The Spirit Molecule

A major portion of the book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, is devoted to detailed descriptions of what the volunteers encountered during their sessions. These include the exploration and resolution of personal psychological issues; out-of-body states in which people experienced their own deaths; a variety of mystical states in which volunteers experienced a unifying presence of God within and without the self and a felt sense of love as the underlying fabric of the universe; and—surprising to Strassman—a large number of reports of contact with alien beings of various kinds doing intrusive experiments and/or healing work. Most volunteers had positive experiences, but there were some scares and some 'bad trips'. One volunteer nearly had a heart attack because DMT normally leads to a flight-or-fight physiological response. Another older volunteer almost went into shock. One young man had a traumatic vision of being raped by alligators. Despite some of the beautifully uplifting experiences of many of the subjects, Strassman was disappointed to find in his follow-up interviews that the experiences did not typically produce real change in the volunteers’ lifestyles in terms of their behavior. None began psychotherapy or a spiritual discipline to further integrate his or her insights. However, several reported a stronger sense of self, less fear of death, and a greater appreciation of life (benefits Strassman may underemphasize).

After allowing himself to venture creatively into hypotheses that DMT allows contact with dark matter or parallel universes, Strassman argues that DMT must have provided an adaptive advantage to our ancestors in allowing access to alternate states of consciousness and thus perhaps greater problem-solving abilities and greater creativity. Clearly, there is a need for further research into many of Strassman’s theories, and he ends by describing ways to investigate the role of the pineal gland in DMT production and how DMT might be involved in dreams, childbirth, meditation, and mystical visions as well as in mediating the exit of consciousness from the body. He also describes his ideal psychedelic research center and the best use of this research to promote the highest good, research one hopes Strassman himself may conduct one day.

This book will be of great use both to researchers and clinicians with an interest in spiritual/mystical issues and/or in psychedelics as well as to laypeople. It will undoubtedly also raise concern among those who worry that Strassman is promoting or condoning the widespread use of psychedelic drugs. However, he is quite clear about possible negative effects, urges close medical supervision, and questions the long-term beneficial effects of psychedelics without the support of concurrent therapeutic work or disciplined spiritual practice. Strassman clearly sees a beneficial use for these chemicals and expresses anger about the ways that psychedelic research has been mishandled in the past and is hampered as a consequence.

This book opens up doors of perception and encourages us to consider far-reaching questions. Strassman quotes Jean Toomer in his epigram, “We do not possess imagination enough to sense what we are missing.” This book does a good job in painting for us the myriad possibilities.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cpcKjQBvlgQ

DMT Quest Documentary

The initial DMT Quest Documentary focusing on the 2019 study published by Dr. Jon Dean from the University of Michigan regarding endogenous DMT. The paper is titled, 'Biosynthesis and Extracellular Concentrations of N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) in Mammalian Brain'. This episode features appearances by Dr. Jon Dean, Wim Hof, Dr. Mauro Zappaterra, Dr. Rick Strassman, Dr. Dennis Mckenna, Miles Lukas, and Nicolas Glynos.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/My95s6ZryPg

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