DMT THE SPIRIT MOLECULE

In November 1990 permission was finally granted to Dr. Rick Strassman to undertake a five-year study of DMT (N, N-dimethyl-tryptamine) at the University of New Mexico's School of Medicine in Albuquerque. This was to be the first legal study of a psychedelic substance in humans for over 20 years. Dr. Strassman, a clinical research psychiatrist, administered various doses of the drug (0.05mg/kg - 0.4 mg/kg) to more than 60 volunteers, adhering closely to medical protocols.

"DMT: The Spirit Molecule" is the book Dr.Strassman wrote about his experiences and those of some of the volunteers in the experiment. He goes well beyond his remit as a scientist, both in terms of his grasp of the complex spiritual, therapeutic and paradigmatic issues that are raised, and in terms of the sensitivity and care with which the research volunteers are treated. Never are they subjected to a reductionist or sceptical attitude, however bizarre their reports.

In his discussion of DMT using the name "Spirit Molecule" Strassman is fusing two approaches; one based on his detailed "nuts and bolts" scientific knowledge and the other on spiritual knowledge and practice. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the author's investigation into the possible connection between naturally-occurring DMT in mystical states (NDE's for example) and those encountered in outwardly administered DMT. The similarities are striking. Perhaps the most striking is in the area of reported contact and communication with autonomous, intelligent, non-corporeal beings.

The extreme strangeness of the "other worlds" and their "inhabitants" he heard about caused conflicts in the author's mind about how he would choose to integrate them into his worldview (or make the leap into another?) Professional and personal allegiances were also challenged. By the time the experiment drew to a close, mounting pressure from various sources (not just scientific ones) lead to his decision to retire from publicly-funded psychedelic research. However, not before completing some truly groundbreaking work.

The "spirit molecule" is, for Dr.Strassman, essentially a kind of chemical "vehicle", enabling disembodied consciousness to be carried to other realms of existence. If McKenna and the Mayan Calendar creators were right, it may be that we will be needing this vehicle - en masse - in the near future. Rather than a redundant organ like the appendix (as it was once thought) the pineal gland, about which Strassman presents substantial evidence for an essential function in DMT production and assimilation (perhaps supplanting the previously demonstrated synthesis of DMT by blood, brain, and lung), may in fact be a FUTURE ORGAN. Upon this little pine-nut of an organ could rest a new model of brain and mind - indeed a whole new paradigm.

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