John C. Lilly Quotes

As I say at the beginning of my workshops, 'Everything I say here is a lie -- bullshit, in other words -- because anything that you put in words is not experience, is not the experiment. It's a representation -- a misrepresentation.

All human beings, all persons who reach adulthood in the world today are programmed biocomputers. No one of us can escape our own nature as programmable entities. Literally, each of us may be our programs, nothing more, nothing less.

In the province of the mind what one believes to be true, either is true or becomes true within certain limits. These limits are to be found experimentally and experientially. When so found these limits turn out to be further beliefs to be transcended. In the province of the mind there are no limits.

As the LSD began to take effect, I suddenly said in a very loud voice, while pounding on top of a file, “Every psychiatrist, every psychoanalyst should be forced to take LSD in order to know what is over here.”

In the mind, there are no limits...

The experienced, wise, energetic, intelligent individual functioning in a loose coalition with others in a wide network is far more effective than he is in a tightly organized group.

Presumably there are energies, to which each human is sensitive, that we cannot yet detect by means of our instruments. Built into our brains and our bodies are very sensitive tuneable receivers for energies that we do not yet know about in our science but that each one of us can detect under the proper circumstances and the proper state of mind. We can tune our nervous systems and bodies to receive these energies. We can also tune our brains and bodies to transmit these energies.

I believe in our culture we need certain socially accepted places where we don’t answer the telephone, we don’t have to answer questions or agree with anyone on anything

In the centre of the cyclone one is off the wheel of Karma, of life, rising to join the Creators of the Universe, the Creators of us. Here we find that we have created Them who are Us.

The miracle is that the universe created a part of itself, to study itself,
and that this part in studying itself finds the rest of the universe in its own natural inner realities.

All laws are simulations of reality.

There are no mistakes, there are only correctable errors. There are no errors, there are only alternate programs.

The fear that the universe is not what you assume it to be is very basic, especially when you know damn well it isn't what you assume it to be.

Cosmic love is absolutely Ruthless and Highly Indifferent: it teaches its lessons whether you like/ dislike them or not.

You don't have to suffer continual chaos in order to grow.

I call God ECCO (Earth Coincidence Control Office) . It's much more satisfying to call it that. A lot of people accept this and they don't know that they're just talking about God. I finally found a God that was big enough. As the astronomer said to the Minister, My God's astronomical. The Minister said, How can you relate to something so big? The astronomer said, Well, that isn't the problem, your God's too small!