Most people have at least heard of some form of hallucinogen whether it be mushrooms, lysergic acid or peyote but few people have heard of the only endogenous hallucinogenic agent, DMT The Spirit Molecule.
To preface this article with a brief personal account, I have never taken DMT but have had two out-of-body experiences one of which occurred during a period of high stress associated with death. In addition, I have taken psilocybin on three cases one of which can be found in an earlier article (see Snowy Silhouette Skies).
While conservatively dismissed as nothing but time-wasting mind altering substances or “hippie drugs” Rick Strassman, M.D. chronicles supported clinical studies of DMT through rich detail of the drug produced by our own bodies, follows the effects across numerous case studies and speaks to why studies of these and other substances will prove beneficial to the scientific community and to the populace at large.
This book provides documentation concerning the study of near-death and mystical experiences. It does not set out to prove or define life after death but rather records sessions focused on gathering neurological and biological data in addition to case by case testimony.
Divided into six parts, the first of which focuses on “The Building Blocks” and introduces the reader into brief jargon and needed definitions. We find here that all psychedelic drugs are divided into two main families, the phenethylamines and the tryptamines. Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, belongs to the tryptamine family along with some non-halluncinogenic substances serotonin and tryptamine (an amino acid required for digestion. Among fellow psychedelics psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms), LSD and ibogaine (the drug known to alleviate addictive behavior) rests DMT; it is short-lived but extremely potent and primarily associated with the pineal gland and is released into the body during rare, heightened instances such as birth and death. The drug can also be injected and doing so in a controlled setting was the basis for study over the arc of many individuals during Dr. Strassman’s research. Natural releases or concentrated doses of the drug are often affiliated with interpreted “out-of-body” travels. With now a novice understanding of the spirit molecule we proceed into personal accounts.
Bullets on page 93 detail the doctor’s “dose-response” program and are as follows:
- Recruit “well-functioning, experienced hallucinogen users” for volunteers;
- Develop a method to measure DMT in blood
- Create a new rating scale by which we could access DMT’s psychological effects; and
- Characterize psychological and physical responses to several doses of DMT.
Part IV is titled “The Sessions.” Working in accordance with FDA and DEA regulations the research began in late 1990 with the first administration to associate guinea pig Philip and onto many volunteer reports. Said reports related events of the consciousness being liberated from the binding body, traveling to far off lands or outer space and encountering other forms of intelligence. Dosage followed controlled amounts either blind or non-blind the latter of which involved informing the recipient if the amount of the drug would be low or high. One classic case centered on the 39-year-old female volunteer, Willow. “Willow’s dawning awareness of a ‘light down below, the world’s light’ also reminds us of one of the last bardos in The Tibetan Book of the Dead. This is the stage in which the soul starts looking for a new body in which to incarnate, sees the lights of the world, and starts its descent” (pg. 226). The overwhelming majority of testimonies elaborate on oneness with the universe, God’s love and a greater sense of being; a shocking number share encounters with the same characters or deities of other life.
cover illustration by Alex Grey, Click here to buy DMT the Spirit Molecule
Part VI, “What Could and Might Be” discusses the future of psychedelic research. In his brilliant analogy Dr. Strassman relates the brain, as the receiving model of our reality, to a television receiving streams from different channels. DMT and like psychedelics allow us to tune into the other channels, planes of existence or parallel dimensions (recommended read here see Nick’s Picks, The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene). So long as the human mind continues to expand we will dive further down the black hole of uncertainty towards enlightenment. DMT is one of the window opening tools allowing entry into the involvement and research needed to better define our existence outside of the limiting, physical body.
Considering all the intelligent species of our planet the duty of knowing the unknown falls before us and us alone.
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