Product Description

Throughout history there have been references and examples in literature, art and philosophy of an increased awareness of life while under the influence of extreme emotions - these have become known as Peak Experiences. Soon after Colin Wilson became aware of this phenomena in the 1960s he wondered about its history and how its power could be harnessed, thus began a 40 year investigation. In "SUPERCONSCIOUSNESS" we see how such luminaries as Yeats, Blake, Satre, Nietzche and Robert Graves were all effected by PE's and how on the opposite side it has long been noted that we are least insightful when we are at our lowest ebb. By looking in detail through the different areas where this phenomena has occurred and offering anecdotes and examples of how many people in history (as well as himself) were effected Wilson reveals a pattern of insight with emotions. He ends the book with an instructional section on achieving power consciousness for yourself.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4628 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Colin Wilson is a highly respected and erudite writer. He has written many books, both fiction and non-fiction on the occult and the paranormal, including The Occult and Mysteries. His work is published in many languages.

Customer Reviews

The Strange Case of Colin Wilson
When the writer-philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre died in 1980, thousands of mourners followed the cortege through the streets of Paris. It is impossible to believe that here in England the death of any writer would inspire the same reaction. Perhaps we simply lack that intellectual turn of mind that appreciates writers of ideas. This explains the sad neglect of a great writer in Colin Wilson. He is much more popular abroad and has regularly lectured all over America.

He burst onto the literary scene with his first book of ideas "The Outsider" in 1956 which was universally received by the establishment as a work of genius. His second book was universally panned and despite a large body of substantial work since he has been ignored. It almost seems to be a tacit agreement between reviewers to neglect him.

Why then is Colin Wilson important? He has one central idea. He has always instinctively felt that the quality of our daily consciousness is very limited. It leads us to feel passive and vunerable and the victim of circumstances. The artists of the Romantic movement and the early 20th century were says Wilson the classic victims of this contradiction of an awareness of man's potential and the contrast of his everyday experiences.


In his works he has analysed the history of literature philosophy music and the arts against the backdrop of his philosophy. To use his terminology he has used an existential critique to examine all previous ideas expressed in artistic or literary forms to ascertain whether they raise or lower man's status in the universe. If this sounds abstract and dry do not be deceived. Reading a book by Colin Wilson is an extremely positive and exciting experience. His thirst for ideas is infectious and even if you disagree with him he will leave you a new and fascinating perspective.

It is Colin Wilson's research into the sciences that has supported his theories and pointed the way forward. In rare moments we are all capable of "peak experiences" ( a term coined by the American Abraham Maslow)which are indicative of the the vast scope of our mental potentiality. This potentiality is evident in many phenomena ie second sight, synchronicity, idiot savants and the occult.

Also scientists have demonstrated the existence of the "right" and left" sides of the brain which perform quite separate functions. We are compelled to live our daily lives in the left side which controls our reason and logic whilst the right side is associated with the more subliminal levels. It is the understanding of the linkage of the two sides of the brain and how to use it to induce peak experiences that Mr Wilson feels will lead to Super Consciousness. This book neatly summarises many of his central insights.

To call Colin Wilson "well read" is an understatement and he can be enjoyed on the simplest level as an educator in the fields of literature science philosophy and art.

He has also written many novels which are well crafted and fascinating reads and which illustrate his ideas. He has created many memorable characters which will live in the readers memories.

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Consciousness as it ought to be
I have been reading Colin Wilson for more than thirty years, and his work is one of the central reasons why I became a writer. Anyone unfamiliar with his brilliant analysis of the problems of human consciousness is sadly uninformed, and is missing out on the inimitable excitement about ourselves and our potential that reading one of his books invariably triggers. It is a shame that this acute philosophical thinker too often gets placed in the "new age" or "mind, body, spirit" sections of bookshops, if he is stocked there at all. He is much more a member of that company of greats, like Plato, Goethe, and Shaw, than he is a "self-help" or "spiritual writer," and he is probably the only existential philosopher of the late 20th and early 21st centuries worthy of that name. Practically every page of Wilson crackles with ideas, and reading one of his books is a more certain and lasting stimulus to "higher consciousness" than any number of hallucinogens or meditative techniques. Buy this one. Read it. Then read the others.

buy this book !
I have been doing research into the nature of reality for Oxford University for 10 years and the findings of Colin Wilson are 'spot on', I strongly advise everyone to read this book !