awhile back (last semester) I came here seeking some advice for a paper so I figure its only fair I share the final product with you, its a freshman in college argument essay, enjoy.
And since I cant figure out how to upload a file im just going to copy paste from word.
Professor Smith
English Comp. 1
7th December 2012
“Entities in Alternate Universes”
Dimethyltryptamine is a compound belonging to the psychedelic family.
It is naturally occurring in the human brain along with many other animals and plants (Strassman). DMT when externally introduced causes hallucinatory effects way beyond that of other compounds such as LSD or psilocybin (TheSpiritMolecule.com). But does DMT actually play a crucial role in neurotheology? -The study of brain function and religious experience (Strassman). Rick Strassman studies DMT trips in relation to the Old Testament in his book: DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Yet James L. Kent claims that consciousness is a “linear system” and the hallucinations brought on by DMT are simply errors caused by a change of processing in this “linear system,” he discusses this in his book: Psychedelic Information Theory: Shamanism in the Age of Reason.
There is direct correlation between the natural occurring DMT inside your body and many religious states (Neurotheology.50megs.com). Some religions provoke the use of this indigenous DMT through meditation, and even more radically, some churches actually modify their religious protocol to accommodate for the introduction of external DMT to the body (TheSpiritMolecule.com). Since DMT was made into a usable drug in the 1950s (TheSpiritMolecule.com) Users often interpret a completely different universe, and report having the ability to communicate with entities through this “non-physical world.” While this subject can provide grounds for much debate, James Kent and Dr. Rick Strassman both represent two sides of a very mysterious and ambiguous totem pole.
According to Kent the goal of his book is to “Unify all existing psychedelic research into a formal model” which describes what happens when a psychedelic is introduced into the human neuro network. The theory is that consciousness is a linear system just like a computer program, and defines a certain protocol for consciousness being that it has five minimum properties required to operate: perception, recognition, memory, recall, and behavior (page 29). James’ findings are all based on the physical science of the brain (Neurology). In “Have we cracked the DMT Puzzle?” James explains that DMT acts “primarily at the 5-HT2A receptor” which is a neurotransmitter in which other hallucinogens react with as well. This would be the exact way the “linear system” becomes obstructed. Based on his neuro research James then concludes in “Have we cracked the DMT puzzle” that any entities encountered in a DMT trip could not be real and are produced by our own imagination.
Kent has very diligently put together a neuro-scientific explanation of consciousness in Psychedelic Information Theory: Shamanism in the age of reason. But one must first acknowledge that there is no set in stone definition for consciousness, as it is ever changing as more advances in neuro research are made (Steve Paulson), so there could very well be future discoveries that completely disprove his theory.
Kent also does a great job explaining a metaphysical experience in physical and mathematical terms, but he draws the conclusion that “autonomous disincarnate” do not exist by only explaining how the mind perceives them, which does not provide any evidence that these entities cannot exist. Kent also fails to point out what existent in reality actually means. Reality is subjective, Dictionary.com defines reality as: “something that exists independently of all other things and from which all other things derive.” So, therefore, we can conclude everything we imagine or experience that uses energy is real, even in the realm in which physics is derived from, based on Einstein’s equation E=MC^2 assuming the matter has no momentum(p).
While James Kent has only compiled information about the subject of the matter, Rick Strassman actually conducted his own research at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine (Strassman). In Strassman’s research over 60 volunteers received 400 doses of DMT, and using over 1000 bedside notes Strassman concluded that DMT is a spirit molecule that allows for consciousness in non-materialistic realms (The Spirit Molecule Chapter Summaries). Although this conclusion may seem far fetched, it however has no disproving evidence, and is supported by scientific experiment.
James L. Kent claims that inter-universal phenomena are impossible, based on the conclusion that these other entities are figments of our own imagination. But his conclusion that they are figments of our own imagination falls to offer any evidence that this phenomena is impossible, and only shows that we have the ability to hallucinate. He also fails to prove these hallucinations unreal and only shows how they are neurologically possible. Therefore in contradiction, some of his evidence actually shows how the brain can change the “channels” of the brain to perceive these entities in alternate universes.
Works Cited
Kent, James L. "Chapter 4." Pychedilic Information Theory. Seattle: PIT, 2010. N. pag. Print.
Kent, James L. "Have We Cracked the DMT Puzzle?" Brainwaving.com. Charlotte Walsh, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
Paulson, Steve. "The Nature of Consciousness: How the Internet Could Learn to Feel.” TheAtlantic.com. N.p., 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
Strassman, Rick, Dr. "DMT: A Natural Psychedelic Created in Your Brain." Neurotheology.50megs.com. N.p., 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
Strassman, Rick, Dr. "DMT: The Spirit Molecule Chapter Summaries." RickStrassman.com. N.p., 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
Strassman, Rick, Dr. "DMT: The Spirit Molecule." RickStrassman.com. N.p., 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
Thespiritmolecule.com. "What Is DMT?" TheSpiritMolecule.com.
N.p., 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.