Divine Mania: Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece by Yulia Ustinova

What role did altered states of consciousness play in the life of ancient Greek society? With consummate skill and scholarship, Yulia Ustinova answers this question in her book, Divine Mania: Alteration of Consciousness in Ancient Greece. It appears that the secret of the extraordinary creativity of the ancient Greeks was their receptivity to, and approval of, a particular altered state of consciousness they cultivated. Mania is the name for this but it must be qualified as “god-given.” Mania is a word that touches on a cluster of concepts: madness, ecstasy, and enthusiasm, engoddedness, to use Ustinova’s more vivid coinage. It seems a paradox that this special, strange and often quite frightening state of dissociation should be so closely linked to one of the most creative civilizations. Unlike the Roman and Egyptian, the Greek approved and recognized the value of god-inspired mania. Plato makes Socrates say in the Phaedrus that through mania we may obtain the “greatest blessings.” Whereas resistance to divine ecstasy can end in disaster, as Euripides illustrates in The Bacchants when Pentheus, a repressive authoritarian, tries to inhibit a posse of women from their ecstatic mountain dances. He is torn to shreds by his mother and her maniacal cohorts. This mindset of the ancient Greeks may have long ago petered out, but similar tendencies are constants, expressed in one form or another, throughout history.

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Alteration of consciousness in Ancient Greece: divine mania

History of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0957154x20909306 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (3) ◽

pp. 257-273

Author(s):

Yulia Ustinova

Keyword(s):

Ancient Greece ◽

Mental States ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Complex Societies ◽

Altered States ◽

Greek Society ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Alteration Of Consciousness

Ancient Greece was unique in its attitude to alteration of consciousness. Various altered states of consciousness were commonly known: initiates experienced them during mystery rites; sacred officials and enquirers attained them in the major oracular centres; possession by various deities was recognized; and some sages and philosophers practised manipulation of consciousness. From the perspective of individual and public freedom, the prominent position of mania in Greek society reflects its openness and acceptance of the inborn human proclivity to experience alterations of consciousness, which were interpreted in positive terms as god-sent. These mental states were treated with cautious respect, but never suppressed or pushed to the cultural and social periphery, in contrast to many other complex societies, ancient and modern.

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The Coming Era of Time-Free Transparency

Imagination Cognition and Personality ◽

10.1177/0276236617743005 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 18-30

Author(s):

Nicholas Brink

Keyword(s):

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Altered State ◽

Night Time ◽

New Era ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Jean Gebser ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness

In his book The Ever-Present Origin, Jean Gebser describes the new era of consciousness into which we are moving as we move from the era of rational consciousness into the an era of time-free transparency. This article describes in greater detail the meaning and nature of consciousness that is time-free and transparent. Both of these features are most apparent in night-time dreams and other altered states of consciousness, features that were and are available to the shamans of both ancient and contemporary hunting-gathering cultures. A direct way of experiencing these features of this new consciousness is through the altered state of ecstatic trance as researched by the anthropologist Felicitas Goodman as described in her book Where the Spirits Ride the Wind. The induction of this altered state of consciousness is then described.

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Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness: the Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs)

10.31231/osf.io/b5wyf ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

ENRICO FACCO ◽

Fabio Fracas ◽

Patrizio Tressoldi

Keyword(s):

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Ontological Status ◽

Altered State ◽

Conceptual Tool ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Theoretical Paper ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness ◽

Ordinary Consciousness ◽

The Mind

Aim of this theoretical paper is to review the ontological status of so-called altered states of consciousness, suggesting a revision of their common interpretation as abnormal, or anyway less-than-normal conditions. The term Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs), is described and emphasized as a new conceptual tool allowing a more comprehensive interpretation of the varieties of the normal albeit non ordinary consciousness experiences and their implications in the mind-body relationship.

