Get to know Terence McKenna

Terence McKenna, the psychedelic guru, died several years ago, but he continues to eke out a respectable existence on the Internet. His theories live on in forums and on video exchange sites like YouTube. His most well known idea is that time can essentially be measured as a wave pattern of what he called novelty. Novel periods in history are moments of transformation, such as the Renaissance or Industrial Revolution. His belief was that time is speeding up, and the high points of novelty were coming more frequently and with greater intensity. He projected that humanity would reach a period of infinite novelty some time around 2012. He always maintained, though, that it was just a theory.




McKenna thought culture was an effective means of controlling populations and constraining human potential so that the powers that be can remain powerful. He advocated dropping out of mainstream culture, consuming "heroic doses" of psychedelic drugs, and exploring the spiritual inner landscape in all its strangeness. For Mckenna, hallucinations were real and meaningful and the shamans had it right all along.

this seems like a good place to plug my last thread on Terence McKenna. It had over 100 views, but no replies

www.abovetopsecret.com...

That's a great lecture. I'm surprized you didn’t get any comments. [snip]

mod edit: See Terms & Conditions and post below

[edit on 12-7-2007 by worldwatcher]

no, thats the only video I have seen - it was his last lecture ever, like an hour long video. If you have more, i would LOVE to see them. We lost a very important person when Terence passed on.

Discuss Terence McKenna and his theories but do not discuss his illegal activities

Terms and Conditions


If there are any further illegal activity references, this thread will be trashed.

[edit on 12-7-2007 by worldwatcher]

Google video is the place to go.

yep, there's your explanation. Apparently, Terence was a bad man by ATS standards, lol. I'll go post about serial killers, satanists and dismemberment now, since those are all totally acceptable topics around here.

It seems you aren't even allowed to mention what somebody did while they were alive, as if talking about what Hitler did when he was alive is in some way promoting similar behavior. Oh well, this is nothing new!

back on acceptable topic... he had many more theories than just the 2012 theory, but my favorite theories of his are not for ATS.

[edit on 7-12-2007 by scientist]

Acutally the point is to be as family friendly as possible as there are younger folks on this board.

Now since it is a paranormal/conspiracy board we tend to walk the ragged edge when it comes to things like discussing adult topics such as serial killiings, murder and genecide.

But these tend to be discussed in terms of news and current events.

Promoting drug use to expand ones mind is not discussing topical events but could in fact be seen as advocacy.

If someone posted that they thought being a serial killer was a good idea that would cross the line as well.

I'm sure there are many things we'd all like to discuss that breaks the T&C of ATS....but there are many other boards out there that can serve your needs in these areas.

ATS is not one of those.

Spiderj

Not to be a **** or anything, but why shelter children from the reality of expanding the realms of experience?

Such a narrow view doesn't seem consistent with the principles of this board. It represents a highly ethnocentric view--particularly Western--of religious experience.

History is littered with human experience with psychedelic substances.

Within the last couple weeks, CNN reported the study of Benny Shanon, an Israeli cognitive psychology professor concluding that Moses received the 10 Commandments from God while on DMT--a substance still used in religious ceremonies today by indigenous South American tribes. He goes on to cite evidence that responsible use of psychoactive compounds was doctrine for the earliest Christians.

Empirical cultures were no less susceptible. Gas deposits beneath the Oracle at Delphi drove its seers into psychoactive fits, literally placing the fate of nations in the hands of a group stoned young women babbling nonsense like teenagers high on salvia divinorum. This was proven within the last three years and was widely enough reported that Google should find it for you.

We are doomed...

You folks let cereal advertisers indoctrinate your children with messages from animated insects during their formative years, but don't want them exposed even to knowledge of the tools with which they can shatter rather quickly years of pre-conditioning.

Good luck stopping that NWO.

With a lecture.

And a book tour.

For the OP:

[edit on 10-3-2008 by TheBlackPyramid]

Seriously that is a silly rule... actually downright stupid when you have the moniker "deny ignorance" in your title...

