Space and Time cover image

Space and Time

John Steele - w Terence Mckenna - Memory - Part 1

Nov 9, 2023
Terence McKenna, an American ethnobotanist, philosopher, and advocate for psychedelics, explores topics including the Kali Yuga, memory in Buddhism, the impact of memory on systems, interpreting memory and the unconscious mind, the history of tool making, object proliferation, emotional attachment to possessions, and the concept of non-memory in shamanism.
01:12:41
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Episode guests

Terence McKenna

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The over-reliance on memory and accumulation of objects can hinder our ability to fully experience the present moment.
  • By encoding sensory experiences and developing an intention to remember, we can break free from the limitations of fixated memory.

Deep dives

Memory and the Kali Yuga

The Kali Yuga, or the age we live in now according to East Indian chronology, is marked by temporal density. The density of events per unit of time leads to a feeling of overwhelm and an unending array of tasks. In this age, there is also a climatic disequilibrium and a narrowing of the time window. The prevalence of memory in our society, symbolized by the hoarding of objects and the emphasis on record keeping, can lead to a brittleness and constipation of the mind. The over-reliance on memory and the accumulation of objects can hinder our ability to react quickly and fully experience the present moment. Cross-state retention, or the ability to remember across different states of consciousness, is an important countermeasure to memory wrongly interpreted. By encoding sensory experiences and developing an intention to remember, we can cultivate an extended mind and break free from the limitations of fixated memory.

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