Any mental state that is recognized by the individual or observer as different from a normal state
T/F:
In interacting with the supernatural world, an individual may
have mental experiences that transcend ordinary experiences, such as a trance
T
Altered states of consciousness can be brought about by a number
of _____, _____, and ______factors
physiological, psychological, and pharmaceutical factors
FASTING
The act of abstaining from eating food and drinking liquids over a period of time: Societal variations and examples; Leads to an alteration in body chemistry; Fasting is often seen as a sacrifice to a deity and often accompanies religious rituals; Is a part of the process of achieving atonement
Pain may be seen as:
a punishment, consequences of bad karma, purifying, transformative or a source of supernatural power – pain purifies and is used to achieve exorcism
Religious pain is often shared ___
pain
Stigmata
Marks on the body in areas that correspond to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus
SACRED PAIN
Use in rites of passage, including coming-of-age rituals – the ability to withstand pain has become an important element in these rituals
Many rituals use pain that is either _____ or ______
self-inflicted or inflicted by others
T/F:
Pain can also induce a euphoric state and may be related to
experiences of dissociation or trance
T
Pain is closely linked to emotion and sense of
self
Pilgrimages often involve sacred _____
pain
Sympathetic System
The arousal system of the brain is driven to higher and higher levels, ultimately becoming overstimulated, such as in situations in which a fast rhythm is being used.When this happens, the brain essentially selectively shuts down
Orientation Association Structure
One area of the brain that shuts down when overstimulated
This is the part of the brain that enables us to sense the boundaries of our body, to distinguish ourselves from the world around us, and to orient ourselves in space
Orientation Association Structure
Unitary state
An altered mental state described by many religious systems in which the divisions between the self and the outside world disappear and one feels as being “one” with the universe or supernatural beings
a key element in the Huichol’s religious practices
Peyote
THE IMPORTANCE OF A RITUAL SETTING
Religious drug use takes place only at certain times and in certain contexts, with defined beginning and end points. The ritual setting channels the experience in important ways
sometimes referred to as the “wisdom weed” or “the holy herb,” is
seen as a religious sacrament and a way to gain new understandings of self, the
universe and God
Ganga
A phenomenon in which a supernatural power, usually in the form
of spirits or gods, enters the person’s body
SPIRIT POSESSION
The second common religious interpretation of an altered state of consciousness is....
that a person has entered a trance state because the soul has left the person’s body
In small scale societies with relatively simple technologies, rituals usually are performed by...
by most or all of the adult members of the community
In larger and more technologically complex societies we see the
development of many...
occupational specializations, including religious specialists
Two major categories used to categorize religious specialists are those of...
shaman and priest
Shamans
Receive his or her power directly from the spirit world
BECOMING A SHAMAN
Shamans are frequently chosen by a spirit; Often the call comes in a dream, trance, or during a particularly difficult time in their lives; Since the task of being a shaman is so difficult and demanding, and the shaman is so marginalized, many individuals do not seek this calling
The success of a shaman lies not in her ability to memorize and
perform rituals, but in her ability to...
successfully establish contact and some measure of control over the supernatural
The control of spirit helpers and the ability to enter altered
states of consciousness are central to...
the role of shaman
The three worlds are linked by a central vertical axis, often referred to as an
Axis Mundi
main function of the shaman
Healing
Tensegrity
A technique of body movements whose aim is to increase awareness of the energy field that, according to Carlos Castaneda, humans are made of.
Core shamanism
“The near universal methods of shamanism without a specific cultural perspective,” according to Michael Harner
Neoshamans
Those who use techniques like those proposed by Castaneda and Harner
Priests
Full-time religious specialists associated with formalized religious institutions that may be linked with kinship groups, communities, or larger political units and are given religious authority by those units or by formal religious organizations
Okinawan religion sees the world as
Okinawan religion sees the world as inhabited by a myriad of supernatural beings referred to as kami
The term healer is often used to refer to a priest or shaman, especially...
when the individual is focused on the curing of illness or injury
Herbalists
A type of healer that is a specialist in the use of plant and materials for cures
Diviner
Someone who practices divination, a series of techniques and activities that are used to obtain information about things that are not normally knowable
Prophet
A mouthpiece of the gods
Refers to methods that somehow interface with the supernatural
and by which people can bring about particular outcomes
Magic
It may be used for the public good, although ______ generally are considered evil figures who deal in matters that are downright antisocial
sorcerers
In the scientific community, science is a methodology for coming to an understanding of our world through objective observations, experimentation, and the development of...
hypotheses and theories
Science deals only with ________ __________, this is, observations that are made through our sen
empirical observations
Law of Sympathy
Magic depends of the apparent association or agreement between things.
