Edited by Graham Hancock

‘I suspect the real breakthroughs in our understanding of consciousness are going to come from an entirely different direction. That direction, controversially, has to do with psychedelics – which, as many of the contributors to The Divine Spark argue, offer spectacular potential for the investigation of the “hard problem” of consciousness.’ – Graham Hancock, from the Introduction.

In The Divine Spark, bestselling author Graham Hancock brings us a groundbreaking collection of the latest thinking on consciousness and psychedelics. Graham has been writing and speaking about this to audiences worldwide, including a controversial TedX talk on ayahuasca and DMT, which received over well over a million views on YouTube.

Combining the wisdom of leading minds, The Divine Spark illuminates the topic like never before, with a particular focus on the use of psychedelics to open up the realm of the supernatural. The book unveils fresh theories on the relation of psychedelics to domains such as creativity, the survival of life on planet earth, interspecies communication, medicine and drug research, and many more.

Contributors include: Mike Alvernia, Russell Brand, David Jay Brown, Paul Devereux, Rick Doblin, Alex Grey, Nassim Haramein, Martina Hoffmann, Don Lattin, Eduardo Luna, Dennis McKenna, Thad McKraken, Rak Razam, Gabriel Roberts, Thomas B. Roberts, Robert Schoch, Mark Seelig, Rick Strassman and Robert Tindall.

Contributions

ON CONSCIOUSNESS

To Infinity and Beyond: The Holographic Nature of Mass, Nassim Haramein 13

The Consciousness Revolution, Graham Hancock 29

Why Richard Dawkins Is the Best Argument for the Existence of God, Russell Brand 33

Stellar Consciousness, Gregory Sams 36

Reflections in a Rear-View Mirror: Speculations on Novelty Theory and the End Times, Dennis McKenna 40

From Cosmic Consciousness to Convergence: Psychedelics, Entheogens, and Species Activation, Rak Razam 51

EXPANDING THE MIND

The Creative Process and Entheogens, Alex Grey 65

How Expanding Consciousness and Our Connection to Spirit Might Help the Survival of Life on Planet Earth, Martina Hoffmann 70

Whispering Leaves: Interspecies Communication, Paul Devereux 77

Three Humongous Ideas and a Dozen Merely Big Ones, or, The Psychedelic Future of the Mind Lite, Thomas B. Roberts 82

SERIOUS RESEARCH

Transcending the Medical Frontiers: Exploring the Future of Psychedelic Drug Research, David Jay Brown 91

Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment: A Long-Term Follow-Up and Methodological Critique, Rick Doblin 102

The Second Coming of Psychedelics, Don Lattin 131

Preparation for the Journey, Rick Strassman 138

EXPERIENCING PSYCHEDELICS

Ayahuasca and the Concept of Reality: Ethnographic, Theoretical, and Experiential Considerations, Luis Eduardo Luna 165

Communion with the Goddess: Three Weeks of Ayahuasca in Brazil, Mark Seelig 181

Is Alcohol a Spirit? Or, My Goodness, My Guinness! Robert Tindall 190

DMT: The Thinking Man’s Moonshine? Gabriel Roberts 195

DMT—The Final Frontier: What Do Hallucinations, Angels, Aliens, Dreams, and Near-Death Experiences All Have in Common?, Mike Alivernia 198

Why I Don’t Do Psychedelics Very Often Anymore, Thad McKraken 202

Giving Up the Green Bitch: Reflections on Cannabis, Ayahuasca, and the Mystery of Plant Teachers, Graham Hancock 207

SUPERNATURAL

Toward an Exploration of the Mind of a Conquered Continent: Sacred Plants and Amerindian Epistemology, Luis Eduardo Luna 221

The Soul Cluster: Reconsideration of a Millennia-Old Concept, Ede Frecska, Levente Móró, and Hank Wesselman 244

Thoughts on Parapsychology and Paranormal Phenomena, Robert Schoch 271

Letters from the Far Side of Reality, Graham Hancock 280

Could Psychedelics Save the World? Gregory Sams 298