A review by theesotericcamel
Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson

3.0

A very intellectual work, which is flavoured with Robert Wilson's sarcasm and sense of humour throughout. The book has not aged as well as some of his others. But it is interesting to see how many of the predictions came to pass, reading it now past his projection dates. many of them were actually fairly accurate (to a certain extant). His explanation of his 8-circuit system of development was fascinating to say the least. It is informed from many different sources, from C.G. Jung and Freud, to Timothy Leary, Gurdjieff and Crowley, to James Joyce to many others. It is clear that Robert Wilson has read and dabbled in many so-called "reality-tunnels" or paradigms, as a good Chaos Magician should. Isreal Regardie even writes the introduction to the book. And I agree with Mr. Regardie's assessment that this book is overly optimistic. Robert Wilson was expecting a global consciousness and longevity revolution by now, and as you can see for yourself, we are not quite there yet. Many of the ideas presented in the book are not really new, but their synthesis into one "program" is original and interesting. However, many of the weightier concepts are only really touched upon in the chapters of this slender work. It is refreshing that Robert Wilson himself encourages us to be skeptics of his work. He encourages us though, to try it before knocking it. This point is driven home by the "exercises" that are suggested at the end of each chapter. Some are more difficult than others depending on your lifestyle. This also signifies that he means for us to revisit the work on a later date, and to study it like a textbook. In many ways it is a textbook, on how to take control of our reality, and how to mold it to something more suitable to us. It's a personal task, and Robert Wilson claims that his 8-circuit system is just one of many ways to do it. But what it ultimately boils down to is that if we are able to change the way we perceive the reality around us, we can change reality itself. Food for thought indeed.