"Oh, for God's sake, let's stop being so cerebral; let's daub our bodies in mud and stomp around on the ground, inviting Gaia to join in our revels; let's knock back a pint of ayahuasca with some authentic tribal persons, hurtle down the tunnel of psychedelic consciousness to the dawn of time, and drown our egos in the white waters of the unavoidable truth."

— Edward St. Aubyn (b. 1960)


Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Chatto & Windus
Date
2000
Metaphor
"Oh, for God's sake, let's stop being so cerebral; let's daub our bodies in mud and stomp around on the ground, inviting Gaia to join in our revels; let's knock back a pint of ayahuasca with some authentic tribal persons, hurtle down the tunnel of psychedelic consciousness to the dawn of time, and drown our egos in the white waters of the unavoidable truth."
Metaphor in Context
Oh, for God's sake, let's stop being so cerebral; let's daub our bodies in mud and stomp around on the ground, inviting Gaia to join in our revels; let's knock back a pint of ayahuasca with some authentic tribal persons, hurtle down the tunnel of psychedelic consciousness to the dawn of time, and drown our egos in the white waters of the unavoidable truth. Then what? Chant? Pray? Interpret our shamanic journeys? Write a book pissing on Descartes? For myself, I'm grateful that thousands of years of trouble have gone into making sense of language, especially when I'm writing.
(pp. 63-4)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Edward St. Aubyn, A Clue to the Exit (London: Chatto & Windus, 2000).
Date of Entry
09/19/2015

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.