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Chaos, Creativity and Cosmic Consciousness
Three of the most original thinkers of our time explore issues that call into question our current views of reality, morality, and the nature of life.
� A wide-ranging investigation of the ecology of inner and outer space, the role of chaos theory in the dynamics of human creation, and the rediscovery of traditional wisdom.
In this book of "trialogues," the late psychedelic visionary and shamanologist Terence McKenna, acclaimed biologist and originator of the morphogenetic fields theory Rupert Sheldrake, and mathematician and chaos theory scientist Ralph Abraham explore the relationships between chaos and creativity and their connection to cosmic consciousness. Their observations call into question our current views of reality, morality, and the nature of life in the universe. The authors challenge the reader to the deepest levels of thought with wide-ranging investigations of the ecology of inner and outer space, the role of chaos in the dynamics of human creation, and the resacralization of the world. Among the provocative questions the authors raise are: Is Armageddon a self-fulfilling prophecy? Are we humans the imaginers or the imagined? Are the eternal laws of nature still evolving? What is the connection between physical light and the light of consciousness?
Part ceremony, part old-fashioned intellectual discussion, these trialogues are an invitation to a new understanding of what Jean Houston calls "the dreamscapes of our everyday waking life."
� A wide-ranging investigation of the ecology of inner and outer space, the role of chaos theory in the dynamics of human creation, and the rediscovery of traditional wisdom.
In this book of "trialogues," the late psychedelic visionary and shamanologist Terence McKenna, acclaimed biologist and originator of the morphogenetic fields theory Rupert Sheldrake, and mathematician and chaos theory scientist Ralph Abraham explore the relationships between chaos and creativity and their connection to cosmic consciousness. Their observations call into question our current views of reality, morality, and the nature of life in the universe. The authors challenge the reader to the deepest levels of thought with wide-ranging investigations of the ecology of inner and outer space, the role of chaos in the dynamics of human creation, and the resacralization of the world. Among the provocative questions the authors raise are: Is Armageddon a self-fulfilling prophecy? Are we humans the imaginers or the imagined? Are the eternal laws of nature still evolving? What is the connection between physical light and the light of consciousness?
Part ceremony, part old-fashioned intellectual discussion, these trialogues are an invitation to a new understanding of what Jean Houston calls "the dreamscapes of our everyday waking life."
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
118 people are currently reading
3792 people want to read
About the author
Rupert Sheldrake
59books658followersRupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 80 scientific papers and ten books. A former Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he studied natural sciences at Cambridge University, where he was a Scholar of Clare College, took a double first class honours degree and was awarded the University Botany Prize. He then studied philosophy and history of science at Harvard University, where he was a Frank Knox Fellow, before returning to Cambridge, where he took a Ph.D. in biochemistry. He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, where he was Director of Studies in biochemistry and cell biology. As the Rosenheim Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he carried out research on the development of plants and the ageing of cells in the Department of Biochemistry at Cambridge University.
Recently, drawing on the work of French philosopher Henri Bergson, he developed the theory of morphic resonance, which makes use of the older notion of morphogenetic fields. He has researched and written on topics such as animal and plant development and behaviour, telepathy, perception and metaphysics.
Recently, drawing on the work of French philosopher Henri Bergson, he developed the theory of morphic resonance, which makes use of the older notion of morphogenetic fields. He has researched and written on topics such as animal and plant development and behaviour, telepathy, perception and metaphysics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
June 8, 2015
This book was an interesting conversation between Rupert Sheldrake, Ralph Abraham and Terence McKenna about chaos theory, physics, psychedelics, creativity, the earth, mythology etc. Some of it was super "out there" but I enjoyed it. They seemed to sort go in to la la land towards the end, which was why I gave it 3 stars.(which means "I liked it" so really not a bad rating) Some interesting ideas were presented in a smart way and I enjoyed being the fly on the wall for the conversation.
