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A DEPICTION OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRAINWAVES WHILE IN AN ASC.
Another similarity that can be found throughout psychotherapy and shamanism is the use of psychoactive
drugs and plants. Despite this being a similarity, the reason for use is rooted in very different perspectives. In
Hallucinogens in Psychotherapy and Shamanism, Ralph Metzner speaks about the way that drugs have been
used of could be used in both settings. He points out that, “that while Western psychotherapy and indigenous
shamanism may sometimes
use the same or similar
psychoactive substances for
healing and obtaining
knowledge (called diagnosis
in the West and divination in
traditional cultures), there are
profound differences between
them in underlying
worldview and assumptions
about the nature of reality” (2). This is one of the most important aspects to pay attention to when looking at
the differences between these practices. The three main differences that he points out is that there in shamanic
practices there is “very little or no talking”, “singing and chanting”, and that they are “almost always done in
darkness or low light” (5). These are cultural and traditional aspects that have been practiced for many years
that feel comfortable and the most productive for the people involved.
Examples of instruments that could be used in shamanic ritual.
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