SNAKES OF SHAMANIC WISDOM - DMT & DNA LADDERS TO HEAVEN

The origins of psychedelic knowledge may be of an organic nature?

When anthropologists started their studies of indigenous cultures, shamans were regarded as socially accepted psychopats, “mentally ill” in a community of primitives or inferior societies, denying any value to their divinatory practices or ceremonial plants use. Their visions where considered to be signs of mental imbalance. Likely, many psychoactive substances were considered as having the effect of simulating, or engendering, a state comparable to schizophrenia.In more recent years, Western science has been exploring the potential of traditional plant use, especially in order to develop medicines and patent the healing substances, or their synthetic equivalent compounds.

Native tribes from Central and South America possess an oral tradition of incredible value, knowing all local plants and their effects and passing them between generations throughout the centuries. They live in regions that hold a record for biodiversity, with countless species available. How they know so much about the healing properties and administration methods of each plant, seemed to be a mystery.

Luckily, some researchers recently studied native cultures and plants usage in newer ways, making stunning links to scientific facts of the Western medical tradition. One of them is anthropologists Jeremy Narby, who used an intriguing approach to the study of ayahuasca rituals among Central and South American indians.

In Narby's book, “The Cosmic Serpent – DNA and the Origins of Knowledge”, we learn about the parallelism between the fluorescent snake visions, and the structure of life itself, the DNA molecule. This latter shows - interestingly enough - a serpent-like, double helix structure.... and is present in each living being on this planet. Supposedly, DMT (the main active ingredient in ayahuasca, and a substance endogenously produced by our very brains) or the combination of DMT with other ingredients in Ayahasca, allow to experience reality at a biomolecular level.

To fully understand the meaning and reasoning behind Narby's theories, reading his book is highly adviseable, as he goes quite deep into describing the underlying mechanisms of DNA synthesis and duplication, its relation to receptors and how they are similarly activated by substances such as DMT, LSD, tobacco and serotonin. Another, shorter illuminating exploration into the origins of hallucinations, biology and spirituality can be read on the Jen Writtens blog.

To gain a vision that was not cornered into the tight boundaries of academical dogma, Narby also performed an act of defocalisation. He tried to literally interpret the teachings gathered during his stays among Peruvian indians, by studying both the indigenous traditions and biochemical science, without remaining bound to, or focussed on, either.

Following exhaustive research and on-field interviews, Narby found a parallelism between ayahuasca visions and the biomolecular structure of the cells in the human body. A vision described by most ayahuasca consumers is that of fluorescent snakes. The ayahusca snakes are so typical of the experience, that they are commonly found on indigenous paintings and decorations.

In his book, Jeremy Narby describes how DNA sequences resemble an intelligent language, forming snake-like helixes, activated by psycho-activating molecules that fit into specific receptors, upon which an electromagnetic wave is “lit up”, causing the activation of different genes within the cell nucleus.

In ayahuasquero's visions, the “snakes” bring messages explaining secrets related to one's life, personal or social history and natural environment. The psychoactive drink is always associated with greater knowledge and understanding. It gives teachings and clarity of vision, shedding “light” on the dark corners of the soul.

DNA not only determines the whole structure and regulates the production of all “building blocks” of a cell, but is also capable of communicating in a network of other cells.

Information is read and transformed into messenger-RNA, which feed into ribosomes that translate the instructions and build the rest of the cell's proteins and enzimes according to the genetic message. Apparently, the global network of DNA-based life emits ultra weak radio waves, that we can perceive during states of defocalisation (e.g. hallucinations and dreams)… Because of the shape of the aperiodical crystal of DNA, resembling two entwined serpents, a cord, a twisted ladder or a vine, the human mind perceives vines, ropes, ladders, crystals and fluorescent snakes. Well, DNA is the greatest transformer, so visions can also feature jaguars or caymans or bulls… but the huge snakes remain the favourite image of DNA, as if this was a narcissistic being, obsessed with its own reproduction, even in “pictures”.

Indeed, according to the native people who use ayahuasca, the experience resembles a TV or radio show: once you “open the channel”, images and messages arrive as a flow of great vitality... shamans are capable communicating at a molecular level, tapping knowledge from the source of all life forms, DNA. One shaman, Carlos Perez Shuma once told Narby that the spirits were like “radio waves”: “Once you turn on the radio, you can pick them up.” By using ayahasca and tobacco, people can see and hear them.

While doing background research on the mysteries behind ayahuasca snakes, the author came across the scientific fact that DNA actually emits photons at a wavelengh that lies exactly within the narrow band of visible light!

According to science, about 97% of our DNA is made up by “junk” sequences that are not a code for the make up of proteins. At a closer look, these “useless” sequences present series of palyndromes (“words” that can be read in either left-right direction; in this case, aminoacids are the letters in which DNA is written) and repetitions. This is similar to music, often working on reiteration of a sequence of sounds, with variations and refrains....

In December 2007, the media published scientifical articles explaining that DNA emits real music waves! Even before I read Narby’s “The Cosmic Serpent – DNA and the Origins of Knowledge” I happened to have this idea of how there is music in our brains... if we keep our thoughts still enough, we can hear our organism playing music through an infinite series of biochemical processes (related to the functioning of our bodies and thoughts) which produce sound-like or sound-emitting electromagnetic waves.

Faced to the mysterious perfection of life, the limited explanations provided by biochemical researchers deny any hypothesis of a minded DNA; by dismissing the repetitive chunks of genetic material as “junk”, they simply denigrated a part of DNA's mechanisms that they were unable to understand.

Indeed, it is hard to believe that such a perfectly functioning, structured language as DNA is awash with useless reserve building blocks. According to estimates, the sum of the DNA sequences contained in the cells of a human body could be stretched until the moon and then back to the earth. Wow, this matches the idea of a staircase between the earth and the heavens... Just as the water snakes that are often depicted as feathered, flying reptiles in countless cultures from all around the world bear a close similarity to DNA strands “flashing light” in their watery cell environment...

“The Cosmic Serpent – DNA and the Origins of Knowledge” by Jeremy Narby, is published in several languages.

Another suggested readingis "DMT: The Spirit Molecule" by Rick Strassman, M.D.

Photography: Creative Commons