Some years back, I was browsing in Borders (that’s how far back this was!) and ran across DMT: The Spirit Molecule, by Rick Strassman, M.D. It’s a riveting read about Strassman’s five-year study at the University of New Mexico, where he administered 400 doses of DMT to 60 volunteers. Strassman’s research was the first new human studies with psychedelic drugs in the US in over 20 years. He was led to the study of DMT through earlier research on the pineal gland as a “potential locus for spiritual experiences.”
DMT is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound that is widespread throughout the plant kingdom, occurs in small amounts in mammals, including humans. From Wikipedia: “Structurally, DMT is analogous to the neurotransmitter serotonin, the hormone melatonin, and other psychedelic tryptamines. When ingested, DMT acts as a psychedelic drug. Depending on the dose and method of administration, its subjective effects can range from short-lived milder psychedelic states to powerful immersive experiences; these are often described as a total loss of connection to conventional reality with the encounter of ineffable alien realms. Indigenous Amazonian Amerindian cultures consume DMT as the primary psychoactive in ayahuasca, a shamanistic brew used for divinatory and healing purposes.”
Yet, no one really knows what DMT does or what its function is in humans. DMT levels elevate while we’re sleeping, so perhaps dreaming is part of what DMT facilitates.
Strassman believes that elevated levels of DMT in the brain might help to usher the soul into the body at birth and out of the body at death and my be responsible for spontaneous mystical experiences and NDEs. Many of his volunteers experienced different worlds, some that were downright bizarre, others that were peaceful, and still others that were structurally different from our three-dimensional world.
Strassman writes that when he was reviewing his notes for a chapter entitled, Contact Through the Veil, he was surprised at how many of the volunteers reported “making contact” with “them” or other beings. The volunteers described these other beings as entities, beings, aliens, guides, helpers. One man summarized his encounter with these beings in a way that sounds remarkably like what UFO abductees report: “During the experience, there is a sense of someone or something else, there taking control. It’s like you have to defend yourself against them, whoever they are…It’s like they have an agenda…”
He also heard stories about intrusive procedures these beings performed on the volunteers. Sound familiar?
Today I ran across an article by David Jay Brown, who writes for the Santa Cruz Patch and recently interviewed Strassman. In the interview, Brown asked Strassman if he thought there was an objective reality to the worlds visited by people when they’re under the influence of DMT, and if he thought that the entities so many people have encountered on DMT actually have an independent existence or not. Strassman’s reply is intriguing:
“I myself think so. My colleagues think I’ve gone woolly-brained over this, but I think it’s as good a working hypothesis as any other. I tried all other hypotheses with our volunteers, and with myself. The “this is your brain on drugs” model; the Freudian “this is your unconscious playing out repressed wishes and fears;” the Jungian “these are archetypal images symbolizing your unmet potential;” the “this is a dream;” etc.”
”Volunteers had powerful objections to all of these explanatory models–and they were a very sophisticated group of volunteers, with decades of psychotherapy, spiritual practice, and previous psychedelic experiences. I tried a thought-experiment, asking myself, “What if these were real worlds, and real entities? Where would they reside, and why would they care to interact with us?” This led me to some interesting speculations about parallel universes, dark matter, etc. All because we can’t prove these ideas right now (lacking the proper technology) doesn’t mean they should be dismissed out of hand as incorrect.”
Is it possible that contactees and abductees have elevated levels of DMT in their brains? Could that be one of the reasons certain people have these experiences? Wouldn’t this be something that is relatively easy to check?
Brown speculates that Strassman’s work could mark the beginning of a new scientific field, one that “systematically explores the possibility of communicating with higher dimensional entities, and this might prove to be a more fruitful endeavor for establishing extraterrestrial contact than the SETI project. What they may be able to teach us, we can only imagine.”
Suppose it turns out that contactees and abductees register larger amounts of DMT in their brains? Wouldn’t they be the natural ambassadors for contact? Just saying…
Rob,
Trish,
I did a little net research, wikipedia, leading to other links of scientific nature. Checking into can we as humans activate it in reproducible and regular way.
Travelling to Brazil or Peru seems a bit of a effort for an naturally occuring human chemical, don’t you think? So, it seems to get it to spike in your brain, binaural beats seems to bring on DMT secretion. Ahh the Bob Monroe Synchro. Or you can try to get Dr. Perssinger to use you as a test subject in his lab up in Canada. The use of specially modulated magnetic frequencies is his approach to produce these altered states.
So, how can we activate, and or rejuvinate our Pineal Gland, so we can converse with our multitudnal self? ( Seth material) . This may actually be the ultimate secret of the mystery schools. To connect oneself to oneself’s eternal .
Like I said, this is a topic for a sub-blog of some sort.
BTW, i found out you just can not injest DMT. You need a Inhibitor chemical to keep DMT from breaking down. The ayahuasca brews carry a MAOI which keeps DMT from breaking down.
So, much more research should be done in a way to activate or stimulate the pineal gland. This will exclude trying to do the flatline thing or any risky behavior that may result in death.
More as i dig into this.
Be well
Laurence
Thanks for the info!
All that I know for sure is that when I drowned at 16 someone first pressured me to yell for help, which I did. Later as I looked down at myself someone was behind me asking questions, they def were trying to get me to realize that it WAS me and then BAM I was looking up as the Lifeguard was performing CPR.
I never saw any aliens ( at that time). This also happened before anyone was really talking about NDEs.
When I was young and spoke with aliens, again I was not asleep or dying but awake and I was a child.
