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Phenomenological Analysis of Experimentally Induced Visual Mental Imagery Associated with Shamanic Journeying to the Lower World

Adam J. Rock

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies 2006 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2006.25.1.45 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Mixed factorial design with phenomenological analysis Peer reviewed
Sample size 6
Population Six participants randomly assigned to conditions
Interventions Sonic driving Ganzfeld relaxation sitting with eyes open
Measures Modified Affect Bridge
Topics Shamanism
Citations 16
Key points Harner's shamanic journeying instructions coupled with religious instructions were associated with the highest religious imagery, while visual images associated with shamanic journeying derived primarily from autobiographical memories.

Abstract

This study explored ostensibly shamanic journeying imagery by (a) assessing visual images across induction techniques (i.e., sonic driving, Ganzfeld, relaxation, and sitting with eyes open); (b) determining combination( s) of induction technique and instructions most associated with religious imagery; and (c) investigating the origins of visual imagery. Six participants were randomly assigned to factorial combinations of a 3 x 4 mixed design (levels of instruction x levels of induction) and were administered the Modified Affect Bridge to explore the origins of mental imagery reported during the experimental conditions. Phenomenological analysis yielded comprehensive constituent themes. Harner’s (1990) shamanic journeying, coupled with religious, instructions were associated with the highest religious imagery, while visual images associated with shamanic journeying were derived primarily from autobiographical memories.

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

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Cites 5

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Shamanism Philosophy of mind