Mind at Large
Mind at Large is a concept proposed by Aldous Huxley to help interpret psychedelic experience. He maintained that the human mind filters reality under normal circumstances and that psychedelic drugs remove the filter, exposing the user to a Mind at Large. Concept. Huxley introduced the concept of Mind at Large in his books "The Doors of Perception" (1954) and "Heaven and Hell" (1956). It was influenced by the ideas of the philosopher C. D. Broad. Huxley held that psychedelic drugs could disable filters which inhibit Mind at Large from reaching the conscious mind. In the aforementioned books , Huxley explores the idea that the human mind filters reality, partly because handling the details of all of the impressions and images coming in would be unbearable, partly because it has been taught to do so. He believes that psychoactive drugs can partly remove this filter, which leaves the drug user exposed to Mind at Large. During an experiment conducted by the British psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond in 1953, Huxley was administered the psychedelic drug mescaline, and was prompted by Osmond to comment on the various stimuli around him, such as books and flowers. Huxley recorded aspects of their conversation in  The Doors of Perception, focusing on what he said in the recordings. He observed that everyday objects lose their functionality, and suddenly exist "as such"; space and dimension become irrelevant, with perceptions seemingly being enlarged, and at times even overwhelming. Huxley wrote in "The Doors of Perception": In the same book, Huxley stated: References to the concept. In 2009, journalist Andrew Sullivan published excerpts from the writing of Barbara Bradley Hagerty in "The Atlantic". In the excerpts, Hagerty connects the research of neuroscientist Andrew Newberg on religious experiences in Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks to Huxley's concept of Mind  at Large.