In this episode, I had the honor of speaking with Dr. Dennis McKenna, an ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer and author. He’s also the founder of the McKenna Academy and a board member at the Heffter Research Institute. We talked about psychedelics and consciousness.

So, let’s hear what Dennis McKenna has to say about human consciousness, including psychedelics’ role in our evolution.

We discussed: ethnopharmacologist, pharmacologist

Start with a discussion of consciousness. Mind/Brain duality. Universal consciousness. The hard question. What is consciousness, in your opinion?The reality hallucination; brain creates realityDefault mode network as a filterA fundamental property of nature?In that context, what is a non-ordinary state of consciousness, like that which results from a psychedelic experience?Disrupt neural gating (DMN); opens up what we have suppressedReset DMN, brainWhen you say that plants and fungi can expand our consciousness, what do you mean by that?Set and Setting; medicine; doseWhat role did the plants play in the evolution of human consciousness?Can we deliberately change and evolve our consciousness (individual, collective)? With plants/fungi, something else?Stoned Ape TheoryNeural plasticityEpigeneticsSynesthesia as a basis of language; triggered by psilocybe cubensisLanguage basis of consciousness, cognitionShare/transmit information/knowledge through time2001 Space Odyssey, MonolithWe’re at the doorstep of a global transformation in human consciousness, yes? (Please explain)When somebody says ‘higher consciousness’, what does that mean?Any thoughts on neural correlates of consciousness? Under non-ordinary states of consciousness?Teonanacatl – flesh of the godsBook: American Holocaust What are your thoughts on reality…what is real versus perceived? What didn’t I ask? Immersed in symbiotic relationship with the plants/fungiTools to help us discover what we already knowCognitive partnersWhat’s next from you? What are you excited about?McKenna Academy – psychedelic universityA place for learning, integrating, exploring these ideasHelp people learn how to think, not WHAT to thinkAchieve their own consciousnessRemind people to remember to be astonished, experience wonder (nature)

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