Stealing Fire
by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal
Altered states (flow, meditation, psychedelics, extreme sport) as a trillion-dollar underground economy, and how SEALs, Googlers and Burners use them for performance. Breathless in places; useful as a map of the 'ecstasis' landscape and its risks.
Read it if…
you want the overview of peak-state tools and who uses them.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want a practice; it is a survey.
Try instead: The Mind Illuminated →
Three things you will actually use
- Non-ordinary states have a cost and a return.
- Selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness, richness.
- Hedonic calendar: dose deliberately.
Do this first
Read the chapter on the SEALs and the one on the risks.
Our verdict
A map of peak states.
See the book →
Compare with other Focus books
The Mind Illuminated
Culadasa (John Yates) · Focus
Systematic and demanding; the advanced manual.
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