Nonlocality and the Shamanic State of Consciousness
Ede Frecska, Mihály Hoppál, Luís Eduardo Luna
NeuroQuantology May 17, 2016 DOI: 10.14704/nq.2016.14.2.934 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Citations | 30 |
| Key points | Argues that shamanic healing and the shamanic 'soul flight' cannot be explained by classical 'perceptual-cognitive' processing, and proposes a 'nonlocal-intuitive' mode of environmental representation, framed as operating through quantum connections, to account for the shaman's reintegrative role and the shamanic state of consciousness. |
Abstract
Healing methods based on the altered states of consciousness common to spiritual or shamanic traditions escape neuroscientific explanations based on classical physics and classical cognition-denoted here as 'perceptualcognitive' (characteristic of the ordinary state of consciousness) information processing.A second foundation of knowledge-named as 'nonlocal-intuitive' approach-with another way for making representation of the environment is recommended to be introduced for better understanding of the shaman's reintegrative role in their community and for an improved interpretation of the shamanic state of consciousness with the 'soul flight' in its center.This essay offers terminology for translating some common elements of indigenous world views into a frame closer to the contemporary Western mindset.The proposed model suggests that when the coping capacity of the 'perceptual-cognitive' mode of processing is exhausted in a stressful or unmanageable situation, or its dominance is eliminated by the use of hallucinogens or contemplation, a frame shift occurs, and an alternate source of environmental information is opened through a 'nonlocal-intuitive' channel.Consequently, the core activity of shamanic practice, the shamanic journey, occurs in a field of quantum connections and is not restricted by space-time constrains, but limited by the uncertainty principle.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayahuasca Shamanism in the Amazon and Beyond | 2014 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Cognitive Neuroscience, Shamanism and the Rock Art of Native California | 1998 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From Culture to Experience: Shamanism in the Pages of the Soviet Anti-Religious Press | 2020 | Historical analysis | |
| Anthropology, Shamanism, and Alternate Ways of Knowing–Being in the World: One Anthropologist's Journey of Discovery and Transformation | 2010 | Reflective essay or personal narrative |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Brain changes during a shamanic trance: Altered modes of consciousness, hemispheric laterality, and systemic psychobiology Cogent Psychology April 24, 2017
- N,N‐dimethyltryptamine and Amazonian ayahuasca plant medicine Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental February 17, 2022
- Dance/movement therapy and shamanic healing ritual: natural intelligence of body and spirit Body Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy January 2, 2018
- Neural filters to conscious awareness and the phenomena that reduce their impact. International Review of Psychiatry 2025
- The rhythms of trance: Cultural phenomenology and neural mechanisms of music-induced non-ordinary states of consciousness. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews July 1, 2026
and 2 more in the library
Cites 3
- Seeing with the eyes shut: Neural basis of enhanced imagery following ayahuasca ingestion Human Brain Mapping September 16, 2011
- Effects of the Amazonian Psychoactive BeverageAyahuascaon Binocular Rivalry: Interhemispheric Switching or Interhemispheric Fusion? Journal of Psychoactive Drugs September 1, 2003
- A Definition of Shamanism Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion 1973