Altered States of Consciousness in Human History: A Brief OverviewĪSCs have likely been part of the human cognitive repertoire for at least 100,000 years, if not longer. An image of the marine toad Bufus marinus is incised on the figure’s forehead. The “Princeton Shaman”: Shaman in Transformation Pose, Olmec, ca. In other words, ASCs are not institutionalized (Winkelman 1986). However, contemporary mainstream North American culture does not embrace these practices in rituals, healing practices, or as part of ordinary life. The idea that bodies might be possessed by demons, witches, or spirits also exists as a popular theme in media and in some religious traditions. In contemporary North American culture, these wakeful ASCs are thought of either as unusual events or pertaining to practices of specialists-hypnotic states induced by therapists or magicians, trances entered into by mediums conducting séances, meditation in yoga classes, or drug-induced hallucinatory experiences. However, there are also wakeful situations in which we can experience an altered state of consciousness (ASC)- these include hallucination, hypnotic states, trance states and meditation. We are all aware that our dreams may contain very different kinds of thoughts than those that we have while awake.
What are altered states of consciousness? In most cases, however, Siberian shamans achieve trance by prolonged drumming and dancing. Shamans used it as an alternative method of achieving a trance state. Altered States of Consciousness Amanita muscaria is a mushroom species traditionally used in shamanic activities by indigenous Siberian and Baltic cultures such as the Saami of Finland and the Koryaks of Eastern Siberia.
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