Hello everyone! This is also my first post so bear with me!    To start this off I need to explain why I'm making this. A friend of mine and I were discussing a chemical named DMT for short. (It has a long scientific name that I don't remember and frankly don't feel like looking up mainly cause I'm using my phone) There are a few cultures that use this chemical compound for spiritual and hallucinogenic purposes. DMT is often called, "The Spirit Molecule". It's believed that your brain naturally releases DMT before and in the moments leading up to death. The drug itself is said to prepare the brain for the next step in the conscious journey. Death.    Now wether you believe in this or not is not up for debate. But my friend and I noticed a correlation. (We also happen to be amateur Ghost hunters. Imagine that!) Now there seems to be a link between certain death events and the brains inability to release DMT at brain death. This would obviously be the case with people who have gotten in to horrific accidents like car wrecks and suicides where the gland that secretes the DMT is completely disintegrated. Could there be a link between some apparitions and the brains inability to make DMT at premature brain death? What do you guys think?

biffster-2.0 :

No, DMT causes hallucinations and dreams. It's not a "spirit molecule". 

If I take acid and see things that are not really there it is not paranormal it is me stuck in psychosis. I don't think DMT is any different, it's a psychedelic compound produced by living organisms that can mess with your mind and conscious.

DMT could explain why people see weird things when they have near death experiences. Some see bright lights who say its Jesus or whatever reeling them into heaven when in reality it could just be the bright lights from ones hospital bed. As Txgangsta mentioned, it's just hallucinations and I do NOT believe it is paranormal related considering psychedelic drugs / compounds alter ones cognition and perception of reality.

I think you are better off linking DMT to people with mental illnesses (those who see or hear things). For instance, Son of Sam took orders from a demon who manifested into a dog and told him to kill people. Was it really a demon or was it just he had too much DMT in him? I'd go with DMT because there needs to be more substance and credibility to say something is paranormal. As a paranormal investigator it is your job to find that credibility and convince others in the process. DMT isn't convincing at all because only those on tripping at that very moment will witness the fantasies making it impossible to prove otherwise.

Like I said this isn't a debate on wether you believe in DMT holding power as a hallucinogen or as a spiritual guide. Many people regard it as both. Some American Indians use a form of edible DMT named iowaska. It acts in much the same way LSD would. (DMT reacts to the brain a little bit differently than LSD and the recorded experiences are much different also). But the fact is your brain releases it at near death experiences. Would it not make sense for DMT to play some kind of role in what happens after death? It defenitly seems like the mind would go in to an altered state anyway before it knew it was going to die anyway. Wouldn't it make sense for that to have some kind of connection?

biffster-2.0 :

Yes, it makes sense that DMT plays a role in death and near-death. When the brain thinks it's dying and it cannot find a way to correct whatever imbalances there are, it attempts a chaotic struggle in an attempt to stay alive and just sprays chemicals randomly. This includes DMT. It also releases when there are crazy toxin levels because your brain can no longer control your bodies systems accurately.

People theorize (accurately, I believe) that this is the reason for so many near-death-experience stories. Many people's understanding of the afterlife does have to do with accounts that could come from their own or others experiences involving DMT.

However, after death, it makes no sense to link DMT to anything. The person has died. DMT is not inside a person anymore, now it is inside a corpse.

That being said, God is real, Christ was raised, and souls exist. Truth does not change simply because there are chemicals that explain why people are weird. However, we may need to think about thinks like souls and afterlife differently.