 Psychedelic Studies ✨ Entheogens 🪶 Shamanic Practices

Irreducible Mind

by Edward F. Kelly • 2006

Brain as filter, not creator: near-death clarity and mystical insight reveal the larger mind.

4.39

232

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology 🔮 Nonlocal Consciousness 💫 Near-Death Experiences ✨ Mystical Experience

Irreducible Mind

Brain as filter, not creator: near-death clarity and mystical insight reveal the larger mind.

by Edward F. Kelly 2006

4.39

232 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology 🔮 Nonlocal Consciousness 💫 Near-Death Experiences ✨ Mystical Experience

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

by Padmasambhava • 1350

A Tibetan manual for dying, used as a practical guide for navigating the psychedelic experience.

4.16

11k+

🧘 Tibetan Buddhism 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 💨 Ego Dissolution 🧭 Trip Navigation 👁️ Visionary Experience

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

A Tibetan manual for dying, used as a practical guide for navigating the psychedelic experience.

by Padmasambhava 1350

4.16

11k+ ratings

🧘 Tibetan Buddhism 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 💨 Ego Dissolution 🧭 Trip Navigation 👁️ Visionary Experience

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

by Hunter S. Thompson • 1971

Journalist and attorney tear through Vegas on a drug-fueled hunt for the American Dream.

4.06

382k+

📰 Gonzo Journalism 💊 Drug Trip 🎭 Unreliable Narrator 😈 Dark Comedy 🇺🇸 1970s America

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Journalist and attorney tear through Vegas on a drug-fueled hunt for the American Dream.

by Hunter S. Thompson 1971

4.06

382k+ ratings

📰 Gonzo Journalism 💊 Drug Trip 🎭 Unreliable Narrator 😈 Dark Comedy 🇺🇸 1970s America

Far Journeys

by Robert A. Monroe • 1985

Human emotion feeds a cosmic harvest. An out-of-body pioneer maps the trap and the exit.

4.36

2k+

🚀 Astral Projection 🎧 Brainwave Entrainment 👽 Entity Contact 🐍 Modern Gnosticism ⚡ Emotional Energy

Far Journeys

Human emotion feeds a cosmic harvest. An out-of-body pioneer maps the trap and the exit.

by Robert A. Monroe 1985

4.36

2k+ ratings

🚀 Astral Projection 🎧 Brainwave Entrainment 👽 Entity Contact 🐍 Modern Gnosticism ⚡ Emotional Energy

Altered States of Consciousness

by Marc Wittmann • 2018

Time is built from bodily signals. Change consciousness, and it stretches, shrinks, or vanishes.

3.74

194

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⏱️ Time Perception 🫁 Embodied Cognition 💓 Interoception 🍄 Psychedelic Science

Altered States of Consciousness

Time is built from bodily signals. Change consciousness, and it stretches, shrinks, or vanishes.

by Marc Wittmann 2018

3.74

194 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⏱️ Time Perception 🫁 Embodied Cognition 💓 Interoception 🍄 Psychedelic Science

Why God Won't Go Away

by Andrew B. Newberg • 2001

Your brain is built for God: the neuroscience behind why spiritual experiences feel so real.

3.89

1k+

🧠 Neuroscience Of Religion 🧘 Meditation Science 📜 Ritual Studies 🌀 Ego Dissolution 🕊️ Science And Spirituality

Why God Won't Go Away

Your brain is built for God: the neuroscience behind why spiritual experiences feel so real.

by Andrew B. Newberg 2001

3.89

1k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroscience Of Religion 🧘 Meditation Science 📜 Ritual Studies 🌀 Ego Dissolution 🕊️ Science And Spirituality

Conscious Dreaming

by Robert Moss • 1996

Step inside a dream, awake. Meet guides, face nightmares, rehearse the future.

4.24

666

🛌 Dreamwork 🌙 Lucid Dreaming 🪄 Shamanic Practices ✨ Creativity Techniques 👻 Afterlife Communication

Conscious Dreaming

Step inside a dream, awake. Meet guides, face nightmares, rehearse the future.

by Robert Moss 1996

4.24

666 ratings

🛌 Dreamwork 🌙 Lucid Dreaming 🪄 Shamanic Practices ✨ Creativity Techniques 👻 Afterlife Communication

Consciousness

by Susan Blackmore • 2003

Why brain activity feels like something, and the self that feels it is a fiction.

3.87

3k+

🧠 Consciousness 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Free Will Debate ⚖️ Mind-Body Problem

Consciousness

Why brain activity feels like something, and the self that feels it is a fiction.

by Susan Blackmore 2003

3.87

3k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Free Will Debate ⚖️ Mind-Body Problem

The Secret of the Soul

by William Buhlman • 2001

Most people die untrained. Learn to leave your body so the final exit feels like home.

