--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The 20th century mind is nostalgic for…" description: "\"The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of Africa where the plant-human symbiosis occurred ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg" --- # The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that… ![“The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of Africa where the plant-human symbiosis occurred that pulled us out of the animal body and into the tool-using, culture-making, imagination-exploring creature that we are. And why does this…” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg) > “The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of Africa where the plant-human symbiosis occurred that pulled us out of the animal body and into the tool-using, culture-making, imagination-exploring creature that we are. And why does this matter? It matters because it shows that the way out is back and that the future is a forward escape into the past. This is what the psychedelic experience means. Its a doorway out of history and into the wiring under the board in eternity.” [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 quote suggests that modern humanity longs for an ancient, symbiotic relationship with nature that once elevated us beyond mere animal instincts, and that psychedelics can reconnect us to that primal creativity. **In simple terms:** We miss an old natural partnership that made us creative; psychedelics can revive it. Key Takeaway Embrace nature‑based creativity and altered consciousness. Themes nostalgia human evolution psychedelia creativity culture Mood reflective hopeful critical Type philosophical inspirational cautionary When to use this quote - personal growth - artistic inspiration - environmental activism - spiritual practice Key Concepts symbiosis anthropology neuropharmacology mythology Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate ancient ecological wisdom with today's technology? - What risks arise from seeking escape through psychedelics? A Different Perspective The view may romanticize the past and overlook modern challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Doorways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doorways/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nostalgic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgic/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-experience/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Symbiosis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbiosis/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [“History is ending because the dominator culture has led the human species into a blind alley, and as the inevitable chaostrophie approaches, people look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-is-ending-because-the-dominator-culture-has-led-the-human/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's interesting when you're doing signing sessions with other writers and you look at the queues at each table and you can see definite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-interesting-when-you-re-doing-signing-sessions-with-other/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In man-machine symbiosis, it is man who must adjust: The machines can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/in-man-machine-symbiosis-it-is-man-who-must-adjust-the-machines-can-t/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [Symbiosis is a much higher reflection of intelligent life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/symbiosis-is-a-much-higher-reflection-of-intelligent-life/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Imagine something a million times more powerful than your smartphone that is the size of a brain cell interfacing with your biological neurons. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-silva/imagine-something-a-million-times-more-powerful-than-your-smartphone/) [Jason Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-silva/) > [“She seemed to feed on their laughter, and they on her humor, like the lily of the pond—sustained by the very water it purified.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-collier/she-seemed-to-feed-on-their-laughter-and-they-on-her-humor-like-the/) [Molly Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-collier/) > [In a novel, the biggest symbiosis exists between plot and character. In a song, it would be the lyrics and the melody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-michaels/in-a-novel-the-biggest-symbiosis-exists-between-plot-and-character-in/) [Jesse Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-michaels/) > [Being known primarily for their well-knownness, celebrities intensify their celebrity images simply by becoming widely known for relations among themselves. By a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-boorstin/being-known-primarily-for-their-well-knownness-celebrities-intensify/) [Daniel J. Boorstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-boorstin/) > [Architecture which enters into a symbiosis with light does not merely create form in light, by day and at night, but allow light to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-meier/architecture-which-enters-into-a-symbiosis-with-light-does-not-merely/) [Richard Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-meier/) > [“So what is life? It’s intelligent energy combined in symbiosis with the material world. Every living being is the embodiment of a tiny part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahara-sanders/so-what-is-life-it-s-intelligent-energy-combined-in-symbiosis-with-2/) [Sahara Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahara-sanders/) > [ “\[S\]een as a whole the universe is a harmony or symbiosis of patterns which cannot exist without each other.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/s-een-as-a-whole-the-universe-is-a-harmony-or-symbiosis-of-patterns/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [As you get older and more successful, you don't get magnetically drawn to aristocracy, you get magnetically drawn to power, and it gets magnetically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-roy/as-you-get-older-and-more-successful-you-don-t-get-magnetically-drawn/) [Duncan Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-roy/) > [My general theory since 1971 has been that the word is literally a virus, and that it has not been recognized as such because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/my-general-theory-since-1971-has-been-that-the-word-is-literally-a/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“He's not a parasite if she needs him, too, and if she gives what he will not take. (One day soon, she will learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/he-s-not-a-parasite-if-she-needs-him-too-and-if-she-gives-what-he/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [Arts and the Sciences are a natural symbiosis. They stem from the same human existential impulse - exploration. Exploration of what lies beneath the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/arts-and-the-sciences-are-a-natural-symbiosis-they-stem-from-the-same/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## 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 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) Browse all 672 20th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of Africa where the plant-human symbiosis occurred that pulled us out of the animal body and into the tool-using, culture-making, imagination-exploring creature that we are. And why does this matter? It matters because it shows that the way out is back and that the future is a forward escape into the past. This is what the psychedelic experience means. Its a doorway out of history and into the wiring under the board in eternity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-the-paradise-that-once-existed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "20th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-the-paradise-that-once-existed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f0/terence-mckenna-287_20th-century_the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-t_1190708.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The 20th century mind is nostalgic for the paradise that once existed on the mushroom dotted plains of…” — 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": "The 20th century mind is nostalgic...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-the-paradise-that-once-existed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-20th-century-mind-is-nostalgic-for-the-paradise-that-once-existed/#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 } } ] } ```