The whole reason these substances are illegal is one of the largest PROVABLE conspiracies of all...

I certainly do agree with the whole pederast argument... however I have never been to a forum that, that kind of talk was ever permitted ... be it by mods or the participants!... And to tie that into the same sentence with illegal substances...
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Anyway ... Terrence McKenna is a personal hero of mine... the sheer magnitude of the knowledge this man passed onto us is ...well awesome.

I would link to his library of speeches... but I do not want to ruffle any feathers...

His lectures need to be listened to many times in order to absorb everything contained in them... I have enjoyed many hours of delicious mind candy from him over and over...


OP

Deny Ignorance!!

[edit on 18-3-2008 by SavageHenry]

I think it's a kind of necessary evil, because of what the feds can justify doing to websites where that kind of thing is heavily discussed. I don't know specifically what the mods/admin are concerned about, but most drug-related threads are moved to RATS so that search engines cannot pick them up. Either way I bet feds would be all over ATS well before they would many other sites that venture into those kinds of discussions.

I'd be increasingly concerned over what is considered to contribute to "domestic terrorism" too, though that's probably out of this topic's reach.

[edit on 31-3-2008 by bsbray11]

I have experienced first hand government meddling on this issue...

However many sites can talk about it...with no issues what so ever..

Although I do understand the desire to keep the topic out of open discussion.... It is kinda difficult to omit it fully.. As my god ... its roots have many ancient connections that are very much part of many of the topics covered here... Even if the majority don't fully understand this...

It is still true.

Although ... I will try to abide by the rule as much as possible.

I recently got turned on to Terence McKenna, oddly enough it was from a post on ATS that got me to research him. His Zero Point novelty theory is really something to think about. It is pretty impressive to hear him explain it.

I downloaded some audio recordings of his and listen to them from time to time. Really good stuff to get you thinking.

Here is a website with links to audio and video recordings of Terence.

deoxy.org...

It is a shame that we are not allowed to even discuss his theories here because that would involve the discussion of hallucinogens. Even though his theories have so much merit and relevance to what this site is all about. It is a strange conflict, that is for sure.

[edit on 1-4-2008 by Karlhungis]

Especially when we carry many of these same molecules around in our heads...

I have the deoxy link.. but did not want to bust the rules..

haha

Terence Mckenna is and was one of the most amazing minds of our time.

Thereby further reinforcing the position and control of the "powers that be"...?

However, personally I totally agree that "hallucination", as the term is used currently, not only by psychiatry but, more tragically, by the vox populi, is a misnomer - and a very obtuse one at that.

Yes it's perfectly acceptable to discuss the latest Cocaine Bust, or Opium Production in Afghanistan, but mention the Indole Alkaloids your Brain basically runs on and the roughly ten thousand years of Cultural and Religous implications of it's use, and ATS cannot tolerate it. Despite the apparent Pharmacratic Inquisition, however, there are some fascinating threads on the subject, well hidden in RATS, I would provide a link to them but you have to have a RATS subscription and it won't show up in the Search Function for the site.
A shame really, I think it's the singular longest running Conspiracy in Human history, and continues today. Ask your local masonic lodge why they use the Acacia Sprig in their symbolism for example or why the oldest Christian Churches have Stained Glass Mosaics of Jesus himself standing over psilocybe Mushrooms, or why Santa Clause is Red and White and leaves presents under a pine tree and rides flying reindeer...
There's a huge difference in advocacy and discussion and I've seen some truly great discussions of the latter put to the trash bin. Why is this a taboo subject when some of the very chemicals we would discuss are floating around in your synapses right now? Bah.

To my mind, McKenna's gift had nothing to do with drug use. Listen to the man talk. His ability to communicate in so many shades and degrees of nuance, with perfect word choice and clarity was unmatched. His message was about exploring inner space, but I don't think he was as hung up on the pharmacopoeia as he was on the courage to break out of self-limitation. Just my 2 cents.