Musings on Human Metamorphoses

by Timothy Leary

The human species is evolving. Leary describes eight circuits of human metamorphosis and the imprints that occur at each. Psychedelic drugs suspend imprints and conditioning to allow new imprints to evolve. Leary describes each circuit in depth along with the consciousness that manifest at each level and its purpose. Leary believes that human are morphing into space beings. We are becoming the aliens. This book describes the complicated psychological metamorphosis that proceeds our launch into space life.

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 14, 2003

About the author

Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, modern pioneer and advocate of psychedelic drug research and use, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic and spiritual benefits of LSD. He coined and popularized the catch phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."

Reviews

[aaaaaaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a product of a strange mixture of neurology, biology, psychology, psychedelia, occultic arts, world traveling, and prison experience. Timothy Leary puts it all in here to write something that isn't quite a philosophy tract, but isn't an ideology propaganda either. He doesn't write like a scientist and you have to be hip to the lingo to follow what's being said. For example he isn't afraid to call certain groups of people Insects, and other invented terms without defining them. I find it fun, because the context clues makes it somewhat obvious, and I know I'd do the same thing if I had to write this.

The main thing I enjoyed in the book is despite references Rome falling, French Revolution, America falling apart often, borderline determinism, humans going extinct, it retains a spirit of optimism. Everything is evolving the right way, Earth is working with us and whatever happens will be good for the species- including extinction, or he'd probably call it ascension.

So what is exactly Dr. Leary so happy about?
He claims there are circuits of humans development, it's genetic but not permanent. A more egalitarian caste system. You're imprinted by your genes and conditioned by society to be set into a circuit, you gotta do all kinds of shit to adapt, or be content within your circuit. (Both options are OK, it ain't a race.)
Eventually some enlightened fellow gets to such a high circuit that breaks into a new, undiscovered, caste. This guy is a mutation. Like-minded enlightened fellows start interacting with each other, they start families have kids, and a whole new set of humans are imprinted by these mutants.
So this is how history goes, progress is built on the backs of countless generations of mutants. Anthill people keep things sturdy so the whole damn thing doesn't fall apart.
However this security, and collectivization is something mutants just don't want a part of, they don't want to be restrained. They're wild, they need drugs and free thinking, they don't have time for 9-5 jobs and being parents. That makes them prone to migration. Migration is a magic thing, it's a form of population control and technological catalyst. Now mutants and bugs all have conquered this Earth, so the next point is obviously the stars.

Timothy Leary gets too optimistic here, and starts making predictions. They're funny because he's wrong and sad because he's wrong. He was too optimistic. Engineering hasn't caught up with this book, but doesn't mean it can happen. Things are jut behind schedule.

Overall it's a hard to recommend book, yet it's still fun and has breathes positive energy. I feel it requires a few years of dedication to scifi novels to fully appreciate.

[Scott Benowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting collection of essays!
"Musings On Human Metamorphoses" is a collection of essays that Timothy Leary had never published during his lifetime, this collection was published posthumously.
While Timothy Leary is best known for his research involving LSD and his efforts to encourage politicians to enact legislation which would decriminalize it, he had also written series of essays which covered a broad range of other topics. The essays that he'd written about other topics are not nearly as well known as the essays and the books that he'd written about LSD, but the essays that he'd written about numerous other topics are as well written, thoroughly researched and gracefully worded. "Musings On Human Metamorphoses" is not nearly as famous as some of the other books that Timothy Leary had written, only because this book was published posthumously.
"Musings On Human Metamorphoses" is extremely well written- as with all of the late Dr. Timothy Leary's writings, this book is in a genre which is not easy to define. "Musings On Human Metamorphoses" provides us with deep insights into the late Dr. Leary's philosophies- and unlike some of the books that he wrote which are much more famous, which people immediately associate with his name, hallucinogens are hardly mentioned at all in "Musings On Human Metamorphoses".

[Amyn Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not everyone will get it. Leary was an outcast, a rebel and a brilliant one at that. You'll read a lot of criticism from professionals and experts who won't get it because it questions and challenges their paradigms and they can't think beyond the box that they have devoted their entire careers to. This book is not a prophecy to be afraid of but musings on possible pathways that human evolution can follow. Leary proposes that we can now have a conscious and deliberate impact on evolution as individuals, societies and as a species. This book isn't about LSD, it's about tools to harness evolutionary potential which Leary believes is already encoded in our DNA, waiting to be activated. Best read alongside some of the works of Robert Anton Wilson, especially Prometheus Rising.

[Liam O'Leary · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a neuroscientist working in biological psychiatry I see Timothy Leary as a fascinating case study for what psychedelics can do for one's world view.

If you're interested in what LSD can do for your world ideas than this is worth reading. If you're looking for credible ideas, this is complete waste of time!