(1)A clinical psychiatrist explores the effects of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known.
* A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of psychedelic research.
* Provides a unique scientific explanation for the phenomenon of alien abduction experiences.
From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted DEA-approved clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical that is also manufactured by the human brain, consistently produced out-of-body, near-death, and mystical experiences. Many volunteers reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences: angels, aliens, spirits. Nearly all agreed that the sessions were among the most intense experiences of their lives. Strassman's research connects dmt with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the sixth chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body and is an integral part of the birth and death experiences, as well as the highest states of meditation and even sexual transcendence. Strassman also believes that alien abduction experiences are brought on by accidental releases of DMT. If used wisely, dmt could trigger a period of remarkable progress in the scientific exploration of the most mystical regions of the human mind and soul.
"This book should be read by every medical student, doctor and present or potential patient. In other words, by all of us."
--Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of Love, Medicine and Miracles
Rule One for the neurologist in residence: "You ain't never the same when the air hits your brain." In this fascinating book, Dr. Frank Vertosick brings that fact to life through intimate portraits of patients and unsparing yet gripping descriptions of brain surgery.
With insight, humor, and poignancy, Dr. Vertosick chronicles his remarkable evolution from naive young intern to world-class neurosurgeon, where he faced, among other challenges, a six week-old infant with a tumor in her brain, a young man struck down in his prime by paraplegia, and a minister with a .22 caliber bullet lodged in his skull. In candid detail, WHEN THE AIR HITS YOUR BRAIN illuminates both the mysteries of the mind and the realities of the operating room.
"Riveting."
--Publishers Weekly
