The suppression of altered states of consciousness contributes to environmental degradation by fostering maladaptive social behaviors.
Claims
The suppression of altered states of consciousness contributes to environmental degradation by fostering maladaptive social behaviors.
Parent: Environmental IssuesEntity: Altered States of ConsciousnessImpact: negativeDate: Apr 22, 2026Target: The suppression of altered states of consciousness
Source posts
"The suppression of the natural human fascination with altered states of consciousness and the present perilous situation of all life on earth are intimately and causally connected. When we suppress access to shamanic ecstasy, we close off the refreshing waters of emotion that flow from having a deeply bonded, almost symbiotic relationship to the earth. As a consequence, the maladaptive social styles that encourage overpopulation, resource mismanagement, and environmental toxification develop and maintain themselves. No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We pursue a business-as-usual attitude in a surreal atmosphere of mounting crises and irreconcilable contradictions....
Our culture, self-toxified by the poisonous by-products of technology and egocentric ideology, is the unhappy inheritor of the dominator attitude that alteration of consciousness by the use of plants or substances is somehow wrong, onanistic, and perversely antisocial. I will argue that suppression of shamanic gnosis, with its reliance and insistence on ecstatic dissolution of the ego, has robbed us of life's meaning and made us enemies of the planet, of ourselves, and our grandchildren. We are killing the planet in order to keep intact the wrongheaded assumptions of the ego-dominator cultural style."
It is time for change...
- Extract from the Introduction to 'Food of the Gods' by Terence McKenna
warchild. 18x24''. pencil drawing. adam sturch.
Smashing Pumpkins, Today
https://youtu.be/2eZsAHvBom4
1 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 22, 2026
"The suppression of the natural human fascination with altered states of consciousness and the present perilous situation of all life on earth are intimately and causally connected. When we suppress access to shamanic ecstasy, we close off the refreshing waters of emotion that flow from having a deeply bonded, almost symbiotic relationship to the earth. As a consequence, the maladaptive social styles that encourage overpopulation, resource mismanagement, and environmental toxification develop and maintain themselves. No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We pursue a business-as-usual attitude in a surreal atmosphere of mounting crises and irreconcilable contradictions....
Our culture, self-toxified by the poisonous by-products of technology and egocentric ideology, is the unhappy inheritor of the dominator attitude that alteration of consciousness by the use of plants or substances is somehow wrong, onanistic, and perversely antisocial. I will argue that suppression of shamanic gnosis, with its reliance and insistence on ecstatic dissolution of the ego, has robbed us of life's meaning and made us enemies of the planet, of ourselves, and our grandchildren. We are killing the planet in order to keep intact the wrongheaded assumptions of the ego-dominator cultural style."
It is time for change...
- Extract from the Introduction to 'Food of the Gods' by Terence McKenna
warchild. 18x24''. pencil drawing. adam sturch.
Smashing Pumpkins, Today
https://youtu.be/2eZsAHvBom4
1 boosts · 0 favs · 0 replies · Apr 22, 2026