> Last night (Monday, April 3) at 2:30 AM Terence McKenna took his last
> breath and crossed over. He was surrounded by those he loved, although he
> didn't leave this plane until everyone had fallen asleep. Christie was by
> his side.
>
> In Dec. 1999 at Esalen Terence said:
>
> "Everything is a blessing and everything comes as a gift. And I don't
> regret anything about the situation I find myself in. If psychedelics
> don't ready you for the great beyond, then I don't know what really does.
> And we're all under sentence of 'moving up' at some point in our lives.
>
> I have an absolute faith that the universe prefers joy and distills us with
> joy. That is what religion is trying to download to us, and this is what
> every moment of life is trying to do-if we can open to it. And we
> psychedelic people, if we could secure that death has no sting, we would
> have done the greatest service to suffering intelligence that can be done.
>
> And I feel that death is close, and I feel strong because of this
> (psychedelic) community and these people and plants that it rests on, and
> the ancient practices that it rests on, and I am full of hope, not only for
> my own small problems, but for humanity in general."
>
linda got this from a MAPS email :<(
sad but allmost funny--rock on TM
Amen, and God bless him.
Terrence was clearly the most notable figure in the post-60s psychedelic community. Things retrieved from that psycho-spiritual dimension have the quality of connecting disparate points, and facilitating existence; making it more so. He did more to articulate those possibilities than anyone I know of since Leary. Unlike his predecessor on the path, McKenna (albeit with less pressure on him) managed to walk a finer line. He was an elitist popularizer; not an easy thing to pull off. He had the courage to be a focal point at a time when there was no clear payoff, and was rewarded with an unlikely career. That he was successful is a testament both to the depth of the need that he addressed, and to his talent for addressing it. His impact on me was both practical (how to) and theoretical (why to). His ability to link the nostalgic, organic, earthly, shamanic tradition with an exotic, technological, outer space, futurist vision constitutes the broadest perspective on these matters that I know about. Others may have done better work on a given point, but he put it all together in a way that commanded serious attention, and even respect.
I didn't know him, really. I did a workshop in 1991, and went to several lectures, but mostly he lived in my mind; a source of strength, if not authority, when negotiating questionable territory. He played the prophet, but retained his humor, and was never a crackpot. I'm sorry that we won't get to hear his apologia at the end of 2012. I won't be sorry if the world just continues, but I'll be surprised if it hasn't been transformed in many ways, apocalyptic or not. Terrence has a place beyond that transformation. It will be our fortune to join him there, one day. He was ever ahead of the curve. From our current position, all we can do is root (and pray) for the good guys. Terrence was definitely one of them. Our doings are a part of his legacy.
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- Skinny 4-07-2000 1:08 am
linda got this from a MAPS email :<( sad but allmost funny--rock on TM
- Skinny 4-07-2000 1:25 am [add a comment]
Amen, and God bless him.
Terrence was clearly the most notable figure in the post-60s psychedelic community. Things retrieved from that psycho-spiritual dimension have the quality of connecting disparate points, and facilitating existence; making it more so. He did more to articulate those possibilities than anyone I know of since Leary. Unlike his predecessor on the path, McKenna (albeit with less pressure on him) managed to walk a finer line. He was an elitist popularizer; not an easy thing to pull off. He had the courage to be a focal point at a time when there was no clear payoff, and was rewarded with an unlikely career. That he was successful is a testament both to the depth of the need that he addressed, and to his talent for addressing it. His impact on me was both practical (how to) and theoretical (why to). His ability to link the nostalgic, organic, earthly, shamanic tradition with an exotic, technological, outer space, futurist vision constitutes the broadest perspective on these matters that I know about. Others may have done better work on a given point, but he put it all together in a way that commanded serious attention, and even respect.
I didn't know him, really. I did a workshop in 1991, and went to several lectures, but mostly he lived in my mind; a source of strength, if not authority, when negotiating questionable territory. He played the prophet, but retained his humor, and was never a crackpot. I'm sorry that we won't get to hear his apologia at the end of 2012. I won't be sorry if the world just continues, but I'll be surprised if it hasn't been transformed in many ways, apocalyptic or not. Terrence has a place beyond that transformation. It will be our fortune to join him there, one day. He was ever ahead of the curve. From our current position, all we can do is root (and pray) for the good guys. Terrence was definitely one of them. Our doings are a part of his legacy.
- alex 4-07-2000 12:54 pm [add a comment]
excellent post brother--love mike
- linda 4-08-2000 4:17 am [add a comment]