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334 * WHAT COULD AND MIGHT BE how best to use the drugs we already have as we now do studying how they exert their effects, or designing new agents. We can investigate even the most unusual and controversial experiences to which the spirit molecule leads us by breaking them down into smaller component parts. No matter how exotic, however, these remain mechanism- of-action studies. We should remember the "if so, so what?" mantra as we probe, analyze, and experiment within even these lines of inquiry. How is what we learn helping us? I hope to have convincingly argued that naturally occurring psyche- delic states, such as contact with nonmaterial beings, and near-death and mystical experiences, resemble those induced by outside-administered DMT in our volunteers. Many of the following series of studies build upon these similarities. The first step is to examine the role of endogenous DMT in mediating the naturally occurring psychedelic states under discussion. We could begin by investigating the role of the pineal gland in producing endog- enous DMT. There are many non-invasive ways of studying pineal physiology in the living person using modern brain-imaging techniques. If the spirit gland is more active during dreams, deep meditation, or alien abduction experiences, this would be evidence for its role in their occurrence. In addition, we could use these technologies to determine if psychedelic drugs directly affect the pineal gland. We might remove pineal glands from dying animals at various time points after death. If there were measurable amounts of DMT in them, it would support something similar happening in humans. Human pineal re- lease of DMT near, at, or after death would strengthen the hypothesis that the spirit molecule accompanies consciousness's departure from the body. Elevated DMT levels in body fluids during dreams and childbirth would suggest a relationship between endogenous DMT and these pro- found shifts in consciousness. Even more compelling would be to find high DMT levels in people in the midst of a near-death, mystical, or ab- duction experience.