Super Consciousness: The Quest for the Peak Experience was published by Watkins Publishing in 2009, when Wilson was seventy-eight years old. The book is a summation — Wilson’s attempt to distill fifty years of philosophical investigation into a single, relatively brief statement. The core argument remains what it was in The Outsider: human beings possess faculties of consciousness far beyond what they routinely exercise, and the history of mystical experience, artistic inspiration, and even paranormal phenomena is evidence of these latent capacities breaking through.
What distinguishes Super Consciousness from Wilson’s earlier books is its practical orientation. Wilson is less interested in philosophical argument (he has made the argument many times before) than in describing the conditions under which expanded consciousness arises and proposing methods for cultivating it. He draws on Maslow’s research on peak experiences, his own decades of investigation into the paranormal, and the traditions of Eastern meditation to suggest that “super consciousness” is not a gift but a skill — something that can be learned and practiced.
The book also serves as a useful introduction to Wilson’s thought for readers intimidated by the bulk of his earlier works. The prose is clear, the examples are vivid, and Wilson writes with the authority of someone who has spent a lifetime on a single problem and believes he has found, if not the answer, at least the right question.
Collecting Super Consciousness
First edition (Watkins Publishing, London, 2009): Trade paperback.
Market values:
- First edition, fine: $10–$25
- Hardcover editions: $20–$50