--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could almost describe psychedelics as…" description: "\"You could almost describe psychedelics as enzymes for the activity of the imagination.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/terence-mckenna-287_activity_you-could-almost-describe-psychedelics-a_2333060.png" --- # You could almost describe psychedelics as enzymes for the… ![“You could almost describe psychedelics as enzymes for the activity of the imagination.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/terence-mckenna-287_activity_you-could-almost-describe-psychedelics-a_2333060.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/terence-mckenna-287_activity_you-could-almost-describe-psychedelics-a_2333060.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c7/terence-mckenna-287_activity_you-could-almost-describe-psychedelics-a_2333060.png) > “You could almost describe psychedelics as enzymes for the activity of the imagination.” [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. Psychedelics act like catalysts that unlock creative mental processes. **In simple terms:** Drugs can boost imagination like enzymes. Key Takeaway Use them responsibly to expand mind. Themes creativity consciousness psychopharmacology Mood cautious inquisitive Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - artistic brainstorming - problem solving - spiritual exploration Key Concepts neurochemistry mind expansion Questions to Reflect On - How might you foster imagination without substances? - What risks do you consider? A Different Perspective Effects are unpredictable and can be unsafe. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Activity Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity-imagination-5618948/) [Enzymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enzymes/) [Enzymes Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enzymes-activity-5618949/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Psychedelic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelic/) [Psychedelics Enzymes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychedelics-enzymes-5618947/) ## Related quotes > [At still higher doses psilocybin triggers this activity in the language-forming capacity of the brain that manifests as song and vision. Psilocybin may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/at-still-higher-doses-psilocybin-triggers-this-activity-in-the/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If psychedelics are exopheromones that dissolve the dominant ego, then they are also enzymes that synergize the human imagination and empower language. They cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-psychedelics-are-exopheromones-that-dissolve-the-dominant-ego-then/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What the psychedelics are for us as a species, rather than for each one of us as an individual, what they are for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-the-psychedelics-are-for-us-as-a-species-rather-than-for-each/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Hallucinogenic plants act as enzymes which stimulate imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/hallucinogenic-plants-act-as-enzymes-which-stimulate-imagination/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [One has attained a very fortunate incarnation, I think, to be in a culture, in a place, in a time when psychedelic knowledge is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/one-has-attained-a-very-fortunate-incarnation-i-think-to-be-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is a very central part of the psychedelic attitude toward the world, to entertain all possibilities but to never commit to belief. Belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-a-very-central-part-of-the-psychedelic-attitude-toward-the/) [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/) > [Niagaras of beauty are flowing by untapped by ordinary consciousness. . . . Would that we could send robots who could film these psychedelic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/niagaras-of-beauty-are-flowing-by-untapped-by-ordinary-consciousness/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Psychedelic telepathy is you 'see' what I mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-telepathy-is-you-see-what-i-mean/) [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/) > [Part of what the psychedelic point of view represents is living a certain portion of your life without answers. Just accepting that certain dilemmas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/part-of-what-the-psychedelic-point-of-view-represents-is-living-a/) [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/) > [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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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