Dennis McKenna on Ayahuasca and Human Destiny

by **professorpan** » Tue May 02, 2006 5:30 pm

<a href="http://www.futurehi.net/archives/000815.html">www.futurehi.net/archives/000815.html</a> An excerpt from the article: ust as ayahuasca has been for me personally something of a Holy Grail, as it has been for many others, I have the intuition that it may have a similar role with respect to our entire species. Anyone who is personally experienced with ayahuasca is aware that it has much to teach us; there is incredible wisdom and intelligence there. And to my mind, one of the most profound and humbling lessons that ayahuasca teaches – one that we thick-headed humans have the hardest time grasping – is the realization that "you monkeys only think you're running things." Though I state it humorously, here and in other talks and writings, it is nonetheless a profound insight on which may depend the very survival of our species, and our planet. Humans are good at nothing if not hubris, arrogance, and self-delusion. We assume that we dominate nature; that we are somehow separate from, and superior to, nature, even as we set about busily undermining and wrecking the very homeostatic global mechanisms that have kept our earth stable and hospitable to life for the last four and a half billion years. We devastate the rainforests of the world; we are responsible for the greatest loss of habitat and the greatest decimation of species since the asteroid impacts of the Permian-Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago; we rip the guts out of the earth and burn them, spewing toxic chemicals into the atmosphere; at the same time we slash and burn the woody forests that may be the only hope for sequestration of the carbon dioxide that is rapidly building to dangerous and possibly uncontrollable levels. For the first time in the history of our species, and indeed of our planet, we are forced to confront the possibility that thoughtless and unsustainable human activity may be posing a real threat to our species' survival, and possibly the survival of all life on the planet. And suddenly, and literally, "out of the Amazon," one of the most impacted parts of our wounded planet, ayahuasca emerges as an emissary of trans-species sentience, to bring this lesson: You monkeys only think you're running things. In a wider sense, the import of this lesson is that we need to wake up to what is happening to us and to the planet. We need to get with the program, people. We have become spiritually bereft and have been seduced by the delusion that we are somehow important in the scheme of things. We are not. Our spiritual institutions have devolved into hollow shells, perverted to the agendas of rapacious governments and fanatic fundamentalisms, no longer capable of providing balm to the wounded spirit of our species; and as the world goes up in flames we benumb ourselves with consumerism and mindless entertainment, the decadent distractions of gadgets and gewgaws, the frantic but ultimately meaningless pursuits of a civilization that has lost its compass. And at this cusp in human history, there emerges a gentle emissary, the conduit to a body of profoundly ancient genetic and evolutionary wisdom that has long abided in the cosmologies of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon who have guarded and protected this knowledge for millennia, who learned long ago that the human role is not to be the master of nature, but its stewards, Our destiny, if we are to survive, is to nurture nature and to learn from it how to nurture ourselves and our fellow beings. This is the lesson that we can learn from ayahuasca, if only we pay attention. I find it both ironic, and hopeful, that within the last 150 years, and particularly in the last half of the 20th century, ayahuasca has begun to assert its presence into human awareness on a global scale. For millennia it was known only to indigenous peoples who have long since understood and integrated what it has to teach us. In the 19th century it first came to the attention of a wider world as an object of curiosity in the reports of Richard Spruce and other intrepid explorers of the primordial rainforests of South America; in the mid-20th century Schultes and others continued to explore this