Little Windows into Another Realm
Enthnobotanist, artist, and photographer Kathleen (Kat) Harrison speculates on the evolutionary advantages of DMT. She proposes that its appearance in plants and animals is nature's way of providing "little windows into another realm".
Kathleen teaches at the California School of Herbal Studies, Sonoma State University, University of Minnesota (Hawaii fieldcourse), and at various symposia. She researches the relationship between plants and people, with a particular focus on art, myth, ritual, and spirituality. She has done fieldwork in Latin America for 30 years, and is the director of Botanical Dimensions, a nonprofit foundation devoted to preserving medicinal and shamanic plant knowledge from the Amazonian rainforest and tropics around the world. Harrison co-founded the organization in 1985 with former husband Terence McKenna. In her work with Botanical Dimensions, she has done fieldwork and supported indigenous projects in Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. She continues to document the many faces of ethnobotany with photographs, which she combines with stories in her slide presentations. Kat is a widely-published illustrator, and enjoys teaching people how to see and draw the plant world. She is based in Northern California, where she is active in local watershed restoration. She reports that she is lucky to be the mother of two wonderful grown children, who make her life even richer.
This interview was recorded for my upcoming documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule. The film weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman's groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing psychedelic found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, Ayahuasca.
Tweet
.jpg "Night Life Astrology Ad")
Comments
When oh when Mitch?!?
Yeah, seriously.
I feel like I have been waiting for this film for years now. There used to be quite a few excerpts on Youtube, you can also find them on my site if you just type "DMT" in the search bar.
http://www.theemotionmachine.com
Too bad about mainstream media
Kat Harrison and Dr. Rick Strassman both present information about DMT (and other entheogens) so reasonably and articulately that it is surprising the mainstream media has missed the boat regarding these dedicated scientists, and the many other researchers, including Dr. Dennis McKenna, working in this field.
A serious 'prime-time', network television news special, like they used to have in the old, pre-internet days, could help to educate the public about these unique molecules and the tremendous value they can add to our society. It is way past due.
[De-mythologizing and exposing the DEA's futile and very costly 'war' on drugs, and the misleading dis-information they pass on to the public - and congress - should be another mainstream media presentation.]
We live in a new and very different era than that of the 60's. The time of the psychedelic preachers, like Timothy Leary, Ken Kesey and many others, is long passed as far as the general public is concerned. People today are more informed and, as Jimi used to say, “experienced”. They are hungry for and are willing to consider new ideas and new information, especially when presented clearly, articulately and factually by reasonable and learned individuals.
Terence McKenna used to comment about "preaching to the choir" at some of his talks. Well, we're the choir now. The information Kat and others possess needs to reach beyond us, beyond YouTube, Evolver and RS, to the general public by utilizing mainstream media.
There must be some tough, honest investigative reporters who could present an unbiased program to the public - aren't there? It could be a long, tough path to follow to enlighten the general public. But it has to start somewhere, and it should happen soon.
---------- Meandering a bit Further ----------------
There have been too many missed opportunities to use entheogens to treat people medically and psychically. And now, more than ever, we also need to be able to safely meet the pent up demand for spiritual exploration and fulfillment by providing safe, nurturing environments for those who choose that path. We need a real alternative to the ultra-conservative monotheistic 'cults' that are filling that need today with their too often hateful, negative messages.
Looking further into the future, perhaps spiritual seekers could safely share their inner journeys with other, like-minded individuals. Maybe in a new 'church' professing a new connection to and conception of the earth. I believe Mother/Gaia would like that very much. And what a grand adventure for humanity.
Blessings,
BlueShaman
No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn. - JDM
I've heard a bit about Kat's