The ethnobotanist, Terence McKenna, was (and still is) a huge inspiration once I left the church. He is all about viewing reality objectively, and not just going along with the cultural assumptions we all possess (including religious).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYB0VW5x8fI

I've read and watched McKenna, interesting at times. I admire his brother Dennis' work in ethnobotany. Terrance was a creative thinker, definitely outside the box. He brought some great plants to his Big Island botanical garden, much appreciated.

I was just watching him last night on YouTube! His concept of Singularity is definitely fascinating. I can't comment on his advocacy of psychoactives as I haven't tried them yet; he recommends them as a means to dissolve the egoic personality, to enable us to see reality as it really is. I'm definitely looking for a source. He mentions the common coleus plant as a psychoactive hallucinogen, so maybe I'll start there.

I love this quote by him: "Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window. Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid-down models of behavior and information processing. They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong."

After wasting my life in the constraints of Mormonism, I now see the world in a much different light. I'm so ready to move on and break free! (maybe we should talk?)

Coleus proved to be non-psychoactive in general. T was wrong about that. A close relative of coleus is salvia divinorum, which is very psychoactive.

Terrance was big into fungi and ayahuasca. Cactus is considered to be the cream.

Awesome, yes, I agree with what Terence says about psychoactive plant medicines dissolving the ego- I've had experiences participating in ayahuasca/mushroom ceremonies, facilitated by shamans, and they by far have been the most "spiritual", opening, profound experiences of my life.

So funny as a Mormon I would have never dreamed of using "drugs" (I don't view them as drugs- I view them as medicines), but when they are used sparingly (and carefully) in the appropriate setting with respect, they can be major tools for expanding our awareness.

I am dreaming of a trip to south America to experience an ayuhuasca ceremony.
I am fascinated by the healing and life changing effects.
I would love to learn more about your experience!

McKenna was a massive revelation to me. I first encountered him in a documentary about mushrooms I got off Netflix (called "Know Your Mushrooms"). Discovering the ideas he talked about sent me down a deep deep rabbit hole I've never emerged from. Amazing. You have to be a little demented to understand what he talks about most of the time. Subversive stuff

He was one of the Lecturers at the week-long event. Amazing person. I loved his books and lectures. I discovered Terrence a few years after my liberation from Mormonism. He has actually been a huge influence on my post-mormon life.

Lucky! I feel sad that I never got to meet him, but I feel like I *know* him in a weird way, haha. Sounds like a pretty sweet conference.

It was an incredible conference.I arrived a few days early and had established some key connections, if you catch my drift. Therefore, when Terrence McKenna and Jonathan Ott arrived, I was able to help them relax after a long day of lectures. Pretty cool, huh?
BTW, have you read Ott's THE AGE OF ENTHEOGENS?

Your experience in Palenque sounds wonderful! I remember when that was happening & I really wanted to go but couldn't afford it.

I agree The Age of Entheogens/Angels Dictionary by Jonathan Ott truly is a fantastic book.

I am so grateful to McKenna for the things I have learned (& unlearned) directly and indirectly thanks to him. He, the medicines he loved, and the thinkers he introduced me to - Blake, Jung, Joyce, A. Huxley, Wasson, Ott, W.B. Yeats, & Campbell to name a few - were instrumental to me in my journey out of Mormonia.

I love his riff on Relativism...

http://youtu.be/7OX77Qv66qw

Does anyone here live in Northern California? I'm really interested in moving beyond merely reading about psychoactives, and would appreciate someone to talk to for some advice.