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Summary: EXTRAORDINARY RESEARCH INTO CONSCIOUSNESS
Review: This is a report of the author's clinical research into the psychedelic substance DMT, a plant derived substance that is also produced by the brain. The volunteers reported a variety of positive mystical or frightening hallucinatory experiences including encounters with intelligent entities.The research connects DMT with the pineal gland and the esoteric belief that the pineal, connected as it is with the crown or sahasrara chakra, eases the spirit's movement into different states of consciousness or different dimensions of existence. It is clear from the book that further DMT research could lead to major progress in the study of consciousness. Part One deals with psychedelic substances in science and society, describes the chemical qualities and molecular structure of DMT and discusses the pineal gland and its role in the psychedelic experience. Part Two relates the history of the author's research, from the actual research proposal and the process of obtaining permission; this section may be skipped by the average reader. Part Three describes the process of selecting volunteers, obtaining DMT and the first experiments, whilst Part Four details the case reports: what the volunteers said and did, their behaviour, etc. This makes for strange and fascinating reading. Some experiences were positive and illuminating like genuine mystical experiences obtained during meditation, others were eerie or deeply unpleasant. Pat Five takes stock of the experiences and considers the question of whether it was worth it for each individual. There is an attempt to determine the ultimate benefit derived from the experience for the individual concerned. Definitions come into play but it seems to me that the experiments did benefit each individual in some or other way. Part Six is a very interesting discussion of the psyche and different states of consciousness. It would seem that spontaneously occurring psychedelic experiences are mediated by elevated levels of endogenous DMT. This spiritual molecule thus provides access to unknown parts of the psyche. If the analogy of brain as receiver may be used, the substance finetunes the brain so that the individual consciousness moves beyond familiar awareness into invisible realms, most of which are inhabited. There is a difference between this expanded awareness and normal dreaming and the current psychological methods do not satisfactorily explain the phenomenon or the peculiar experiences, especiall as regards the entities encountered. This leads to a speculative discussion on cosmology, the possibility of parallel universes, a multiverse and dark matter, with reference to David Deutsch's book The Fabric Of Reality. The author concludes this brilliant work with a discussion on the practical use of psychedelics as therapy, to stimulate creativity or as entheogens. In this regard I would like to recommend Huston Smith's Cleansing The Doors Of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogentic Plants and Chemicals, William James' Varieties Of Religious Experience, Stephan Hoeller's The Gnostic Jung And The Seven Sermons To The Dead and the book Chaos, Creativity and Cosmic Consciousness by Abraham, McKenna and Sheldrake.
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Summary: All in all, a Cool Book
Review: This is an interesting, sometimes confusing, work about DMT, probably the most powerful of psychedelics (entheogens). It is interesting when it focuses on the personal experiences of the individuals in the research study that is the focus of the book. It is confusing in that Dr. Strassman at the onset stresses the importance of "setting," the physical environment in which entheogens are taken. He then goes on to give DMT to his research subjects in a hospital room with all manner of distracting noise frequently going on just outside the door or window. This can be highly counterproductive. Strassman knows that, but he carries on the research in that environment anyway. (True, he had no legal alternative.) I was surprised more people didn't go bonkers. A few did. Strassman seemed to undergo a change of heart during the studies. He started with a scientific outlook, which isn't surprising. He's a psychiatrist. Toward the end, he began to see that he was in a realm he could not really understand. That is because entheogens have the capacity to alter our reality in momentous ways. They are beyond our science, and they can do things we cannot fathom. Strassman was in over his head. As my old daddy used to say: It's like trying to explain the workings of the internal combustion engine to a dog. The book has one huge problem: It is in sore need of an editor's red pencil. Almost the first half is devoted in excruciating detail to the intricacies of obtaining official permission to do this type of research. This book, literally, should be about half its length. Start reading about halfway through. It gets interesting.
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Summary: All in all, a Cool Book
Review: This one is a cool book, which touches on ground which many in the academic establishment have tried their hardest to ignore. The book seems to provide solid evidence of a multidimensional universe in which humans are not, by any means, the only or most advanced of its inhabitants. All it takes is a little touch of this stuff and you will believe too. For far too long has science ignored the clear evidence pointing at the incredible of the human brain to do things which it is not supposed to do. At least not officially.
I recently read another facinating work by a cultural anthropologist putting for the idea that the same kind of visions could be accomplished through simple art work based on shamanic techniques and memetics. Memetic Magic was the title, by K. Packwood I think. (First initial may be wrong) Anyone interested in checking out the power of the human mind to access the hidden reality of the multidemonensional universe should check both of these books out. Very worth it.
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Summary: Theories
Review: You notice at the top of the reviews page it says 'theories' which is just what they are are, a theory is a guess by someone else and it really means that they don't know what they are really talking about.
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