4.19

377

🪐 Out Of Body Experiences ✨ Near Death Studies 🧠 Mind And Reality 🪦 Death Preparation 🔗 Trauma And Dissociation

The Secret of the Soul

Most people die untrained. Learn to leave your body so the final exit feels like home.

by William Buhlman 2001

4.19

377 ratings

🪐 Out Of Body Experiences ✨ Near Death Studies 🧠 Mind And Reality 🪦 Death Preparation 🔗 Trauma And Dissociation

Stealing Fire

by Steven Kotler • 2017

Altered states are the new performance edge, and the race to engineer them has already started.

3.93

9k+

🏔️ Peak Performance ⚡ Flow States 🍄 Psychedelic Research 🚀 Human Potential 🤝 Group Flow

Stealing Fire

Altered states are the new performance edge, and the race to engineer them has already started.

by Steven Kotler 2017

3.93

9k+ ratings

🏔️ Peak Performance ⚡ Flow States 🍄 Psychedelic Research 🚀 Human Potential 🤝 Group Flow

The Cosmic Game

by Stanislav Grof • 1997

A psychiatrist's map of non-ordinary consciousness shows the self as a mask worn by the cosmos.

4.21

523

🧠 Transpersonal Psychology 💡 Consciousness Studies ☯️ Science And Spirituality 👶 Prenatal Psychology 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy

The Cosmic Game

A psychiatrist's map of non-ordinary consciousness shows the self as a mask worn by the cosmos.

by Stanislav Grof 1997

4.21

523 ratings

🧠 Transpersonal Psychology 💡 Consciousness Studies ☯️ Science And Spirituality 👶 Prenatal Psychology 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy

Conscious

by Annaka Harris • 2019

Science cannot crack consciousness. The most sober answer: mind is built into reality itself.

3.83

9k+

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind ⛓️ Free Will Debate 🫧 The Self As Illusion 🧬 Neuroscience Of Mind ☯️ Non-Dual Awareness

Conscious

Science cannot crack consciousness. The most sober answer: mind is built into reality itself.

by Annaka Harris 2019

3.83

9k+ ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind ⛓️ Free Will Debate 🫧 The Self As Illusion 🧬 Neuroscience Of Mind ☯️ Non-Dual Awareness

How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain

by Andrew B. Newberg • 2016

A neural event underlies enlightenment. The science of the shift, and the practices that produce it.

3.91

314

🧠 Neurotheology 🔬 Contemplative Science 🧬 Brain Plasticity 🧘 Meditation Science ✨ Mystical Experience

How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain

A neural event underlies enlightenment. The science of the shift, and the practices that produce it.

by Andrew B. Newberg 2016

3.91

314 ratings

🧠 Neurotheology 🔬 Contemplative Science 🧬 Brain Plasticity 🧘 Meditation Science ✨ Mystical Experience

The Journey of Robert Monroe

by Ronald Russell • 2007

A radio producer leaves his body and maps the territories that wait after death.

4.30

👻 Out-Of-Body Experiences 🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Paranormal Research 🏛️ Transpersonal Psychology ⚛️ Scientific Mysticism

The Journey of Robert Monroe

A radio producer leaves his body and maps the territories that wait after death.

by Ronald Russell 2007

4.30

83 ratings

👻 Out-Of-Body Experiences 🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Paranormal Research 🏛️ Transpersonal Psychology ⚛️ Scientific Mysticism

Dreaming Wide Awake

by David Jay Brown • 2016

Lucid dreaming, shamanic journeying, and psychedelic trips: three names for one exploration.

4.26

125

🧠 Lucid Dreaming 🪶 Shamanic Practices 🔬 Consciousness Studies 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 😴 Sleep Science

Dreaming Wide Awake

Lucid dreaming, shamanic journeying, and psychedelic trips: three names for one exploration.

by David Jay Brown 2016

4.26

125 ratings

🧠 Lucid Dreaming 🪶 Shamanic Practices 🔬 Consciousness Studies 🍄 Psychedelic Therapy 😴 Sleep Science

Hallucinations

by Oliver Sacks • 2012

Hallucinations are not the brain breaking. They are the brain showing how it builds reality.

3.93

25k+

🧠 Clinical Neurology 👁️ Hallucinations 👂 Sensory Perception 💭 Consciousness Studies 🌙 Sleep And Dreaming

Hallucinations

Hallucinations are not the brain breaking. They are the brain showing how it builds reality.

by Oliver Sacks 2012

3.93

25k+ ratings

🧠 Clinical Neurology 👁️ Hallucinations 👂 Sensory Perception 💭 Consciousness Studies 🌙 Sleep And Dreaming

Hypnosis for Beginners

by William W. Hewitt • 1997

Enter your own alpha state, where suggestions stick and the subconscious finally listens.

3.54

205

🌀 Self-Hypnosis ⏳ Past Life Regression 🧠 Subconscious Mind 🌿 Mind-Body Healing 🔮 Trance Work

Hypnosis for Beginners

Enter your own alpha state, where suggestions stick and the subconscious finally listens.

by William W. Hewitt 1997

3.54

205 ratings

🌀 Self-Hypnosis ⏳ Past Life Regression 🧠 Subconscious Mind 🌿 Mind-Body Healing 🔮 Trance Work

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