January 26, 2009
Given that three such brilliant thinkers, one of whom (McKenna) is my personal intellectual hero, contributed to a single book, I assumed that it was a guaranteed good read. What I failed to consider is the format that such a book requires, and the reason such a format is rarely employed. The trialogue is digressive, unpatterned, and remains relatively surface-level on the issues in question. While there are genuine insights in this book on many subjects, only very few of these felt 'new'. I found that just as things got interesting the subject would change or take a new unsubtle path. The discussion is also unrepentantly speculative. So often do assertions of ideas go by unattended that it is likely that a great number of them would fail under scrutiny. In fairness, I am also certain that many would succeed, and their implications (once someone takes up their ideas and follows the threads to the limit of their applicability) could be phenomenal.
That said, I do highly recommend this book for anyone who does little thinking on these subjects, for whom it could prove an important initiation. Its topics meander between the nature of consciousness, the role of humans in the world, the nature of the 'other' and of ethereal entities, education, spirituality, and so on. I am sure that most would succumb to a spark of interest that would inspire further study into many of these subjects, for which purpose there is both a bibliography and a list of 'books of related interest.'
That said, I do highly recommend this book for anyone who does little thinking on these subjects, for whom it could prove an important initiation. Its topics meander between the nature of consciousness, the role of humans in the world, the nature of the 'other' and of ethereal entities, education, spirituality, and so on. I am sure that most would succumb to a spark of interest that would inspire further study into many of these subjects, for which purpose there is both a bibliography and a list of 'books of related interest.'
February 19, 2017
Ίσως να το εκτιμούσα πολύ περισσότερο σε άλλη φάση της ζωής μου, αλλά στην παρούσα ο "τριάλογος" αυτός ανάμεσα σε Sheldrake (βιολόγος), Abraham (μαθηματικός) και McKenna (σαμανολόγος) περί μορφογενετικών πεδίων, χάους και συνειδητότητας αντίστοιχα, κι από εκεί σε οποιαδήποτε τζιριμάντζουλο αλατοπιπεριασμένο με φλικιφλόκα και αραχνοΰφαντο πλούτσκακα μου προκαλεί ανία εις την ΘΑΠΑΡΩΤΟΠΡΙΟΝΙ.
Δεν είναι πως δεν προσπάθησα -- προσπάθησα. Το έπαιρνα μαζί μου και στο χέσιμο και σε μακρινά δρομολόγια με τον ΟΑΣΘ, σε χώρους που συνήθως πετυχαίνω την ιδανική συγκέντρωση για τέτοια βαριά, non-fiction θέματα. Αλλά είναι αδύνατον να το συμπαθήσω!
Πρώτα απ' όλα είναι η φόρμα: οι τριάλογοι αυτοί κάθε άλλο παρά βατοί είναι, θυμίζουν περισσότερο την παρέα μου μεθυσμένη στην Ανδρομέδα, να διακόπτει ο Α τον Γ για να επεκταθεί επάνω σε κάτι που ο Β πέταξε αστειευόμενος πριν μισή ώρα -- μόνο που εδώ λείπουν η ρακή, το κέφι και η παρεϊστική ατμόσφαιρα και περισσεύουν οι αναφορές σε αλλόκοτες ιδέες που ποτέ δεν επεκτείνονται, ποτέ δεν εξηγούνται, ποτέ δεν καταλήγουν.
Μετά είναι οι προσωπικότητες οι ίδιες και ο τρόπος που εξετάζουν τα θέματα που καταπιάνονται: ενώ φαίνεται πως έχουν πολλά και ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα να πουν, προτιμούν να αφήνουν τα θέματα να πέσουν σε απλό namedropping ή να αερολογούν πάνω στο τι είπε ο προηγούμενος -- επεκτείνοντας την προηγούμενη αναλογία, μου έρχεται ένα session με MDMA κατά νου. Θεραπευτικό για τους συμμετέχοντες, ίσως ακόμα και λαμπερό, αλλά αδιάφορο για το ευρύ κοινό.
Δεν έμαθα κάτι. Δεν έφυγα με μια αίσθηση μαγείας που μου αποκαλύφθηκε μόλις το βαρύ πέπλο της πεζής πραγματικότητας διαλύθηκε έπειτα από τις χίλιες και μία τομές που του προκάλεσαν οι ρηξικέλευθες ιδέες του Τρίο Χαοτίστα Ντελ Ντιμιούργκικο. Το τελείωσα βιαστικά, για να μην πάρω το γαμημένο το πριόνι.
