--- title: "10 Shaman Quotes By Terence McKenna" description: "10 Shaman quotes by Terence McKenna. Plus more from Terence McKenna and more Shaman sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png" --- > [The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a-madman-he-is-a-sick-man-who/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png) > [The central figure in the archaic revival is the shaman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-revival-is-the-shaman/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/terence-mckenna-287_archaic_the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-reviva_1872823.png) > [The shaman is the figure at the beginning of human history that unites the doctor, the scientist and the artist into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginning-of-human-history-that/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/terence-mckenna-287_artist_the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginnin_766850.png) > [In a way, this is a definition of shamanism. A shaman is a person who by some means has gotten out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/in-a-way-this-is-a-definition-of-shamanism-a-shaman-is-a-person-who/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/terence-mckenna-287_culture_in-a-way-this-is-a-definition-of-shamani_289676.png) > [“It is of the first order of importance to remember this, that the shaman is more than merely a sick man, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-is-of-the-first-order-of-importance-to-remember-this-that-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7f/terence-mckenna-287_cure_it-is-of-the-first-order-of-importance-t_1114753.png) > [The shaman has access to a superhuman dimension and a superhuman condition, and by being able to do that he affirms the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-has-access-to-a-superhuman-dimension-and-a-superhuman/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20e/terence-mckenna-287_able_the-shaman-has-access-to-a-superhuman-di_2319432.png) > [The shaman is a very peculiar figure. He is critical to the functioning of the psychological and social life of his community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-a-very-peculiar-figure-he-is-critical-to-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9c/terence-mckenna-287_community_the-shaman-is-a-very-peculiar-figure-he_1904953.png) > [The shaman is a person who is able to transcend the dimensional confines of cultural existence. They know more than the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-transcend-the-dimensional/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/terence-mckenna-287_able_the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-tr_1711080.png) > [I don't think that mass drug taking is a good idea. But I think that we must have a deputized minority, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a-good-idea-but-i-think-that/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/terence-mckenna-287_black_i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a_2038173.jpg) > [“This is why the shaman is the remote ancestor of the poet and artist. Our need to feel part of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-ancestor-of-the-poet-and-artist/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/terence-mckenna-287_art_this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-anc_2929842.png) ## 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/shaman/terence-mckenna/#itemlist", "name": "10 Shaman Quotes By Terence McKenna", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a-madman-he-is-a-sick-man-who/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The shaman is not merely a sick man, or a madman; he is a sick man who has healed himself.” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The central figure in the archaic revival is the shaman.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-revival-is-the-shaman/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/terence-mckenna-287_archaic_the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-reviva_1872823.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/terence-mckenna-287_archaic_the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-reviva_1872823.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/terence-mckenna-287_archaic_the-central-figure-in-the-archaic-reviva_1872823.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The central figure in the archaic revival is the shaman.” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The shaman is the figure at the beginning of human history that unites the doctor, the scientist and the artist into a single notion of care-giving and creativity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginning-of-human-history-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/terence-mckenna-287_artist_the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginnin_766850.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/terence-mckenna-287_artist_the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginnin_766850.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/449/terence-mckenna-287_artist_the-shaman-is-the-figure-at-the-beginnin_766850.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The shaman is the figure at the beginning of human history that unites the doctor, the scientist and the…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a way, this is a definition of shamanism. 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He is critical to the functioning of the psychological and social life of his community, but in a way he is always peripheral to it. He lives at the edge of the village. He is only called upon in matters of great social crisis. He is feared and respected. 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That's how he can do his magic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-transcend-the-dimensional/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/terence-mckenna-287_able_the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-tr_1711080.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/terence-mckenna-287_able_the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-tr_1711080.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/terence-mckenna-287_able_the-shaman-is-a-person-who-is-able-to-tr_1711080.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The shaman is a person who is able to transcend the dimensional confines of cultural existence. They know…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think that mass drug taking is a good idea. But I think that we must have a deputized minority, a shamanic professional class if you will, whose job is to bring ideas out of the deep black water and show them off to the rest of us and perform for our culture some of the cultural functions that shaman perform in pre-literate cultures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a-good-idea-but-i-think-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/terence-mckenna-287_black_i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a_2038173.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/terence-mckenna-287_black_i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a_2038173.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/terence-mckenna-287_black_i-don-t-think-that-mass-drug-taking-is-a_2038173.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think that mass drug taking is a good idea. But I think that we must have a deputized minority, a…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is why the shaman is the remote ancestor of the poet and artist. Our need to feel part of the world seems to demand that we express ourselves through creative activity. The ultimate wellsprings of this creativity are hidden in the mystery of language. Shamanic ecstasy is an act of surrender that authenticates both the individual self and that which is surrendered to, the mystery of being. Because our maps of reality are determined by our present circumstances, we tend to lose awareness of the larger patterns of time and space. Only by gaining access to the Transcendent Other can those patterns of time and space and our role in them be glimpsed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-ancestor-of-the-poet-and-artist/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/terence-mckenna-287_art_this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-anc_2929842.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/terence-mckenna-287_art_this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-anc_2929842.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/218/terence-mckenna-287_art_this-is-why-the-shaman-is-the-remote-anc_2929842.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is why the shaman is the remote ancestor of the poet and artist. Our need to feel part of the world…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/terence-mckenna/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/terence-mckenna/", "name": "Shaman Quotes by Terence McKenna", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/terence-mckenna/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/terence-mckenna-287_healed_the-shaman-is-not-merely-a-sick-man-or-a_771713.png" }, "description": "10 Shaman quotes by Terence McKenna. Plus more from Terence McKenna and more Shaman sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/terence-mckenna/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/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": "Shaman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shaman/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 } } ] } ```