DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences

«We do not possess imagination enough to sense what we are missing.» — el epígrafe del volumen, que la capa de texto firma Jean Toomer1 con la llamada de nota pegada al apellido; la nota de la plana 355 lo remite a Essentials, editado con Rudolph P. Byrd

«In 19901 began the first new research in the United States in over twenty years on the effects of psychedelic, or hallucinogenic, drugs on humans.» — Strassman abre la Introduction fechando el estudio: dice haber iniciado en 1990 la primera investigación nueva en los Estados Unidos en más de veinte años sobre psicodélicos en humanos. La capa de texto funde el año con el verbo y deja 19901 donde el volumen imprime 1990 I

«These studies investigated the effects of N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, an extremely short-acting and powerful psychedelic.» — Strassman nombra la sustancia estudiada y la caracteriza como psicodélico muy breve y muy potente

«During the project's five years, I administered approximately four hundred doses of DMT to sixty human volunteers.» — Strassman da las cifras del estudio: unas cuatrocientas dosis a sesenta voluntarios en cinco años

«This research took place at the University of New Mexico's School of Medicine in Albuquerque, where I was tenured Associate Professor of Psychiatry.» — Strassman sitúa el estudio en la Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Nuevo México, en Albuquerque, donde era profesor asociado titular de Psiquiatría

«I was drawn to DMT because of its presence in all of our bodies. I believed the source of this DMT was the mysterious pineal gland, a tiny organ situated in the center of our brains.» — Strassman declara el motivo de su interés: el DMT está en todos los cuerpos, y él suponía que la fuente era la glándula pineal. El verbo con que lo dice es de creencia, no de hallazgo

«Modern medicine knows little about this little gland's role, but it has a rich "metaphysical" history. Descartes, for example, believed the pineal was the "seat of the soul," and both Western and Eastern mystical traditions place our highest spiritual center within its confines.» — Strassman contrapone el poco saber médico sobre la pineal a su historia metafísica, y remite a Descartes, para quien la glándula era el asiento del alma, y a las tradiciones místicas que ponen ahí el centro espiritual más alto

«I therefore wondered if excessive pineal DMT production was involved in naturally occurring "psychedelic" states. These might include birth, death and near-death, psychosis, and mystical experiences.» — la hipótesis de partida, enunciada como pregunta: si un exceso de DMT pineal interviene en los estados psicodélicos que ocurren solos, entre ellos el nacimiento, la muerte, la psicosis y la experiencia mística

«Only later, when the study was well underway, did I also begin considering DMT's role in the "alien abduction" experience.» — Strassman fecha la entrada del asunto de las abducciones en su investigación: no estaba al principio, llegó con el estudio ya andando

«The DMT project was founded on cutting-edge brain science, especially that which dealt with the psychopharmacology of serotonin.» — Strassman declara la base científica del proyecto, que es la psicofarmacología de la serotonina

«Although all of us believed in the potentially beneficial properties of psychedelic drugs, the studies were not intended to be therapeutic, and so our research subjects were healthy volunteers.» — Strassman acota el diseño: el equipo creía en las propiedades benéficas de los psicodélicos, pero los estudios no eran terapéuticos y por eso los sujetos eran voluntarios sanos

«The project generated a wealth of biological and psychological data, much of which I have already published in the scientific literature. On the other hand, I have written nearly nothing about volunteers' stories.» — Strassman distingue lo ya publicado en la literatura científica de lo que este libro trae por primera vez, que son los relatos de los voluntarios

«Problems inside and outside of the research environment led to the end of these studies in 1995.» — Strassman fecha el final del estudio en 1995 y lo atribuye a problemas dentro y fuera del entorno de investigación

«am optimistic about the possible benefits of the controlled use of psychedelic drugs.» — Strassman declara su optimismo sobre el uso controlado de los psicodélicos pese a las dificultades encontradas. El verbatim arranca después del corte de chunk, que reemite la marca de la plana 13 a media oración: la frase entera empieza con las palabras que preceden al corte, *Despite the difficulties we encountered, I*

