John c lilly website
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John Lilly
“You don’t have to search for what is already within you. The deeper you go into yourself, the more the universe opens up.”
– John Lilly
John Lilly was born in 1915 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, into a family that encouraged both scientific inquiry and a strong sense of discipline. From an early age, he exhibited a keen interest in the mysteries of the human mind and the possibilities of exploration beyond conventional boundaries. This curiosity would shape his life and legacy as one of the most pioneering figures in consciousness research.
After studying at Caltech and the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his medical degree, Lilly’s scientific career flourished. He focused on neurophysiology and brain mapping but grew increasingly fascinated by questions that couldn’t be answered through traditional methods alone. He believed the mind was a frontier as vast and complex as the physical universe—and psychedelics offered a way to chart its depths.
In the 1950s, Lilly invented the isolation tank, a device designed to eliminate external stimu
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From January 6 1915 until his death on September 30 2001, John Cunningham Lilly pushed scientific boundaries and explored what he believed was the limitless potential of the mind.
His career spanned the worlds of physician, neuroscientist, psychoanalyst, psychonaut, philosopher, writer and inventor, at times being praised by the scientific and medical community as a pioneer and at others being ostracised by them as an eccentric.
For example, he was the first person to map pain and pleasure pathways in the brain and devised pain-free methods for introducing electrodes deep in an animal’s cortex, allowing for groundbreaking research.
Despite his eccentric methods, his work in the study of dolphins and inter-species communication encouraged a generation of scientists to study marine mammals and raised awareness and respect for the animals.
Yet it was his work in sensory deprivation that has perhaps been his greatest legacy.
In 1954 he invented the world’s first floatation tank, an enclosed saline bath designed for intensive study of human consciousness when deprived of as much
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John Lilly is widely known for his captivating and award-winning songwriting, vocal and instrumental skills. Over the past 50 years, he has visited and performed in 48 of the 50 United States, as well as in several other nations. His songs have been sung, played and recorded by dozens of other artists, including Tim O'Brien, Kathy Mattea, Tom Paxton, Bill Kirchen and others, many of whom contributed tracks to the 2021 CD release "April in Your Eyes: A Tribute to the Songs of John Lilly."
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1954, John received a bachelor's degree in arts administration from Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia, in 1996. John is a former tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, a former member of the Green Grass Cloggers traditional dance troupe, and a veteran of several old-time string bands, including Ralph Blizard and the New Southern Ramblers. He worked 18 years as editor of West Virginia's esteemed Goldenseal magazine from 1997 until 2015. John now makes his home in Elkins, West Virginia.
John Lilly perfor
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