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Moving beyond the concept of altered state of consciousness: the Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs)

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal ◽

10.14738/assrj.83.9935 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 615-631

Author(s):

Enrico Facco ◽

Fabio Fracas ◽

Patrizio Tressoldi

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

State Of The Art ◽

The State ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Altered State ◽

New Classification ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness

Aim of this paper is to review the state of the art of so-called altered states of consciousness, anomalous experiences, and exceptional human experiences, showing the need for reappraising the whole topic and gather them under one roof. The term Non-Ordinary Mental Expressions (NOMEs) and a new classification of non-pathological ostensibly odd phenomena is introduced, emphasizing their epistemological, transcultural and interdisciplinary implications with their huge implications in medical and psychotherapeutical clinical practice.

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Neurotechnology in the Development of Cyber-Psychotherapy Systems for Inducing and Measuring Altered States of Consciousness in Transpersonal Psychotherapy

Advances in Psychology, Mental Health, and Behavioral Studies - Web-Based Behavioral Therapies for Mental Disorders ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-3241-5.ch007 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 185-211

Author(s):

Raul Valverde

Keyword(s):

Transpersonal Psychology ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Human Beings ◽

Altered State ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Transpersonal Psychotherapy ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness ◽

Human Psyche ◽

Different Characteristics

Transpersonal psychotherapy is based on transpersonal psychology and considers that the psyche is multidimensional and that there are several “levels of consciousness” and each has different characteristics and is governed by different laws. Transpersonal psychology is the study of human nature and proceeds on the assumption that human beings possess potentials that exceed the limits of their ego and integrate the spiritual experience within a broader understanding of the human psyche and consciousness. Altered states of consciousness have been used as psychotherapy in transpersonal psychology for decades. Although there are very well known techniques to induce altered state of consciousness as holotropic breathwork, Neurotechnology offers an alternative way not only to induce these states for transpersonal therapy but also to measure the level of a state of consciousness. The objective of this chapter is to provide a review of the main concepts of Neurotechnology and the main technologies that can be used to induce and measure altered state of consciousness for transpersonal psychotherapy and propose an architecture for a Cyber psychotherapy system that uses these technologies.

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Neurotechnology in the Development of Cyber-Psychotherapy Systems for Inducing and Measuring Altered States of Consciousness in Transpersonal Psychotherapy

Research Anthology on Rehabilitation Practices and Therapy ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-3432-8.ch037 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 766-786

Author(s):

Raul Valverde

Keyword(s):

Transpersonal Psychology ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Altered States ◽

Human Beings ◽

Altered State ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Transpersonal Psychotherapy ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness ◽

Human Psyche ◽

Different Characteristics

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The nose and altered states of consciousness: Tascodrugites and Ezekiel

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v58i2.777 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

Author(s):

John J. Pilch

Keyword(s):

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Human Potential ◽

Altered States ◽

Altered State ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Church Father ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness ◽

The Church

The Church Father Epiphanius' description of the Tascodrugite practice of placing the forefinger on the nostril during prayer call be plausibly interpreted as a strategy for inducing an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Anthropological and neurophysiological research on how this human gesture achieves such an effect which is a pan-human potential suggests a similar plausible interpretation for Ezekiel 8:17 and the experience of Jesus in the Garden on the night of his arrest (Luke 22:43-44).

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7. Altered states of consciousness

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction ◽

10.1093/actrade/9780198794738.003.0007 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 100-116

Author(s):

Susan Blackmore

Keyword(s):

Normal State ◽

Altered States Of Consciousness ◽

Psychoactive Drugs ◽

Altered States ◽

States Of Consciousness ◽

Body Experiences ◽

The World ◽

Altered State Of Consciousness ◽

Near Death Experiences

‘Altered states of consciousness’ discusses the states of consciousness during sleep, dreaming, hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, meditation, and after taking psychoactive drugs. Psychologist Charles Tart defines an altered state of consciousness (ASC) as ‘a qualitative alteration in the overall pattern of mental functioning, such that the experiencer feels his consciousness is radically different from the way it functions ordinarily’. This certainly captures the idea of ASCs, but also creates problems, such as knowing what a ‘normal’ state is. In both mystical experiences and long-term meditation, people describe seeing through the illusions of duality and seeing the world as it truly is.

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