Transcript Altered states of consciousness

ALTERED STATES OF
CONSCIOUSNESS
Chapter 5
INTRODUCTION
 Altered states of consciousness are mental states
that are different from normal states
 Frequently used in religious rituals
 The definition of this is subjective and varies by
culture
CHARACTERISTICS
 Altered states of thinking: changes in concentration,
attention, or memory
 Disturbed time: acceleration or slowing of time
 Loss of control: feeling helpless, give control up to
spirits
 Change of emotions: sudden changes of emotional
extremes
CHARACTERISTICS
 Change in body image: blurring of body and mind;
parts of the body swell or shrink; out of body
experience
 Perceptual distortions: hallucinations, heightened
senses
 Change in meaning: increased significance in
experiences
 Sense of ineffable: cannot communicate to someone
not in the same state
 Rejuvenation: sense of hope, rebirth; confidence in
religious specialists
FACTORS THAT CAUSE ASC
 Reduction of stimulation or repetitive stimulation:
 Solitary confinement, sleep
 Sensory overload or strenuous activity:
 Spirit possession, trances
 Increased and sustained mental alertness:
 Prolonged concentration on a specific task
 Decreased alertness or passive mind:
 Meditation, daydreaming, relaxation
 Alterations in body chemistry:
 Fasting, dehydration, sleep deprivation, drugs
Sweat lodge
FASTING
 Involves abstaining from food and/or drink or other
activities (sex)
 Alters body chemistry
 Usually only for short period of time or parts of each
day
 Can be seen as a:
 Form of discipline
 Form of training
 Cleansing ritual
FASTING
 Old and New Testaments:
 Moses and Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights
 Jewish practice of Yom Kippur:
 Day of Atonement, fast from sunset to sunset next
day
 Catholic and Orthodox Churches:
 Fasting from certain foods
 Islamic practice of Ramadan:
 Abstain from food, drink, sex, smoking from sunup to
sundown for one month
SACRED PAIN
 Pain can also lead to ASC
 Pain may be
 Punishment (Eve, Hindu bad karma)
 Purifying (Monks who whip themselves)
 A weapon (Christ’s pain on cross)
 Source of supernatural power (exorcism)
SACRED PAIN
 Pain can happen during a trance or without an
altered state
SACRED PAIN
 People often share religious pain, but it can be
individualistic
 Example is stigmata, or marks on the body that
correspond to Jesus’ wounds
SACRED PAIN
SACRED PAIN
 Other examples of inflicting religious pain:
 Piercing tongue, face, genitals
 Pulling string with thorns through these wounds
 Can also be associated with rites of passage
 Remember the ant initiation?
 Tattooing, scarification, piercing, circumcision all
show that the person can withstand intense pain
 Intense prolonged pain can lead to euphoria or as
healing
SACRED PAIN
 Video Log: Sacred Pain
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu6Nnh-FYAs
BIOLOGICAL BASIS
 What is occurring in the brain during ASC?
 Some scientists believe that religious visions are
really hallucinations from migraines
 Nun Hildegard in the 1100s
 Studies have shown that fast rhythmic behavior
affects the sympathetic system and may shut the
brain down
 One specific part, orientation association structure ,
blurs the boundaries of the body and other objects,
leading to a unitary state
BIOLOGICAL BASIS
Are these visions biological or spiritual? Can they be
both? How do you tell them apart?
DRUG-INDUCED ALTERED STATES
 Many cultures use drugs to achieve ASC
 An example is the use of peyote in the Native
American Church
 These drugs help the people contact supernatural
powers
DRUG-INDUCED ALTERED STATES
Category
Examples
Effects
Euphoria
Morphine, Heroin
Reduces brain activity and
leads to euphoric feeling
Phantastica
Marijuana, Peyote
Causes hallucinations,
delirium, visions
Inebriantia
Alcohol
Intoxicates, brings about
cerebral excitation
followed by depression
Hypnotica
Xanax
Sedates, kills pain
Excitania
Coffee, Tobacco, Cocaine
Stimulates
Tranquilizer
Valium
Reduces anxiety and
produces mental calm
DRUG-INDUCED ALTERED STATES
 The ritual setting is
important
 There is a difference
between recreational
and ritual drug use
 Ritual drug use is done
at certain times and
with certain rules;
addiction usually does
not follow
 Remember the article on Native American Healing; it
also discusses ASC
ETHNOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES
 1. Holiness Churches
 Independent churches in Appalachia (West Virginia)
 Use concentrated, intense prayer and music to enter
into ASC (no drugs)
 Speak in tongues, enter trances
 Interpret this as being filled with Holy Spirit
 Handle snakes and drink poison
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwBVcsWYJd8
ETHNOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES
 2. San Healing Rituals
 !Kung (Kalahari Desert, South Africa)
 Believe that an energy (n/um), given to them by the
gods, lives in their spine
 As they experience !kia the energy moves up the
spine to the brain
 Bring this state about by dancing to singers
 When they are in this state they can heal others (pull
sickness out of person)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyLF3y1YJKA
ETHNOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES
 Rastafarians
 Afro-Caribbean religions that sees former emperor of
Ethiopia as messiah
 Connect with Israelites in the Old Testament
 Want to repatriate black people to Africa
 Reject Western consumerism and want healthy
lifestyle
 No chemicals, don’t cut hair (dreadlocks), herbal
remedies
 Smoke ganga, or marijuana, as “holy herb”
 Cite references from Bible
ASSIGNMENT
 Read article “Trance and Possession”
 Answer the questions in groups
 Due at end of class