Sensibilium Blog

It may be better not to think of this as a head in its own right but as something underlying all other heads (barring head0). Quite simply head1 describes the ability (used almost continually) to interpret and ALTER the information our senses bring us. Even a cursory study of perception psychology shows that all normal acts of perception can also be seen as acts of interpretation: We tend to see things in terms of what we expect. In other words if I (for reasons to do with the way my environment has shaped genetic tendencies) believe that all hippies "are" dirty and stupid then I will tend to notice any details of individual hippie X that reinforce this view and ignore those that work against it. If in case of hippie X the evidence that he "is not" dirty or stupid becomes overwhelming then I will reclassify him from "hippie" to "non-hippie who mistakenly believes that he is a hippie." This tends to be done because most people find it easier to re-evaluate one person than to change their set beliefs about types of people. Again I stress the point that all this has been supported by experimental psychology; Even the idea of making this the central feature of consciousness has been mentioned before; it appears regularly in existential and humanist philosophy. R. A. Wilson makes use of the idea regularly and Aldous Huxley seemed to be on a similar train of thought when he talked about the brain as a reducing valve.

In humans, head1 has an inevitable and huge linguistic component although it would be inaccurate to claim that that it contains verbal languages alone.

It gets interesting though when you become aware that you are doing this all the time; it then becomes possible to upload new programs by convincing yourself of whatever head-states you wish to believe. Most occultism works on this principle. When this happens you have created the meta-programmer; that which programs the programmer. Most people don't find this quite as easy as just sitting down and saying "I want to be like this today," but some don't find it much harder. Techniques of Ritual and Repetition helps greatly as does the discipline yoga brings. This great potential of the meta-programmer has led 60's optimists such as Leary and Wilson to claim or imply that you can program all your problems away. This may be true to an extent but only in helping you accept external problems. If you feel unhappy or paranoid then the chances dictate that you will create a meta-programmer which has the same problems. And thus start a million and one bad trips.

There can be a way round this though and that's getting someone you trust implicitly to help write the new program. This can be tricky and requires great skill and self-control on their behalf as it could easily turn into a power game.

The programmer can also be "switched off" once you become aware of it. The most certain way of doing this seems to be through tantra or raja yoga but high doses of psychedelics in a suitably prepared mind with the right set and setting can also do this. The ability to switch off the programmer at will takes a lot more practice than that of creating the meta-programmer. Switching off the programmer soon leads to the head that is not a head via dhyna in yoga and "crossing the abyss" in quabbalism. At this point all models including this one collapse.

You are in the programmer all the time but the best way to activate the meta-programmer is by raja yoga, occultism and random belief. Intelligent use of psychedelics or weed can also do it but pay attention to set and setting.

Suggested reading for this head:

• Prometheus Rising: Robert Anton Wilson
• Quantum Psychology: Robert Anton Wilson
• The Doors of Perception: Aldous Huxley
• The Psychedelic Experience: Leary et al.
• Liber Null: Peter Carrol