Moses saw God on DMT – claims professor
In the southern regions of the Holy Land and in the Sinai peninsula there grow two plants containing the molecules that together constitute the key ingredients of one of the most powerful psychedelic substances in existence, the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca. Professor Benny Shanon speculates that both played a key role in Moses’ encounters with God.
“Moses kept the flock of Jethro . . . and he led the flock to the backside of the desert,
and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.”
– (Exodus 3:1–4)
Inspecting various episodes in the life of Moses, one encounters striking
similarities with features characteristic of the altered states of consciousness induced by the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca.
According to Professor Benny Shanon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, it is probable that Moses’ encounter, as it is described in the Bible, with the burning bush and his dialog with God happened while he was under the influence of an Ayahuasca-like psychedelic plants, that are still common in the Sinai Desert. Shanon also attributes various other episodes connected to Moses and the exodus of the Israelites from ancient Egypt to encounters with Entheogens.
He says: “Inspecting various episodes in the life of Moses, one encounters striking
similarities with features characteristic of the altered states of consciousness induced by the Amazonian brew Ayahuasca. Indeed, the biblical episodes describe experiences that are among the most common with this brew. These include serpentine metamorphosis, synesthesia, intense light, seeing creatures without faces and the encounter with the Divine. Whereas the detection of light and the encounter with the Divine are not specific to Ayahuasca, the other features noted are especially symptomatic of this particular entheogen… [establishing] the basis for the characterization of Moses’ special religious experiences as DMT-induced altered states of consciousness…”
Indeed, the biblical episodes describe experiences that are among the most common with this brew. These include serpentine metamorphosis, synesthesia, intense light, seeing creatures without faces and the encounter with the Divine.
Harmal (Peganum harmala)
Professor Shanon suggests that these entheogens might be either one of few acacia trees subspecies that grow in the region and contain DMT or a plant called Peganum harmala (harmal in Arabic) or a combination of both, as they contain betacarbolines and DMT, respectively.
Acacia Tortilis.