--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started out in psychedelic drugs, and…" description: "\"I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight from reality, but I think reality is now a bit m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png" --- # I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was… ![“I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight from reality, but I think reality is now a bit more scary than the drugs we used to fly from it, so long ago.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png) > “I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight from reality, but I think reality is now a bit more scary than the drugs we used to fly from it, so long ago.” [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. McKenna reflects that psychedelic experiences once escaped reality, but now reality itself feels more frightening, suggesting a shift in perception. **In simple terms:** Reality feels scarier now than past drug escapes. Key Takeaway Reevaluate how you confront modern anxieties. Themes psychology psychedelics reality fear perception Mood introspective cautious philosophical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - mental health - cultural analysis Key Concepts consciousness studies cultural critique existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you face reality’s challenges today? - What role do altered states play in your self‑understanding? A Different Perspective Escaping reality may not solve underlying fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug/) [Long ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-ago/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic drugs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-drugs/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [ The danger is \[in using psychedelic drugs\], just to put it out there, is madness. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-danger-is-in-using-psychedelic-drugs-just-to-put-it-out-there-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is in fact what shamanism is all about, what the end of history is all about, what psychedelic drugs are all about, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-in-fact-what-shamanism-is-all-about-what-the-end-of-history/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Transformation of language through psychedelic drugs is a central factor of the evolution of the social matrix of the rest of the century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/transformation-of-language-through-psychedelic-drugs-is-a-central/) [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/) > [Story isn't a flight from reality but a vehicle that carries us on our search for reality,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mckee/story-isn-t-a-flight-from-reality-but-a-vehicle-that-carries-us-on/) [Robert McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mckee/) > [Can we take a direct flight back to reality or do we have to change planes in Denver?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-allen/can-we-take-a-direct-flight-back-to-reality-or-do-we-have-to-change/) [Tim Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-allen/) > [As birds' wings beat the solid air without which none could fly so words freed by the imagination affirm reality by their flight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/as-birds-wings-beat-the-solid-air-without-which-none-could-fly-so/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“A large dose of niacin is one of the most rapid and reliable ways to pull a person out of a bad trip on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-p-reid/a-large-dose-of-niacin-is-one-of-the-most-rapid-and-reliable-ways-to/) [Daniel P. Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-p-reid/) > [The danger of psychedelic drugs, the danger of mind-opening, the danger of consciousness expansion, the danger of inner discovery is a danger to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/the-danger-of-psychedelic-drugs-the-danger-of-mind-opening-the-danger/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/i-ask-of-cinema-what-most-north-americans-ask-of-psychedelic-drugs/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [Psychedelic drugs don't change you - they don't change your character - unless you want to be changed. They enable change; they can't impose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-shulgin/psychedelic-drugs-don-t-change-you-they-don-t-change-your-character/) [Alexander Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-shulgin/) > [How he could be a good user of LSD," I asked, "And know about the spiritual dimension - all that sort of thing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-shulgin/how-he-could-be-a-good-user-of-lsd-i-asked-and-know-about-the/) [Alexander Shulgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-shulgin/) > [No one can accuse Stuart Young of avoiding the big issues - with insight and verve, he tackles head on the existence of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-chadbourn/no-one-can-accuse-stuart-young-of-avoiding-the-big-issues-with/) Mark Chadbourn > [You simply cannot understand psychedelic drugs, which activate the brain, unless you understand something about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-simply-cannot-understand-psychedelic-drugs-which-activate-the/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Psychedelic drugs cause paranoia, confusion, and total loss of reality in politicians that have never taken them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/psychedelic-drugs-cause-paranoia-confusion-and-total-loss-of-reality/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) ## 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 Bits quotes > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [He referred to me as an 'insufferable puffed-up prat'. This is a bit rich coming from a man who actually married his own mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/he-referred-to-me-as-an-insufferable-puffed-up-prat-this-is-a-bit/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [It won't do you a bit of good to know everything if you don't do anything with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/it-won-t-do-you-a-bit-of-good-to-know-everything-if-you-don-t-do/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-boyle/i-was-told-i-had-brain-damage-i-always-knew-it-was-an-unfair-label/) [Susan Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-boyle/) > [I think that's the beauty of the current setup, is that Legends is meant to be a bit of a revolving door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-think-that-s-the-beauty-of-the-current-setup-is-that-legends-is/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [We, as pop stars, are people not androids. We’ve got views. I’ve got opinions and I don’t see why I shouldn’t use a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-meddows-taylor/we-as-pop-stars-are-people-not-androids-we-ve-got-views-i-ve-got/) [Roger Meddows Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-meddows-taylor/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [ Donald Trump has opened \[ politically correct enforcement\] up wide. He's made a very bold statement and he's backed it back just a little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-has-opened-politically-correct-enforcement-up-wide-he-s/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [When my name started popping up I was quite irritated and a little bit in shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snow/when-my-name-started-popping-up-i-was-quite-irritated-and-a-little/) [Michael Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-snow/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) Browse all 5,709 Bits quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight from reality, but I think reality is now a bit more scary than the drugs we used to fly from it, so long ago.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-people-said-it-was-a-flight/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bits" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-people-said-it-was-a-flight/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/terence-mckenna-287_bits_i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-p_853875.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I started out in psychedelic drugs, and people said it was a flight from reality. It still is a flight 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": "I started out in psychedelic drugs,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-people-said-it-was-a-flight/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-started-out-in-psychedelic-drugs-and-people-said-it-was-a-flight/#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 } } ] } ```