«Based upon what we learned in the New Mexico research, I offer a wide-ranging vision for DMT's role in our lives and conclude by proposing a research agenda and optimal setting for future work with DMT and related drugs.» — Strassman anuncia lo que el libro propone al final: una visión amplia del papel del DMT y una agenda de investigación con su entorno óptimo

«The late Willis Harman possessed one of the most discerning minds to apply itself to the field of psychedelic research. Earlier in his career, he and his colleagues administered LSD to scientists in an attempt to bolster their problem-solving skills. They found that LSD demonstrated a powerfully beneficial effect on creativity. This landmark research remains the first and only scientific project to use psychedelics to enhance the creative process.» — Strassman presenta a Willis Harman y le adjudica, con sus colegas, la única investigación científica que haya usado psicodélicos para potenciar la creatividad: administraron LSD a científicos para mejorar su capacidad de resolver problemas

«When I met Willis thirty years later, in 1994, he was president of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an organization founded by the sixth man to walk on the moon, Edgar Mitchell.» — Strassman fecha su encuentro con Harman en 1994 y lo sitúa al frente del Institute of Noetic Sciences, fundado por Edgar Mitchell

«study phenomena outside the range of traditional science that nevertheless might yield to a broader application of the scientific method.» — según Strassman, la experiencia mística de Edgar Mitchell al ver la Tierra en el regreso lo llevó a esto. El verbatim arranca tras el cruce de plana: la oración empieza en la plana 13 y el tramo se corta ahí

«During a long walk together along the central California coastal range one day, Willis said firmly, "At the very least, we must enlarge the discussion about psychedelics.» — el encargo de Willis Harman en boca de Harman, que Strassman reproduce como la razón de incluir en el libro ideas especulativas y motivaciones personales

«It is in response to his request that I include in this book highly speculative ideas and my own personal motivations for performing this research.» — Strassman declara que las ideas altamente especulativas y sus motivaciones personales entran al libro por pedido de Harman

«This approach will satisfy no one in every respect. There is intense friction between what we know intellectually, or even intuitively, and what we experience with the aid of DMT.» — Strassman enuncia la fricción entre lo que se sabe intelectual o intuitivamente y lo que se experimenta con DMT, y advierte que su modo de tratarla no contentará a nadie del todo

«Or as Dogen, a thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhist teacher, said, "We must always be disturbed by the truth.» — Strassman cita a Dogen, maestro budista japonés del siglo XIII, para decir que la verdad tiene que perturbar

«Proponents of drug control may condemn what they read as encouragement to take psychedelic drugs and a glorification of the DMT experience.» — Strassman anticipa la objeción de los partidarios del control de drogas, que pueden leer el libro como estímulo para consumir

«Practitioners and spokespersons of traditional religions may reject the suggestion that spiritual states can be accessed, and mystical information gained, through drugs.» — Strassman anticipa la objeción de las religiones tradicionales a la idea de que los estados espirituales y el saber místico se alcancen con drogas

«Brain researchers may object to the suggestion that DMT affects the brain's ability to receive information, rather than only generating those perceptions.» — la hipótesis del cerebro como receptor y no solo como generador de percepciones, enunciada por Strassman como objeción que los investigadores del cerebro le harán

«They also may dismiss the proposal that DMT can allow our brains to perceive dark matter or parallel universes, realms of existence inhabited by conscious entities.» — la propuesta más arriesgada del volumen en palabras de Strassman: que el DMT permita al cerebro percibir materia oscura o universos paralelos habitados por entidades conscientes

«However, if I did not describe all the ideas behind the DMT studies, and the entire range of our volunteers' experiences, I would not be telling the entire tale.» — Strassman justifica la inclusión de lo especulativo: sin todas las ideas y sin el rango entero de las sesiones no estaría contando la historia completa