I know what happened to me, they were not hallucinations ( unfortunately I’ve experienced those and I knew they were not real) the experiences were real.
Just saying…. I get a bit peeved …..
I’m not suggesting that anyone who experiences these things is hallucinating. What strassman says is that DMT occurs naturally in the brain and I wonder if people who experience NDEs, contact etc have elevated levels of DMT in their brains that acts like a kind of interdimensional portal.
Oh no, I know you don’t feel that way and it is a fascinating theory that I wish we could find out more about.
I get peeved at the studies that say its just our brains reacting, it’s in our heads etc. I know what is real!!
Sorry if you thought I was criticizing you.!
I get tired of the scientific take, too!
Reading this is an eye opener; fascinating and a lot to think about, thank you!
This resonates more than anything I have read on the topic so far.
Chemicals, chemicals!
Such a shame I was so shitty at chemistry at school. I would love to nut this one out.xx
Trish,
Rob,
This is such a profound and deep topic that i hope. You can find a way to keep it alive. Maybe a sub blog where just DMT research, shamanism and natural connections to ur greater reality can be discussed.
I have a bit more to say as I find the words. This rattles in my head for many reasons.
I have to book of strassman’s some where.
Be well
Laurence
We don’t know enough about it for a sub blog, but we’ll certainly write about any info that we come across. I would like to know how easy or difficult it is to measure levels of DMT in the brain.
Or how to activate it naturally to bring about these states. I will look into this.
The “dying brain theory” disregards the phenomena that accompany NDEs and also the contacts with deceased souls. It’s such a ridiculous and unfounded theory created by folks who have no idea what they are witnessing or discussing, and who don’t really WANT to know ebcause it would rattle their foundations too much. They don’t want to be challenged. It’s easier to be a debunker than to have an open mind.
I agree – reductionism at its best.
Great post. I am currently listening to an audio book by Neil Kramer and he says much the same thing – especially when he talks about ayahuasca and shaminism. Graham Hancock recently did an interview for Reality Bites that was also interesting. As for DMT being there to usher the soul in and out of the body – interesting concept, for sure. Some have suggested the brain “creates” near death experiences (The Dying Brain Theory) through neurotransmitters. I like your concept better.
The dying brain theory has always sounded lame to me.
I agree about the Dying Brain Theory and Oxygen Deprivation. It sounds like a stretch to dismiss NDEs.
On Saturday, I was in Powell’s bookstore and saw the DMT book you mentioned. I flipped through it but didn’t get what the author was after. Is he saying that NDEs and alien abductions are simply the result of DMT? Or did these things actually happen?
I’ve been wanting a NDE experience since 1994…so is there any scientist doing DMT experiments? I’m willing to be a guinea pig, just to see what happens.
Nicholas,
You might want to look into Steven Barker and his research assistant Ethan Mc. and their work in Louisianna . Steven, Ethan ,and Rick Strassman just recently had a paper published by Wiley Books back in Feb 2012 on DMT. So, they may still be doing lab work with humans.
Look up Steven Barker on youtube with DMT, a lot of video there.
Btw, some research is showing that DMT may even be produced in the lungs. ( not after smoking )
Also, this is why i watch the movie Altered States a least once a year.
For Trish, the movie references Cornell, late 60s early 70s. Something about upstate central NY during that time period keeps popping up.
Be well,
Laurence
Altered States references Cornell, right?
Yes! If you can find Paddy Chayefski’s book, it goes into it a bit more. Paddy did a lot of background research for this book. If I am not mistaken Carl Sagan was there about the same time. Plus, you were around Upstate NY about that time. You also know that I was born and raised in a small town called Fayetteville just east of Cortland and Ithaca.
Laurence
Altered States was a terrific book and a good movie. Upstate NY: good years.
Strassman was the only one doing research. What he’s saying in the book is that elevated levels of DMT, which occurs naturally in the brain,seems to enable us to speak to nonhuman intelligences.
Neil Kramer
https://neilkramer.com/
is one of the 26 authors in
the SYNC Book
https://thesyncbook.com/authors
To think we once had people locked in asylums for hearing voices and seeing visions. Perhaps all these people were doing was conversing and seeing spirits/aliens/etc. through the result of some chemical adjustment. Of course most of the science world would say that, as chemicals can cause such a reaction, it proves there is no such thing as NDEs, spirit contact and so on in reality. But what do they know!
Very interesting post.
Those must have been dark years – witch burnings, asylums. I suspect if the world was still like that, we would all be candidates!
One of the most intriguing concepts about elevated DMT in contactees is that, although I have never used any type of recreational drugs, and only extremely limited prescription drugs because my body has deadly adverse reactions to almost all of them, my early alien encounter experiences ineviably resulted in prolific, projectile vomiting. It’s my understanding that I am not alone in this; that it is a common denominator with abductees. I personally am acquainted with two people who have used ayauasca, and both report severe vomiting prior to and after the vivid paranormal experiences. One of these folks only used the drug on one occasion, with the assistance of a true shaman while he was in Peru; the other person uses the drug almost daily. Both have the vomiting with the use of that drug. For me, this lends credence to the possibility that the brains of abductees may have higher levels of the chemicals and that it would be worthwhile to have it tested. My close friend who used it in Peru told me the experience was beyond any means of description. It was a very positive experience, but due to the sickness, he didn’t do it more than once. I continue to become ill following encounters, but thankfully, the severe nausea isn’t accompanied now by actual vomiting. I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it at this point. This is a very relevant and informative post, guys. Thanks.
I figured it would make sense to you, math!