--- title: "6 Faster Quotes By Terence McKenna" description: "6 Faster quotes by Terence McKenna. Plus more from Terence McKenna and more Faster sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png" --- > [The culture cannot evolve faster than the language. The language is the flashlight that shows the path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-the-language-the-language-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png) > [One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force the evolution of language. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics-are-is-as-catalysts-for/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/terence-mckenna-287_accelerate_one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics_876980.png) > [Psychedelics can carry you farther and faster than most people care to go. Once you get to psychedelics, it's no longer a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-faster-than-most-people-care/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/terence-mckenna-287_answers_psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-f_1107449.jpg) > [We can move no faster than the evolution of our language, and this is certainly part of what the psychedelics are about:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution-of-our-language-and-this-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/terence-mckenna-287_evolution_we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution_1558080.png) > [We cannot evolve faster than our language. The edge of being is the edge of meaning, and somehow we have to push…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-language-the-edge-of-being-is-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/terence-mckenna-287_edge_we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-languag_2228125.png) > [Time is a topological manifold. It is a surface. Events flow across it like water over land and like water flowing over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-surface-events-flow-across-it/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terence-mckenna-287_activity_time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-s_2459088.png) ## Other authors on Faster ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/#itemlist", "name": "6 Faster Quotes By Terence McKenna", "numberOfItems": 6, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The culture cannot evolve faster than the language. The language is the flashlight that shows the path.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-the-language-the-language-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The culture cannot evolve faster than the language. The language is the flashlight that shows the path.” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force the evolution of language. You cannot evolve faster than your language because the language defines the culture of meaning. So if there's a way to accelerate the evolution of language then this is real consciousness expansion and it's a permanent thing. The great legacies of the 60's are in attitudes and language. It boils down to doing your own thing, feeling the vibe, ego-trip, blowing your mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics-are-is-as-catalysts-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/terence-mckenna-287_accelerate_one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics_876980.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/terence-mckenna-287_accelerate_one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics_876980.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/55d/terence-mckenna-287_accelerate_one-way-to-think-about-what-psychedelics_876980.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One way to think about what psychedelics are is as catalysts for language development. They literally force…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Psychedelics can carry you farther and faster than most people care to go. Once you get to psychedelics, it's no longer a matter of seeking the answer, you have found the answer. Now the issue changes dramatically, you must face the answer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-faster-than-most-people-care/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/terence-mckenna-287_answers_psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-f_1107449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/terence-mckenna-287_answers_psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-f_1107449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/terence-mckenna-287_answers_psychedelics-can-carry-you-farther-and-f_1107449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Psychedelics can carry you farther and faster than most people care to go. Once you get to psychedelics…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can move no faster than the evolution of our language, and this is certainly part of what the psychedelics are about: they force the evolution of language.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution-of-our-language-and-this-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/terence-mckenna-287_evolution_we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution_1558080.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/terence-mckenna-287_evolution_we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution_1558080.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b1/terence-mckenna-287_evolution_we-can-move-no-faster-than-the-evolution_1558080.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can move no faster than the evolution of our language, and this is certainly part of what the…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot evolve faster than our language. The edge of being is the edge of meaning, and somehow we have to push the edge of meaning. We have to extend it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-language-the-edge-of-being-is-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/terence-mckenna-287_edge_we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-languag_2228125.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/terence-mckenna-287_edge_we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-languag_2228125.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/711/terence-mckenna-287_edge_we-cannot-evolve-faster-than-our-languag_2228125.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We cannot evolve faster than our language. The edge of being is the edge of meaning, and somehow we have to…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Time is a topological manifold. It is a surface. Events flow across it like water over land and like water flowing over land, when the land is flat, the water becomes reflective and moves slowly. When the landscape becomes disrupted, the water moves faster and chaotic attractors appear and new kinds of activity emerge and out of that new activity, there comes the new states that define the future.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-surface-events-flow-across-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terence-mckenna-287_activity_time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-s_2459088.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terence-mckenna-287_activity_time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-s_2459088.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/terence-mckenna-287_activity_time-is-a-topological-manifold-it-is-a-s_2459088.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Time is a topological manifold. It is a surface. Events flow across it like water over land and like water…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/", "name": "Faster Quotes by Terence McKenna", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/terence-mckenna-287_culture_the-culture-cannot-evolve-faster-than-th_790968.png" }, "description": "6 Faster quotes by Terence McKenna. Plus more from Terence McKenna and more Faster sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Faster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/terence-mckenna/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```