Δεν είναι πως δεν προσπάθησα -- προσπάθησα. Το έπαιρνα μαζί μου και στο χέσιμο και σε μακρινά δρομολόγια με τον ΟΑΣΘ, σε χώρους που συνήθως πετυχαίνω την ιδανική συγκέντρωση για τέτοια βαριά, non-fiction θέματα. Αλλά είναι αδύνατον να το συμπαθήσω!
Πρώτα απ' όλα είναι η φόρμα: οι τριάλογοι αυτοί κάθε άλλο παρά βατοί είναι, θυμίζουν περισσότερο την παρέα μου μεθυσμένη στην Ανδρομέδα, να διακόπτει ο Α τον Γ για να επεκταθεί επάνω σε κάτι που ο Β πέταξε αστειευόμενος πριν μισή ώρα -- μόνο που εδώ λείπουν η ρακή, το κέφι και η παρεϊστική ατμόσφαιρα και περισσεύουν οι αναφορές σε αλλόκοτες ιδέες που ποτέ δεν επεκτείνονται, ποτέ δεν εξηγούνται, ποτέ δεν καταλήγουν.
Μετά είναι οι προσωπικότητες οι ίδιες και ο τρόπος που εξετάζουν τα θέματα που καταπιάνονται: ενώ φαίνεται πως έχουν πολλά και ενδιαφέροντα πράγματα να πουν, προτιμούν να αφήνουν τα θέματα να πέσουν σε απλό namedropping ή να αερολογούν πάνω στο τι είπε ο προηγούμενος -- επεκτείνοντας την προηγούμενη αναλογία, μου έρχεται ένα session με MDMA κατά νου. Θεραπευτικό για τους συμμετέχοντες, ίσως ακόμα και λαμπερό, αλλά αδιάφορο για το ευρύ κοινό.
Δεν έμαθα κάτι. Δεν έφυγα με μια αίσθηση μαγείας που μου αποκαλύφθηκε μόλις το βαρύ πέπλο της πεζής πραγματικότητας διαλύθηκε έπειτα από τις χίλιες και μία τομές που του προκάλεσαν οι ρηξικέλευθες ιδέες του Τρίο Χαοτίστα Ντελ Ντιμιούργκικο. Το τελείωσα βιαστικά, για να μην πάρω το γαμημένο το πριόνι.
May 18, 2013
Loose free thinking incredible read with three of the most exceptional minds of the late twentieth. Learn about time wave zero, though we are now on the other side of the wave point and history still has not collapsed and the time machines are late.. but between the grand schemes lurk some very formidable ideas about our planet and how we can explore the universe without leaving home.
January 30, 2024
This is my first book by Sheldrake, but won’t be my last. He explores our inner space expertly weaving in shamanic traditions to quantum theory. His broad ranging work theorizes as to the origins of consciousness to the ultimate fate of mankind. I appreciate his treatment of these subjects with scientific rigor while incorporating the boundary defying thoughts of Terence McKenna. An entertaining and educational book for all seekers of wisdom.
June 21, 2021
An amazing and thought-provoking book. One of my favorites!
April 4, 2023
If you love Terrence McKenna and his diverse bardic discussions then you’ll love this “trialogue� with two other fascinating and erudite individuals. I do and I did.
February 15, 2015
An interesting series of conversations among three intellectual bedfellows (only one of which I think is unlikely). Most of the earlier conversation is driven by Sheldrake while the later few chapters are driven by McKenna and digress a bit into endless droning on about the amazingness of psychedelics. Ignoring these parts, the conversations had a few salient and interesting points concerning philosophical interpretations of attractors, the concept of creode, creativity, and evolution which have been touched upon by older philosophers like Popper and Bergson.
September 20, 2020
Revised title: Sophistry, Bullshit and Cosmic Nonsense.
If you are looking for baseless assertion after baseless assertion followed by rampaging masturbatory speculation, you are in the right place.
This books makes a better case against taking psychedelics than any war on drugs propaganda.
The ultimate risk being ending up like these clowns.
I did laugh at the lip service paid to the "dissolution of the ego" being uttered in a book that is entirely in service of the author's ego. But, isn't that always how it goes.
If you are looking for baseless assertion after baseless assertion followed by rampaging masturbatory speculation, you are in the right place.
