Dying, by Alex Grey. In seeking to solve the mystery of the near-death experience, researchers have put forward a number of theories regarding possible causes, which range from Carl Sagans (rather weak) reliving the birth experience hypothesis through to a lack of oxygen, psychological dissociation, and neurochemical theories. In that latter area, two chemicals in particular have often been implicated: the psychedelics ketamine and dimethyltryptamine (DMT). In his seminal book DMT: The Spirit Molecule (subtitled A Doctors Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences), Dr. Rick Strassman suggested that after death, decomposing pineal tissue might empty DMT directly into the spinal fluid, allowing it to reach the brains sensory and emotional centers and causing residual awareness. The consequence of this flood of DMT upon our dying brain-based mind, Strassman wrote, is a pulling back of the veils normally hiding what Tibetan Buddhists call the bardo, or intermediary states between this life and the next. Michael Persinger and D.R. Hill have also argued that mystical experiences of all types (including NDEs) might be caused by circumstances that trigger the release of DMT from the pineal gland, and near-death experience researcher Pim van Lommel has written about the similarities between DMT trips and the NDE.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 21:14:20 +0000
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