Relax.
DMT Quest is hardly embracing a religious perspective in this piece. The title “Miracles from Heaven” has to do with the movie about a young girl named Annabel Beam. In 2011, ten year old Annabel suffered from conditions known as pseudo-obstruction motility disorder (POMD) and antral hypomotility disorder (AHD). POMD is caused by the severe impairment of the intestines to push food through the digestive tract (peristalsis). It’s been stated that this condition may be caused by an injury to the smooth muscle or the nervous system of the gastrointestinal tract. AHD is characterized by weak contractions in the antrum, the funnel shaped lowermost part of the stomach. As of 2016, it appears as though both of these conditions in combination are extremely difficult to address with many secondary illnesses arising from them. Annabel’s case was considered a chronic situation that would eventually lead to her premature death due to an inability to process food in addition to multiple complications arising from it.
Her story encompasses the difficulties in finding alleviating treatments for her condition while being treated at Boston Children’s Hospital by Dr. Samuel Nurko. In the movie, her condition continues to worsen and hope of recovery continues to fade. However, during one fateful day, Annabel climbed up a tree in the backyard of her family’s home and accidentally fell 30 feet down into the center of the hollowed tree. After falling, she was knocked unconscious but was able to regain consciousness at some point during the 5 hours she was trapped inside. Somehow there were no major injuries from the fall. She was subsequently hoisted out of the tree by emergency personnel and life-flighted to the nearest hospital for observation.
Following this accident, Annabel reportedly experienced a dramatic recovery from her primary illnesses and showed no more symptoms. This reversal of her condition has been verified by the doctor that was treating her, Dr. Samuel Nurko.
Assuming that the story is true let us speculate the mechanisms which took place to manifest it’s occurrence.
A 2015 write-up in the Annals of Gastroenterology outlines the gut-brain axis (GBA) linking it’s bidirectional communication involving emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. The review outlines signaling between the gut and the brain via neural, endocrine, immune, and humoral links.
It’s relatively clear that there are multiple signaling pathways from the brain to the digestive system and the digestive system to the brain. In Annabel’s case, she suffered a traumatic fall that resulted in a near death experience which subsequently altered the signaling in her gut from dysfunctional to once again functional. Based on cortical homunculus principles, it would seem that prior to the fall, a faulty neural pathway in the brain was directly effecting her signaling in the gut.
Based on prior information cited on DMT Quest outlining the effects of gamma brain waves and their ability to potentiate new, neural pathway formation… we speculate that Annabel experienced robust, global gamma waves as a consequence of her fall. In addition, melatonin levels have been observed to surge nearly 500% in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) following traumatic brain injury. In a 2013 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the EEG activity of rats experiencing heart attacks were measured. The study concluded the following: “High-frequency neurophysiological activity in the near-death state exceeded levels found during the conscious waking state.”
This potential surge in global gamma waves essentially restructured the sub-par neural pathway. Simultaneously with the neural pathway restructuring was the change in genetic expression of the neuron or neurons involved with the faulty signaling. This would then signal the neurons in the gut with the gene expression for the development of POMD and AHD to change to a gene that normalizes gut function.
Once again, this is all speculation based on the available information.
Do we believe that DMT was involved?
Based on studies regarding the neuroplastic effects of Ayahuasca (which contains DMT) as well as all the other potentially DMT-related activities that coincide with neuroplasticity (WHM, meditation, sleep, hypnosis)… we’d undoubtedly say yes. This doesn’t even include the subjective experience that Annabel reports while she was in the hollow tree.
The question then continues… if Annabel could experience this “miracle” based on DMT release that induces global gamma wave formation, is it possible that these mechanics can be replicated in other diseases?
It’s obvious that there are many hormonal and neurotransmitter fluctuations that take place during physical and even emotional trauma. DMT (N,N-DMT, 5-MEO-DMT, 5-HO-DMT) are likely to play a key role alongside melatonin, glutathione, and many others.)
In recent times, 26 Guinness world record holder Wim Hof has received criticism for voicing anecdotal reports that some Wim Hof Method (WHM) practitioners have effectively reversed diseases such as terminal cancer. While it may seem far-fetched at first glance, when considering the mechanics of WHM and it’s ability to induce Gamma wave formation and DMT-like experiences, it seems much less far-fetched. If virtually all disease can be linked to faulty neural pathway development in the brain and if a person can permanently restructure that pathway, it would seem illogical to assume that disease must persist. The effectiveness of WHM seems to be based on the gradual restructuring of the signaling pathways in addition to positive systemic biological changes that are induced.
The word “cancer” brings up the perception of an indomitable force that cannot be surmounted without hundreds of credible scientists claiming it can be reversed. Nevertheless there have been thousands of cases of spontaneous remission of cancerous tumors throughout the world. Perhaps the root cause of the spontaneous remission lies in the brain?
(Wim “The Iceman” Hof)
Back to “Miracles from Heaven”… the elephant in the room is not just Annabel’s timely recovery from her illness but her experience while inside the tree. Annabel stated to her mom:
“I sat on Jesus’s lap and I wanted to stay mommy because there’s no pain in heaven but he told me that I couldn’t, it wasn’t my time, that I had to go back, that there were plans on earth for me that I could not fulfill in heaven and that when the firefighters got me out there would be nothing wrong with me.”
“Mommy I always thought that heaven would be like sitting on clouds but really it’s like being suspended above the universe.”
While the “scientifically minded” skeptics can dismiss this subjective report as merely idealistic fragments of the mind accessed by extraordinary activity in the brain possibly related to DMT release, the accuracy of the aftermath is undeniable. Could it ever be proven that Annabel actually met with Jesus in Heaven?
Obviously not.
However, I do find it a bit silly to simply discard the information that we cannot understand because it goes against our belief system or makes us uncomfortable. I have little doubt that the mechanics of instantaneous healing will be properly deciphered over the next 10 years. The question is whether the biological/physical aspect is separate from the subjective “spiritual” aspect. It would seem a bit illogical to attempt to discard the latter for lack of framework. When a person is exposed to light or sounds, that stimulus is transmuted by sensory neurons that correlate with specific brain activity (electricity). It obviously doesn’t equate to the light or sound as not existing simply because we can identify the biological mechanisms taking place within the brain. Perhaps in the future the development of specific light spectrum cameras will allow us to peer into the “spirit” world. Maybe there are other dimensions involved… I have no idea.
Life is more mysterious than we might think and to believe that scientists have the answers for everything is a naive fallacy. What if there is a form of afterlife similar in description to the concept of “heaven”? What if the person known as Jesus does have a presence in that realm and possibly others?
Let us revert back to the million dollar question… how does all of this relate to DMT?
There are so many questions that need to be answered… and in the end, they’ll just lead to more questions.
(The concept of “God” is bothersome to many scientific minds based on the fact that “bad things” happen to good people across the world all the time. It comes with the notion that if there was a “God”, this shouldn’t be the case. Perhaps this game we call “life” is much more complex than simply good or bad. Maybe we need to explore the extremes of life to understand what this circus is all about. I surely have no answers… only questions.)
DMT Quest is a non-profit 501(c)3 dedicated to raising awareness and funds for endogenous DMT Research. This specific field of psychedelic research has been underfunded for many decades now. It’s time to take our understanding of human physiology, abilities, and perception to the next level. E-mail me at jchavez@dmtquest.org with any comments or questions. You can also follow us at Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.