"All human beings, all persons who reach adulthood in the world today are programmed biocomputers. None of us can escape our own nature as programmable entities. Literally, each of us may be our programs, nothing more, nothing less. "
Readers may also be interested in this more in-depth article about LSD being used to solve engineering problems encountered by Kevin Herbert, a Cisco engineer:
Ooh, John Lilly. The original dolphin-researching, consciousness-exploring, LSD-experimenting, sensory-isolation-tank-inventing counterculture hero. HN goes DFH!
In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true is true or becomes true, within certain limits to be found experientially and experimentally. These limits are further beliefs to be transcended. In the mind, there are no limits.
Edit: interesting use of the term "metaprogramming" in 1972, no? And typical Lilly: extremely plugged-in metaphorically and just as hard to pin down.
"metaprogramming" in that sense refers to self reprogramming itself, usually with the assumption that a lot of personality is imprinted, rather than just behavioral. A firmware change, so to speak.
Robert Anton Wilson's _Promethius Rising_ talks about that stuff, but doesn't run screaming at full speed towards occult mumbo jumbo the way many "consciousness" books do.
Also: Isolation tanks are neat. (Just don't leave your cell phone on vibrate on the chair next to the tank... :) )
The first pharagraph sounds like:
"All human beings, all persons who reach adulthood in the world today are programmed biocomputers. None of us can escape our own nature as programmable entities. Literally, each of us may be our programs, nothing more, nothing less. "