Super interesting book! Rick Strassman is a clinical psychiatrist who explored the effects of DMT. This book is comprehensive; it covers the research and detailed experiences of participants. Some participants reported near-death experiences and encounters with aliens. (Super wild) He openly shared about the challenges of getting this type of research approved. He talked about his decision to leave the research and suggestions for the future. ( )

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Strassman-DMT-La-molecule-de-lesprit--Les-potenti...

> QUAND L’ESPRIT SORT DU CORPS. — Des expériences de mort imminente. Voilà ce que des consommateurs de DMT rapportent après avoir consommé ce puissant hallucinogène.
« Les personnes ont l’impression que leur esprit sort de leur corps », explique Claude Rouillard, expert en neuropharmacologie et professeur à la Faculté de médecine de l’Université Laval.
Dans les années 90, le professeur Rick Strassman, du département de psychiatrie, à l’Université du Nouveau-Mexique, à Albuquerque, a administré 400 doses de DMT à 60 participants.
Ceux-ci ont notamment raconté que leur conscience s'était en quelque sorte échappée de leur corps et qu’ils avaient eu l’impression de mourir et de revenir. Le Dr Strassman a publié le récit de ses expériences dans un livre intitulé La DMT: la molécule de l'esprit (DMT: The Spirit Molécule). Un documentaire sur le sujet a aussi été diffusé sur Netflix en 2013.
Les travaux du Dr Strassman ont maintes fois été qualifiés de « pseudoscience » par d’autres scientifiques.
Mais l’an dernier, une étude publiée dans la revue scientifique Frontiers in Psychology a montré que la DMT provoque effectivement des effets similaires à ceux décrits par les personnes ayant vécu une expérience de mort imminente. (Marc ALLARD)
—Le soleil, 21 novembre 2018, p. 3

A facinating clinical look into tests with DMT. Is this molecule responsible for our dreams, our religions, our visions of extra-terrestrials?

Great reading. ( )

Absolutely fascinating! Suspend your skepticism for a few hours and enter the incredulous world of Strassman’s research with a powerful hallucinogen. DMT, sort of a fast-acting LSD, was used in DEA-approved clinical research at the University of New Mexico between 1990 and 1995, where volunteers repeatedly described experiences similar to near-death and alien abduction reports.

The question is this: Are the experiences entirely psychedelic, or is the drug allowing volunteers to tap into another reality, where aliens really do exist? Strassman takes the question seriously, and while the implications are more than a little disturbing, the volunteers “unquestionably had some of the most intense, unusual, and unexpected experiences of their lives.” (After reading the case studies, I can believe it.)

Strassman connects DMT with the pineal gland, the “house of the soul.” The pineal gland develops in the human fetus 49 days after conception, with its DMT chemical secretion serving as a portal to astral worlds. OK, this is wayyy outside my comfort level and not something I know anything about, yet I can’t help it: This is a five-star book, guys, even though it steps on some religious toes. Skip ahead to part IV, The Sessions, if you must, and then come back to read the rest after your mind is blown.

Strassman presents his data like a research doctor, and he admits that one of his deepest motivations behind the DMT research was the search for a biological basis of spiritual experience. He went into this research already intrigued with the pineal gland, so his hypotheses are not unexpected. His application was entirely professional, with intravenous injections under strict supervision—this is not an experiment that can be undertaken at home. The experiences are kaleidoscopic and often frightening. Yet I couldn’t help wonder how many people, after reading this book, found a way to obtain the drug and jump into the next universe. I sure wanted to. ( )

Ground breaking research and a fascinating read. Even if you don't want to digest the background and methods, people's DMT experiences are thought provoking and inspiring. This was one of the books I used as research for my novel, 'Seven Point: The First Chronicle'. ( )