Time and Mind
January 1, 2008
Benny Shanon
43 citations
A speculative hypothesis proposes that ancient Israelite religion involved the use of entheogens, specifically plants containing psychoactive molecules similar to those in the Amazonian brew ayahuasca. The hypothesis reexamines Old Testament texts about Moses, noting that two plants native to the Sinai peninsula and Southern Israel—a species of Acacia tree and the bush Peganum harmala—contain the same psychoactive compounds found in ayahuasca's ingredients. The argument draws on comparative experiential-phenomenological observations, linguistic analysis, exegesis of ancient Jewish texts and other Mideastern traditions, anthropological lore, and ethnobotanical data to support the idea that these plants were used sacramentally.
Time and Mind
January 1, 2011
Charles D. Laughlin
16 citations
Dreaming is the most common alternative state of consciousness, occurring during sleep in all normal humans. Despite its universality, dreaming remains mysterious and confusing for many Westerners while fascinating scientists studying mind and culture. The neuropsychology of dreaming is summarized, with emphasis on the importance of cross-cultural research. Examples of how different societies use dreaming are discussed. The author describes a phenomenological study of Tibetan Tantric dream yoga. Suggestions are made for improving anthropological study of dreaming, and the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in lucidity is emphasized.
Time and Mind
July 3, 2018
Charles D. Laughlin
7 citations
Meditation is defined in neuropsychological terms that allow it to be studied across cultures, not only in East Asian yogic traditions. Anthropologists find that meditation on culturally salient symbols is widespread in spiritual rituals worldwide and likely dates to the Paleolithic as one of the earliest religious practices. All meditation systems are embedded in a cycle of meaning that evokes spiritual experiences, anticipates them through ritually controlled volition, and provides culturally appropriate interpretations. This cultural–phenomenological interaction distinguishes societies with meditation cultures from those without. Examples examined include prayer, dream yoga, shamanic journeying, trance dancing, and visualization in healing.
Time and Mind
January 1, 2011
David Luke
6 citations
The article examines the ritual use of ayahuasca in Brazil, tracing its historical and cultural significance within indigenous and syncretic religious contexts. It describes how ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew, is employed in ceremonies to facilitate spiritual insight, healing, and community bonding. The text highlights the continuity of these practices from pre-colonial times to contemporary urban settings, noting their adaptation and legal recognition in Brazil. It argues that ayahuasca rituals represent a form of embodied knowledge and cultural heritage, challenging Western dichotomies between nature and culture, and between the sacred and the secular.
Time and Mind
October 2, 2014
Jenny Walklate
3 citations
A critical book review of James Fadiman's The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide finds the work frustrating and unlikely to persuade skeptics. The book is clearly structured but opens with controversial material without preparatory data. Fadiman acts more as editor than author, compiling extracts that are disparate in tone and lacking overall synthesis. His informal, personal writing style undermines scientific credibility. The book's ethical stance is mixed: it responsibly advises against illegal activity and includes safety warnings, but assumes readers have personal psychedelic experience and implies such experience is necessary to understand the research. Fadiman's spirituality is presented as fact without theological grounding.
Time and Mind
August 11, 2025
A. Whitehead, Christopher L. Scott, Jennifer C. French
1 citation
Upper Palaeolithic parietal art deep in caves required artificial lighting. Kedar, Kedar, & Barkai proposed that oxygen consumption by lamps, combined with poor ventilation, caused hypoxia-induced altered states of consciousness that influenced ritual and art. This experimental study tested fat-burning lamps and found they extinguish at 17% oxygen, well above the hypoxia threshold. Exhaust gases—carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide—were also produced at rates too low to induce altered states. The results do not support the hypoxia hypothesis.
Time and Mind
January 2, 2021
B. Pothier
1 citation
The Chu Silk Manuscript, the earliest known Chinese illustrated manuscript from around 300 BCE, depicts plants on its four corners, long considered mythical trees. This analysis suggests that some of these plants closely resemble Caesalpinia decapetala (Yun-Shih), a hallucinogenic plant with recorded shamanic power in the first known Chinese herbal, the Pen-ts’ao Ching, compiled from oral sources near the beginning of the common era. The plant's geographic distribution, shape, and documented shamanic use support its possible depiction on the manuscript, potentially identifying substances used as trance-facilitating drugs in shamanic rituals of the Chu state era and earlier.
Time and Mind
June 24, 2026
David S. Whitley
A review of sleep and dream research and far western North American ethnography argues that nightmares, a type of Jung's 'Big Dreams,' are a key but previously understudied aspect of hunter-gatherer religious experiences. The work demonstrates a connection between shamanism, rock art, and nightmares, explaining puzzling aspects of hunter-gatherer beliefs and symbolism, including widespread fears of the supernatural. It builds on David Lewis-Williams's work linking rock art motifs to shamanism and altered states of consciousness, expanding the spectrum of consciousness considered in hunter-gatherer art and religion.