--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are alienated, so alienated that the…" description: "\"We are alienated, so alienated that the self must disguise itself as an extraterrestrial in order not to alarm us with the truly bizarre dimensions tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/terence-mckenna-287_alarms_we-are-alienated-so-alienated-that-the-s_1913756.png" --- # We are alienated, so alienated that the self must disguise… ![“We are alienated, so alienated that the self must disguise itself as an extraterrestrial in order not to alarm us with the truly bizarre dimensions that it encompasses.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/terence-mckenna-287_alarms_we-are-alienated-so-alienated-that-the-s_1913756.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/terence-mckenna-287_alarms_we-are-alienated-so-alienated-that-the-s_1913756.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/terence-mckenna-287_alarms_we-are-alienated-so-alienated-that-the-s_1913756.png) > “We are alienated, so alienated that the self must disguise itself as an extraterrestrial in order not to alarm us with the truly bizarre dimensions that it encompasses.” [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. He suggests that alienation forces the self to appear foreign to avoid confronting its own strange depths. **In simple terms:** Alienation hides our true, strange nature. Key Takeaway Explore and accept the unknown within. Themes psychology alienation identity Mood introspective thought‑provoking Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - self‑exploration Key Concepts self-concealment existential dread inner unknown Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself feel alienated? - How can embracing the strange foster growth? A Different Perspective Risk of encouraging denial of reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bizarre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bizarre/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Disguise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disguise/) [Extraterrestrial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extraterrestrial/) [Hallucinogens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallucinogens/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [Remember Graham Green's dictum that childhood is the bank balance of the writer? I think that all writers feel alienated. Most of us go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/remember-graham-green-s-dictum-that-childhood-is-the-bank-balance-of/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [I don't believe that shamanism without hallucinogens is authentic shamanism or comfortable shamanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-don-t-believe-that-shamanism-without-hallucinogens-is-authentic/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No one yet understands the mysterious intelligence within plants or the implications of the idea that nature communicates in a basic chemical language that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-one-yet-understands-the-mysterious-intelligence-within-plants-or/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The pro-psychedelic plant position is clearly an antidrugs position. Drug dependencies are the result of habitual, unexamined, and obsessive behavior; these are precisely the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-pro-psychedelic-plant-position-is-clearly-an-antidrugs-position/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [In the absence of good scientific data about the effects of artificial hallucinogens it's good to stick to the natural ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/in-the-absence-of-good-scientific-data-about-the-effects-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I really think there is a very large distinction between synthetic and naturally occurring drugs. ... I think that these plants 'take people' as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-really-think-there-is-a-very-large-distinction-between-synthetic/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And that we cannot go to space with our feet in the mud. Nor can we in fact turn ourselves into an eco-sensitive hallucinogenic-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-that-we-cannot-go-to-space-with-our-feet-in-the-mud-nor-can-we-in/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's my belief that one of the unconscious reasons which underlies the odd attitude of the establishment toward hallucinogens is the fact that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-my-belief-that-one-of-the-unconscious-reasons-which-underlies/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [For unknown reasons, there is a tremendous concentration of psychoactive plants on the South American continent. The South American continent has more known hallucinogens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/for-unknown-reasons-there-is-a-tremendous-concentration-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I think it's the sheer power of the hallucinogens that puts people off. You either love them or you hate them, and that's because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-think-it-s-the-sheer-power-of-the-hallucinogens-that-puts-people/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I'm proposing on one level that hallucinogens be thought of as almost as social pheromones that regulate the rate at which language develops, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-m-proposing-on-one-level-that-hallucinogens-be-thought-of-as-almost/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [DMT is the most powerful hallucinogen there is. If it gets stronger than that I don't want to know about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/dmt-is-the-most-powerful-hallucinogen-there-is-if-it-gets-stronger/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's possible to see the whole human growth movement of the 1970s as a wish to continue the inward quest without having to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-possible-to-see-the-whole-human-growth-movement-of-the-1970s-as/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [It's the only hallucinogen I know, where if it's made right, the next day, or the day after the experience, you actually feel better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/it-s-the-only-hallucinogen-i-know-where-if-it-s-made-right-the-next/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [“The only people who are completely sure they've heard from God are either clinically insane or under the influence of hallucinogens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-furtick/the-only-people-who-are-completely-sure-they-ve-heard-from-god-are/) [Steven Furtick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-furtick/) ## 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. 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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 Alarms quotes > [Were the life of man prolonged, he would become such a proficient in villainy, that it would become necessary again to drown or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/were-the-life-of-man-prolonged-he-would-become-such-a-proficient-in/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [There's a statement from several members of the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, including the Democratic leader, Charles Schumer; John McCain, the chair of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephanopoulos/there-s-a-statement-from-several-members-of-the-senate-both-democrats/) [George Stephanopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephanopoulos/) > [Here in the UK the audience immediately reacts and they get the fact that: "What would be the most annoying thing in the world?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-jones/here-in-the-uk-the-audience-immediately-reacts-and-they-get-the-fact/) [Duncan Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-jones/) > [It is a hard matter for a man to lie all over, nature having provided king's evidence in almost every member. The hand will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-allston/it-is-a-hard-matter-for-a-man-to-lie-all-over-nature-having-provided/) [Washington Allston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-allston/) > [Who then is free? the wise man who is lord over himself; Whom neither poverty nor death, nor chains alarm; strong to withstand his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-then-is-free-the-wise-man-who-is-lord-over-himself-whom-neither/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Modern man threw a brick through his own window in order to sell himself a burglar alarm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-carr/modern-man-threw-a-brick-through-his-own-window-in-order-to-sell/) [Allen Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-carr/) > [I understand the power and the alarm of words - Not those that they applaud from theatre-boxes, but those which make coffins break from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/i-understand-the-power-and-the-alarm-of-words-not-those-that-they/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [I don't know who Azazel is," he said. "Isn't he the cat from The Smurfs?" He cast about , but Isabelle just looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-don-t-know-who-azazel-is-he-said-isn-t-he-the-cat-from-the-smurfs/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The beloved may be treacherous, greasy-headed and given to evil habits, or else it can be a man in his late forties who works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/the-beloved-may-be-treacherous-greasy-headed-and-given-to-evil-habits/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [Those who have past much of their lives in this great city, look upon its opulence and its multitudes, its extent and variety, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/those-who-have-past-much-of-their-lives-in-this-great-city-look-upon/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Unfortunately, I'm one of those idiots who knows everything about health and is in a constant state of alarm, and yet I continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ames/unfortunately-i-m-one-of-those-idiots-who-knows-everything-about/) [Jonathan Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ames/) > [“batteries in the smoke alarms, and since he “just happened”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-lawson-timmer/batteries-in-the-smoke-alarms-and-since-he-just-happened/) [Julie Lawson Timmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-lawson-timmer/) > [When I see a new face, something sets off an alarm bell inside me. 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