John Miller
The McKenna brothers, Terence and Dennis, were known for their work with psychedelic plants and mushrooms. Terence was an ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He wrote and spoke about various subjects, including psychedelic drugs, shamanism, metaphysics, and the origins of human consciousness. On the other hand, Dennis was an ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer, and author. He authored numerous scientific articles and books, including The Invisible Landscape with his brother. Together, the brothers published the Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide under the pseudonyms OT Oss and ON Oeric. While Terence reportedly had a bad experience with mushrooms in 1989 and stopped consuming them, Dennis continued his work with psychedelic plants.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Dennis Jon McKenna |
| Date of Birth | December 17, 1950 |
| Place of Birth | Paonia, Colorado |
| Occupation | Ethnobotanist, Research Pharmacognosist, Lecturer, Author |
| Notable Works | Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide, Botanical Medicines: the Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss |
| Notable Associations | Brother of Terence McKenna, Founding board member and director of ethnopharmacology at the Heffter Research Institute |
| Notable Quotes | "We wanted to be able to grow the mushrooms to have access to the experiences." |
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What You'll Learn
- Dennis McKenna co-authored the 'Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide' with his brother Terence
- Dennis has advocated for the responsible use of psychedelics and has studied their therapeutic uses
- Terence McKenna's alleged final trip with magic mushrooms in 1989 was so bad that he never took them again
- Terence believed that psilocybe mushrooms played a role in the development of Neolithic cultures
- Terence believed that psychedelics could induce visions of extra-terrestrial visitors and spacecraft
Dennis McKenna co-authored the 'Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide' with his brother Terence
Terence McKenna was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He wrote and spoke about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, ethnomycology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness. Terence believed that psychedelics were "doorways into the Gaian mind", suggesting that "the planet has a kind of intelligence, it can actually open a channel of communication with an individual human being".
Dennis McKenna, Terence's brother, shared similar interests in the science of ethnopharmacology and ethnobotany. In 1970, after their mother's death, Dennis and Terence travelled to the Colombian Amazon in search of oo-koo-hé, a plant preparation containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Instead, they found fields of Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms, which became the focus of their expedition. They believed that these mushrooms could grant them access to the collective memory of the human species, which they referred to as the Philosopher's Stone.
In 1976, Terence and Dennis McKenna co-authored the 'Magic Mushroom Growers Guide' under the pseudonyms OT Oss and ON Oeric. The book provided a simple process for growing psilocybe mushrooms from spores in glass jars, making these psychedelic mushrooms more accessible to the public. The guide was a significant contribution to the advancement of culture and the rebirth of the mushroom religion, as it placed the knowledge of mushroom cultivation into the public domain.
The McKenna brothers also co-authored another book, 'The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching', inspired by their experiences in the Amazon.
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Dennis has advocated for the responsible use of psychedelics and has studied their therapeutic uses
Dennis McKenna is an American ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer, and author. He is the brother of Terence McKenna, a well-known proponent of psychedelics. Together, the brothers developed a technique for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms and published their findings in the book "Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide" under the pseudonyms OT Oss and ON Oeric.
Dennis McKenna has advocated for the responsible use of psychedelics and has studied their therapeutic uses. He is a founding board member and the director of ethnopharmacology at the Heffter Research Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating the potential therapeutic applications of psychedelic medicines. His research has contributed to the development of natural products and increased awareness of natural medicines.
In his work, McKenna has explored the therapeutic potential of psychedelic plants and substances. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Amazon, studying the indigenous use of plants for healing. This work culminated in the BioGnosis project, an initiative to preserve and digitize a collection of 150,000 biological specimens from an Amazonian herbarium in Iquitos, Peru. The project aims to document the traditional knowledge of plant-based medicines and ensure their preservation for future generations.
McKenna has also authored numerous scientific articles and books on the subject of psychedelics and their therapeutic potential. He co-authored "The Invisible Landscape" with his brother Terence and "Botanical Medicines: The Desk Reference for Major Herbal Supplements" with Kenneth Jones and Kerry Hughes. Additionally, he has been a senior lecturer at the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a senior research scientist for the Natural Health Products Research Group at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
While Dennis McKenna has advocated for responsible psychedelic use, his brother Terence became known as the "'Timothy Leary of the '90s" and the "intellectual voice of rave culture." Terence's psychedelic experiences, including a profound trip in 1989, shaped his views and led him to explore concepts such as trans-dimensional travel, encounters with higher-dimensional entities, and the idea of psychedelics as "doorways into the Gaian mind." Terence advocated for what he called heroic doses of psychedelics, believing they could facilitate profound visionary experiences.
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Terence McKenna's alleged final trip with magic mushrooms in 1989 was so bad that he never took them again
Terence McKenna was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He wrote and spoke about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, ethnomycology, environmentalism, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.
McKenna formulated a concept about the nature of time based on fractal patterns he claimed to have discovered in the I Ching, which he called novelty theory. He also proposed the controversial "stoned ape" theory, arguing that psychedelics catalyzed human evolution, language, and culture.
In 1989, Terence McKenna had a bad trip on magic mushrooms that was so earth-shattering that he never took psilocybin again for the rest of his life. However, he did continue to use psychedelics on occasion, including LSD and DMT. He also continued to advocate for the exploration of altered states of mind via the ingestion of naturally occurring psychedelic substances, such as high doses of psychedelic mushrooms, ayahuasca, and DMT.
