Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
by Terence McKenna
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Book Summary Information
Author: Terence McKennaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-01-01
ISBN: 0553371304
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Bantam
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780553371307
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
Book Review: Why You Should Take This Seriously: A Message To All The Haters
Summary: 5 Stars
The following review has special application to those who would seek to dismiss this book out-of-hand once they get an inkling of the controversial positions it describes. My questions and comments to these people are as follows:
Have you read it? Have you read Eisler's "The Chalice And The Blade", the anthropological text upon which McKenna bases much of his argument? Lastly, and most importantly, have you experienced psilocybin (the 5 dried gram dosage recommended by the author)? Have you ever tried to induce a mystical experience with the use of this sacred medicine? If not, then what makes you think you have a leg to stand on? Apparently, this is an experience which you won't even allow to be included in your model of the world. And, yet, did you happen to notice the cultural revolution in civil rights and anti-war sentiment which occurred during America's brief exposure to psychedelics?
Are you at all familiar with shamanism, the oldest form of spiritual practice on the planet? Have you researched the various indigenous societies around the world which have been safely utilizing plant allies for centuries, if not millenia? Are you familiar with their peaceful way of life? They work an average of sixteen hours a day -- they aren't slaves to a fanatical work ethic. They don't promote a way of life which entails the massive waste of human and environmental resources, and the accumulation of untold tons of junk. They never posed a threat to the survival of all animal life on this planet, as we're doing now. They don't live superficial, unreflective, spiritually-bankrupt lives, as the vast majority of Americans do. They wouldn't know the meaning of a "post-modern existential crisis". These people never fell from grace. They're dancing in the Garden of Eden as we speak. That doesn't interest you??
Psychedelics may seem to be a fringe issue, existing in the margins of human experience, but in many cultures, and for thousands of years, they are or have been recognized as a central part of how we establish harmonious conditions within ourselves, between each other, and in the natural world. "It is no measure of health, to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society." (~ Jiddu Krishnamurti)
McKenna traces the history of man from a unique perspective, drawing attention to a previously neglected, yet formidable, dimension of human experience; namely, our relation to the plant kingdom. He illustrates, with the exactness and discipline of a true scholar, how we have co-evolved with certain plant species, and how human consciousness has (and, consequently, how human events have) shifted in relation to the chemicals we have sanctioned. The abiding interest of mankind in experiencing novel tastes and states of consciousness is, for McKenna, something we need to acknowledge and come to terms with, if we are to reach the next stage of evolution. Just as sexuality was demonized and repressed during Victorian times, our culture is demonizing and repressing the natural human urge to experiment with, and to expand, uncommon states of consciousness through the ingesting of psychedelic compounds.
As philosopher Alan Watts wrote in his book "The Joyous Cosmology; Adventures in The Chemistry of Consciousness": "There is no difference in principle between sharpening perception with an external instrument, such as a microscope, and sharpening it with an internal instrument such as one of these... If they are an affront to the dignity of the mind, the microscope is an affront to the dignity of the eye and the telephone to the dignity of the ear."
I suggest you look into the recent study conducted by John's Hopkins University, in which psilocybin was administered to subjects who subsequently rated it among the five most significant and transformative experiences of their lives. Rigorous scientific evidence now exists to support the claim that states of awareness induced by psilocybin are indistinguishable from those experienced by the great saints and mystics of all time. I submit to you that there is nothing more humble than a mushroom, and that nothing is more humbling than finding God in a mushroom. "The fool laughs when he hears the way. If the fool did not laugh, it wouldn't be the way." (~ Lao Tzu) In short, your dismissive scoffing is grossly insufficient to dispute the solid evidence in support of these claims.
McKenna has given us a work, the true importance of which can hardly be overestimated. Like many great visionaries, he did not receive the credit due to him while he was alive. We can only hope that, for the sake of life on this planet, his work will eventually receive the recognition owed to it. Karmically speaking. ;)
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Summary of Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution
For the first time in trade paperback, the critically acclaimed counterculture manifesto by the wildly popular McKenna. "Deserves to be a modern classic on mind-altering drugs and hallucinogens."--The Washington Post. Photos and illustrations.History Books
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