discovery and began to focus the lens of science on the specifics of its botany, chemistry, and pharmacology (and, while necessary, this narrow scrutiny perhaps overlooked some of the larger implications of this ancient symbiosis with humanity). At the same time, ayahuasca escaped from its indigenous habitat and made its influence felt among certain non-indigenous people, representatives of "greater" civilization. To these few men and women, ayahuasca provided revelations, and they in turn responded (in the way that humans so often do when confronted with a profound mystery) by founding religious sects with a messianic mission; in this case, a mission of hope, a message to the rest of the world that despite its simplicity was far ahead of its time: that we must learn to become the stewards of nature, and by fostering, encouraging, and sustaining the fecundity and diversity of nature, by celebrating and honoring our place as biological beings, as part of the web of life, we may learn to become nurturers of each other. A message quite different, and quite anathema, to the anti-biological obsessions of most of the major world "religions" with their preoccupation with death and suffering and their insistence on the suppression of all spontaneity and joy. Such a message is perceived as a great threat by entrenched religious and political power structures, and indeed, it is. It is a threat to the continued rape of nature and oppression of peoples that is the foundation of their power. Evidence that they understand this threat and take it seriously is reflected by the unstinting and brutal efforts that "civilized" ecclesiastical, judicial, and political authorities have made to prohibit, demonize, and exterminate the shamanic use of ayahuasca and other sacred plants ever since the Inquisition and even earlier. But the story is not yet over. Within the last 30 years, ayahuasca, clever little plant intelligence that it is, has escaped from its ancestral home in the Amazon and has found haven in other parts of the world. With the assistance of human helpers who heard the message and heeded it, ayahuasca sent its tendrils forth to encircle the world. It has found new homes, and new friends, in nearly every part of the world where temperatures are warm and where the ancient connections to plant-spirit still thrive, from the islands of Hawaii to the rainforests of South Africa, from gardens in Florida to greenhouses in Japan. The forces of death and dominance have been outwitted; it has escaped them, outrun them. There is now no way that ayahuasca can ever be eliminated from the earth, short of toxifying the entire planet (which, unfortunately, the death culture is working assiduously to accomplish). Even if the Amazon itself is leveled for cattle pasture or burned for charcoal, ayahuasca, at least, will survive, and will continue to engage in its dialog with humanity. And encouragingly, more and more people are listening. It may be too late. I have no illusions about this. Given that the curtain is now being rung down on the drunken misadventure that we call human history, the death culture will inevitably become even more brutal and insane, flailing ever more violently as it sinks beneath the quick sands of time. Indeed, it is already happening; all you have to do is turn on the nightly news. Will ayahuasca survive? I have no doubt that ayahuasca will survive on this planet as long as the planet remains able to sustain life. The human time frame is measured in years, sometimes centuries, rarely, in millennia. Mere blinks when measured against the evolutionary time scales of planetary life, the scale on which ayahuasca wields its influence. It will be here long after the governments, religions, and political power structures that seem today so permanent and so menacing have dissolved into dust. It will be here long after our ephemeral species has been reduced to anomalous sediment in the fossil record. The real question is, will we be here long enough to hear its message, to integrate what it is trying to tell us, and to change in response, before it is too late? Ayahuasca has the same message for us now that it has always had, since the beginning of its symbiotic relationship with humanity. Are we willing to listen? Only time will tell.