This books makes a better case against taking psychedelics than any war on drugs propaganda.
The ultimate risk being ending up like these clowns.
I did laugh at the lip service paid to the "dissolution of the ego" being uttered in a book that is entirely in service of the author's ego. But, isn't that always how it goes.
June 3, 2008
I liked certain chapters that were more suited to my right brain. It appeared that the authors were speaking in "new science" (adopting scientific terminology to form a methodology for "non-scientific" conscious, which really needs to be done, however their use of scientific vocabulary wasn't suited to my mindset. Still looking for a more right brained, "science-like" explanation (lay-talk), that I can connect with.
October 9, 2012
Lively conversation with 3 fascinating thinkers. I have read other work by Terence M and Rupert Sheldrake, and I find their ideas inspirational. Even if I don't always agree, and I don't think they follow some things down, I just think I wish I were there, too, speculating with them.
April 20, 2008
What a zany bunch! I will go along with morphic fields, but, Rupert, you are stretching my loyalty here.
June 21, 2013
An amazing and mind blowing book. Anyone who is creative, interested in neuroscience, and/or all things cosmic would dig this one. Just finished it and started it up again. Read this fucker!
September 20, 2021
Conversations about large concepts in a rather small book, the part where Terence brings up the whole 2012 apocalypse thing sounds a bit dated nowadays of course.
April 7, 2022
Was interesting until they all went on the tangent about their vision for the future that will never come about.
April 2, 2013
Wonderful trialoge between three genius' of our time
March 14, 2021
The main issue I have with McKenna, Sheldrake and Abraham is that they *never* had / have their ideas put forward for serious academic review and *never* shared / share a platform with others where any critical debate can take place. [The past tense is of course for McKenna ...]
(One possible exception to this was when McKenna had Matthew Watkins - a mathematician - review his Timewave Theory. Watkins was critical. While you would expect someone's integrity to compel them to either abandon or refine their theory, McKenna instead chose to have Watkins criticism exist in parallel under the name of 'The Watkins Objection' while leaving his theory unchanged ...
Another thing that lowered my opinion of McKenna was once listening to him give a talk that was - almost word-for-word - *identical* to another talk he had given previously. McKenna was a genuinely excellent speaker and one of the reasons was his ability to give the impression that he's almost channeling the words from elsewhere ... Listening to him repeat a previous talk almost verbatim leads only to the conclusion that he had a good memory of his script and a good delivery of it ...)
There's no criticism or genuine challenging of any ideas here - if there had been then I suspect the conversations would probably go nowhere. Don't get me wrong - I *do* think *some* parts of their supporting arguments are useful - it's just that I think the conclusions they draw are either wrong or exaggerated. (I don't really want to go into it here as this is just a book review ...)
This lack of opposition means that at times you get the impression that maybe the purpose of these trialogues was to give the three of them an opportunity to promote their own ideas rather than have any sort of dialectical thinking emerge. (McKenna seems at times to be promoting his Timewave Theory and Sheldrake seems to be promoting Morphic Resonance) That's not really a criticism but it does mean that if you aren't familiar with their ideas the book will have more value than if you are.
(One possible exception to this was when McKenna had Matthew Watkins - a mathematician - review his Timewave Theory. Watkins was critical. While you would expect someone's integrity to compel them to either abandon or refine their theory, McKenna instead chose to have Watkins criticism exist in parallel under the name of 'The Watkins Objection' while leaving his theory unchanged ...
Another thing that lowered my opinion of McKenna was once listening to him give a talk that was - almost word-for-word - *identical* to another talk he had given previously. McKenna was a genuinely excellent speaker and one of the reasons was his ability to give the impression that he's almost channeling the words from elsewhere ... Listening to him repeat a previous talk almost verbatim leads only to the conclusion that he had a good memory of his script and a good delivery of it ...)
There's no criticism or genuine challenging of any ideas here - if there had been then I suspect the conversations would probably go nowhere. Don't get me wrong - I *do* think *some* parts of their supporting arguments are useful - it's just that I think the conclusions they draw are either wrong or exaggerated. (I don't really want to go into it here as this is just a book review ...)