There are two parts to the Law of Sympathy:
Law of Similarity, Law of Contagion
Law of Similarity
Things that are alike are the same (gives rise to homeopathic magic)
Law of Contagion:
Things that were once in contact continue to be connected after the connection is severed (gives rise to contagious magic)
HOMEOPATHIC MAGIC:
Assumes that there is a causal relationship between things that appear to be similar; Similarity can be physical or behavioral; Also called imitative magic
Image Magic:
The most familiar kind of homeopathic magic, this is the practice of making an image to represent a living person or animal, which can then be killed or injured through doing things to the image
the increase rite of the Australian Aborigines:
These are essential fertility rituals that function to facilitate the successful reproduction of the totem animal
Doctrine of Signatures:
The belief that signs telling of a plant’s medical use are somehow embedded within the structure and nature of the plant itself
CONTAGIOUS MAGIC:
Is based on the premise that things that were once in contact always maintain a connection
The Trobriand Islanders distinguish among three types of knowledge:
Knowledge of things in the everyday world;
Knowledge that is more specialized and is shared with a limited number of individuals, including expert knowledge ;
The highest level includes knowledge of the most complex and valued technological skills
Spell:
A key component of a magical act is the words that are spoken
Wicca is a Neo-Pagan religion, meaning that it is
a perceived revival of pre-Christian religious practices
Wiccan magic is based on the worldview that
there is a power that exists in all things
Divination:
Techniques for obtaining information about things unknown, including events that will occur in the future
Some forms of divination techniques are
inspirational and others are noninspirational
Inspirational forms of divination, sometimes referred to as natural
or emotive divination, involve
some type of spiritual experience such as a direct contact with a supernatural being through an altered state of consciousness
Noninspirational or artificial forms are more magical ways
of doing
divination and include the reading of natural events as well as the manipulation of oracular devices
Divination techniques can be divided into
fortuitous and deliberate types
Dreams, a common form of divination, are often thought of as
visits from spirits or visions of journeys taken by one’s soul during sleep
Oneiromancy:
The interpretation of dreams
Presentiments:
Feelings that a person experiences
Ornithomancy:
Refers to reading the path and form of a flight of birds
Apantomancy:
Refers to a chance meeting with an animal
Haruspication:
The examination of the entrails of sacrificed animals
Scapulamancy:
A technique in which a scapula or shoulder blade from an animal skeleton, or even from a human skeleton is dried. Sometimes the question is written on the bone. It is then placed in a fire, and the pattern of burns and cracks is read by a specialist to determine the response
Astrology:
Based on the belief that all of the stars and planets, as well as the sun and moon, influence the destiny of people
Possession:
Can be either fortuitous or deliberate
Prophecy:
Is fortuitous in that the prophet receives information through a vision unexpectedly, without any necessary overt action on the part of the individual
Mediums:
People who become deliberately possessed due to an overt action that causes them to fall into a trance
ORDEALS:
Are painful and often life-threatening tests that a person who is suspected of guilt may be forced to undergo
Cleromancy:
A divination technique popular in ancient Greece that involved casting lots
Soul:
This term is used to label the noncorporeal, spiritual component of an individual
Transmigration:
In some religious systems the duration of a soul’s residence after death is finite, and the soul is reborn into the body of an animal
YUP’IK SOULS:
A religious system in western Alaska that believes in the recycling of souls
YANOMAMÖ SPIRITS AND SOULS:
Located in the Tropical Forest culture area, they believe in a complex of souls
HMONG SOULS:
Living in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia, they believe that a person possesses a number of souls – some sources say as many as thirty
Purgatory:
Where souls that are in a state of grace but in need of purification go
In Hinduism there is a belief in an
immortal, eternal soul that is born again and again in different bodies, a process called reincarnation
The Hindu idea or reincarnation is closely tied to
the concept of karma, which concerns an individual’s actions and the consequences of those actions
Buddhists do not believe in
an immortal soul or a conscious personality that continues on
What is referred to as a soul, Buddhism conceives of as
a combination of five mental and physical aggregates
The goal of Buddhism is to extinguish
desire and craving and escape from the suffering of this life
One possible fate for a soul is that is becomes part of the group
of
supernatural beings that are important to the living: ancestors
In case of family misfortune, the family usually turns first to _______, suspecting something wrong with the physical structure of the house – Japan
geomancy
Ghost:
A negative force that tends to remain in the vicinity of the community
VAMPIRES:
Believed to be someone who had recently died but who had returned to bring death to others
The ______ longs for life and envies those who are still alive.
draugr
BURIAL:
The most common way of disposing of a body.
THE AFRICAN BURIAL GROUND:
A cemetery containing the remains of slaves in New York City
SECONDARY BURIALS:
Funeral rituals sometimes include two burials
MUMMIFICATION:
To maintain the integrity of the body after death
EXPOSURE:
Another possibility is to expose the body to the elements or to be consumed by animals
HALLOWEEN:
The basis of this holiday in an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain
DAY OF THE DEAD:
A Mexican holiday that is also associated with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day on Nov 1 and Nov 2.
