Talk Like Terence
With the mainstreaming of mushroom culture and psychedelic therapies, ethnobotanist, mystic, philosopher and ardent psychedelic activist, Terence McKenna, appears to be getting his posthumous due.
From his early writing about altered states of consciousness and the I Ching to his Stoned Ape theory (in which our more primitive ancestors got less primitive eating psilocybin mushrooms prized from the poop of ungulates they chased across the savanna), McKenna’s influence, instigation, rare intellect and instinct for what ails us is imprinted all over the psychedelic subculture.
“Terence McKenna is the Timothy Leary of the nineties.”
Timothy Leary
His books like Archaic Revival contain seminal tracts. Psilocybin, Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide taught a generation to grow their own. He was known as the “the intellectual voice of rave culture.” His brother and co-author/theorist, Dennis McKenna, features prominently in Fantastic Fungi. But what a lot of people new to McKenna don’t know about him is what a notable raconteur he was.
Man, did he have the gift of gab. His delight in regaling audiences with his far out thinking and tales of heroic psychedelic trips was obvious and infectious — his lectures are legend. And they’re instructive to those of us needing to do public speaking who are less comfortable with it.
For one thing, he’s genuine. A bona fide eccentric, he nevertheless lets his freak flag fly. He’s utterly, unapologetically himself. He’s hilarious, brilliant and humble. His ideas are provocative and on subjects he’s knowledgeable and passionate about. He uses evocative language and lays it out clearly. Plus he delights in taking the piss out- of himself and pretty much everything else. He’s disarmingly personal yet remains aware of his audience. He doesn’t rush or talk over audience reactions. He makes them feel like they’re in on something with him.
“To write him off as a crazy hippie is a rather lazy approach to a man not only full of fascinating ideas but also blessed with a sense of humor and self-parody.”
Tom Hodgkinson, The New Statesman and Society
In Seeking the Stone (below), a talk he gave at the L.A. Whole Life Expo in 1991, you get a pretty comprehensive look at his philosophy vis-a-vis an essential archaic revival. It’s a crazy beautiful thesis presented by an influential thinker and speaker at the height of his powers.
Come for psychedelics, stay for the