«Nor would I be honest if I did not share my own speculations and theories, which are based on decades of study and listening to hundreds of DMT sessions.» — Strassman apoya sus especulaciones y teorías en décadas de estudio y en haber escuchado cientos de sesiones con DMT

«It is so important for us to understand consciousness. It is just as important to place psychedelic drugs in general, and DMT in particular, into a personal and cultural matrix in which we do the most good, and the least harm.» — Strassman enuncia el fin declarado: entender la consciencia y colocar los psicodélicos en una matriz personal y cultural que haga el mayor bien y el menor daño

«In such a wide-open area of inquiry, it is best that we reject no ideas until we actually disprove them.» — la regla de método que Strassman propone para un campo tan abierto: no rechazar ninguna idea mientras no se la haya puesto a prueba

«ne morning in December 1990, I gave both Philip and Nils an injection of a large dose of intravenous DMT. These two men were the first people in the study to receive DMT, and they were helping me determine the best dose and manner of injecting it.» — la escena que abre el prólogo: Strassman fecha en diciembre de 1990 la sesión con dosis alta intravenosa de Philip y Nils, los dos primeros del estudio. La capitular del volumen se pierde en la capa de texto y el renglón arranca en *ne morning* donde el impreso pone *One morning*

«They were our "human guinea pigs."» — el término con que Strassman nombra a los dos primeros voluntarios

«Two weeks earlier, I had given the very first dose of DMT to Philip. As I will describe, the intramuscular injection, into his shoulder, didn't give completely satisfactory results. We then switched to the intravenous route, and Nils received the drug that way for the first time a week later.» — Strassman ordena los primeros ensayos: la intramuscular en el hombro de Philip no dio resultado satisfactorio y se pasó a la vía intravenosa, que Nils recibió una semana después

«It was hard to believe we really were giving DMT to human volunteers. A two-year process of obtaining permission and funding, which I felt would never end, was finally over. Attaining the goal never seemed as likely as the continual struggle to do so.» — Strassman describe el trámite: dos años de permisos y financiamiento, y la sensación de que alcanzar la meta nunca pareció tan probable como la lucha por alcanzarla

«About a year before starting our study, they had attended a ceremony in which a Peruvian folk healer gave all participants ayahuasca, the legendary DMT-containing tea.» — Strassman sitúa la experiencia previa de Philip y Nils en una ceremonia con ayahuasca conducida por un curandero peruano, un año antes del estudio

«Philip's and Nils's experiences smoking DMT were typical: a startlingly rapid onset of effects, a kaleidoscopic display of visual hallucinations, and a separation of consciousness from the physical body.» — Strassman resume los efectos típicos de fumar DMT: aparición rapidísima, despliegue caleidoscópico de alucinaciones visuales y separación de la consciencia respecto del cuerpo

«And, most curiously, there was a feeling of "the other" somewhere within the hallucinatory world to which this remarkable psychedelic allowed them entrance.» — el rasgo que Strassman destaca por curioso: la sensación de que hay otro dentro del mundo alucinatorio al que el DMT da entrada

«Since recreational users of DMT usually smoke it, I wanted to approximate as closely as possible the effects as they occur when taken in this manner.» — el criterio de diseño: Strassman busca aproximar por vía inyectada los efectos de fumar, que es como lo usan quienes lo toman fuera de la investigación

«However, since all but one of the previously published human research papers on DMT reported giving it intramuscularly, I was obliged to begin this way.» — Strassman explica por qué empezó por la vía intramuscular: salvo uno, todos los trabajos publicados sobre DMT en humanos la habían usado

«Philip was forty-five years old when he began participating in our research. Bespectacled, bearded, and of medium height and build, he was an internationally known clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, and» — la presentación del voluntario que el libro llama Philip: cuarenta y cinco años, psicólogo clínico y psicoterapeuta de renombre internacional. El tramo se corta en el cruce de plana y sigue en la 19 con *workshop leader*

