A clinical psychiatrist explores the effects of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known.
• A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of psychedelic research.
• Provides a unique scientific explanation for the phenomenon of alien abduction experiences.
From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted U.S. Government-approved and funded clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical found in the psychedelic Amazon brew, ayahuasca, is also manufactured by the human brain. In Strassman's volunteers, it consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences. Many reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences, aliens, angels, and spirits. Nearly all felt that the sessions were among the most profound experiences of their lives.
Strassman's research connects DMT with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the seventh chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body and is an integral part of the birth and death experiences, as well as the highest states of meditation and even sexual transcendence. Strassman also believes that "alien abduction experiences" are brought on by accidental releases of DMT. If used wisely, DMT could trigger a period of remarkable progress in the scientific exploration of the most mystical regions of the human mind and soul. Rick Strassman, M.D., lives in Taos, New Mexico, and is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. DMT: The Spirit Molecule
A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of
Near-Death and Mystical Experiences
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Prologue: First Sessions
Part I: The Building Blocks
Part II: Conception and Birth
Part III: Set, Setting, and DMT
Part IV: The Sessions
Part V: Taking Pause
Part VI: What Could and Might Be "Fascinating and provocative. A remarkable exploration of the boundaries of science and consciousness itself." "Rick Strassman's pioneering research work with DMT, a natural psychedelic drug used by Amazonian Indians, raises fascinating questions about the neurochemical basis of experience and the feasibility of conducting human research with mind-altering drugs in a university medical center. Truly adventurous reading!" "This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the mind, philosophy, the nature of reality, and spirituality." "DMT: The Spirit Molecule points the way beyond the present impasse of the reigning 'drug abuse' paradigm." "The most extensive scientific study of the mental and perceptual effects of a psychedelic drug since the 1960s." "Strassman's important research contributes to a growing awareness that we inhabit a multi-dimensional universe." "Strassman raises vital questions about the origin of spiritual experiences and the nature of consciousness." "DMT: The Spirit Molecule is a fascinating journey into the research of psychedelics. . . . The questions and possible explanations about the endogenous presence of DMT that he raises not only enlarge the discussion about psychedelics but also expand our understanding of the nature of consciousness." "This book will be of profound interest to . . . anyone with a deep interest in the study of consciousness, visionary states and/or psycho-pharmacology." "Strassman's psychonauts regularly found themselves hurtled into alien laboratories, high-tech nurseries, and Day-Glo hieroglyphic hypercubes." "DMT: the Spirit Molecule is an enriching journey into one scientist's courageous attempt to solve a bit mo
