A REINVENÇÃO DO USO DA AYAHUASCA NOS CENTROS URBANOS
Beatriz Caiuby Labate
Publisher: Editora Mercado de Letras, Campinas/SP - Brazil
ANPOCS (National Post-secondary Association of Social Sciences) Prize for best Master’s Thesis in Social Sciences in 2000.
Summary:
From its beginnings, the phenomenon of the Brazilian ayahuasca religions has involved strong intercultural transits, with constant migratory flows leading to fusions of northeastern traditions with the Amazonian universe, where beliefs and practices of indigenous populations were creatively retranslated by diverse types of “forest peoples,” from the rubber tappers to modern environmentalists.
The work of Bia Labate emphasizes this fact, showing that the inventive possibilities of the use of ayahuasca are extensive, and marked by the dissolution of boundaries between indigenous and white, rural and urban, forest and city, tradition and modernity or old and “neo.” Labate tells us how, in the practice of urban neo-ayahuasqueiros these domains interpenetrate one another, using examples in which art, therapy, political intervention, play, magic, and religion commingle through the use of ayahuasca, a drink that seems to operate here as a mediator or communicator of diverse perspectives, perceptions, experiences, and sensations. Known variously as Cipó, Daime, or Vegetal, it permits the translation and resignification of different cultural practices from the point of view of the “other.” That is what A Reinvenção do Uso da Ayahuasca nos Centros Urbanos makes clear, thus highlighting the right to alterity, the fundamental principle of anthropology.
In pointing to the new modalities of ayahuasca use, the author ends up questioning monopolies on legitimacy, putting in focus the priority of certain types of uses above others, or of privileges pertaining to this substance belonging to groups, cultures, and subjects. She analyzes how these new uses, despite their originality, are inserted into a “Brazilian ayahuasca field,” expressing its logic and motivating many of its elements. The author notes that the diversity of practices in the ayahuasca field do not imply disorder, but to the contrary, manifests forms of control proper to this religious universe. Thus, through Labate’s work one sees that “ritual” and the “religious” can assume innumerable faces and forms, involving a dynamic process of transformation, or, in other words, of invention and reinvention. At the same time that it makes a lucid criticism of religious intolerance, the book is in implicit dialogue with the premises of anti-drug policy, indicating that informal and cultural controls of the uses of psychoactive drugs tend to be more effective than external controls based only on state and legal standardization
Six years since her research began, empirical reality confirms many of the hypotheses put forward by the author. We witness a proliferation, in Brazil’s large cities, of new modes of consuming this drink of Amazonian origin, always inserted within the logic identified by the author. The dimensions and varieties assumed by the ayahuasca field seem to be a signal that, instead of the death of religion, as some have predicted, we are witnessing an extension of the sacred to dimensions previously unimaginable, and a multiplication of the possibilities of ritualization of contemporary life (Translated to English by Matthew Meyer).
Contact in Brazil: livros@mercado-de-letras.com.br
Foreign contacts: Livraria Pontes – compras@livrariapontes.com.br
http://www.mercado-de-letras.com.br
mardi 4 mars 2008
THE RITUAL USE OF ‘POWER PLANTS’
O USO RITUAL DAS PLANTAS DE PODER
[THE RITUAL USE OF ‘POWER PLANTS’]
Editors: Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Ph.D candidate in Social Sciences at UNICAMP, MA in Anthropology from Unicamp (2000 ANPOCS prize for best thesis in the Social Sciences), Researcher with NEIP (Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of Psychoactives) and Sandra Lucia Goulart, Ph.D in Social Sciences from Unicamp, MA in Social Anthropology from USP, Researcher with NEIP.
Publisher: Editora Mercado de Letras, Campinas/SP - Brazil
Press release:
This volume brings together fourteen chapters by collaborators from five countries to fill a void in the Social Sciences around the theme of drugs or psychoactive plants. Through its focus on the ethnology, anthropology, history, and ethnobotany the book analyzes the various contexts in which psychoactive substances are consumed. Subjects include the various snuffs used by Amazonian indigenous peoples, roots such as the northeastern Brazilian jurema and Gabon’s iboga, coca leaf in the Andes and Amazonia, Cannabis in Afro- and indigenous contexts, ayahuasca from the Peruvian jungle to Brazil’s large cities, and other, lesser-known species. The book highlights the ways the consumption of such “power plants” is linked to the organization of cosmological systems, the rise of rich syncretic religions, the assertion of social identity, the management of religious or tribal conflicts, artistic creation, and self-knowledge, among other things. The use of these substances implies an articulation among various areas of life, such as politics, curing, shamanism, aesthetics, and culture. The analysis of the various agents and contexts makes explicit continuities and discontinuities between various modes of usage, from religious to profane, modern to traditional, and between natural and artificial substances, thus rupturing dichotomies of little use to reflections about “drugs.” While the book emphasizes the ritual and religious uses of psychoactives substances practiced in different cultures and historical moments, it is also useful for thinking about the consumption of drugs in contemporary society, indicating alternatives to the merely prohibitionist policies linked to the illicit market that simply disseminate ever greater levels of violence, misery, exclusion, and war (Translated to English by Matthew Meyer).
