The Story That Changed Everything

Disclaimer: This theory is purely speculative and not widely accepted by mainstream religious scholars — but it offers a fascinating lens to re-examine a defining moment in human history. Let’s approach this as a thought experiment.

If you didn’t grow up studying religion, here’s the quick version:

Moses was a fugitive. After killing an abusive slave driver in Egypt, he fled into the wilderness. 

Years later, while working as a shepherd near Mount Sinai (Egypt), something strange happened:

He saw a bush on fire - but it wasn’t burning up.

No smoke. No ash. Just endless, unnatural flames.

Then came the voice - from inside the flames.

It was God.

Moses was told to return to Egypt and free the Israelites.

🔥 He returned.
👑 He confronted Pharaoh.
🐸 The plagues happened.
🌊 He led the Israelites out of slavery.

Three months later, at the base of Mount Sinai, thunder cracked and smoke poured down the mountain as Moses climbed into the chaos. 

He came back with the Ten Commandments - a moral code that shaped Western civilization.

So let’s examine this closely: 

• A man wanders alone into the desert.

• He’s surrounded by smoke, fire, and light.

• He hears a disembodied voice.

• Receives a cosmic transmission.

• And comes back completely transformed?

Let’s ask the question that got me kicked out of Sunday school:

Was Moses… tripping?

Some researchers — including respected cognitive scientists — now speculate that Moses may have been under the influence of a naturally occurring psychedelic compound known as DMT when he saw the burning bush.

And here’s where things get even more interesting: that doesn’t mean the experience wasn’t real.

What if psychedelics, rather than creating an illusion, were the tool that opened Moses up to the divine?

What if the fire, the voice, and the revelation were all part of a very real, very sacred encounter — made possible by nature itself?

Let’s explore why that just may be the case.

Acacia Trees: Nature’s DMT Dispensary

Mount Sinai is home to Acacia trees - rugged desert flora that just happens to contain N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), one of the most powerful psychedelics known.

If DMT in Acacia was released through burning — and that’s still speculative — it may trigger profound mystical states — feelings of unity, visions of sacred beings, and overwhelming encounters with what many describe as “God.”

Now picture this: a patch of Acacia trees catches fire. Whether struck by lightning, ignited by a stray ember, or burning under the hot desert sun — the result is the same.

A cloud of smoke laced with DMT drifts through the air. A curious shepherd like Moses walks into the haze… and everything changes.

Burn Acacia wood, and you might release psychoactive smoke.

Imagine this: Moses unknowingly or intentionally breathes it in, and reality cracks open.

The bush glows. The voice booms. The self dissolves.

God… unlocked.

🙏 Was it divine?
🧪 Was it chemical?
♾️ Maybe it was both.

There were thunderclaps and fire on Sinai. Maybe a lightning strike set an Acacia tree ablaze, filling the air with potent smoke.

✨ Bonus Theory: Syrian Rue + Acacia Smoke

Here’s where it gets extra interesting: 

If Moses had also consumed Syrian Rue - a natural MAOI used throughout the Middle East - it could have amplified and prolonged the effects of DMT.

Acacia delivers the DMT.

Syrian Rue makes DMT more active in the body.

Are we really supposed to believe ancient mystics and healers had no idea what these plants were capable of? 

Some believe this ancient combo wasn’t accidental - it was a ritual pathway to the divine.

And modern pharmacology?

It agrees.

DMT Trip Reports Sound… Awfully Familiar

If you’ve ever read a DMT experience report, you’ll see a familiar pattern:

• Blinding geometric patterns

• A commanding, wordless presence

• A voice with absolute authority

• A flood of unshakable truth

• The overwhelming feeling that this is more real than real

Sound familiar?

In fact, Hebrew University cognitive psychologist Benny Shanon — who studied psychedelics extensively — argues that Moses’ experience checks every box of a full-on DMT experience.

“Visions, voices, out-of-body experiences, extreme emotions, and a sense that what you’re witnessing is as real — or more real — than reality itself,” Shanon wrote.

He even suggests the Hebrew text refers to “an angel of the Lord” appearing in the bush — a phrase traditionally understood as a divine being, though in modern psychedelic terms, it mirrors the kinds of entities many DMT users report encountering.

So maybe Moses actually met something.

Maybe he didn’t just imagine God.

Humans Have Always Used Psychedelics to Meet God

Moses wouldn’t have been the first—or the last - to alter consciousness (intentionally or not) in search of the divine:

• The Eleusinian Mysteries in Greece used a psychedelic potion called kykeon

• Amazonian shamans drink ayahuasca to meet spirits

• Indigenous tribes use peyote, mushrooms, and snuff for sacred vision quests

• Sufis whirl themselves into ecstasy

• Kabbalists meditate on Hebrew letters to pierce the veil and connect directly with the Divine

For thousands of years, humans have sought direct experience with the sacred - no priest, no permission slip.

