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Anthropology of Consciousness

ISSN 1053-4202

212 papers in the library · 1,549 citations · publishing 1990-2026

Papers

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Possession in Two Balinese Trance Ceremonies

Anthropology of Consciousness December 1, 1996 Hoyt Edge 8 citations

I discuss the construction of Balinese trance behaviors using two examples of trance possession in temple ceremonies. The view that trance states are socially constructed has long roots in anthropology. However, a closer examination of this view is warranted. In particular, I am interested in the question of the possible diversity of the constructed behavior. On the one hand, one may expect a...

The Mythology of Evil Among North American Indian Yuroks and Its Implications for Western Spirituality

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1996 Royal Earl Alsup, Stanley Krippner 2 citations

The mythology of evil has assumed renewed importance among diverse spiritual groups in the West and among scholars of the anthropology of consciousness. An investigation of Yurok mythology reveals that it is conceptualized asian "imbalance" between individuals (or groups) and parts of themselves, other community members, nature, and/or the Great Spirit. Yurok teaching stories, as well as...

Experiential Shamanism in the College Classroom: Rewards and Challenges

Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 1996 Leslie Conton 1 citation

A brief description of an experiential approach to teaching shamanism and its pedagogical rewards is followed by a cautionary tale, detailing some challenges inherent in such experiential teaching in the public university environment. Issues addressed include the concerns of ethnic minorities, questions concerning the teaching of "religion,” pegagogical concerns, and issues of sufficient...

Cosmology, Anomaly, and Paradigm Shift in the Classroom

Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 1996 Mira Zussman

Most students step into our classrooms completely innocent of the notion of consciousness, consciousness studies, or the possibility of altering states of consciousness. Our task is to build our courses to meet these students needs at the undergraduate level, and to bring them slowly—and with care—into the realm of consciousness studies. Protection of human subjects surely extends to our...

Pace and Lead: The Grammar of Rapport

Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 1996 Matthew C. Bronson

Neurlolinguistic programming is a powerful technology for modelling aspects of human excellence so that others can achieve similar levels of effectiveness. This article describes how to teach a simple communication pattern called "pace and lead,” derived from studies of the hypnotic induction techniques of such master hypnotists as Milton Erickson. The "Pace and Lead" frame consists of several...

Teaching "Consciousness" at the Lower Division Level

Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 1996 John R. Baker

The often esoteric nature of dialogues about "consciousness" which take place in academic circles stands far removed from treatments of the same topic in lower division college classrooms. There, any detailed discussion of the various definitions which have been advanced for this term is likely to lead to frustration on the part of students who have not yet attained the requisite knowledge for...

Memory and "Consciousness" in an Evolving Brazilian Possession Religion

Anthropology of Consciousness December 1, 1995 Daniel Halperin

Participants in Northern Brazilian Tambor de Mina dance and spirit possession rituals demonstrate three principal discourses concerning memory and states of consciousness during possession. Most dancers claim, as "unconscious" mediums, to remember essentially nothing of their trance experiences. Many, however, speak of "faked" or incomplete forms of possession. In fact, my research eventually...

Ritual States of Consciousness: A Way of Accounting for Anomalies in the Observation and Explanation of Spirit Possession

Anthropology of Consciousness December 1, 1995 Wallace W. Zane

Confusion prevails in the anthropological literature concerning the nature of spirit possession belief and its effects. In large, this is due to the difficulty in differentiating between culture‐specific categories of altered states of consciousness and reconciling these to analytical categories. Theories of spirit possession tend either toward description of the culture context without...

The Relevance of William James' Radical Empiricism to the Anthropology of Consciousness

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1995 Charles D. Laughlin, John Mcmanus 12 citations

William James is usually associated with the philosophy of pragmatism and with his interest in religious experiences. But James also developed a methodology which has received far less attention. James called this methodology "radical empiricism," an approach that requires that (1) all of the ideas and theories in science be grounded in direct experience, and (2) no experience be excluded from...

Sensuality and Consciousness III: To Dance with Nature's Forces

Anthropology of Consciousness June 1, 1995 E. Richard Sorenson

In remote regions of the eastern Andaman, into the 1990s, a remarkable rapport with nature's forces was occurring.1 Most strikingly expressed during adolescence, it emerged spontaneously from a local type of consciousness. Both the capability and the underlying consciousness were conceived within a pervasive milieu of lushly sensual infant nurture.2 So dependable was the pattern of affection,...

Waking Life, Dream Life, and the Construction of Reality

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1994 Stanley Krippner

Enigmatic, anomalous dream reports challenge the Western philosophical worldview, hence they are ignored or derided by most mainstream philosophers and scientists. Nevertheless, there is compelling evidence from research in parapsychology that at least some of these reports have consensual validation and waking life consequences. Shamanic models of reality (which reflect shamanic philosophies)...

The Stuff of Dreams

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1994 Stephen LaBerge

A model of dreaming is developed along the following lines: A primary function of the brain is to predict and control environmental events. In order to do so, it constructs a model of the world. The waking brain bases its model primarily on current sensory information, and secondarily on contextual and historical information. In contrast, because the sleeping brain acquires little information...

Consciousness and the Cognitive Revolution: A True Worldview Paradigm Shift

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1994 Roger W. Sperry, Polly Henninger

Traditional scientific views of the conscious self and world we live in are challenged by an unprecedented outburst of emerging new paradigms, theories of consciousness, perceptions of reality, new sciences, new philosophies, epistemologies, and a host of other transformative approaches. This still expanding outburst can be traced, on both logical and chronologic grounds, not to chaos theory,...

Cultural Perspectives on Dreams and Consciousness

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1994 Douglass Price‐williams

Anthropological studies of folk cultures have been made not only on the content of their dreams but also on their interpretations. While there is a wide variance in the understanding of dreaming by cultures other than our own, there is a large set which might be called the classic dream interpretation of folk societies, which was first noted by Tylor in the nineteenth century. Its main tenet is...

Applications of Altered States of Consciousness in Daily Life

Anthropology of Consciousness September 1, 1994 Ruth‐Inge Heinze

First, I discuss the importance of recognizing different states of consciousness. Knowing how these states differ from each other and recognizing their specific qualities determines their use, increases our self‐knowledge, balances our behavior and adjusts our course of action. Second, 1 report on workshops conducted in the United States, Russia, Lithuania, and Estonia. The examples illustrate...

Shamanism and Altered States of Consciousness

Anthropology of Consciousness June 1, 1994 Douglass Price‐williams, Dureen J. Hughes 27 citations

There has been a renewed interest in psychology and anthropology in the idea of altered states of consciousness. This paper begins by examining the meaning of this term and the extent to which such experiences are reported globally. The topic of shamanism is then discussed, first with respect to its social functions, and then to what is known about its psychological aspects (which is little)....