Although the amazing geometrical hallucinations experienced under the
influence of DMT are sufficient in themselves to command attention among
students of psychedelics, the really interesting part of the experience
is the apparent contact with alien beings. Since some may feel reluctant
to admit possible existence of alien beings getting in contact with
DMT-modified humans, we should consider all hypothesis that might explain
the observations, or at least, be consistent wth them.
Several questions can be distinguished. Firstly, there is the question of
the independent reality of the entities. Subjects report experiences of
contact with communicating beings whose independent existence at the time
seems self-evident. These experiences are not described as dream-like. If
the entities have an existence independent of the DMT-influenced subject,
then a realm of existence has been discovered which is quite other than
the consensus reality which most of us assume is the only real world.
Such a discovery of "a separate reality" would directly challenge the
foundations of the modern Western view of the world. I was tempted to say
that it would be the most revolutionary change in our understanding of
reality since the fish crawled out on land, but this would be overlooking
the fact that the world view of the modern West is a comparatively
recent invention, stemming mainly from the rise of materialist science in
recent centuries. Earlier cultures had, and non-Western cultures still
have, more expansive views of the extent of reality.
Secondly, regardless of whether the entities are independently-existing
or have no existence beyond the experience of the subject, what are they
seen as and seen to be doing? What is happening, for example, when some
subjects ... report seeing thousands of these entities simultaneously?
[read that report] Even more interesting is the
phenomenon of communication, or attempted communication, which many
subjects report.... Some subjects also report seeing the entities communicating with
each other, in some kind of mutual exchange -- but of what?
Thirdly, the matter can be approached from the point of view of
neuropharmacology. What exactly is going on when those DMT molecules get
in there among neurons of the brain, causing it to function in what
appears subjectively to be a radically different manner?
Listed below are eight suggested interpretations of the DMT experience
which imply answers (true or flase) to some or all of the questions
raised above. Some of these, like the experience itself, are bizarre, but
at this stage any idea should be considered since in this matter the
truth (to paraphrase J.B.S. Haldane) probably is not only stranger than
we suppose but stranger than we can suppose.
-
There are no alien entities at all; it's merely subjective
hallucination. The DMT state may be interesting, even
extremely interestng, but really there are no independently-existing
alien entities to be found.
-
DMT provides access to a parallel or higher dimension, a truly
alternate reality which is, in fact, inhabited by
independently-existing intelligent entities forming (in the words of
Terence McKenna) "an ecology of souls".
-
DMT allows awareness of processes at a cellular or even atomic level.
DMT smokers are tapping into the network of cells in the brain
or even into communication among molecules themselves. It might even be an
awareness of quantum mechanical processes at the atomic or subatomic level.
-
DMT is, perhaps, a neurotransmitter in reptillian brains and in the
older, reptillian parts of mammalian brains. Flooding the human
brain with DMT causes the older reptilian parts of the brain to dominate
consciousness, resulting in a state of awareness whch appears totally
alien (and sometimes very frightening) to the everyday monkey mind.
-
A non-human intelligent species created humans by genetic
modification of existing primate stock then retreated, leaving behind
biochemcal methods for contacting them. The psychedelic
tryptamines are chemical keys that activate certain programs in the
human brain that were placed there intentionally by this alien species.
-
The realm to which DMT provides access is the world of the
dead. The entities experienced are souls, or personalities,
of the departed, which retain some kind of life and ability to
communicate. The realm of dead souls, commonly accepted by cultures and
societies other than that of the modern West, is now accessible using DMT.
-
The entities experienced are beings from another time who have
succeeded in mastering the art of time travel, not in a way
which allows materialization but in a way which allows them to
communicate with conscious beings such as ourselves.
-
The entities are probes from an extraterrestrial or an
extradimensional species, sent out to make contact with
organisms such as ourselves who are able to manipulate their nervous
systems in a way which allows communication to take place.
These hypotheses can be expanded and are, or course, vulnerable to
objections. No doubt other hypotheses are possible. These matters wll not
be resolved until we have more data to test these and other hypotheses.
Excerpts from Psychedelic Monographs and Essays #6, Apparent Communication with Discarnate Entities Induced by Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) by Peter Meyer (now online)
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