5 ms·

I always liked McKennas theory that the mushrooms arrived from outer space via spores.

by ada1981 8y ago

stinos 8y ago
Inside a trip it's indeed a nice idea to tinker with. But even then, and especially when sober, it always occurred nothing more than a thought experiment to me.
Synaesthesia 8y ago
It’s somewhat plausible considering their unique biology - radically different to plants and animals. His book on mushroom cultivation is a classic. But honestly later he had some crackpot theories.
- ada1981 8y ago
  I first encounters McKenna’s work when was 17, hiking though the woods on LSD in Erie, PA. A young hippy materialized out from behind a tree and told me he had spent time on McKennas farm in Hawaii. He recommended I read True Hallucinations & The Archaic Revival. A day later I walked out of my local coffee shop and saw the same kid sitting on the street, which reminded me to get the book. Some twenty years later, I was just interviewed on a podcast after Dennis McKenna about my experiences with psychedelics. https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-48-anthony-adams/ https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-48-anthony-adams/
  - andai 8y ago
    That synchronicity is wonderful, and for me, characteristic of the psychedelic experience. Also, I am commenting so my future self listens to your podcast!
    - ada1981 8y ago
      Let me know what you think! I just got invited to speak at the “Working With Psychedelics” workshop in NYC this month. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-with-psychedelics-tools-for-growth-creativity-and-vision-tickets-46617898389 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-with-psychedelics-tools... If you are in town, it would be fun to meet you!
- unfunco 8y ago
  I think psilocin has an affinity for 5-HT receptors, wouldn't imply we've evolved together rather than apart?
  - andai 8y ago
    There's a theory that the psilocybe is a mechanism for discovering and communicating with intelligent life throughout the cosmos.
    - unfunco 8y ago
      And what is that theory based-on? Psychedelic research has been slow for years, and it's partly due to reasons such as people believing that a mushroom is a mechanism for communicating with intelligent life throughout the cosmos. I'm not saying the theory is wrong (though I'm pretty certain it's wrong) - but given that we have zero proof of intelligent life outside of Earth, and that the speed of light is a limiting factor in the speed communication (ignoring entanglement as a potential form of communication for now), how has it been extrapolated that a mushroom could be the solution to these limits? It's likely the theory has come from a user of psychedelics, and one thing that frequent users of psychedelics fail to understand at the time (this is from experience) is that reality is pretty slippery. I would estimate that in a single year (a few years ago) I experimented with N,N-Dimethyltryptamine 200+ times and that's just the kind of theory that I'd come up with at the time.
      - andai 8y ago
        Aliens told me during a trip, and then I found out others had the same experience. If nothing else it's pretty interesting psychologically.
        unfunco 8y ago
        It's definitely interesting psychologically, especially N,N-DMT, considering many of the users all share many of the same trip experiences[0] [0]: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/5gkkpd/dmt-you-cannot-imagine-a-stranger-drug-or-a-stranger-experience-365 https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/5gkkpd/dmt-you-cannot-ima...
- LateRuin 8y ago
  How is it somewhat plasubile? Visual differences in a mushroom's biology mean nothing. The fact that mushrooms have the same DNA + RNA structure as all the rest of Earthly life is a dead giveaway that this hypothesis is nonsense.
  - andai 8y ago
    Well, bacterial spores can survive outer space, too!
interfixus 8y ago
If so, they have certainly managed fairly well to imitate the DNA of the rest of us.
pvaldes 8y ago
And then spores entered the atmosphere of the earth, burned and disintegrate, as spores always do when there is a flame around.

I always liked McKennas theory that the mushrooms arrived from outer space via spores.

Inside a trip it's indeed a nice idea to tinker with. But even then, and especially when sober, it always occurred nothing more than a thought experiment to me.

Synaesthesia 8y ago

It’s somewhat plausible considering their unique biology - radically different to plants and animals. His book on mushroom cultivation is a classic. But honestly later he had some crackpot theories.

ada1981 8y ago
I first encounters McKenna’s work when was 17, hiking though the woods on LSD in Erie, PA. A young hippy materialized out from behind a tree and told me he had spent time on McKennas farm in Hawaii. He recommended I read True Hallucinations & The Archaic Revival. A day later I walked out of my local coffee shop and saw the same kid sitting on the street, which reminded me to get the book. Some twenty years later, I was just interviewed on a podcast after Dennis McKenna about my experiences with psychedelics. https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-48-anthony-adams/ https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-48-anthony-adams/
- andai 8y ago
  That synchronicity is wonderful, and for me, characteristic of the psychedelic experience. Also, I am commenting so my future self listens to your podcast!
  - ada1981 8y ago
    Let me know what you think! I just got invited to speak at the “Working With Psychedelics” workshop in NYC this month. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-with-psychedelics-tools-for-growth-creativity-and-vision-tickets-46617898389 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/working-with-psychedelics-tools... If you are in town, it would be fun to meet you!
unfunco 8y ago
I think psilocin has an affinity for 5-HT receptors, wouldn't imply we've evolved together rather than apart?
- andai 8y ago
  There's a theory that the psilocybe is a mechanism for discovering and communicating with intelligent life throughout the cosmos.
  - unfunco 8y ago
    And what is that theory based-on? Psychedelic research has been slow for years, and it's partly due to reasons such as people believing that a mushroom is a mechanism for communicating with intelligent life throughout the cosmos. I'm not saying the theory is wrong (though I'm pretty certain it's wrong) - but given that we have zero proof of intelligent life outside of Earth, and that the speed of light is a limiting factor in the speed communication (ignoring entanglement as a potential form of communication for now), how has it been extrapolated that a mushroom could be the solution to these limits? It's likely the theory has come from a user of psychedelics, and one thing that frequent users of psychedelics fail to understand at the time (this is from experience) is that reality is pretty slippery. I would estimate that in a single year (a few years ago) I experimented with N,N-Dimethyltryptamine 200+ times and that's just the kind of theory that I'd come up with at the time.
    - andai 8y ago
      Aliens told me during a trip, and then I found out others had the same experience. If nothing else it's pretty interesting psychologically.
      - unfunco 8y ago
        It's definitely interesting psychologically, especially N,N-DMT, considering many of the users all share many of the same trip experiences[0] [0]: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/5gkkpd/dmt-you-cannot-imagine-a-stranger-drug-or-a-stranger-experience-365 https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/5gkkpd/dmt-you-cannot-ima...
LateRuin 8y ago
How is it somewhat plasubile? Visual differences in a mushroom's biology mean nothing. The fact that mushrooms have the same DNA + RNA structure as all the rest of Earthly life is a dead giveaway that this hypothesis is nonsense.
- andai 8y ago
  Well, bacterial spores can survive outer space, too!

interfixus 8y ago

If so, they have certainly managed fairly well to imitate the DNA of the rest of us.

pvaldes 8y ago

And then spores entered the atmosphere of the earth, burned and disintegrate, as spores always do when there is a flame around.