--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It doesn't matter what your cultural…" description: "\"It doesn't matter what your cultural conditioning is, it falls into question under the influence of the psychedelic. And for most people that's frighte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/terence-mckenna-287_conditioning_it-doesn-t-matter-what-your-cultural-con_2560976.png" --- # It doesn't matter what your cultural conditioning is, it… ![“It doesn't matter what your cultural conditioning is, it falls into question under the influence of the psychedelic. And for most people that's frightening.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/terence-mckenna-287_conditioning_it-doesn-t-matter-what-your-cultural-con_2560976.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/terence-mckenna-287_conditioning_it-doesn-t-matter-what-your-cultural-con_2560976.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/terence-mckenna-287_conditioning_it-doesn-t-matter-what-your-cultural-con_2560976.png) > “It doesn't matter what your cultural conditioning is, it falls into question under the influence of the psychedelic. And for most people that's frightening.” [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. Psychedelic experiences can dissolve cultural conditioning, exposing deeper truths that can be unsettling for many. **In simple terms:** Psychedelics strip cultural filters. Key Takeaway Explore altered states with caution and openness. Themes consciousness culture psychedelia Mood introspective provocative Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative brainstorming - spiritual retreats - personal growth Key Concepts ego dissolution cognitive flexibility Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you hold about reality? - How might altered perception reshape your worldview? A Different Perspective Such insights can be destabilizing without proper integration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) [Cultural Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cultural-conditioning-392649/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Frightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frightening/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Influence Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence-psychedelic-1605145/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Frightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-frightening-1605146/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-people-1605144/) ## Related quotes > [So what needs to be done is to spread the idea that anxiety is inappropriate. It's sort of like we who are psychedelic have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/so-what-needs-to-be-done-is-to-spread-the-idea-that-anxiety-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It puts people who are into this psychedelic thing in an entirely different stance from all other spiritual seekers, because all other spiritual seekers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-puts-people-who-are-into-this-psychedelic-thing-in-an-entirely/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think really what unites psychedelic people is the faith in the power of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-think-really-what-unites-psychedelic-people-is-the-faith-in-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Cultural conditioning is like bad software. Over and over it's diddled with and re-written so that it can just run on the next attempt.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/cultural-conditioning-is-like-bad-software-over-and-over-it-s-diddled/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [To the non-initiate, whose experience of sexuality and bodily pleasure may be distorted by negative cultural conditioning, the introduction of sexuality into a sacred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeena-schreck/to-the-non-initiate-whose-experience-of-sexuality-and-bodily-pleasure/) [Zeena Schreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeena-schreck/) > [I find that my cultural conditioning leads me to focus attention on places where I am unlikely to get what I want. I developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/i-find-that-my-cultural-conditioning-leads-me-to-focus-attention-on/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [“...and thus he found his single source of joy in the society of other people: frightening the girls with his penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/and-thus-he-found-his-single-source-of-joy-in-the-society-of-other/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [Young man, nature is not frightening, it's people who are frightening! You just need to get to know nature and it will become friendly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/young-man-nature-is-not-frightening-it-s-people-who-are-frightening/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [“Being considered "crazy" by those who are still victims of cultural conditioning is a compliment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-hairston/being-considered-crazy-by-those-who-are-still-victims-of-cultural/) [Jason Hairston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-hairston/) > [...situations evolve as matter responds to the conditioning of time and space...If you know what is contained in time from its beginning to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/situations-evolve-as-matter-responds-to-the-conditioning-of-time-and/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's clearly a crisis of two things: of consciousness and conditioning. We have the technological power, the engineering skills to save our planet, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-clearly-a-crisis-of-two-things-of-consciousness-and-conditioning-2/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Memory training is great psychedelic training.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/memory-training-is-great-psychedelic-training/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Nothing is as boundary dissolving, except for psychedelic compounds, as travel. Travel is up there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/nothing-is-as-boundary-dissolving-except-for-psychedelic-compounds-as/) [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 Conditioning quotes > [And when I went to Houston, they had a conditioning coach by the name of Gene Coleman. And that was the first time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nolan-ryan/and-when-i-went-to-houston-they-had-a-conditioning-coach-by-the-name/) [Nolan Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nolan-ryan/) > [The spirit of the West, of America, is different than the East. The cultural conditioning is very different. It seems to be harder for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-spirit-of-the-west-of-america-is-different-than-the-east-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Mindfulness is being aware of yourself, others, and your surroundings in the moment. When consciously and kindly focusing awareness on life as it unfolds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-thoele/mindfulness-is-being-aware-of-yourself-others-and-your-surroundings/) [Sue Thoele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-thoele/) > [“One way or another, we spend our whole lives being conditioned into accepting some line or order, some position of domination or subjection. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/one-way-or-another-we-spend-our-whole-lives-being-conditioned-into/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [The more aware you become, the more you shed from day to day what you have learned so that your mind is always fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-more-aware-you-become-the-more-you-shed-from-day-to-day-what-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Highly proactive people don't blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. Their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/highly-proactive-people-don-t-blame-circumstances-conditions-or/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [My sole goal when getting ready for a contest was not building a lot of size, although when I was coming up pure muscle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorian-yates/my-sole-goal-when-getting-ready-for-a-contest-was-not-building-a-lot/) [Dorian Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorian-yates/) > [Naturally, to follow dharma, we have to find out what it is. You have to struggle with it. The answer will not come easily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/naturally-to-follow-dharma-we-have-to-find-out-what-it-is-you-have-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [What gets in our way is history and culture and religion and economic conditions. It is part of the hypnosis of our social conditioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/what-gets-in-our-way-is-history-and-culture-and-religion-and-economic/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [One great question underlies our experience, whether we think about it or not: what is the purpose of life? From the moment of birth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-great-question-underlies-our-experience-whether-we-think-about-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ego and conditionings are created by mind, which is a myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/ego-and-conditionings-are-created-by-mind-which-is-a-myth/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [Through the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind and spirit can ever be attained. Self-confidence follows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pilates/through-the-pilates-method-of-body-conditioning-this-unique-trinity/) [Joseph Pilates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pilates/) > [Don't worry about society's conditioning and the labels that are put on you by external forces. Hold onto your true self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gugu-mbatha-raw/don-t-worry-about-society-s-conditioning-and-the-labels-that-are-put/) [Gugu Mbatha-Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gugu-mbatha-raw/) > [Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard on me because flying the Enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/having-played-many-roles-of-scientific-intellect-i-do-have-an-empathy/) [Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/) [Browse all 385 Conditioning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It doesn't matter what your cultural conditioning is, it falls into question under the influence of the psychedelic. 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