I am 100 percent in favor of the intelligent use of drugs, and 1,000 percent against the thoughtless use of them, whether caffeine or LSD. And drugs are not central to my life.
Timothy LearyRead
My advice to people today is as follows: if you take the game of life seriously, if you take your nervous system seriously, if you take your sense organs seriously, if you take the energy process seriously, you must turn on, tune in, and drop out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote encourages individuals to engage deeply with their lives and experiences.
Timothy Leary's quote suggests that in order to truly understand and navigate the complexities of life, one must actively participate in it. This involves being aware of one's mental and physical states while also embracing the journey of self-discovery and personal growth, often requiring a shift in consciousness or perspective.
Themes
LifeAwarenessConsciousnessGrowthParticipation
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech, one might use this quote to inspire individuals to fully engage in their lives.
More from Timothy Leary
All quotes →Think for yourself and question authority.
Timothy LearyRead
There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I forget the third.
Timothy LearyRead
The brain is not a blind, reactive machine, but a complex, sensitive biocomputer that we can program. And if we don't take the responsibility for programming it, then it will be programmed unwittingly by accident or by the social environnement.
Timothy LearyRead
My advice to myself and to everyone else, particularly young people, is to turn on, tune in and drop out. By drop out, I mean to detach yourself from involvement in secular, external social games. But the dropping out has to occur internally before it can occur externally. I'm not telling kids just to quit school; I'm not telling people to quit their jobs. That is an inevitable development of the process of turning on and tuning in.
Timothy LearyRead
The danger of psychedelic drugs, the danger of mind-opening, the danger of consciousness expansion, the danger of inner discovery is a danger to the establishment.
Timothy LearyRead
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