by **slimmouse** » Tue May 02, 2006 8:32 pm

"I was told that there was really only one thing I needed to know and these words began to repeat over and over in my head: 'Infinite Love is the only truth - everything else is illusion'. I began to form a question in my thoughts: 'You really mean everything ?'. But before the thought could fully emerge, the voice interrupted. Infinite love is the only truth - everything else is illusion; no buts, no exceptions, thats it. The existence of One Infinite consciousness is the only truth; everything else is the imagination of that consciousness." Interesting plant, that Ayahuasca <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"> A leap of faith ; The purest form of energy known to man is light. Beyond light energy, exists the energy of eternal consciousness, and beyond that, exists pure love consciousness. Back down the pecking order. Love energy becomes consciousness energy, consciousness energy becomes light energy. Light energy becomes matter. Enter You and Me. The Journey home should be interesting <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/wink.gif ALT=";)">

by **chillin** » Wed May 03, 2006 9:47 am

I'll try Ayahuasca one day, but I'm reluctant to just get the plants via mail-order and brew it up in my kitchen. That just seems too foolish to me, considering the potency of the medicine. I really think that having an experienced guide present would be very important to ensure I have a completely safe, beneficial initiation. For me this probably means a trip to South America.

by **DBtv** » Thu May 04, 2006 1:29 am

Positive mind set, comfortable and secure setting, equals good trip. Old school acid technology.

by **professorpan** » Thu May 04, 2006 1:36 am

I agree with Chillin' -- the best way to experience the vine of the soul is to do it with the jungle technicians and Icaros singers who can help you navigate the territory. It's not something to take lightly.

by **chillin** » Fri May 05, 2006 8:51 am

DB, I did plenty of acid (or whatever those blotters were soaked with) when I was younger and never had any experiences remotely akin to those described by people who've drunk Ayahuasca. Check some of these paintings and descriptions <a href="http://deoxy.org/ayalien.htm">deoxy.org/ayalien.htm</a> Down there they brew using KILOS of vine.

by **elpuma** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:07 am

Great post! I have read quite a bit on Ayahuasca and profoundly desire to try it. I want to "open that door" and walk through it. However, I don't believe that one requires a guide, but only a strong spirit, clear intention and courage. It seems to me, from what I've read, that the Ayahuasca is your guide and teacher. Who did such great explorers like Crick have for a guide when exploring with LSD for instance? I live here in the U.S., and will welcome any information that could lead to this experience...

by **darkbeforedawn** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:26 am

So where can we get some of that?

by **elpuma** » Sat May 06, 2006 12:46 am

That is what I am asking.

by **Seventhsonjr** » Sat May 06, 2006 6:09 pm

I had some experiences opening up my crown chakra and the kundalini which sounded much like this. Tp protect myself I will not mention how I did this except to say that it was all legal and partly accidental (a painful back injury caused incredible rushes of endorphins enhancing whatever herbs and other techniques (including yoga) I used. I's have to agree with that thing about love. But once love gets bound up with matter and desire, it sure turns into a divine mess sometimes, especially since as sentient beings (or sentient receivers as I think we must be - tuned primarily to our moments in time and tuning out most everything else - and tuning out even more if focussing our receivers on ideas or music or other things) we seem to have a relatively short duration to explore our lives. I am rereading some Antonin Artaud which helps me "get" this stuff. "The Yage letters" (Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg) also helped get perspective on this experience. Of course Talbot's Holographic Universe helps too.

by **slimmouse** » Sat May 06, 2006 7:34 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>and tuning out even more if focussing our receivers on ideas or music or other things) we seem to have a relatively short duration to explore our lives.<hr></blockquote> The more I think about this whole 5 sense reality existence, which is but a blip in OUR ocean, the more it sometimes frustrates and upsets me that people wish to turn our physical life into what can only be best described as slavery to satisfy their physical existence. It simply doesnt need to be this way.

by **slimmouse** » Sat May 06, 2006 7:39 pm

All the above said of course, I guess it makes this planet ( which has been specifically designed as a testing ground for souls ) the true challenge that it is.

by **professorpan** » Tue May 09, 2006 2:04 pm

<blockquote>Quote:<hr>However, I don't believe that one requires a guide, but only a strong spirit, clear intention and courage. It seems to me, from what I've read, that the Ayahuasca is your guide and teacher. <hr></blockquote> Would you jump behind the controls of a helicopter without knowing how to fly one? That's an extreme example, sure. But ayahuasca -- hell, make that any psychedelic -- can be mind and soul shattering. That's why rituals have developed over thousands of years -- to facilitate a useful healing experience while avoiding the traps. My warning still stands -- if you're not going to do it in a traditional setting with an experienced ayahuasquero, at the very least talk to people who have done it, read as much as you can, and have someone to sit with you in a safe environment. For those who keep asking "where can I get some?," all you need to do is get off your lazy asses and do some research online. There are scores of vendors that sell the basic ingredients, and there are even grasses that grow wild in the U.S. that contain one of the active ingredients. But be careful, and don't take it lightly. Save your money and visit the Amazon. You'll be supporting those keeping an ancient lineage alive, and you won't be breaking any laws (except perhaps the laws of time and space).