cannabisnews.com: Terence McKenna, 53, Writer, Spiritual Theorist Terence McKenna, 53, Writer, Spiritual Theorist Posted by FoM on April 07, 2000 at 08:33:17 PT Rest in Peace Mr. McKenna Source: San Jose Mercury News Terence McKenna, spiritual theorist and author of several books proclaiming the virtues of psychedelic mushrooms, has died after a long battle with brain cancer. He was 53. One of Mr. McKenna's best known books was 1975's ``The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching,'' which he co-wrote with his brother Dennis. ``Food of the Gods,'' published in 1992, and 1993's ``True Hallucinations'' followed in the same vein, exploring the idea of consciousness and its link with nature and the environment.Mr. McKenna, who died at a friend's home Monday, drew a loyal following including members of the Grateful Dead. Lead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia once said of him, ``Most of us who have been involved in the psychedelic experience wish we had the discipline and rigor of Terence McKenna, the only person who's made serious effort to objectify the psychedelic experience -- and done a good job of it.''Mr. McKenna, who grew up in Paonia, Colo., moved to the San Francisco Bay Area while in high school. He attended the University of California-Berkeley for two years and traveled extensively through Asia, Europe and South America before completing a self-tailored degree in shamanology at Berkeley in 1975. In the years following, Mr. McKenna became known for his controversial lectures and books claiming that psychedelic plants, most notably psilocybin mushrooms, were the key to the evolution of human consciousness.He married Kathleen Harrison in 1976 and formed a company called Lux Natura, which circulated tapes of his lectures, and disseminated spores that were said to grow the psilocybin mushrooms. In 1992, he divorced and later moved to Hawaii, where he lived with Christy Silness. He was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer last May and returned to the mainland for treatment. On his Web site, Mr. McKenna posted numerous updates on his condition along with his thoughts on the disease. In a message dated June 1999, Mr. McKenna wrote, ``I welcome the love and support of friends. This is a mad and wild adventure at the fractal edge of life and death and space and time. Just where we love to be, right, shipmates?'' Mr. McKenna is survived by Silness, his brother, Dennis, and two children, Finn, 22, and Klea, 19.San Rafael:Contact: letters sjmercury.comPublished:Thursday April 6, 2000 Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury NewsMAP Posted-by: Derek ReaNews Article Courtesy Of MapInc.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n461/a02.htmlCannabisNews MapInc. Archives:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/MAP.shtmlRelated Article & Web Site:Terence McKenna is Very Sickhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread1467.shtmlLycaeum's Web Sitehttp://www.lycaeum.org/ Terence McKenna Landhttp://www.deoxy.org/mckenna.htmUpdates on Terence's Condition http://www.deoxy.org/t_dennis0.htmErowid Character Vaults Terence McKennahttp://www.erowid.org/culture/characters/mckenna_terence.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by Pól on December 10, 2004 at 02:37:00 PT: Threads in hyperspace Terence had guts as well as wit. Radiant. He knew~knows how it works at the continuums' [sic] edge. If you dig what he came out with, and are looking for something else to go in with, try "The Hog's Wholey Wash" starter [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on April 07, 2000 at 17:57:40 PT: Another good one gone I tend to share Dr. Ganj's sentiments about the 'good ones'. It seems that they are only here a short time, busy opening the eyes of the half-way blind to new possibilities. And in the process, showing how truly assinine so many of our social conventions are. Because of that they are villified by those who haven't the wit to understand what they are saying.Ave atque vale, Terrence. You'll be missed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by R.Earing on April 07, 2000 at 13:54:23 PT: Sadness Brilliant and fearless.A shining example of mans' curiousity in the face of adversity.It takes supreme confidence to stare into the void of the mind. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dr. Ganj on April 07, 2000 at 09:22:04 PT He now knows the real truth We lost a great explorer, but he gained the answer to our deepest question: "What happens after this Earthly life?"I often feel the good ones go first, as they have finished their classes here, while the rest of us battle over property, money, religion, and marijuana laws. The one comforting thing I reflect upon daily, is knowing that every jailer, every judge, and every single cop out there, is going to physically die and realize that marijuana was put here to heal and assist people.Maybe, just maybe, the ignorant will finally see the truth.Dr. Ganj http://www.maps.org [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: