034 | Dennis McKenna on His Life with Terence McKenna, Research, and Psychedelics for A Symbiotic Planet
“Psychedelics are co-evolutionary catalysts. In traditional cultures, the people talk about psychedelics as teachers; the plants that teach.”
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In this episode we talk about:
Dennis’ youth with his brother, Terence McKenna, and introduction to cannabis and psychedelics
The McKenna Brothers’ approach to psychedelic journeying
Soul Retrieval and Shamanism
Publishing the first user guide about growing psilocybin mushrooms in America
Dennis’ education, research history and experience in studying ethnopharmacology
The role of psychedelics as a tools for co-evolution between humanity and the planet
The Stone Ape Theory and The Gaia Hypothesis
How psychedelics help us to learn from nature and move into symbiosis and collaboration and away from the “conflict” model
LISTEN
“Many people have these profound psychedelic experiences related to the planetary crises that we’re experiencing right now, and I don’t think that this is an accident.”
Where to find out more about Dr. Dennis McKenna:
Dennis McKenna has conducted research in ethnopharmacology for over 40 years. He is a founding board member of the Heffter Research Institute, and was a key investigator on the Hoasca Project, the first biomedical investigation of ayahuasca. He is the younger brother of Terence McKenna. From 2000 to 2017, he taught courses on Ethnopharmacology and Plants in Human affairs as an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota. In the spring of 2019, in collaboration with colleagues in Canada and the US, he incorporated a new non-profit, the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy.
“Use the psychedelics as a way to open your eyes to nature and the way it works. If you look at nature, it works through symbiosis and collaboration.”