Book Details + Condition: And/Or Press (Berkeley, CA), 1978 (Second printing). Softcover. 270 pages, with b&w illustrations. Firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; light wear to covers; foxing to text block; interior is clean and free of markings.
Cosmic Trigger deals with Wilson's experiences during a time in which he put himself through a process of "self-induced brain change" as well as vignettes of his earlier life. The main discovery of this process—which, he tells us, is known in certain traditions as Chapel perilous—is that "reality" (although a noun in most Indo-European language systems, and therefore commonly conceptualized as being a definite, unchanging "'thing") is mutable and subjective to the observer. Wilson employs several models for his experiences, such as the interstellar ESP connection, during which time Wilson enters what he refers to as a 'reality tunnel', in which he claims to communicate telepathically with extraterrestrials residing in the Sirius star system. Throughout the book, he makes references to specific paranormal personal and group experiences, yet he does not allow himself to become convinced of their reality apart from his perception of them. He calls this approach "model agnosticism". The book also deals with the Bavarian Illuminati conspiracy (which Wilson neither rejects as utterly false nor embraces as true, in keeping with his theme) and other related intrigues. The work also touches on a wide range of other subjects, from Timothy Leary's thoughts on brain circuits and JFK's assassination, through to Sufism and numerous occult practices. [Wikipedia]
