--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But a mature humanity could get into a…" description: "\"But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come along ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg" --- # But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no… ![“But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come along every thousand years or so to mess up the mess that has been created and try and send people off on another tack. And the way to do this is to look…” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg) > “But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come along every thousand years or so to mess up the mess that has been created and try and send people off on another tack. And the way to do this is to look at the abysses that confront man as species and individuals and try to unify them. And I think that psilocybin offers a way out because it allows a dialogue with the over-mind. You won't read about it in "Scientific American" or anywhere else. You will carry it out.” [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. The speaker argues that humanity can move beyond mythic saviors by confronting deep existential voids, and that psilocybin can facilitate a dialogue with a collective consciousness. **In simple terms:** Psychedelics may help humanity face existential challenges without mythic crutches. Key Takeaway Explore consciousness responsibly with psilocybin. Themes spirituality psychology human evolution mythology Mood inquisitive hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - research trials - cultural integration Key Concepts psychedelic therapy collective mind existential inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What ethical safeguards are needed for psychedelic use? - Can collective consciousness be scientifically studied? A Different Perspective Legal and safety concerns limit widespread use. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialogue/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Flying saucers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying-saucers/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature/) [Mature Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature-humanity-4097199/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) [Messiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messiah/) [Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysical/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Offers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psilocybin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psilocybin/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Required Metaphysical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/required-metaphysical-4097200/) [Spanking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spanking/) [Species](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/species/) [Think Psilocybin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-psilocybin-4097198/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [Modernity is a desert, and we are jungle monkeys. And so new evolutionary selective pressures are coming to bear upon the human situation, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/modernity-is-a-desert-and-we-are-jungle-monkeys-and-so-new/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [When we look within ourselves with psilocybin, we discover that we do not have to look outward toward the futile promise of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/when-we-look-within-ourselves-with-psilocybin-we-discover-that-we-do/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the key. If you get into deep water with these substances, this is true of psilocybin as well, you don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-key-if-you-get-into-deep-water-with-these-substances-this/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The traditional manner of taking psilocybin is to take a very healthy dose, in the vicinity of 15 mg. on an empty stomach in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-traditional-manner-of-taking-psilocybin-is-to-take-a-very-healthy/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [To me it begins and ends with these psychedelic substances. The synergy of the psilocybin in the hominid diet brought us out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/to-me-it-begins-and-ends-with-these-psychedelic-substances-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psychedelic drugs, especially psilocybin, allow a searchlight to be thrown on these deeper levels of the psyche, as Jung correctly stated. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-drugs-especially-psilocybin-allow-a-searchlight-to-be/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [At still higher doses psilocybin triggers this activity in the language-forming capacity of the brain that manifests as song and vision. Psilocybin may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/at-still-higher-doses-psilocybin-triggers-this-activity-in-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psilocybin, tryptamine, is in my opinion the means to eliminating the future by becoming cognizant of the architecture of eternity, which is modulating time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psilocybin-tryptamine-is-in-my-opinion-the-means-to-eliminating-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Sometime in the last 50,000 years, before 12,000 years ago, a kind of paradise came into existence. A situation in which men and women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/sometime-in-the-last-50-000-years-before-12-000-years-ago-a-kind-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Flying saucers are nothing more than miracles, and they occur essentially to bedevil science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/flying-saucers-are-nothing-more-than-miracles-and-they-occur/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“In pharmaceutical speak, psilocybin is known as an asshole inhibitor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/in-pharmaceutical-speak-psilocybin-is-known-as-an-asshole-inhibitor/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Mexico, as it was in the 1970s—and isn’t now—was my Paris. With Mexicans, Europeans, and Americans I celebrated life and the journey, which took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-west/mexico-as-it-was-in-the-1970s-and-isn-t-now-was-my-paris-with/) [Mason West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-west/) > [“In an effort to justify the prohibition of 186 species of mushroom, including the ‘offending’ psilocybin containing mushrooms sold to the public through smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/in-an-effort-to-justify-the-prohibition-of-186-species-of-mushroom/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [I've never been a religious person. I've been a spiritual person since I was about 15, 16, when I was first introduced to Psilocybin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macklemore/i-ve-never-been-a-religious-person-i-ve-been-a-spiritual-person-since/) [Macklemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macklemore/) > [“But if they don’t try a psychedelic like psilocybin or LSD at least once in their adult lives, I will wonder whether they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-if-they-don-t-try-a-psychedelic-like-psilocybin-or-lsd-at-least/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## 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/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from messiahs and flying saucers that come along every thousand years or so to mess up the mess that has been created and try and send people off on another tack. And the way to do this is to look at the abysses that confront man as species and individuals and try to unify them. And I think that psilocybin offers a way out because it allows a dialogue with the over-mind. You won't read about it in \"Scientific American\" or anywhere else. You will carry it out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abyss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c2/terence-mckenna-287_abyss_but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-p_2085666.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But a mature humanity could get into a place where we no longer required these metaphysical spankings from…” — Terence McKenna", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But a mature humanity could get...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/but-a-mature-humanity-could-get-into-a-place-where-we-no-longer/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```