MIRRORS, PORTALS, AND MULTIPLE REALITIES
G. Macdonald, John L. Cove, Charles D. Laughlin, John Mcmanus
Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science March 1, 1989 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1989.tb00975.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | concentration upon a portalling device (mirror mandala labyrinth skrying bowl |
| Citations | 30 |
| Key points | Proposes that the portalling experience arises from radical re-entrainment of neurological systems and is fundamental to multiple reality cosmologies in traditional cultures. |
Abstract
. A biogenetic structural explanation is offered for the cross-culturally common mystical experience called portalling, the experience of moving from one reality to another via a tunnel, door, aperture, hole, or the like. The experience may be evoked in shamanistic and meditative practice by concentration upon a portalling device (mirror, mandala, labyrinth, skrying bowl, pool of water, etc.). Realization of the portalling experience is shown to be fundamental to the phenomenology underlying multiple reality cosmologies in traditional cultures and is explained in terms of radical re-entrainment of the neurological systems mediating experience in the brain. Phenomenological experiments with mirror portalling devices from both the Tibetan and the Tsimshian religious traditions are reported.
Citations in the library
Cited by 11
- Consciousness in Biogenetic Structural Theory Anthropology of Consciousness March 1, 1992
- Anthropology of consciousness Cambridge University Press eBooks May 14, 2007
- Communing with the Gods: The Dreaming Brain in Cross-cultural Perspective Time and Mind 2011
- Meditation across cultures: a neuroanthropological approach Time and Mind July 3, 2018
- MATURE CONTEMPLATION Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science June 2, 1993
and 6 more in the library