«Strassman's important research contributes to a growing awareness that we inhabit a multidimensional universe that is far more complex and interesting than the one our scientific theories have shown us. It is of the utmost importance that we face the implications of this discovery, for it has so much to tell us about who we are and why we are here.» — del blurbo de solapa firmado John Mack, author of Abduction and Passport to the Cosmos: lee la investigación como aporte a la conciencia de un universo multidimensional. Es solapa editorial, no voz del cuerpo

«The most extensive scientific study of the mental and perceptual effects of a psychedelic drug since the 1960s. Strassman provides fascinating insight into the world of psychiatric research as he seeks to understand these most mysterious substances and their profound effects on human consciousness.» — del blurbo de solapa firmado Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of Ayahuasca: Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature: sitúa el estudio como el más extenso sobre un psicodélico desde los años sesenta

«This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the mind, philosophy, the nature of reality, and spirituality. The world's foremost expert on DMT has created a masterpiece of the genre, as he brilliantly leads the reader through a series of startling revelations about the nature of the universe, revealed behind the doorway once DMT turns the key.» — del blurbo de solapa firmado Karl Jansen, M.D., Ph.D., author of K. Ketamine: Dreams and Realities, que llama a Strassman el mayor experto mundial en DMT

«DMT: The Spirit Molecule points the way beyond the present impasse of the reigning "drug abuse" paradigm. We owe a debt of gratitude to Strassman for persevering in the face of bureaucratic obstacles to conduct important research into the human pharmacology of DMT and elucidate it for the general public, in both scientific and humanistic terms.» — del blurbo de solapa firmado Jonathan Ott, author of The Age of Entheogens and Hallucinogenic Plants of North America: el mérito que le adjudica es haber perseverado ante los obstáculos burocráticos

«Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Strassman, Rick. DMT : the spirit molecule : a doctor's revolutionary research into the biology of near-death and mystical experiences / Rick Strassman. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references.» — la ficha de catalogación impresa en la página de derechos, que registra el título entero y a Strassman como autor único

«ISBN 0-89281-927-8 (alk. paper) 1. Dimethyltryptamine. 2. Pineal gland—Secretions. I. Title.» — la misma ficha de catalogación, con el ISBN y las dos materias con que el volumen queda clasificado; la raya de Pineal gland—Secretions va tal cual la imprime la capa de texto

«To the volunteers, and all their relations» — la dedicatoria entera del volumen, dirigida a los voluntarios del estudio

«Text design and layout by Rachel Goldenberg This book was typeset in Bodoni with Bodoni Open as the display typeface» — el pie técnico de la edición: el diseño y la maquetación se acreditan a Rachel Goldenberg y el tipo es Bodoni. Ninguno de los dos tiene rol de productor en el esquema de la casa

«Ни Feeling and Thinking 156 12 • Unseen Worlds» — del índice: el OCR imprime cirílicas donde el volumen pone el numeral del capítulo once, de modo que el renglón 11 • Feeling and Thinking sale como una palabra rusa. Se conserva tal cual y la lectura correcta se dice aquí. El 156 de en medio es el folio impreso que el propio índice da para ese capítulo, no un encabezado corrido

«The late Daniel X. Freedman, M.D., from UCLA's Department of Psychiatry, advocated for these projects at all levels and was instrumental in my obtaining crucial early funding.» — de los agradecimientos: adjudica a Daniel X. Freedman, del Departamento de Psiquiatría de UCLA, la defensa del proyecto y el financiamiento temprano

«Staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were extraordinarily flexible and responsive to the unusual circumstances of this research.» — de los agradecimientos: describe como flexible la respuesta de la FDA y de la DEA ante lo inusual de la investigación

«David Nichols, Ph.D., from Purdue University, made the DMT, without which the research never would have occurred.» — de los agradecimientos: Nichols fabricó el DMT que se usó en el estudio

