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When we spoke by phone later that week, she said, "I am really grate- ful for the experience. I really wanted to blow things out.’ It's changed my PAIN AND FEAR + 257 There's no reason I can't do that now. perspective. It's helped me refocus on my interest in healing work. There is so much I want to do. "There is no feeling of 'It's all fine.' There was no white light during my session. I still have a lot to work on. Part of my joy at the end was a feeling of accomplishment." Andrea could have continued fighting against painful and frighten- ing feelings, making a bad situation worse. We knew she might have difficulty letting go after she told us about her mother's comparing her sleep-related symptoms to demonic attacks. Nevertheless, with her husband's and our support, she continued on through her fear and found the sadness and confusion that lay behind it. Facing her anxiety and fears, giving up resistance, she emerged with a clearer sense of who she was, what she desired, and plans for carrying out her goals. Some of the most immediately hair-raising DMT sessions involved real life-and-death issues related to blood pressure that rose or fell to danger- ous levels. Lucas's blood pressure dropped to almost shocklike levels, while Kevin's rose to frighteningly high ones. At fifty-six, Lucas was one of our older volunteers. A writer and en- trepreneur, he lived in a remote village in northern New Mexico, where his greenhouse contained all manner of exotic mind-altering plants. He was articulate, intelligent, and fearless. Luca's outpatient clinic screening electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing was not 100 percent normal. His heart rate was rather slow, in the high 50s, and he had what is known as a "sinus arrhythmia." This means that when breathing in and out, his heart rate slowed down and sped up more than was the case with most people. I called the cardiologist who inter- preted his ECG, and he told me that if Lucas had no signs or symptoms of heart disease, there was little to worry about. It was a "normal variant." Lucas's low dose gave us some idea that he might have a big session the next day. Like Rex, who passed out upon entrance to the futuristic