--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're not going to save the monkey unless…" description: "\"We're not going to save the monkey unless we can shed the monkey. And the greatest impetus, the greatest inspiration to the expression of our higher se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/terence-mckenna-287_confrontation_we-re-not-going-to-save-the-monkey-unles_1209411.png" --- # We're not going to save the monkey unless we can shed the… ![“We're not going to save the monkey unless we can shed the monkey. And the greatest impetus, the greatest inspiration to the expression of our higher selves comes in the confrontation with psyche that occurs in the psychedelic experience.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/terence-mckenna-287_confrontation_we-re-not-going-to-save-the-monkey-unles_1209411.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/terence-mckenna-287_confrontation_we-re-not-going-to-save-the-monkey-unles_1209411.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fea/terence-mckenna-287_confrontation_we-re-not-going-to-save-the-monkey-unles_1209411.png) > “We're not going to save the monkey unless we can shed the monkey. And the greatest impetus, the greatest inspiration to the expression of our higher selves comes in the confrontation with psyche that occurs in the psychedelic experience.” [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 confront our psyche, shedding lower instincts and inspiring higher self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Psychedelics reveal higher self. Key Takeaway Use psychedelic insight for personal growth. Themes psychedelia self transformation Mood introspective curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - creative work - mindfulness practice - spiritual exploration Key Concepts consciousness neuroscience spirituality Questions to Reflect On - How can you integrate psychedelic insights safely? - What non‑psychedelic paths foster similar growth? A Different Perspective Such experiences can be destabilizing without integration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confrontation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confrontation/) [Confrontation Psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confrontation-psyche-3659570/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Higher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher/) [Higher self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-self/) [Impetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impetus/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Occurs Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occurs-psychedelic-3659572/) [Psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psyche/) [Psyche Occurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psyche-occurs-3659571/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelic experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic-experience/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Shed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shed/) ## Related quotes > [LSD is a unique and powerful tool for the exploration of the human mind and human nature. Psychedelic experiences mediate access to deep realms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/lsd-is-a-unique-and-powerful-tool-for-the-exploration-of-the-human/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [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/) > [What is revealed through the psychedelic experience, I think, is a higher dimensional perspective on reality. And I use 'higher dimensional' in the mathematical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-revealed-through-the-psychedelic-experience-i-think-is-a/) [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 see the psychedelic experience as a birthright, and we can't have a free society until people are free to explore their own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-see-the-psychedelic-experience-as-a-birthright-and-we-can-t-have-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Nature and the imagination seem to be the precursors to involvement in the psychedelic experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/nature-and-the-imagination-seem-to-be-the-precursors-to-involvement/) [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 Confrontation quotes > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. I just don't want the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/i-cannot-do-confrontation-you-know-that-fight-or-flight-thing-i-m/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [The greatest reward of this constant interrogation, confrontation with the brutality of my country, is that it has freed me from hosts and myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/the-greatest-reward-of-this-constant-interrogation-confrontation-with/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-joshua-heschel/people-of-our-time-are-losing-the-power-of-celebration-instead-of/) [Abraham Joshua Heschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-joshua-heschel/) > [“Mother Fuckers. They're going to feel pretty stupid when they find out. They're fucking with the wrong people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kirkman/mother-fuckers-they-re-going-to-feel-pretty-stupid-when-they-find-out/) [Robert Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kirkman/) > [To be robbed and betrayed by a fiendish underground conspiracy, or by the earthly agents of Satan, is at least a romantic sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-taibbi/to-be-robbed-and-betrayed-by-a-fiendish-underground-conspiracy-or-by/) [Matt Taibbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-taibbi/) > [One of the only coherent philosophical positions is thus revolt. It is a constant confrontation between man and his own obscurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/one-of-the-only-coherent-philosophical-positions-is-thus-revolt-it-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Any racial reconciliation we've had in this country has come not out of confrontation but out of a spirit of reconciliation. 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