In his book Food of the Gods (1992), Terence McKenna describes one of his many controversial ideas. This idea, known as the ‘Stoned Ape Theory’, relates to how our ancestors evolved to produce language and create art. In a nutshell, the Stoned Ape Theory says that magic mushrooms sped up the evolutionary process and that, ultimately,…
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The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) is a book by the British archaeologist John Marco Allegro. His early career focused on studying the earliest manuscripts of the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls. With this book, however, many say that it ruined his career, although others say it gave him the fame that he deserved.…
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Ibogaine is a psychoactive chemical found in the Tabernanthe iboga plant. It has both hallucinogenic and dissociative properties, which means it produces both hallucinations and feelings of detachment. Ibogaine-containing brews have been used in rituals in the African spiritual tradition of Bwiti – this is a tradition practised by the Fang people of Gabon and it…
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Cave paintings indicate a huge turning point in the evolution of the human race. They indicate the emergence of creativity and imagination. The origins of art distinguished us from all other animals and it reflects a radical change in our consciousness – it’s when we started using symbols and images to represent our experiences. Jared…
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It’s difficult to define a mystical experience. What exactly does it involve? Do they all share some basic elements? It’s probably a good idea to broadly define mystical to include the different kinds of experiences that people report as being mystical. What’s also interesting is that it is common for mystical experiences to have lasting effects,…
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