The Creative Cycle Processes Model of Spontaneous Imagery Narratives Applied to the Ayahuasca Shamanic Journey
Frank Echenhofer
Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-3537.2012.01057.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | EEG and phenomenology research Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Ayahuasca |
| Topics | Ayahuasca Shamanism |
| Keywords | Narrative Experiential learning Phenomenology philosophy Embodied cognition Cognitive science Creativity Mental image Cognitive psychology Epistemology Anthropology Literature |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Ayahuasca caused the greatest changes in EEG beta coherence from 25 to 30 cycles per second compared to a resting state before ingestion, indicating enhanced information exchange between cortical regions. |
Abstract
Abstract Ayahuasca is an A mazonian psychoactive shamanic brew that often elicits spontaneous, intense, and meaningful imagery narratives related to psychological and physical healing, problem solving, knowledge acquisition, community cohesion, creativity, and spiritual development. My EEG and phenomenology ayahuasca research found it caused the greatest changes in EEG beta coherence from 25 to 30 cycles per second compared to a resting state before ayahuasca ingestion. Enhanced beta coherence indexes significantly greater information exchange between cortical regions and is congruent with the reported enhanced richness, complexity, and profundity of ayahuasca experiences. I developed the creative cycle processes model that identifies in ayahuasca reports distinct experiential change processes and describes how these processes, neuroscience, psychotherapy, mythological, and other transdisciplinary evidence can be coherently integrated to explain ayahuasca benefits. The model suggests three change process stages together underlie one emergent dynamic creative cycle process. The sequential stages are Form dismantling and healing processes , form creation processes , where novel forms spontaneously combine, and form expression processes , where emergent experiences are embodied. The model suggests that these three stages repeat cyclically in human development in an ongoing process of dismantling and generation producing more creative experiences and expressive forms.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... | 2019 | Ethnography with literature review | n = 227 |
| The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru | 2016 | Ethnography | |
| Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin | 1992 | Ethnographic review and analysis | |
| Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru | 2012 | Ethnography |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization. Frontiers in Pharmacology March 2, 2016
- Ayahuasca: Uses, Phytochemical and Biological Activities Natural Products and Bioprospecting May 27, 2019
- Harm Reduction or Psychedelic Support? Caring for Drug-Related Crises at Transformational Festivals Dancecult 2015
- ‘Wearing down of the self’: Embodiment, writing and disruptions of identity in transformational festival fieldwork Methodological Innovations 2017
- Drugged Subjectivity, Intoxicating Alterity Anthropology of Consciousness March 2, 2016
and 2 more in the library