Visionary: The Mysterious Origins of Human Consciousness (The Definitive Edition of Supernatural)

Reading "Visionary" I am reminded of Graham Hancock's fundamental theory in "Fingerprints of the Gods," and "Magicians of the Gods" of a common origin, in this case the origin of the origin of civilization: Spiritual Awareness. When, how, and why did we evolve that, and who, for starters, is "we"? As Hancock has so often done, he breaks the partisan impasse of a controversial topic by explaining it to a wider audience and by putting its gridlocked experts on the spot. What I got out of this, for example, is the difficulty in how one might go about proving that surreal experiences reported by people throughout history, however induced, have an origin that is outside of the mind and brain and body of these people. Thanks to a book like "Visionary" more people will come into this question and eventually come up with ways to study the shamanistic experience so that independent observers can agree on what is and isn't internally created reality.The even bigger question I got out of the book is whether the "shaman gene" that seems to have evolved inside of us might be our only ticket to a world that we would otherwise never know exists, a world that the best mathematical models of the universe and beyond cannot ever compute, and even if they one day can will forever be beyond our non-mathematical senses. For example, if we live in a simulated universe, are the common themes of shamanic visions the clues left by the simulator for us to reconnect, or, if we live in a real universe, are they our way to sense the higher dimensions and outer realms we can at best only define with numbers and formulas, if at all?One person's account of his experimental N, N-dimethyltryptamine experience reported by Hancock in chapter 23 especially caught my attention because it puts a potential paradox worthy of investigation right in front of us: "It will continue to progress without you paying attention. You return not to where you left off, but to where things have gone since you left. It's not a hallucination, but an observation."To me, that doesn't sound like a drug user senselessly tripping high on something only he can know, but a potential, future scientist able to still separate his or her enhanced senses from a phenomenon that may have a existence of its own not observable with the basic set yet reproducible by others.

Graham’s tomes are incredibly well written and describe the hallucinogenic experiences and journeys so well that I for one desperately want to try it, hopefully legally, one day soon. His insight that altered states of human consciousness are the catalyst for all religions, without exception, going back 35,000 yrs into our prehistoric past is hard to refute, no other explanations come close. The US ‘war on drugs’ has been a travesty, needlessly filling prisons and halting some incredibly promising research, denying patients of anxiety, PTSD, addiction, depression to name but a few with proven remedies. They’re plants for goodness sake and our own bodies. It is the height of government overreach to deny us the right to expand our own consciousness. I hope I see the ban reversed for all plant based hallucinogens in my lifetime. I truly do. Thanks again Graham for bringing another fascinating subject out from behind closed doors and into the public spotlight

With his usual easy-to-read style and thoroughness, Hancock delivers another interesting piece of research.I'm really hoping that Hancock is a harbinger of change, in terms of respectable scholars and researchers being willing to think and look outside of the box. He delivers information in a well-reasoned way, with plenty of documentation, and a clear delineation of when he's offering his own opinion or something that is clear and verifiable.If you haven't read his other works, give them a look, too.Fascinating stuff, by a really good writer. I hope he keeps it up for a long time.

The media could not be loaded. It has pictures in it and is such a great book.

All of his books are great. Provides real evidence to past events

This book paints the picture of a common thread through the history of humanity. Really enjoyed the ride it took me on.

I am in the middle of this book! I will reread this book…My Quest is to Learn! Love

Great book

Not his best work

Visionary is a book I will hold near to my heart. The relating remarks of Graham Hancock between psychedelics, shamanism, aliens, fairies and Palaeolithic cave art is absolutely stunning and wondrous to ponder.I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who has ever queried (or perhaps haven’t given much thought to) the secrets of our world.