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Originally Posted by Paul C. Anagnostopoulos  It's similar to serotonin, so maybe it just works by accident. It is produced in the brain, and there is some evidence it might be used as a neurotransmitter.
Sometimes we can "artificially" produce weird mental effects that sound a bit like paranormal effects. I wouldn't take this to imply that we've found some mechanism or gateway to any actual trans-physical realm. For example, I doubt Botvinick's experiments are actually inducing any concrete self to leave the body.
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I think David's point is an interesting one but DMT is some weird shit. Like salvia divinorum the substance seems way too bizarre to make sense of and it could easily be some kind of "fluke". I don't believe "god" made DMT receptors for the specific purpose of having the universe shot through your brain
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Psilocin (active chemical in psilocybe mushrooms) is more interesting to me because the experience it induces is more coherent. Psilocin
does mimic serotonin and works by activating serotonin receptors and its likely DMT does something very similar. Anyway, the experience of non-duality that can be induced by psilocin seems just as legitimate as any "normal" experience, that is, given the open-ended question of how consciousness fits into the scheme of things. I would also like to point out that such experiences are not the result of "faulty" brain activity like deliriants, though it all could be just a weird fluke. In many cases (such as NDEs) the experience can lead to better psychological health.
01-03-2008, 08:05 PM
. I'm into Buddhist philosophy (as a laymen) and I also enjoy the writings of Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), hence my interest in certain chemicals.
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