The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching – The McKennas' Foundational Work on Altered States and Shamanism

_The Invisible Landscape_ by Terence and Dennis Mckenna is a highly modernized, up-to-date version of Jungian psychotherapy with an emphasis on brain-chemistry at the molecular level. Mckenna has fascinating theories on the nuances and inner workings of the subatomic particles within the DNA molecules in the human brain. According to Mckenna, the behavior of the atoms within our DNA actually determines the very nature of our conscious existence. Specifically, the patterns in which the electrons orbit the atomic nuclei in our DNA atoms form an Analog representation of what we are seeing; the electrons themselves move in such a manner as to create a type of morse-code which translates our sense perceptions into conscious being. This "analog theory of the brain" represents the crowning achievement of this book. The vibrations of the subtomic particles in our brain create reality in the same way in which digital and analog code create images on a computer screen. But all of this has yet to be proved. Nevertheless, _The Invisible Landscape_ is a modern masterpiece of speculative philosophy/psychology. It represents the outermost reaches of far-seeing speculative theory. It is, therefore, a welcome departure from more conservative forms of thinking. Terence Mckenna also tries his hand at claivoyant soothsaying, providing the reader with his own unique doomsday prophecy loosely based on the hexagrams of the I-Ching. This so-called "timewave zero" graph maps the cycles of cultural and social "novelty" mankind has experienced over history. Suffice it to say that this theory is still open to debate. Overall, the analog theory of mind, along with the "holographic theory of mind", make this book worth reading. _The Invisible Landscape_ is a hidden gem of psychological theory that should not be overlooked. Even though its emphasis is on complex molecular theories, it is quite readable and entertaining. It is geared toward the literary mind as well as the scientific mind, so I would recommend it to any ambitious reader regardless of their experience in neurology or chemistry.

This is a classic McKenna book on how psychedelics can assist us in seeing the larger cosmic picture of the universe and the fantastical possibilities of what our world can actually be, rather than the state that it's in today. As we are on the precipice between a horrific hell dimension and the potential to enter into a rebirth of our ancestral ways for a new era, his works are more important today than ever before.

I have considered Terence to be a Saint to me for years, my mission is the same as his, and I will always love that man. The interesting thing: If you are familiar with McKenna at all, then you will understand the nature and gravity of my pre-owned copy being SIGNED BY TERENCE. There is logistical way that should have happened, but it sure does feel like a nod from Terence himself. looking at the indentations of the ballpoint pen is mind-blowing to me considering how important his work is to me.

This book is a phenomenal read, a lot of informative topics that anyone would love to read about

This is a profound book with a lot of technical language that can prove heavy wading for non-scientists, but it contains many insights into the nature of reality and suggests several paths for future explorers to take.

The Invisible Landscape offers a perspective on a wide variety of topics, most of them being classifed as "strange" or "out there." Within the psychedelic experience is a thoroughbred expostion to everything around you, and to take in what is actually happenening within your mind. I believe this book is titled "The Invisible Landscape" for a very visible reason, because these periscopes of consciousness are otherwise forlorn and misconstrued when they have not been explored. Within these pages you will learn about Shamanism and McKenna's reference to modern day Shamans and Schizophrenics, as well as an understanding of the composition of psychedelic compounds like mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and ibogaine. McKenna's point is that these compounds share a relation with the neuro-receptors in our brains, thus the reason for them actually working when we take them, and thus the significance of the drug. I will not say this is a "how to" book, but more so a book for the experienced tripper, for the ones who want to know exactly what is going on in their brain when under the influence of said psychedelic compounds.

Excellent Book... I recommend it to everyone... A little weird sometimes how the authors mix psychedelics with atoms and the brain complex... Unique... Buy it... This will be a classic in someyears... Maybe it is...

I got the revised updated edition by dennis mckenna

I wished we had someone like Terence around today, what a great thinker he was. This is a brilliant book, well written and covers the subject matter.

Thank you Terence

Je n'ai pas pu garder le livre reçu abimé, mais j'ai pu le feuilleter : grand décollage, incroyable lecture pour les personnes interessées par le psychotropes et le I Ching. Un livre alien qui vaut de n'en comprendre que la moitié !

The Invisible landscape by Terence and Dennis McKenna is a very original and unusual book. From a daring shamanistic experiment with hallucinogenic compounds they arrived at insights about a holographic temporal wave (called "time wave zero") based on a fractal of cycles which they could derive from the I Ching. The first part of the book is about the experiment the brothers McKenna undertook in La Chorrera in the Amazon in which they took a mixture of Ayahuasca and hallucinogenic mushrooms. This led to an enhanced perception of the so-called audible effect during such experiences. Interestingly the book attacks the induction based method of science to replace it with a holographic theory of mind and existence. This is a necessary step to come to their speculative theories about how the audible effect could have been generated by intercalation of neurotransmitter-like hallucinogenic tryptamine compounds in DNA or RNA in conjunction with ESR signals thereby generated, which might have been the cause of the sounds. The second part of the book is about the insights gathered during this experiment in relation to how the I Ching pattern is related to a nested fractal of time waves. Although the present day understanding how neurotransmitters and their hallucinogenic mimics has shown that these interactions occur via protein based receptors in the synaptic membrane, effects of intercalation in nucleic acids are not to be excluded. Unfortunately as of yet nobody has tested whether the proposed ESR effect does occur in vivo. The idea of recurrent waves of novelty in a kind of nested time fractal is plausibly explained and demonstrated on the basis of key events in evolution and history. The calibration point of 21-12-2012 as end point of time wave zero apparently seems to have been too much of a wishful thinking association, as our current state of affairs shows that novelty waves are continuing as usual and have not yet culminated in a singularity. Interestingly, the book shows how hallucinogenic compounds from plants and mushrooms can reveal archetypical information which relays the collective unconscious via the neurological level to the genetic level and vice versa. This strongly reminds me of Leary's "neurogenetic circuit" and the more modern insights disclosed in Tsang's "Fractal Brain Theory". Finally, not the least important, this book not only speaks about the Eschaton as a universal and fractal morphogenetic field, which unfolds the predispositions of space and time, but also as the Eschatological scheme in which the advent of a final time, a time of concrescence of the density of novelty ingression results in the culmination of the human process resulting in the completion of the perfect artifact in which spirit and matter achieve a perfect union whereby the Transcendent object at the end of time stands revealed as the transcendent subject, which is also the Eschaton, thus implicitly arriving at the union of knower, knowing and known (in my interpretation). A challenging denial of simple materialistic reductionism, in which matter is merely a standing wave form of all-encompassing light of spirit, leading to a visionary apotheosis where matter and spirit/mind are no longer mutually exclusive grounds of existence but different sides of the same coin. A fascinating journey through the realms of shamanism, showing that the insights of the shaman are not schizophrenic or psychotic rantings but a true mastery, a supra normal level of ability where the adept has conquered the demons of the multiplicity of forms and emerges as a messenger between the realms of spirit and matter. Insights, which will make you travel through biology, chemistry, physics, general systems theory, psychology, evolution, history, semiotics and semantics. From insectoid cybernetics to hypercomplex technology showing us a foretaste of the inner divinity we may one day reveal in ourselves. A book I will not easily forget.

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