ABSTRACT: This article examines consciousness through the published teachings of Yankunytjatjara Elder Bob Randall, situating his articulation of Tjukurrpa within contemporary anthropological discussions of relational ontology and Indigenous philosophy. Drawing on Randall's descriptions of Tjukurrpa, Kanyini, and Kurunpa, together with a broader body of Indigenous scholarship, the analysis...
ABSTRACT As the state of Florida continues to foster its reputation as a conservative political bastion, questions arise about women's experiences in the state—especially in spiritual, religious, and consciousness contexts. Drawing from both feminist anthropology and the anthropology of consciousness frameworks, “Mediumship in the Free State of Florida” discusses women's experiences in the...
ABSTRACT How should we theorize Sufi ethics when the practice of zikr (remembrance) that leads to spiritual enlightenment ( tazkiyya ) might also bring one to the brink of majzubiyat (madness)? What forms of regulation or restraint are imagined or enacted by practitioners to prevent spiritual boundlessness from perverting into its underside of paralysis ( faalij )? Drawing on three ethnographic...
ABSTRACT If we are to accept the data from the field of parapsychology that telepathically a person, particularly unconsciously, may communicate with another person and that psychokinesis exists, we are confronted with the possibility that a person may aggressively hurt another through psychic means. This possibility has been anathema in the field of parapsychology, despite the fact that some...
This article attempts to complicate the mythology of a compound in a state of becoming. I will trace lightly its origins as a cultural disruptor and how I am implicated in this imperative. Introducing you to 3‐MMC will require multiple modes of storytelling and taking of liberties, drawing on literature reviews, practice‐based research, prose, patent documents, hearsay and Facebook posts....
ABSTRACT In Toronto, raves arise across large nightclubs, DIY venues and outdoors, despite changing regulations that have further arranged and narrowed their possibility in the past 4 years. Following a rave in Toronto, this work explores ways that potentialities and affects emerge in a single night, through my entry of taking part in dancing and tearing down materials. In recent...
ABSTRACT Modern research has suggested that almost all human behavior occurs with an interaction between conscious and unconscious processes. However, the exact degree and specifics of that association are still a matter of debate. This article draws attention to an additional domain of consciousness related to that particular conversation that might be beneficial in resolving some of the...
ABSTRACT This paper examines the intimate relationship of affection, consumption, and ritual practice between humanity and mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe, focusing mainly on the Americas and Brazil. To this end, it uses reflections that present the American continent as a macroregion historically marked by transits, connections, and exchanges since pre‐Columbian times, and where there is...
ABSTRACT In March–May 2020, New York City's college students suffered sudden lockdown due to the COVID‐19 pandemic and a mandatory transition from in‐person classes to virtual meetings. Unexpectedly, my introductory course to anthropology transformed into a collective space to share experiences of the city in times of crisis. This article examines in‐class conversations on nightmares and the...
ABSTRACT Based on ethnographic research, this paper describes select views and experiences of a Sufi schoolteacher pressured at work into silence about her interpretation of Islam. At Tafsīr Islamic Academy (TIA), unity was broadly construed as achieved through conformity to mainstream Sunni belief and practice. Salihah, one of its teachers and a practicing Sufi, portrayed unity as an...
Falcon, J. 2025. “Anthropology of Psychedelics.” Anthropology of Consciousness 36: e70002, 1-14 https://doi.org/10.1111/anoc.70002. In Paragraph 1 of the “Psilocybin” section, the sentence “Although it is difficult to find archaeological evidence of their use in prehistory, some estimate their use may date as far back as 40 000 years based on cave paintings found in Algeria (Froese et al....
Psychedelic research has opened unexpected avenues for advocacy. This paper explores the intersection of advocacy and an ethnographic study on psychedelic integration in the Southeast United States. Mental health professionals aim to make information about the safe use of psychedelics more accessible, even in a legal climate where these substances are illegal and enforcement has historically...