But over time, the spiritual became institutional.

🌀 Experience became ritual
📜 Revelation became dogma
⛪ Churches and synagogues stepped in to control the connection

Maybe Moses wasn’t breaking the rules.

Maybe he was just doing what we all once did:

Tuning in without a middleman.

It Wasn’t Just a Trip — It Was a Blueprint

This wasn’t a guy rambling about sacred geometry and time loops.

One of the most fascinating — and least understood — parts of a psychedelic experience is what researchers call the “download”.

Psychonauts describe this same phenomenon all the time: receiving messages about how to live, what matters, and what’s truly sacred.

People come out of deep psychedelic states convinced they’ve been handed universal truths. Not guesses. Not hallucinations. But real knowledge.

That’s exactly what happens to Moses.

Moses came back from the mountain with order, clarity, and a code of ethics that reshaped civilization.

Some believe these insights come from their own subconscious. Others are convinced it’s God, the universe, or a higher intelligence delivering the message directly.

Either way, the experience feels real. And lasting.

And that might explain why Moses, after his encounter, doesn’t just preach — he leads. Because once you touch that place, you don’t come back the same.

Maybe Psychedelics Were the Plan All Along

Let’s be clear here: saying Moses was on DMT doesn’t mean it wasn’t God.

What if psychedelics weren’t a detour from the divine… but a vehicle designed by nature (or God) to bring humans closer to it?

DMT is found in plants, animals, and trace amounts have even been found in the human body, though its exact role isn’t crystal clear yet.

It’s as if nature built a spiritual backdoor, waiting for someone to open it.

So what if the burning bush wasn’t just a miracle… but a meeting point?

What if Moses and the Divine hit the same frequency and the fire awakened the part of him that could finally tune in and listen?

Final Thoughts: Divine or DMT? Maybe Both.

We’ll never know exactly what Moses experienced on that mountain.

But the theory that he inhaled Acacia smoke - and maybe even prepared with Syrian Rue - isn’t as out-there as it once seemed.

More and more scholars, mystics, and seekers are asking the same question:

What if the divine has always been within reach - just one breath away?

And maybe the real danger was never the substance…

But forgetting that our ancestors used them to find God.

🧠🔥👁️

Psychedelics in Religion: A Forgotten Sacred Technology

Long before the term psychedelic was ever coined, cultures across the globe were using visionary plants to reach beyond the veil.

These weren’t party drugs or countercultural tools — they were sacred medicines. Gateways to the divine.

In ancient Egypt, blue lotus was steeped in spiritual ceremony.

In Persia, Zoroastrians drank haoma to commune with higher realms.

In the Americas, psilocybin mushrooms and peyote were central to ritual and healing.

Across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas, the same pattern emerges:

Psychedelics weren’t feared. They were revered.

👉 In our feature, Psychedelics in Religion, we explore:

• The global history of sacred entheogens

• How ancient rituals used altered states to access wisdom

• Why modern scholars believe these tools were central to early spirituality

This isn’t new.
This is ancient.
We just collectively forgot.

Now, the question is:
What happens when we remember?

Hidden Histories, Ancient Practices, and Divine Encounters

The Moses theory is just one piece of a much bigger story. For thousands of years, psychedelics have been used to spark spiritual awakenings, religious rituals, and encounters with the divine. These reads dive deeper into that sacred connection:

📚 Erowid: The Internet’s Psychedelic Library – Erowid is the unofficial sacred text of the psychedelic internet. It’s where experience reports, chemistry, safety guides, legal updates, and historical context all live under one digital roof. Visit Erowid

🌿 Psychedelics & Spirituality – What connects a DMT breakthrough to a divine vision? This piece explores how plant medicine has long been a tool for transcendent experiences. Read it here

✝️ Magic Mushrooms and Divinity: The Psychedelic Pastor – A modern-day minister rethinks the sacred using psilocybin. Explore the story

🌎 Plant Medicine & Psychedelics Throughout History – A global look at how ayahuasca, peyote, and other entheogens shaped ancient views of spirit and healing. Discover the roots

✅ No one can stop you from seeing what’s delivered directly to your email. 

You’re already subscribed - congratulations!

You beat the algorithm 😉 

Thank you for joining us as we continue to navigate this ever-changing landscape.

P.S. Explore what they don’t want you to see - check us out on X (Twitter) and Instagram, and dive deeper into all things psychedelic on our website. 🌐✨