«Walter Winslow, M.D., chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, gave me great latitude as one of his only clinical research scientists at the time.» — de los agradecimientos: el jefe del Departamento de Psiquiatría le dio margen como uno de sus pocos investigadores clínicos

«Alan Frank, M.D., chair of the university's Human Research Ethics Committee, handled my requests with consistency and evenhandedness.» — de los agradecimientos: el comité de ética de la universidad tramitó las solicitudes con consistencia

«Philip Eaton, M.D., effortlessly took over the reins of the GCRC after Dr. Peake's sudden death, and barely blinked an eye when I told him I had decided to study psychedelic drugs.» — de los agradecimientos: el director del centro de investigación clínica no se inmutó al saber que estudiaría psicodélicos

«A generous research grant from the Scottish Rite Foundation for Schizophrenia Research helped establish the earliest phases of the DMT project's scientific merit. Later, more substantial funding for the DMT and psilocybin research came from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.» — de los agradecimientos: el financiamiento va de la Scottish Rite Foundation for Schizophrenia Research al National Institute on Drug Abuse

«I am grateful to my former Zen Buddhist community's late abbot, and to the monastic and extended lay communities for their teaching, guidance, and a powerful model of mystical pragmatism.» — de los agradecimientos: nombra a su antigua comunidad budista zen y a su abad difunto, y llama pragmatismo místico al modelo que le dieron

«Finally, I salute, bow, and stand in awe of the volunteers. Their courage to hitch themselves to the spirit molecule's wings, their faith in the research team watching over their bodies and minds while they ventured forth, and their grace under the most austere and unforgiving environment imaginable for taking psychedelic drugs will serve as an inspiration for generations of fellow seekers.» — de los agradecimientos: el cierre dedicado a los voluntarios, con la imagen de engancharse a las alas de la molécula del espíritu

«Contents Acknowledgments xi Introduction xv Prologue: First Sessions 1 Part I: The Building Blocks 1 • Psychedelic Drugs: Science and Society 21 2 • What DMT Is 42 3 • The Pineal: Meet the Spirit Gland 56 4 • The Psychedelic Pineal 67 Part II: Conception and Birth 5 • 89-001 89 6 • Labyrinth 99 Part III: Set, Setting, and DMT 7 • Being a Volunteer 121 8 • Getting DMT 136 9 • Under the Influence» — el índice del volumen hasta la tercera parte: fija la arquitectura en un prólogo y seis partes, y da los folios impresos de cada capítulo

«Jean Toomer and Rudolph P. Byrd, Essentials (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991), 27.» — la nota de la dedicatoria, que da la procedencia del epígrafe del volumen

«National Institutes of Health grants funded the melatonin project (RR00997-10), the DMT and psilocybin studies (R03 DA06524 and R01 DA08096), and general operations of the Clinical Research Center (M01 RR00997).» — la nota de los agradecimientos, con los números de los subsidios de los Institutos Nacionales de Salud que financiaron cada estudio. Tramo de aparato de notas releído entero en el crudo: la guarda anticosido salta por las claves de subsidio

«A native of Los Angeles, Rick Strassman holds degrees from Stanford University and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Dr. Strassman took his internship and general psychiatry residency at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center in Sacramento, and received the Sandoz Award for outstanding graduating resident in 1981. He spent ten years as a tenured professor at the University of New Mexico, performing clinical research investigating the function of the pineal hormone melatonin. He also began the first new U.S.-government-approved-and-funded clinical research with psychedelic drugs in over twenty years.» — la solapa About the Author, con los grados y el recorrido académico de Strassman; es aparato editorial, no voz del cuerpo

«Dr. Strassman has published thirty peer-reviewed scientific papers and serves as a reviewer for several psychiatric research journals. He has been a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Veterans' Administration Hospitals, Social Security Administration, and other state and local agencies. He currently practices psychiatry in Taos, New Mexico, and is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the UNM School of Medicine. Dr. Strassman's Web site is <www.rickstrassman.com>.» — la continuación de esa solapa: publicaciones, consultorías y el sitio del autor

