--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I see the psychedelic experience as a…" description: "\"I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to explore their own mind.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png" --- # I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we… ![“I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to explore their own mind.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png) > “I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to explore their own mind.” [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. True freedom requires exploring one's mind, and psychedelic experiences are a natural right to that exploration. **In simple terms:** Exploring the mind is essential for a free society, and psychedelics help. Key Takeaway Embrace mental exploration responsibly. Themes freedom mind psychedelics rights Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative brainstorming - spiritual retreats - policy debates Key Concepts consciousness expansion personal liberty cultural norms Questions to Reflect On - What does mental freedom mean to you? - How can society balance safety with personal exploration? A Different Perspective Legal, and risks; not everyone can access safely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birthright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthright/) [Free society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-society/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-experience/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [I want to swim in the crevices of your mind and explore to see what I can find your mind washes up to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-lyzette/i-want-to-swim-in-the-crevices-of-your-mind-and-explore-to-see-what-i/) [Arianna Lyzette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-lyzette/) > [“Go be who you were meant to be, explore your mind, understand you are free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodmorning-gorgeous/go-be-who-you-were-meant-to-be-explore-your-mind-understand-you-are/) Goodmorning Gorgeous > [Explore your mind, discover yourself, then give the best that is in you to your age and to your world. There are heroic possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/explore-your-mind-discover-yourself-then-give-the-best-that-is-in-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Adventure awaits all who explore the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-hickman-d-o/adventure-awaits-all-who-explore-the-mind/) Irene Hickman D. O > [“To go out into nature is to explore the mind of the creator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/to-go-out-into-nature-is-to-explore-the-mind-of-the-creator/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you know the words that the world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-real-secret-of-magic-is-that-the-world-is-made-of-words-and-that/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Ultimately, I think, what the psychedelic experience may be is a higher topological manifold of temporality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/ultimately-i-think-what-the-psychedelic-experience-may-be-is-a-higher/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think that understanding man's place in nature is going to require integration of the psychedelic experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-think-that-understanding-man-s-place-in-nature-is-going-to-require/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I believe that what makes the psychedelic experience so central is that it is a connection into a larger modality of organization on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-believe-that-what-makes-the-psychedelic-experience-so-central-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What the psychedelic experience really is, is opening the doorway into a lost continent of the human mind, a continent that we have almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-the-psychedelic-experience-really-is-is-opening-the-doorway-into/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-world-is-in-crisis-because-of-the-absence-of-consciousness/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Certainly the central Platonic idea, which is the idea of the ideas, these archetypal forms which stand outside of time is one which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/certainly-the-central-platonic-idea-which-is-the-idea-of-the-ideas/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We have the tools, the intellect, the will to create a caring global culture. It isn't going to come without a recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-have-the-tools-the-intellect-the-will-to-create-a-caring-global/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is a general comment that you should take a committed dose of whatever it is you're taking so that there is no ambiguity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-a-general-comment-that-you-should-take-a-committed-dose-of/) [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/) ## 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 Birthright quotes > [“Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/do-not-trade-your-birthright-as-a-mother-for-some-bauble-of-passing/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [It is your birthright to live a life abundant in love. Make the commitment today to open your heart and let your love flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/it-is-your-birthright-to-live-a-life-abundant-in-love-make-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [Now, we are agreed, I and my destinies. The total world, Above, below, whate'er is seen or known, And all that men, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hartley-coleridge/now-we-are-agreed-i-and-my-destinies-the-total-world-above-below/) [Hartley Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hartley-coleridge/) > [“You're not like other Wasps." "Aren't I?" Aagen smiled, but it was a painful smile. "No doubt you've killed my kinsmen by the score."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-tchaikovsky/you-re-not-like-other-wasps-aren-t-i-aagen-smiled-but-it-was-a/) [Adrian Tchaikovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-tchaikovsky/) > [I believe that many lives around us now can reflect this strange pattern of migration and movement. The question is: are we aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-dawes/i-believe-that-many-lives-around-us-now-can-reflect-this-strange/) [Kwame Dawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-dawes/) > [We often block our own blessings because we don't feel inherently good enough or smart enough or pretty enough or worthy enough... You're worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/we-often-block-our-own-blessings-because-we-don-t-feel-inherently/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [None of us is born thinking we are ordinary. Feeling special is an essential part of the human birthright. If you don't think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmuley-boteach/none-of-us-is-born-thinking-we-are-ordinary-feeling-special-is-an/) [Shmuley Boteach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shmuley-boteach/) > [It's like a woman's birthright to knit. It's primal. It's timeless. You don't need electricity to knit. You can do it with a candle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-ullman/it-s-like-a-woman-s-birthright-to-knit-it-s-primal-it-s-timeless-you/) [Tracey Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-ullman/) > [Flourishing is everyone's birthright. I'm trying to break this hold that being smiley and cheery has on what people think the good life is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jurvetson/flourishing-is-everyone-s-birthright-i-m-trying-to-break-this-hold/) [Steve Jurvetson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jurvetson/) > [People shouldn't think that something is their birthright. They need to prove themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janhvi-kapoor/people-shouldn-t-think-that-something-is-their-birthright-they-need/) [Janhvi Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janhvi-kapoor/) > [It is your birthright to discover your sacred contract. It will guide you to find your divine destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/it-is-your-birthright-to-discover-your-sacred-contract-it-will-guide/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) > [Freedom is the alone unoriginated birthright of man, and belongs to him by force of his humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-the-alone-unoriginated-birthright-of-man-and-belongs-to/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [The Society is based on that great bottom law of human right, that nothing but crime can forfeit liberty. That no condition of birth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dwight-weld/the-society-is-based-on-that-great-bottom-law-of-human-right-that/) Theodore Dwight Weld > [We have sold our birthright of freedom and justice for a mess of national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sloane-coffin/we-have-sold-our-birthright-of-freedom-and-justice-for-a-mess-of/) [William Sloane Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sloane-coffin/) [Browse all 263 Birthright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthright/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to explore their own mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-birthright-and-we-can-t-have-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Birthright" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-birthright-and-we-can-t-have-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/terence-mckenna-287_birthright_i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-bi_238544.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to…” — 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": "I see the psychedelic experience as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-birthright-and-we-can-t-have-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-birthright-and-we-can-t-have-a/#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 } } ] } ```