DMT – a molecule found in many living organisms that, in very small amounts, is a very powerful entheogen. The Shamans of South America have been using it in a plant derived form they call Ayahuasca. Unlike other entheogens such as Psilocybin and LSD, the experience is one of being taken to what appears to be a real place where other beings of differing guises are encountered in neutral or non-threatening ways. What is interesting about these encounters is that they vary depending on the person involved and their reasons for participating in this study. And, for those of us familiar with the journey up the mountain using entheogens, this makes perfect sense. What we learn is that the chemical will allow us access to places where possibilities exist but our ability to realize these possibilities is absolutely dependent on the work we do on ourselves between these sessions. If we are the same person with no change in perspective when we encounter the chemical, then the experience we have will not change and will simply repeat itself over and over again. This is why the maps and teachers and writings left behind are so important in this journey. We need to change our perspective on life if it is to be transformative and this is done by putting ourselves in the place of the witness and internalizing what we need to connect the dots.

  This study is just the beginning of our coming to understand how these entheogens work in our brains to facilitate our encounters with transcendent experiences. The book is worth reading or listening to on Audible and the documentary is very psychedelic and available on Netflix.