«Rick Strassman's pioneering research raises fascinating questions about the neurochemical basis of experience and the feasibility of conducting human research with mind-altering drugs in a university medical center.» — el blurbo de contratapa firmado Andrew Weil, author of Spontaneous Healing; la capa de texto corta la última palabra del elogio

«Fascinating and provocative. A remarkable exploration of the boundaries of science and consciousness itself." Rupert Sheldrake, author of The Presence of the Past» — el blurbo de contratapa firmado Rupert Sheldrake, author of The Presence of the Past

«A dazzling journey through psychedelic drug experimentation and a tantalizing peek into a new model of how the brain and mind work. Strassman's research points toward a physiological basis for spirit and its interaction with the human body; his data suggests that our brain chemistry allows us access to other realms of existence just when we need it most, and his story recounts both the dangers and promises of entering this brave new world." Bruce Greyson, Editor, Journal of Near-Death Studies» — el blurbo de contratapa firmado Bruce Greyson, Editor, Journal of Near-Death Studies, que resume la tesis del libro en términos de base fisiológica del espíritu

«From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted DEA-approved clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical that is also manufactured by the human brain, consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences. Many volunteers reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences, especially "aliens." Nearly all felt that the sessions were among the most profound experiences of their lives.» — el texto de contratapa que resume el estudio y sus resultados: sesenta voluntarios, experiencias cercanas a la muerte y místicas, y encuentros con presencias no humanas

«Strassman's research connects DMT with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the seventh chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body» — el texto de contratapa que resume la tesis del libro y le adjudica al hinduismo la sede del séptimo chakra y a Descartes el asiento del alma. Es contratapa editorial, no voz del cuerpo

«As in most monastic religious traditions, Margaret took a new name after joining the priestly order. Since her and others' names are Japanese, and because I know no Japanese and would hate to make up a name that accidentally meant something disgraceful or embarrassing, I've chosen to use English pseudonyms.» — la nota en que Strassman declara por qué los monjes del libro llevan seudónimos ingleses: sus nombres de orden son japoneses y él no quería inventar uno que significara algo impropio

«Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin, T1HKAL (Berkeley,CA: Transform Press, 1997), 247-84.» — la nota que da la referencia de TIHKAL, de donde sale la frase de Shulgin sobre la ubicuidad del DMT; la capa de texto imprime el título como *T1HKAL*, con uno en lugar de i

«R. H. F. Manske, "A Synthesis of the Methyl-Tryptamines and Some Derivatives," Canadian Journal of Research 5 (1931): 592-600.» — la nota que da la referencia del artículo de 1931 con que Manske sintetizó el DMT

«Stephen Szara, "The Comparison of the Psychotic Effects of Tryptamine Derivatives with the Effects of Mescaline and LSD-25 in Self-Experiments," in Psychotropic Drugs, edited by W. Garattini and V. Ghetti. (New York: Elsevier, 1957), 460-67.» — la nota que da la referencia del autoexperimento de Szara con derivados de triptamina

«Albert Hofmann's tale of discovering LSD never fails to delight—LSD: My Problem Child (New York: McGraw Hill, 1980).» — la nota en que Strassman remite al relato de Albert Hofmann sobre el hallazgo del LSD y da el título de su libro

«Mircea Eliade, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972); and Michael Harner, The Way of the Shaman (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990).» — la nota en que Strassman remite al Shamanism de Mircea Eliade y a The Way of the Shaman de Michael Harner, dos obras distintas de un mismo tema

«Rinpoche Sogyal, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992). This is a modern rendition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead.» — la nota en que Strassman da la referencia del libro que su voluntario Eli leía y lo declara versión moderna del Libro tibetano de los muertos

«Robert Master and Jean Houston, The Varieties of the Psychedelic Experience (Rochester, VT: Park Street Pr» — la nota que da la referencia del libro cuyo título Strassman contrapone al de William James