This lack of opposition means that at times you get the impression that maybe the purpose of these trialogues was to give the three of them an opportunity to promote their own ideas rather than have any sort of dialectical thinking emerge. (McKenna seems at times to be promoting his Timewave Theory and Sheldrake seems to be promoting Morphic Resonance) That's not really a criticism but it does mean that if you aren't familiar with their ideas the book will have more value than if you are.
October 6, 2024
Highs and lows. Some sections were full of illuminating ideas and the sorts of thought snippets that re-frame the way you think about things, or put form to ways of thinking you already have (the "Chaos and the Imagination" section was particularly good IMO). Open-mindedness and not being bound to the dogma of materialist, rigid ways of seeing the world is a major theme & personally well-taken. I enjoyed Sheldrake's Science Set Free and was glad to see this idea explored a bit more here, but there is a lot of eyeroll-inducing, surface-level, navel-gazing going on. McKenna in particular seemed to come in with these bizarre pet theories like his idea - which he seemed to be fairly convinced of - that humanity was undergoing some sort of consciousness shift that would culminate in 2012 (based on investigations into the I Ching and also the Mayan calendar). The format doesn't do the topic(s) any favors.
June 14, 2020
This is an excellent book to read around The Archetype of Information and Secret Cipher of the UFOnauts if you are looking for a good well rounded month or so of reading. These three books glue themselves together through a current of archetypes of consciousness, the unknown void, hidden knowledge of the universe, and what we can do to enrich the lives of those around us. The conversations in this book are deep and multi leveled, begging for repeat readings. My only regrets about it are that i wasnt alive to witness any of the meetings that take place in it. It really is a conversation of gods amongst men, and one of the most profound experiences i have ever had reading a book and watching it blow my brains out every page or so. Cant recommend enough!
March 24, 2021
The three authors that came together to talk and discuss and express and explore resulted in this book. Their conversations got documented and surely these are some conversations we should all ponder upon and if possible be a part of. The thoughts expressed in this book range from chaos, creativity, consciousness, history, nature of humans and what not. Every topic is something that can have a deep discussion of itself and is surely to rack your brains and also implant ideas that probably you would never have imagined about.
A great book to read and try to understand. The book does an incredible job to make you ponder and think and explore.
A great book to read and try to understand. The book does an incredible job to make you ponder and think and explore.
May 27, 2018
Interesting point of view. Chaos as a concept, was very nicely explained, however everything regarding creativity was related to psychedelic experiences. Did not appreciate the bashing on science in chapter 9, nor do I believe the world needs more religious rituals with psychedelics. Interesting points on education and a new education system
May 14, 2019
For the purpose I went into the book, which was to amplify the thoughts that are deep or far in the field of societal experiential knowledge, I felt satisfied.
I have enjoyed some of the best thinking sessions along with reading parts of their conversations. Maybe their intent to include the fourth person in the ride was easy to come for me.
Terence's mind still a mystery to me though!
I have enjoyed some of the best thinking sessions along with reading parts of their conversations. Maybe their intent to include the fourth person in the ride was easy to come for me.
Terence's mind still a mystery to me though!
April 15, 2024
Partly responsible and inspiration for my Masters degree in Fine art, helping to inform my esoteric physical drawings and visual experiments. In addition to inspiring my dissertation, and even had correspondence from Rupert Sheldrake too! Cannot rate it enough!
October 29, 2018
Informative, thought-provoking conversations documented here. Three of the most brilliant minds of our times throwing around ideas.
February 27, 2020
Fascinating, poetic and noetic.
January 31, 2021
Good But Naive
I have an image of people transported to their churches in buses like a drunken group to wine tastings. Drugs should not be the future.
I have an image of people transported to their churches in buses like a drunken group to wine tastings. Drugs should not be the future.
July 16, 2022
another one for the Contextualising Epics shelf, for revolutionising my worldview
July 23, 2022
Conversations between a doctor of mathematics, a doctor of philosophy and a dude educated in shamanism and psychedelics. Super super rewarding read.
February 28, 2023
محادثات ٣ من الهيبيز يرتدون عباءة الفلسفة و المنطق لم يعجبني اي طرح
April 19, 2025
Very entertaining but wandered too much for me to get into. There’s a lot of interesting themes discussed, but have too little depth to be very impactful.
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