scholarly journals The Siberian Shaman’s technique of ecstasy

1982 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 103-121
Author(s):  
Anna-Leena Siikala
Keyword(s):  
Basic Mechanism ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Role Taking ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Reality Orientation ◽  
Guide Lines ◽  
Ideal Process ◽  
The Ideal

Changes in the field of observation and body image, attenuated grasp of reality and self-control, which may lead to identification with authority in the case of the shaman with supranormal powers, are all identifying features of shamanic ecstasy. It also appears that some of the basic elements of the shamanic tradition can be explained on the basis of typical marks of identification of altered states of consciousness. A sense of depersonalization and transcendence may in itself act as an impetus to cosmic journey fantasies. Without doubt, such feelings are at the very heart of the tradition containing the schism between mind and body. Thus, by placing the shamanic technique of ecstasy beside parallel modes of behaviour, possibly of different cultural background, we discover the guide lines for analysing its basic psychophysical properties. When studying a phenomenon such as shamanism, where the method of inducing trance is marked by the occurrence of certain common features and whose culturally-bound meaning and social function are, broadly speaking, uniform, we may assume that despite individual variation the basic mechanism of the technique of ecstasy may be delineated. What, then, is the ideal process of the shamanic trance technique? What factors exert particular pressure on the behaviour of the shaman? Shamanic practice differ from other means of attaining ecstasy with its emphasis on the ritual role-taking technique aimed at the supranormal counter-roles, the "spirit-helpers". The shaman's generalized reality orientation is cut off by means of suitable ritual requisites, the extinguishing of the lights and the noise of intensified drumming. Its place is taken by special orientation, a world created by the shamanic tradition, fantasies of supranormal beings and their dwelling places. The shaman actualises one spirit role after another according to a set pattern.

scholarly journals The Continuum of Mind-Body Interplay—From Placebo Effect to Unexplained Cures

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Saad ◽  
Roberta de Medeiros
Keyword(s):  
Placebo Effect ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Healing ◽  
Altered States ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Continuum

<em>Mind and body are components of the same entity, with many relations of great importance to health and disease. The next medical frontier will be to answer what are all the mind and body relations, and how it can be explored in clinical practice. In the present manuscript, the authors collected elements that could collaborate to such advancement. The first challenge is to identify how diverse mind-body phenomena, apparently different, may share common grounds, as different manifestations from a unique self-healing mechanism. The range of such spectrum goes from the underestimated placebo effect to the unexplained cure of serious diseases. In such continuum of common and uncommon phenomena regarding mind-body interactions, small daily wonders may be found in the placebo effect and spirituality in health; unusual special marvels may be found in altered states of consciousness; and great rare miracles may be found in trance states and unexplained cures. Some informal mind-body interventions may have the potential to support the clinical treatment and they could be prescribed by every clinician. Finally, the advancement of the self-healing concept could lead to a better clinical exploration of such natural hidden potential.</em>

Sadomasochism as a path to altered states of consciousness

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Ambler ◽  
Ellen M. Lee ◽  
Kathryn R. Klement ◽  
Tonio Loewald ◽  
Brad J. Sagarin
Keyword(s):  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
States Of Consciousness

Virtual Unreality

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Interactive Video ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Visual Systems

This chapter explores altered states of consciousness in interactive video games and virtual reality applications. First, a brief overview of advances in the sound and graphics of video games is provided, which has led to ever-more immersive capabilities within the medium. Following this, a variety of games that represent states of intoxication, drug use, and hallucinations are discussed, in order to reveal how these states are portrayed with the aid of sound and music, and for what purpose. An alternative trajectory in games is also explored, as various synaesthetic titles are reviewed, which provide high-adrenaline experiences for ravers, and simulate dreams, meditation, or psychedelic states. Through the analysis of these, and building upon the previous chapters of Inner Sound, this chapter presents a conceptual model for ‘Altered States of Consciousness Simulations’: interactive audio-visual systems that represent altered states with regards to the sensory components of the experience.

Synaesthetic Overdrive

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Visual Media ◽  
Altered States Of Consciousness ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Visual Music ◽  
Background Theory ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Feature Films ◽  
Expanded Cinema ◽  
Improved Accuracy

This chapter discusses altered states of consciousness in audio-visual media, such as films, psychedelic light shows, and VJ performances. First, some background theory is introduced, explaining the main categories of film sound, and what research tells us regarding the way in which sound influences the perception of visual images and vice versa. Following this background section, a tour is provided through various films that represent altered states of consciousness, including surrealist movies, ‘trance films’, and Hollywood feature films. These demonstrate a progression, where more recent movies are able to make use of digital audio and visual effects to represent the subjective experience of altered states with improved accuracy. Meanwhile, beyond the traditional confines of the cinema, ‘expanded cinema’ works such as visual music, psychedelic light shows, and VJ performances have provided increasingly sophisticated synaesthetic experiences, which are designed to transform the consciousness of their audience.

Psychedelic Illusions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Weinel
Keyword(s):  
Rock Music ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Altered States ◽  
Sound Design ◽  
States Of Consciousness ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Rock N Roll ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Conceptual Meaning

This chapter explores how music technologies and electronic studio processes relate to altered states of consciousness in popular music. First, an overview of audio technologies such as multi-tracking, echo, and reverb is given, in order to explore their illusory capabilities. In the rock ’n’ roll music of the 1950s, studio production techniques such as distortion provided a means through which to enhance the energetic and emotive properties of the music. Later, in surf rock, effects such as echo and reverb allowed the music to evoke conceptual visions of teenage surf culture. In the 1960s and 1970s, these approaches were developed in psychedelic rock music, and space rock/space jazz. Here, warped sounds and effects allowed the music to elicit impressions of psychedelic experiences, outer space voyages, and Afrofuturist mythologies. By exploring these areas, this chapter shows how sound design can communicate various forms of conceptual meaning, including the psychedelic experience.

Some Tears in Achilles Tatius (Achilles 6.7.3–7)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. O. Hutchinson
Keyword(s):  
Self Control ◽  
First Person ◽  
Achilles Tatius ◽  
Mind And Body ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Mind

Another novelist provides in some respects a point in between Chariton and Heliodorus. His elaborate expatiation on tears and the lover put rhythm at the service of an intricate treatment of the mind and body, and a shrewd depiction of amorous self-control and manipulation. The first-person narrative adds a further stratum of sophistication to this handling of the speaker’s rival and enemy. Achilles Tatius demonstrates further, in contrast with Chariton, the range of possibilities for the exploitation of rhythm seen already in the difference of Chariton and Plutarch. Comparison with Heliodorus brings out Achilles’ elegance.

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