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Jeff Warren
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The Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, December 1, 2007

by Jeff Warren (Author), Raymond Todd (Reader)
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A world at once familiar and unimaginably strange exists all around us--and within us. It is the world of consciousness, a protean mental landscape that each of us knows intimately and yet understands scarcely at all. Despite the attempts of scientists and mystics, poets and dreamers, crackpots and geniuses, to map its contours and explain its secret workings, the mind remains mysterious--even more so the more we learn about it. Yet, as gonzo science journalist Jeff Warren demonstrates in this provocative and entertaining synthesis of cutting-edge research and personal experience, just how much we do now know is little short of astonishing. And when Warren fits the pieces together, the implications of that knowledge are, well, mind blowing. Beginning with the insight that consciousness is not a simple on-off proposition, with rigid demarcations separating waking awareness from sleep, Jeff Warren explores twelve distinct, natural states we can experience in a twenty-four-hour day, each offering its own kind of insight and adventure. He then sets out to experience for himself the seemingly miraculous, all-but-untapped potential of the human mind. From the full-immersion virtual realities of lucid dreaming to the esoteric Eastern meditative practices that have reached outposts of consciousness far beyond the grasp of Western science, from techniques of hypnosis and neurofeedback to such exotic states of awareness as the Watch and the Pure Conscious Event, Warren takes us on an incredible journey through our own heads, conducted with a spirit of adventure and humor, curiosity and wonder.
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Blackstone Audiobooks
  3. Publication date
    December 1, 2007
  4. Dimensions
    5.35 x 0.57 x 7.48 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1433206773
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1433206771
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Warren has lived and worked in Paris, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco and London. He has published articles in the Globe and Mail and the National Post. His two hour-long documentaries on sleep and dreaming for CBC Radio's Ideas became the springboard for The Head Trip. He is an on-again, off-again producer for The Current and is researching his next book.



Raymond Todd is an actor and director in the theater as well as a poet and documentary filmmaker. He plays jazz trombone for the Leatherstocking quartet, an ensemble that gets its name from one of his favorite Blackstone narrations, The Deerslayer. Todd lives in New York.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (December 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1433206773
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1433206771
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.36 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 0.57 x 7.48 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

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Jeff Warren

Jeff Warren

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
65 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the story engaging and enlightening. They also appreciate the light sense of humor and writing style. Readers also mention the book has a similar style and wit to Mary Roach's work.

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StoryHumorWriting style
6 customers mention "Story"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the story engaging, enlightening, and fun. They also say it's informative.

"This is a remarkable and interesting book about human consciousness. Really - it is much more interesting than it sounds like it would be...." Read more

"...The author's smart prose and use of engaging stories makes it a pleasure to read...." Read more

"This book is awesome. Lot's of interesting information on the stages of sleep and consciousness...." Read more

"...and many other great thinkers show up in this bold, adventurous journey through the mind." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the humor in the book light and easy to read.

"...This book combines of psychology, neurobiology and spirituality with offbeat humour...." Read more

"...The author adds a lot of humor that really makes this book shine. It's full of great illustrations and a lot of new and interesting ideas to explore." Read more

"...He has a light sense of humor that is easy to read. This is a great book where personal observation meets science...." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing style"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style similar to Mary Roach's work, with a fun, quirky style and humorous comic book style diagrams.

"...by a journalist, not a scientist or doctor, and it has a fun, quirky style with a lot of humorous comic book style diagrams...." Read more

"...recommend this book to fans of Mary Roach's work, as it has similar style and wit." Read more

"...It's full of great illustrations and a lot of new and interesting ideas to explore." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

Michael P. McCullough
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Journey
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2008
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This is a remarkable and interesting book about human consciousness. Really - it is much more interesting than it sounds like it would be. This is not a New Age-y manifesto but a amusing trip through sleep and waking life.

It is written by a journalist, not a scientist or doctor, and it has a fun, quirky style with a lot of humorous comic book style diagrams.

The first, most interesting, half is about sleep. Different stages of sleep and types of dreams. The best parts are the sections about lucid dreaming and the watch. I am a person who strives to achieve lucid dreams and I liked the stories about people who are tremendously successful lucid dreamers, and ways to improve the chances of having lucid dreams.

The section on "the watch" changed the way I looked at sleep. Our modern expectation is that we will have an Ambien night - go to bet, konk out, and wake up in the morning remembering nothing of the night while we were asleep. Historically, the author tells s, people fully expected to lie awake for a while in the middle of the night. It turns out that this is, to quote the Talking Heads, a "good place to get some thinking done."

This book has actually changed my life, in a sense, because I now no longer dread lying awake for a while in the middle of the night, but see it as a positive thing. Plus, f you no longer fear "the watch" it doesn't last as long. If I'm not afraid of being awake for a while I get back to sleep much more quickly.
The second half on waking consciousness, regrettably, was not nearly as interesting.

But seriously, I would highly recommend this book to anybody who ever sleeps (or is awake). Ha ha - sleep is a huge part of our lives, but how much do we even know about it?
22 people found this helpful
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L. Jacob Zweig
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, engaging, and informative read!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2011
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I truly enjoyed reading The Head Trip. I've always had a fascination with consciousness, yet much of the material on this topic is often very "new-agey". This book, however focuses on the scientific perspective (though some of the experiments are pretty far out there!). Unlike textbook scientific literature, however, the author uses personal anecdotes strung together with facts to present a great overview of present and historical consciousness research. The author's smart prose and use of engaging stories makes it a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in a scientific understanding of alternate states of consciousness (sleep, dreaming, trance, etc). I'd also recommend this book to fans of Mary Roach's work, as it has similar style and wit.
3 people found this helpful
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JS
4.0 out of 5 stars but it was a good deal for $4
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2015
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Haven't read it all yet, but it was a good deal for $4.00
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Janis Grummitt
5.0 out of 5 stars Consciousness Continued...after an interruption of 40 years...
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2011
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Jeff Warren is an interesting dude. The Head Trip is a book about states of consciousness. The difference between this and other books is the author's style and the amount of new objective research data now available. Warren himself is the traveler and this is an account of his trip through experiences of personal research in each of the states.

