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Title: DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences by Rick Strassman MD ISBN: 0-89281-927-8 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: January, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (24 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Pries the lid off the coffin of human psychedelic research
Comment: Detailed, very accessible description of Strassman's studies of the effects of intravenously administered DMT in human volunteers in a clinical setting. He describes his research protocols, his struggle to obtain government approval, and the volunteers' reports of their DMT experiences, with clarity and compassion. The book raises questions about the nature and purpose of mystical experiences, the similarity between externally induced experiences of death and rebirth, alien contact, and spiritual enlightenment and naturally occurring experiences, and the role of DMT (which occurs naturally in the body) in these types of experiences. Strassman discusses the limitations of the biomedical model in understanding these experiences, as well as the risks and benefits of using DMT as a research tool. Open-minded scientists, those on a spiritual path, therapists, and dedicated "psychonauts" will find much to ponder in this book. It enlarges the scope of rational discussion about psychedelics, and goes a long way toward dispelling the fear, ignorance, and stigma that have hampered psychedelic research for the last 30 years. The addition of an index would have been helpful, but other than that this book exceeded my expectations and deepened my sense of wonder about the nature of consciousness and the spirit.
Rating: 5
Summary: Extraordinary
Comment: This is a fascinating tale of a scientist trying to squeeze what can't be described scientifically (save mundane things like what DMT does to your blood pressure, etc.) into an acceptable scientific research program. Strassman is definitely more bolted down than Leary, though Strassman, without being judgmental, learns what he can from the Leary psychedelic research disaster at Harvard in the early 60s.
The book is well-written and, above all, sincere. Strassman really wanted to see if short DMT experiences could a) be legally studied and b) be useful. It is a tale of persistence: getting university and government permission, getting research funding, getting "human grade" DMT, trying to get an adequate setting, trying to dot every "i" and cross every "t" possible so that his research was above board.
Interestingly, he explains how psychedelics are really difficult to study in the scientific/clinical setting (which we already knew - but the scientific community is, after all, the legitimizing agency of chemical tools for psychological and other uses)and can also threaten the organized religious community (in this case, a particular sect or branch of Zen Buddhism that Strassman adheres to - I would suspect, however, that you could generalize from Strassman's experience to other religious organizations).
Strassman comes across as genuinely curious, compassionate, and determined in his efforts to find out if psychedelics can evolve from their sordid recent past to an acceptable tool for insight, inspiration, creativity, or as an aid for helping to solve personal problems. This text will probably be one of the classics of psychedelic literature (though that's not for me to say!).
If you are seriously interested in psychedelic research you will want to have this book on your bookshelf.
Rating: 1
Summary: Irrelevant mumbo-jumbo
Comment: I was sorely disappointed by this tome. It consists of a very padded series of annecdotal trip reports, followed by some nebulous and unsubstantiated speculation on the role of DMT in the brain as a facilitator of birth and death. As a doctor, he appears to pay scant regard for the physical and mental health of his subjects. Ethical and regulatory approval for in-vivo research with psychedelic compounds is hard enough to get without crap like this. Stick to science, not this New-Age waffle. Waste of money. Do not buy it.
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