Is Ego Death Going Mainstream with the God Molecule?

Of all the psychedelic drugs, 5-MeO-DMT offers perhaps the most rapid route towards feelings of transcendence. Also known as the “God molecule,” the tryptamine derived from the Sonoran desert toad can completely obliterate the ego and herald 10 minutes of godly bliss, though that often follows a momentary but mentally excruciating fear response. 

Psychedelic neuroscientist Chris Timmerman, from University College London, was fascinated by anecdotal reports suggesting that the drug could bring about an experience of sheer awareness and nothingness. Some have even described it as a “cosmic orgasm.” Timmerman set out to investigate whether 5-MeO-DMT can break down one’s sense of reality and self without causing the loss of consciousness or blackouts, which can occur after consuming large doses of the drug, sometimes leading to severe psychological destabilization. (That study was recently published in the journal Neurosci Consciousness.) 

So can it? Potentially, yes, in a safe setting with an appropriate dose. “We found that it wasn’t an experience of just nothing, but rather both everything and nothing at the same time,” says Timmermann, who collected brain activity data of 5-MeO-DMT in legal jurisdictions, including Spain and the Netherlands, using EEG caps which appeared to back up previous anecdotal reports of heightened ego dissolution, detailed most notably in James Oroc’s book Tryptamine Palace. “In some meditation traditions, they call it sunyata — this idea of a fertile void of sorts.”

The findings suggest that 5-MeO-DMT reduces the power of alpha and beta waves in the brain, thereby limiting the types of “top-down” thinking that causes us to pay attention and keep track of sensory inputs. Simply, the brain stops imposing its usual order, as with other psychedelics, leaving open many further rich avenues for scientific investigation. “There's still a lot to figure out,” says Timmermann, who is analyzing data from a lab study that should provide greater insights into the nature of the experience.  All of which could offer glimpses into the core machinery of consciousness that cannot be found while studying other psychedelics.

“5-MeO-DMT in its peak experience is a pure mystical or religious experience,” says Joel Brierre, co-founder of 5-MeO-DMT retreat center Tandava, which has been collaborating with King’s College London, on a separate preprint study. “It's something more than just treating a condition that’s happening: There’s something to be said around human beings coming into raw contact with the deepest parts of themselves and their consciousness.”

In that study, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, researchers found that participants used more introspective and reflective language in the period following their single session, while expressing less fear and more joy. “This is the first study of its kind to demonstrate how voice and language can serve as markers of integration,” Tandava said in a statement after the paper was published, “revealing how deeply 5-MeO-DMT can catalyze change when held in the right container.”

Naturally, the race to bring this potent technology to market in the U.S. is heating up. Two rival companies, Beckley Psytech and GH Research, are battling to get their drug candidate through trials first and to become competitors to the ketamine nasal spray Spravato for depression, which has become a billion-dollar industry. 

At the beginning of July, Beckley shared preliminary data indicating that its 5-MeO-DMT candidate has rapid and significant antidepressant effects, clearing the way for advanced-stage trials prior to submitting an application to the Food and Drug Administration. The positive results led to the confirmation of a takeover of Beckley by fellow psychedelic biotech company atai Life Sciences in a deal valued at $370 million.

So what happens when and if 5-MeO-DMT — whether through an intranasal device, in smoked form, or even a lozenge — comes to the masses? That will depend on what people do after they enter the void. 

“Medicine typically offers us an opportunity to live in a way that's more aligned with our soul, whereas our culture is more aligned with ego values and desires,” Otto Maier, an integration specialist at Tandava, told the Tricycle Day newsletter. “We're a product of our environment, so if you're doing all this work in nature, and then consistently coming back to an environment with a misaligned value system, you’re swimming upstream.” 

Whether it becomes a mass-prescribed spiritual sacrament or an expensive mood enhancer for the super-rich, one thing seems certain: The void is about to get very crowded.

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