The pineal gland secrets DMT during life-threatening situations and is one of the main ingredients of ayahuasca. Some believe Near Death Experiences are a product of DMT. In its powdered form it is smoked to produce short states similar to ayahuasca. There's more than adrenaline in adrenochrome.
And then there is the Wikileaks Stratfor emails of the kid off his meds threatening to "smoke the pineal" of the dude he's writing to.
Over target.
*DMT is fairly ubiquitous in nature. It is the plant-DMT used in the ayahuasca ceremonies.
This. Pretty much.
Now imagine your physical body's death and here you are in a very scary "afterlife" for many. When you eventually find yourself there, face down every manifestation of fear and evil, for you easily can, and intend unconditional love while you ditch the ego and you are home.
I neglected to mention that, as you likely know, the astral may be accessed through meditation and lucid dreaming. There is a reason why ayahuasca was only used in traditional shamantic rituals.
Huh?