McKenna always stressed the responsible use of psychedelic substances, recommending what he called heroic doses, which involved chewing five grams of mushrooms, lying down in darkness and silence, and expecting a profound visionary experience. He believed that psychedelics enabled individuals to encounter higher dimensional entities or communicate with the "Gaian mind."
Despite his advocacy for psychedelic exploration, McKenna faced criticism from some who accused him of promoting dangerous ideas and questioned his sanity. Nonetheless, he gained a following and became a countercultural icon in the 1980s and '90s, delivering lectures and publishing influential books on psychedelics and related topics.
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Terence believed that psilocybe mushrooms played a role in the development of Neolithic cultures
Terence McKenna was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He believed that psilocybin mushrooms played a significant role in the evolution of human consciousness, culture, and society. This belief led to his development of the “stoned ape” theory, which proposes that the consumption of psychedelic mushrooms, specifically Psilocybe cubensis, by early humans was a crucial catalyst for cognitive development and the emergence of Neolithic cultures.
McKenna argued that the ingestion of psilocybin mushrooms provided an evolutionary advantage to humans' omnivorous hunter-gatherer ancestors. He suggested that the mushrooms enhanced their hunting skills, improved their visual acuity, increased their libido, and positively impacted their energy levels, leading to greater reproductive success. According to McKenna, this theory was supported by studies from Hungarian-American psychopharmacologist Roland L. Fischer, dating back to the 1960s and 1970s.
The "stoned ape" theory, first introduced in McKenna's 1992 book "Food of the Gods," posits that the cognitive revolution, which marked significant mental strides in humans, was fuelled by the inclusion of psilocybin mushrooms in the human diet around 100,000 years ago. McKenna believed that these mushrooms were the "evolutionary catalyst" responsible for the development of language, imagination, the arts, religion, philosophy, science, and all aspects of human culture. He suggested that the regular consumption of psychedelic mushrooms by early humans as they spread into new territories aided their adaptation to changing circumstances.
While McKenna's theory has gained popularity within psychedelic culture, it has received criticism and scepticism from the scientific community. Some critics argue that the theory lacks sufficient scientific evidence and cite discrepancies between McKenna's interpretations and the actual findings of the studies he referenced, particularly those of Roland Fischer et al. Additionally, critics have questioned his sanity and accused him of promoting dangerous ideas related to substance use.
Despite the controversy, Terence McKenna's work has had a significant impact on the perception of psychedelic substances and their potential benefits. His advocacy for responsible use and belief in the therapeutic and transformative power of psilocybin mushrooms have influenced a community of individuals who have followed his recommendations for experiencing the effects of these substances.
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Terence believed that psychedelics could induce visions of extra-terrestrial visitors and spacecraft
Terence Kemp McKenna was an American ethnobotanist and mystic who advocated for the responsible use of naturally occurring psychedelic plants and mushrooms. He wrote and spoke about a variety of subjects, including psychedelic drugs, plant-based entheogens, shamanism, metaphysics, alchemy, language, philosophy, culture, technology, and the theoretical origins of human consciousness.
McKenna believed that psychedelics could induce visions of extra-terrestrial visitors and spacecraft. In the introduction to the "Mushroom Grower's Guide" booklet, he described a vision he received, which may have been the core and guiding vision of his life. He saw the interstellar origin of the mycelial nets, which he believed to be the true body of the mushrooms. These mycelial networks, he claimed, seek out habitable planets to enter into symbiotic communication and exchange with intelligent species, providing them with access to a "community of galactic intelligence."
McKenna's belief in the extra-terrestrial origin of mycelial nets and his emphasis on the symbiotic interactions of fungi with other species are ideas that are uniquely attributed to him. He also proposed that psychedelics were "doorways into the Gaian mind," suggesting that "the planet has a kind of intelligence, it can actually open a channel of communication with an individual human being," and that psychedelic plants facilitated this communication.
McKenna's interest in UFOs and extra-terrestrial culture and contact is consistent with the growing interest in these topics during the second half of the 20th century, alongside other movements of consciousness expansion, such as shamanism, spiritual practices, and higher states of consciousness. Harvard psychiatrist John Mack, in his book "Passport to the Cosmos," supported the idea that experiences with Amazonian hallucinogenic vines and mushrooms could facilitate or induce visions of extra-terrestrial visitors and spacecraft. This notion is also reflected in the art of Pablo Amaringo, a Peruvian ayahuasquero who painted hundreds of visionary experiences, many of which included encounters with extra-terrestrial craft.
McKenna's theories on psychedelics and their potential to induce extra-terrestrial visions were influenced by his own psychedelic experiences, such as his early experience with morning glory seeds, which showed him "that there was something there worth pursuing." He also conducted a psychedelic experiment with his brother, Dennis McKenna, in the Colombian Amazon, where they sought to "bond harmine DNA with their own neural DNA" using specific vocal techniques. This experience led him to explore the structure of an early form of the I Ching, resulting in his "Novelty Theory."
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Dennis McKenna has taken mushrooms. He is an ethnopharmacologist and author who has written extensively about psychedelic plants and mushrooms.
Yes, he co-authored the book "Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide" with his brother Terence McKenna. He has also authored numerous scientific articles and books on the subject.
Dennis McKenna is the brother of Terence McKenna, a well-known proponent of psychedelics. They collaborated on several projects and wrote the book "The Invisible Landscape" together.
Dennis McKenna has a Master's degree in botany and a doctorate in botanical sciences. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in the Amazon and has been a lecturer and senior research scientist at various institutions. He is also a founding board member and director of ethnopharmacology at the Heffter Research Institute.
