--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All psychedelic explorers should be aware…" description: "\"All psychedelic explorers should be aware of the concept of what is called a cognitive hallucination. The is a much more insidious phenomenon. This is,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/terence-mckenna-287_cognitive_all-psychedelic-explorers-should-be-awar_1853456.png" --- # All psychedelic explorers should be aware of the concept… ![“All psychedelic explorers should be aware of the concept of what is called a cognitive hallucination. The is a much more insidious phenomenon. This is, quite simply, an out-and-out delusion.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/terence-mckenna-287_cognitive_all-psychedelic-explorers-should-be-awar_1853456.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/terence-mckenna-287_cognitive_all-psychedelic-explorers-should-be-awar_1853456.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f02/terence-mckenna-287_cognitive_all-psychedelic-explorers-should-be-awar_1853456.png) > “All psychedelic explorers should be aware of the concept of what is called a cognitive hallucination. The is a much more insidious phenomenon. This is, quite simply, an out-and-out delusion.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cognitive hallucination is a subtle, self‑reinforcing delusion that can mislead psychedelic experiences. **In simple terms:** A hidden delusion can distort psychedelic insight. Key Takeaway Stay critical and grounded while exploring altered states. Themes psychology psychedelia critical thinking Mood cautious reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - research labs - personal meditation - creative brainstorming Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑deception perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you verify insights gained under psychedelics? - What safeguards can prevent delusional thinking? A Different Perspective Even aware, the mind can fabricate convincing false narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Delusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion/) [Execution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/execution/) [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [Hallucination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucination/) [Hallucinations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinations/) [Insidious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insidious/) [Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenon/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) ## Related quotes > [What we call reality is in fact nothing more than a culturally sanctioned and linguistically reinforced hallucination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-we-call-reality-is-in-fact-nothing-more-than-a-culturally/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you sit down with a person, or a watermelon for that matter, when you're stoned and sing into it, the quality of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-sit-down-with-a-person-or-a-watermelon-for-that-matter-when/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [A hallucination is a species of reality, as capable of teaching you as a videotape about Kilimanjaro or anything else that falls through your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/a-hallucination-is-a-species-of-reality-as-capable-of-teaching-you-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you actually look at the etymology of the word 'hallucination', what it's come to mean in English is a delusion. But what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-actually-look-at-the-etymology-of-the-word-hallucination-what/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“I believe there's nothing in hallucinations that has anything to do with anything external to the internal psychological state of the person who's got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-feynman/i-believe-there-s-nothing-in-hallucinations-that-has-anything-to-do/) [Richard Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-feynman/) > [Having a vision for what you want is not enough...Vision without execution is hallucination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/having-a-vision-for-what-you-want-is-not-enough-vision-without/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [The Photograph is an extended, loaded evidence — as if it caricatured not the figure of what it represents (quite the converse) but its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-photograph-is-an-extended-loaded-evidence-as-if-it-caricatured/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [Modern humans became fixated on a collective hallucination of linear time, ignoring the fractal spirals of the surrounding universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/modern-humans-became-fixated-on-a-collective-hallucination-of-linear/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [“At this point, the sequence of my memories is disrupted. 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For many years I have thought about creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-graff/the-graff-hallucination-is-a-sculptural-masterpiece-a-celebration-of/) [Laurence Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-graff/) > [Memory creates a hallucination of the past, desire creates a hallucination of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/memory-creates-a-hallucination-of-the-past-desire-creates-a/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [I'm not completely sure we aren't all living in a hallucination now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/i-m-not-completely-sure-we-aren-t-all-living-in-a-hallucination-now/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## 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. 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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. 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