There are quite a few things I’d like to write about now if I could. It’s only a question of importance or priority. (I imagine a god creating a world with that attitude: In the beginning, God said, “Lemme start with…” – surely a better attitude than having a fill of an omnipotent omniscient appetite after a mere 6 days). Anyway, lemme start with…
Near Death Experiences and DMT
Next is a big one. And one which I’ve been hesitant to put to paper. Even now I’m hesitant, but in an attempt to urge myself forward, I’ve agreed that surely there are some things I can say comfortably. Start with those and see what may…
…Let’s start this one with a point of interest:
(Apparently!) both at birth and during (near-) death-experiences, the brain is flooded with DMT[I]. The implication is obvious but none the less grand for an explicit statement. If there is some connection between the neurological system and whatever it is the soul is a substrate of or from, could DMT be involved in an intimate manner? Cf. the psychedelic experience of DMT. And instead of assuming that DMT is the reason for “hallucinations” during near-death-experiences, consider that DMT allows partial penetration of the liminal space that separates here from there. I note as a point of historical interest that Descartes hypothesized that the pineal gland was where mind linked to matter. That this is such an obviously foolish conjecture – so says the modern and educated entity – might be the reason why it has not been updated. And isn’t it, in fact, unreasonable not to update our understanding with scientific advances. If there is some neurological matrix that can be linked to the soul, surely we expect to describe it using all of the modern scientist’s apparatus: neurons that communicate by action potentials that are signalled by neurotransmitters, etc.
Monty Python and reading philosophy
I might be taking a break from that section of writing, and I might be wanting to say something else. This realization is possibly profound and certainly practical, but was realized in the midst of a most frivolous exercise involving such a delightful instance. Watching mass media’s Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (in recognition of which I will say the least, which is that it was a surprisingly intelligent and absurdly brilliant – I must certainly watch more of a similar vein). Anyway, the point of this paragraph’s introduction was to say that philosophy is good, including its books, but think for yourself. The first steps following are the questions, What do I want to know? Aside from encouraging original de novo work, it also benefits reading works in a couple of ways, especially by promoting a truly personally critical reading. When reading x, I might ask what question it is that the author is addressing, how I would answer it, and what I think of the author’s answer.
[I] “N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or N,N-DMT) is a tryptamine molecule which occurs in many plants and animals. It can be consumed as a psychedelic drug and has historically been prepared by various cultures for ritual purposes as an entheogen. Rick Strassman labelled it “the spirit molecule”. DMT is illegal in most countries.” For further details see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine.