Consciousness, the focus of the hippy era in the 70's, has come full circle and is now a serious study. Warren recreates the atmosphere of the classic film `Easy Rider' with his metaphors and language. He even looks like Art Garfunkle from that era.

His wheel of consciousness is the easiest way for us to understand an incredible complex topic. It gives the reader a linear, tangible series of states that we can grasp. It is illusory; a metaphor that Warren admits towards the end; all states are capable of `bleeding' into the others and capable of being `re-mixed' like music.

This book is not easy to understand unless you have some existing knowledge. Thankfully each chapter ends with a summary in the form of a passport with the words `Thank you for visiting the SMR state'.
This book combines of psychology, neurobiology and spirituality with offbeat humour. If you are wondering if this book is for you, I advise checking out his You Tube video `The Head Trip - a tour through your mind'.
11 people found this helpful
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Winsor C
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, interesting head trip!
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2018
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This book is awesome. Lot's of interesting information on the stages of sleep and consciousness. The author adds a lot of humor that really makes this book shine. It's full of great illustrations and a lot of new and interesting ideas to explore.
5 people found this helpful
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Lia Grimanis
5.0 out of 5 stars Bold, daring, expect to be surprized
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2007
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Jeff Warren moves through the latest thinking on consciousness, mind, and sleep, with ease and zany wit and humour. Written from the perspective of a culture vulture trying to figure out what's going on inside his own head, he effortlessly synthesizes much of the latest thinking about the brain in fields as diverse as psychology, neuro-biology, immunology and others. Thomas Kuhn, Sigmund Freud, Steven Johnson, and many other great thinkers show up in this bold, adventurous journey through the mind.
16 people found this helpful
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Domestic Wolverine
5.0 out of 5 stars Still worth it for psychonauts: a User's Guide to the brain for normal humans
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2008
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The concepts here may not be new for those who've gone of the way to get experienced with their consciousness, but the level of detail (dig that bibliography!) and attention to recent developments in various fields -- sleep science, neurofeedback, even hypnosis -- is enough to inspire all sorts of new inquiry.

For the "layperson," however, or "non-freak," this condenses what it took your average freak ten years of living to explore and confirm on his own. Read it and save yourself the time!
12 people found this helpful
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Raven
5.0 out of 5 stars He has a light sense of humor that is easy to read
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2016
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Jeff is very clear as he explains complex, unclear sleep phenomenon. He has a light sense of humor that is easy to read. This is a great book where personal observation meets science. He is a story teller and I hope he writes more as he takes the reader into the unknown!
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Or
5.0 out of 5 stars RECOMMENDED! - In a compelling and story like way Jeff unfolds all of his consciousness adventures
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2017
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Seems super interesting, well written - in a compelling and story like way Jeff unfolds all of his consciousness adventures. He's way of transmuting the information really takes a hold on you by letting you feel and connect to what he's talking about.
Too bad I lost it on the train halfway through.
Peace,
Or
One person found this helpful
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Ken Kardash
5.0 out of 5 stars Needs editing from other frontal lobes
Reviewed in Canada on August 3, 2013
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This is an original and intriguing book, and I am excited to recommend it for those reasons. It deals with the different states of normal consciousness that can be accessed without chemical assistance. What makes it original is the way the author recounts his personal attempts to experience each state. In fact, the book is organized as a literal travelogue of consciousness. This makes up in credibility for what the author may lack in academic credentials, and adds personal zeal to what would otherwise be simply a journalistic overview of current thinking on the subject.

Unfortunately, the zeal degenerates into a little too much self-absorbed detail at times. I wasn’t really interested in which coffee shop the author stopped at on the way to a particular interview. His confessed distractibility results in humorous asides at times, but eventually becomes a drag on the narrative. The most obvious and irritating manifestation of this is the frequent and tangential footnotes. Surely these could have been integrated with the other thirty pages of commendable notes at the end. Normally I would knock off at least a star in my rating because of these concerns, but I really don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this interesting work. If enough people do, maybe a second, more concise edition will come along.
4 people found this helpful
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Annamarie Beckel
5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Provocative
Reviewed in Canada on May 22, 2013
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Head Trip: Adventures on the Wheel of Consciousness by Jeff Warren is a fascinating and highly entertaining examination of how we experience consciousness. Although Warren's quest for information and understanding about different brain states is absolutely serious -- he travels the world to interview various researchers and meditators -- he drops in plenty of humour along the way, as well as charming illustrations, figures, and tables of his own construction. Most of the humour is directed at himself for not "being good at" lucid dreaming, hypnosis, biofeedback, and meditation. The chapters I found most interesting were those on sleep, dreaming, and the hypnogogic state, that brief period between waking and sleeping that many artists, writers, and inventors cultivate for its creative insights. Also, EEGs of REM sleep and consciousness are strikingly similar, and some researchers suggest that "we are always dreaming"; it's just that when we're awake our thoughts are bounded and grounded by sensory input that is lacking when we're asleep. I found this idea particularly provocative. All in all, a very good read.
3 people found this helpful
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B. Philippe
4.0 out of 5 stars Very intriguing, very interesting
Reviewed in Canada on July 30, 2016
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Very intriguing, very interesting. Excellent starting point to get familiar with states of consciousness and with "how our brain works".
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Christina
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in Canada on December 10, 2014
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Great book! Must read
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