ABSTRACT One barrier to mental health and a common focus of psychotherapy is the tendency to identify with relentless, often self‐critical thinking that searches for faults, becomes easily distracted, and pulls individuals away from the present moment. Identifying with such thinking distances people from each other, the external world, and important aspects of internal experiences that have...
ABSTRACT This essay explores the conceptual and philosophical complexities surrounding ayahuasca use, focusing on its ability to reveal ghosts through the lens of hauntology. Ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew traditionally used in shamanic rituals, is known to evoke profound experiences involving spirits, mystical entities, and transformative states of consciousness. The brew's active compound,...
ABSTRACT Ketamine and esketamine are regularly prescribed in the United States as pharmaceutical interventions for treatment‐resistant depression. Although ketamine's mode of action is distinct from classic psychedelics, patients frequently report similar alterations in consciousness, including experiences described as spiritual or religious. This article provides an overview of the Ketamine...
ABSTRACT This article explores the emerging relationship between humans and AI chatbots through the anthropological lens of shamanic practice, proposing the concept of “virtually shamans” to understand these digital interactions. Drawing on ethnographic traditions of studying magic, spirituality, and technological mediation, we argue that AI chatbot users occupy a liminal position analogous to...
ABSTRACTWe use Critical Narrative Analysis (CNA) to examine collected apparitional accounts within the geographic region of Western Georgia in the United States. We discuss the extant local folklore on ghosts in the literature while providing a methodological backdrop. The analysis of the data yields four dominant discourses, which are countered in five salient ways: through (1) the extension...
ABSTRACT The interplay between psychedelic use, mental health, and spiritual, religious, or ‘mystical’ experiences continues to be investigated through clinical research. While many studies focus on general mechanisms underlying these compounds, analysis of real‐life accounts from individuals is underrepresented. To fill that gap, this ethnographic study explores the question of how members of...
ABSTRACT Healers of the Shipibo, known as onayas , reside in Eastern Peru and build relationships with plant spirits through dreams seen during a training process called samá . Since they comprehend the process of building relationships with plant spirits by interpreting their dreams, dream interpretation serves as the medium through which the onayas learn how to build relationships with plant...
This essay explores the intricate interplay between fear, consciousness, and human evolution, positing fear as a critical catalyst for the emergence of self‐awareness. Beginning with the role of fear as a reflexive survival mechanism, the discussion extends to its evolutionary transformation into a driver of complex cognitive traits. By examining the gradual emergence of inner experience, the...
ABSTRACT Joshua Falcon's comprehensive synthesis, “Anthropology of Psychedelics,” significantly addresses gaps in psychedelic anthropology, particularly urban practices in the Global North and decolonial considerations. This commentary expands upon Falcon's work by incorporating recent clinical studies and sociocultural analyses that reinforce his proposed directions. Empirical evidence from...
ABSTRACT Anthropologists have studied the use of psychedelic drugs across cultures for over a century; however, this literature has yet to be compiled. In providing a brief survey of ethnographic research produced in the Global North on the ‘classic psychedelics’, this article suggests that there not only exists a robust subfield that can be called the anthropology of psychedelics, but that the...
AbstractThis study investigates contemporary Mayan oral stories through the lens of Julian Jaynes's theory on the origin of consciousness, aiming to identify a potential connection between the literary elements of these narratives and traits of pre‐consciousness outlined by Jaynes. Jaynes's neuropsychological thesis argues that human consciousness emerged around 3000 years ago after a period of...
AbstractThe term near‐death experience (NDE) generally refers to a state of altered consciousness that can occur during real or presumed near‐death circumstances and/or life‐threatening incidents. The NDE usually includes the impression of being conscious while out of and/or away from the physical body, often accompanied by other specific features. Furthermore, when the experient has the...
Abstract The articles in this issue of the journal support the claim that consciousness is a circumstantially cultivated faculty of the self. This is contrary to a widespread assumption held by numerous scholars, researchers, and religious doctrines that consciousness is a self‐sustaining unoriginated faculty given to the subject and which at all times is subjectively experienced with...