When you take a strong psychedelic drug, you may expect to see some unusual things, but one chemical, in particular, has developed a reputation for being a portal to a bizarre dimension populated by mysterious “entities.” DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, is a mind-altering substance that frequently causes realistic encounters with extraterrestrial beings, including those famously described as “self-transforming machine elves” by ethnobotanist Terrence Mckenna. Scientists are currently striving to understand more about the nature of these psychedelic characters. In addition, produces this strangely common experience, given the nearly comparable DMT creatures reported by unrelated persons all across the world. Dr. David Luke, associate professor of psychology at Greenwich University and author of a new book on DMT entity encounters, is one of the investigators.
He told IFLScience that “encounters are fairly prevalent,” and that “you get them more often than not with a high dose of DMT.” “There is a huge degree of diversity,” Luke says of these entities, “but there are also some recurring motifs that tend to come up more than would appear totally random.” “‘Little people,’ whether elves, dwarfs, or pixies, among the most common.” That is not to imply that everyone who uses the medicine gets to encounter these tiny creatures. “Giant praying mantises” are another creature called by DMT, who are frequently seen “reaching over you and performing some strange operation on your brain.”
“The praying mantises are almost always emotionless, and it can feel like people are being farmed for their emotions by them,” Luke explains. While this may sound like a nightmare scenario, according to a recent study co-authored by Luke, the majority of individuals believe these entities are “benevolent,” with only 8% believing they are “malicious.” Larger research at Johns Hopkins University found similar results, with 78 percent of participants encountering “benevolent” entities and 70 percent describing them as “holy.”
The Johns Hopkins researchers polled 2,561 DMT users, and 65 percent stated their experience was “joyful,” 63 percent said their experience was “trustful,” and 59 percent said their experience was “loveful.” Meanwhile, a small percentage of respondents expressed negative feelings such as despair, disgust, and wrath. Many people claimed to have received communications from these creatures regarding the nature of reality, while others claimed to have gained mundane insights, such as one person received NFL rules instruction. “People have significant encounters on the overall,” Luke says. “There’s a sense of depth even if there’s no clear meaning.”
He goes on to say, “DMT experiences can translate pretty forcefully into philosophical and theological transformations.” Indeed, more than half of those who classified as atheists before their encounter no longer did so afterward, according to the Johns Hopkins study. As improbable as it may seem 81 percent of respondents stated their meeting seemed “more real” than anything they had ever encountered before, with two-thirds believing in the reality of these entities even after the drug’s effects had worn off. So, what exactly is going on? DMT really a hotline to a cabaret of extraterrestrials, or are these sensations simply the result of abnormal brain activity?
