Hallucinogens and Shamanism by Michael Harner

In this regard, Hallucinogens and Shamanism not only illuminates the thought patterns and religious views of many non-literate societies, but adds a new dimension to the psychology of religion. The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner My rating: 4 of 5 stars.

His 1980 book, The Way of the Shaman: a Guide to. He founded the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and the New Age practice of Core Shamanism. Almost uniformly, their fascinating accounts speak of the deep experience of another reality and a profound duality of body and spirit. Michael James Harner (Ap February 3, 2018) was an anthropologist, educator and author. Most of the authors have succeeded in penetrating the primitive mystical experience by taking the psychotropic catalyst and participating in the native ceremonies. Unlike most earlier anthropological reports on shamanism, these essays go beyond objective observation. The authors discuss the ritual use of ayahuasca (a potent tea made from the jungle vine Banisteriopsis), psychotropic mushrooms, peyote cactus, and the more esoteric solanaceous plants - mandrake, henbane, and 'deadly nightshade.' The research ranges from the aboriginal tribes of the Upper Amazon to cultures undergoing Westernization, such as the Apaches of the Southwestern United States from the myth-enshrouded cults of medieval witchcraft to a modern laboratory experiment. In this unusual collection, ten original studies explore the use of hallucinogens in shamanism: the ancient and widespread practice of invoking a trance state to perceive and manipulate supernatural forces. Only recently, however, with the surge of interest in hallucinogenic agents in our own culture, have researchers begun to acknowledge the essential role of such substances in the cosmology of many of these primitive societies. Anthropologists have long been fascinated by the worldview and religious beliefs of primitive peoples.

Hallucinogens and Shamanism by Michael Harner