Contact in Brazil: livros@mercado-de-letras.com.br
Foreign contacts: Livraria Pontes – compras@livrariapontes.com.br
http://www.mercado-de-letras.com.br
THE RITUAL USE OF AYAHUASCA
O U S O R I T U A L D A A Y A H U A S C A
[THE RITUAL USE OF AYAHUASCA]
Editors: Beatriz Caiuby Labate, PhD candidate in Social Science at UNICAMP (Awarded best master thesis in Social Science by ANPOCS, 2000) and Wladimyr Sena Araújo, PhD candidate in Social History at UNICAMP.
Publisher: Editora Mercado de Letras, Campinas/SP - Brazil
Summary:
This collection consists of 26 articles written by authors from 7 different countries. It represents the most important effort at reflection undertaken in Brazil until today on the consumption of ayahuasca, the “vine of the dead”, an age-old sacred drink made from two Amazonian plants: the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the shrub Psychotria viridis. The book offers a combined panel on the spectrum of the ritual uses of this psychoactive substance in South America. The first part deals with its uses by indigenous populations and rubber-workers in Amazonia. The central part of the work deals with the original and quite controversial Brazilian ayahuascan religions, popularly known as Santo Daime, União do Vegetal and Barquinha. These religions extrapolate the limits of their origin, having been exported to the major urban centers of the country and even abroad, currently including more than ten thousand followers. This rich and dynamic cultural phenomenon is contemplated in dialogue, also, with the debate over the utilization of psychoactive substances in our society. Finally, the last part of the work brings together the perspectives of medicine, psychology, and ethnopharmacology on these diverse ritual uses of the substance. The volume presents a focus that is both comparative and multidisciplinary, providing a panorama that is impressive for its wealth of information and perspectives, including both the opinions of diverse academic specialists and the point of view of ayahuasca users themselves. The work is of interest to Anthropology, History, Religion, Psychology, Philosophy, Law and the new area called Entheobotany, or the study of sacred plants (Translated by Robin Wright).
Contact in Brazil: livros@mercado-de-letras.com.br
Foreign contacts: Livraria Pontes – compras@livrariapontes.com.br
http://www.mercado-de-letras.com.br
mercredi 12 décembre 2007
Music and Sound in the Healing Arts by John Beaulieu
I am in the process of reading it...
-------------------------------
Richly illustrated with pictures, stories, and the author's experience as composer and therapist, this book explores the history and practice of healing sound from ancient philosophies to the practical applications of therapy, religion, and art: mantra, toning, voice evaluation, tuning forks, and music listening. It also contains guidelines and exercises for teaching and an evaluation of music therapy today.
mercredi 26 septembre 2007
Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within by Rod Mann
Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within is a feature length documentary which invites the viewer to rediscover an enchanted cosmos in the modern world by awakening to the divine within.
The film examines the re-emergence of archaic techniques of ecstacy in the modern world by weaving a synthesis of ecological and evolutionary awareness,electronic dance culture, and the current pharmacological re-evaluation of entheogenic compounds. Within a narrative framework that imagines consciousness itself to be evolving, Entheogen documents the emergence of techno-shamanism in the post-modern world that frames the following questions: How can a renewal of ancient initiatory rites of passage alleviate our ecological crisis? What do trance dancing and festivals celebrating unbridled artistic expression speak to in our collective psyche? How do we re-invent ourselves in a disenchanted world from which God has long ago withdrawn? Entheogen invites the viewer to consider that the answers to these questions lie within the consciousness of each and every human being, and are accessible if only we give ourselves permission to awaken to the divine within.
Stan Grof, Marilyn Schlitz, Ralph Metzner, Alex Grey, Terrence McKenna, John Markoff, Daniel Pinchbeck, and Kat Harrison among others, postulate how the disenchantment of the modern world may be remedied by summoning the courage to take the next leap in the evolution of planetary consciousness.
Ibogaine : Rite of Passage by Ben de Loenen
Ibogaine is a substance that is derived from the root of an African plant that grows in Gabon. This plant is originally used during initiations of the Bwiti culture, but in the sixties the anti-addictive properties of this psychoactive substance were discovered by Howard Lotsof. Ibogaine is surrounded by controversy. The decisions about the use of Ibogaine in the treatment of addiction appear to be made on political and economical, rather than rational basis.
Despite the results that show the efficacy of Ibogaine, the pharmaceutical companies and the government show no interest and stay sceptical. Ibogaine has provided us with more insight in the mechanisms of addiction and the question if it needs to be used for treating this huge western problem gets more and more acknowledgement.
Cy (34) has been using a mixture of heroine and amphetamine for about 11 years, but his three children and his ambitions are more valuable to him. Kicking his addiction is a tough job for him. It reveals all his suppressed emotions.
