Aldous Huxley: If You Are a Writer, Cats Are MUST

What Makes a Great Writer?

Aldous Huxley was an English writer, novelist, philosopher, and prominent member of the Huxley family. His best-known work is Brave New World, which he wrote about Dystopia where babies are born in laboratories. He had cats and left some remarkable quotes about them. Let’s see his spiritual interpretation of the world and cats!

Aldous Huxley

Huxley completed his first (unpublished) novel at the age of 17 and began writing seriously in his early 20s, establishing himself as a successful writer and social satirist. His first published novels were social satires.

Siamese Cat

Huxley was very fond of a Siamese Cat, which he allowed to climb on to his shoulder while he was writing.

No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.

Aldous Huxley Quotes About Cats
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Siamese Cat: 5 Reasons Why They Are One of the Best

Human Psychology and Cats

If you want to be a psychological novelist and write about human beings, the best thing you can do is keep a pair of cats.

Aldous Huxley Quotes About Cats
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The Doors of Perception

Huxley was interested in expanding one’s perception. He was introduced to Vedanta (Upanishad-centered philosophy), meditation, and vegetarianism through ahimsa, which is the principle of nonviolence toward all living things.

In 1938, Huxley befriended Indian speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose teachings he greatly admired. He also became a Vedantist in the circle of Hindu Philosopher Swami Prabhavananda.

Not long after, Huxley wrote his book on widely held spiritual values and ideas, The Perennial Philosophy, which discussed the teachings of renowned mystics of the world. In this book, he was drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam.

He examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine.

Huxley affirmed a sensibility that insists there are realities beyond the generally accepted five senses and that there is genuine meaning for humans beyond both sensual satisfaction and sentimentalities.

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.

Aldous Huxley Quotes (BrainyQuote)

Writer’s Block?

If you want to write, keep cats.

Aldous Huxley Quotes About Cats
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One Thing You Can Change

In 1960, he wrote the Utopian novel Island, which is based on mystical philosophy with extensive knowledge on various attainments. Some call it as a perfect mixture of eastern and western wisdom.

Overall, he showed readers a different path than most social norms of these days. Any growing mind would appreciate it. So this is his ideal form of society. How we envision our society now?

There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.

Aldous Huxley Quotes (BrainyQuote)

 

Reference

Aldous Huxley (Wikipedia)

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Also published on Medium.