The final part in a three part series on drugs in spirituality today.
Unlike some of the more well known drugs for self discovery that were profiled in the first two parts of this series (Marijuna and Peyote), there is also a potential to experience spiritual reflection from substances that aren’t necessarily tied to a particular culture or religion. In addition, DMT does not have as long of a history as some of the other more well known hallucinogenics.
DMT, also known as “the spirit molecule,” has recently gained more attention in pop culture, especially since it is a chemical compound that is naturally found in our brains. So much so, that it was recently profiled in a popular Netflix documentary, (the preview can be seen below).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZoOEozN8iA
How it feels to experience DMT
Photo: a peice of artwork inspired by a DMT trip, Wikicommons
In an interview with VICE magazine, researcher Terence Mckenna explained his experience with DMT during his time at Berkley in 1967
“It was really the DMT that empowered my commitment to the psychedelic experience. DMT was so much more powerful, so much more alien, raising all kinds of issues about what is reality, what is language, what is the self, what is three-dimensional space and time, all the questions I became involved with over the next twenty years or so.”
Another article by VICE in 2012, conducted interviews with several young people that decided to smoke DMT, and many of them had spiritual realizations and experiences. One girl named Jodie explains,
“I felt what God was like. It was something that was smaller than anything. It’s not made of anything—it is everything around the thing that it is and everything inside of it at the same time and it kind of moves about in a way that’s not on the grid…I felt very happy, like, “Yeah, this is where I’m supposed to be.”
Another user profiled in the article named Joshua explains,
“Everything was safe and warm. It was very fluid and what you imagine the sun would be like. I cried for some reason. I remember thinking there was a message for me there.”
DMT Profile of User: Erick
Photo: Crystalized DMT, Wikicommons
College campuses sometimes include many people that are interested in drugs, and DMT has definitely been a substance that is not only being talked about more, but for some, it is also being experienced as part of a normal college weekend.
I spoke with one student, named Erick, who explained his process of self exploration and understanding after taking the drug.
“I noticed a change in myself and newly developed respect for DMT- it’s a tool for us as humans to open up the mind and look past the curtain of Life and death. I soon realized that every time I went back to visit my little “world” that I had a choice between the power to create worlds or the power to experience the universe in it’s entirety- although I was only gone for minutes at a time. It was never something I did because it fucked me up it was something I did because I truly believed it held many answers for what awaits us in the afterlife. In fact before DMT my sense of “spirituality” was at absolute zero.
“There will always be more questions than answers for us. Especially in regards to many of the age old questions that have spanned across almost every single culture in existence. The soul, What happens when I die? Ascension? Reincarnation? The universe?
“What is my purpose?”
Perhaps this, is the question at the root of using drugs as a spiritual tool. And as we discover new things about our world, maybe we will also discover new ways of awakening ourselves on a spiritual level.