Moussavou (22) lives in the village Mitoné in Gabon. For her the traditional African initiation is part of healing process. She suffered from an illness for more than a year and she hopes that eating the holy plant will be the starting point of a new phase in her life.
This 50 minute documentary shows the different aspects of this special substance by means of personal experiences and explanations of ex-addicts, treatment providers and experts.
The Way of Trance by Dennis R. Wier
Don't hesitate to contact me for further info about the book or the Trance Research Fundation.
Love !
::The Way of Trance by Dennis R. Wier
This book is a great introduction into the realm of trance. According to the author, trance covers a much wider spectrum than the cliché of ritual ecstatic trance, and it definitely has more to do with our daily thought processes and social interactions. One could define it as a cognitive processing mode, a kind of "reality filter". From this viewpoint, people go in and out of multiple trances a day, most of them without even noticing it. The central thesis in Wier's book is that outside influence changes our destiny by altering the way we perceive or process information; trance techniques are being extensively used by salesman, artists, politicians, cult leaders... “Trance is really a way of modifying energy in our heads, so you can think in different ways”. When practised willingly with loving compassion, it can be a powerful source of healing, inspiration and self-realization. When practised in secrecy, for selfish purposes and hidden agendas, trance can lead victims into delusion, illness and addictions of all kind. The author refers to this as "Trance Abuse".
The main goal of this book is to promote "trance awareness" on a personal level, through the practice of meditation which is presented as a specific kind of trance. Since trance and meditation are words which have a strong tendency to be associated with esoteric frameworks, it has to be noted that the author is not calling upon any kind of mysticism and is not asking the reader to believe in anything except themselves. Meditation is referred to as a personal training to self-observation and introspection. It can be done by a wide variety of methods and the author is not advocating the use of a specific one. He strongly invites the reader to create their own experiments and proof: "you have to do it personally yourself, I can't do it for you", this is to me one of the greatest strength of his approach.
The author, in his previous book, developed a "Trance Model" which he describes in mathematical detail. The current book is intended for a wide audience and describes several types of trance, sometimes referring to the Trance Model, but no mathematical notions are required nor is it required to have read the previous books. Repetition is at the core of trance. Repetition is at the core of trance. One of the key features of the Trance Model is that repetition always results in the disabling of some cognitive functions such as critical judgment and short term memory. Different kinds of trance can be skilfully created using various features of the Trance Model and many of these features are examined throughout the book.
I already mentioned Meditation as a one kind of trance. Addiction is seen as a mutual lock between three trances, which suggests why it is so hard to break. A trance therapy based on this approach is under development by the Trance Research Fundation. Charismatic trance, characterized by strong ego-mania and total disconnection from reality is also being exposed. The chapter on invasive trance deserves full attention since it describes techniques, some of them already operating, which allow influencing people on a mass scale in a very invasive and often un-noticeable way. Their use ranges from vending machines in Japan to the Gulf war and offers a frightening glance into the future. Ethics is indeed a central point to be considered when using trance techniques. Without proper ethics and without trance awareness, can democracy really work in a land of sleepwalking citizens hypnotized by television and lacking critical judgement?
A full chapter is dedicated to ecstatic trance, which corresponds to what many people are referring to when using the word trance. This chapter is of special relevance for the trance music community. Wier asks very smart questions such as “what is so disturbing to social order about the ecstatic trance and what is its evolutionary function?” which is well reflected by the global climate of party repression. What is indeed so bad about experiencing deep states of joy and bliss together? Since it plays a great role in trance rituals from Morrocan Gnawa to psychedelic Goa trance, a section is dedicated to trance music. Sounds indeed "have subtle and profound meaning within a trance". The effects of beats per minute (BPM), frequencies, dissonances and use of verbal material are analyzed in detail. According to Wier, "if enough minds and bodies agree to do the same thing, the collective reality of those involved can be changed, or a new one created". This emphasizes the self-transformative potential of a collective trance ritual and the need for careful preparation in order to "design effective magical positive parties and celebrations".
"Highly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" once said Arthur C. Clarke. Wier defines the wyrd as the energy that gives its power to various trances; in that regard, magic is simply smart us of the wyrd. And so can tremendous changes of destiny occur through the skilful use of trance. The wyrd is the only fuzzy concept which is being referred to in this book; I feel that each reader shall interpret it according to its ontology of the world. It can be thought of as analogous to the eastern notions of chi and prana but it call also fit well with modern cognitive theories of consciousness.
The link between divine states and intoxication is well pointed out. Many ancient traditions have used intoxication as an aid to enter powerful trances. Entheogens - meaning awakening the divine within - offer a very relevant example of it and are surrounded by a tremendous taboo in our culture. Modern humans and especially western people have been separated from mother Nature and their divine nature. In that regard, trance appears not less that an alchemical process, a great tool for self-transformation on your own way towards unity.
The book is generally well-written and organized. The first sections can seem a bit long and repetitive but they then appear necessary for the good understanding of the authors point. Moreover he himself makes subtle use of some of the techniques he describes, especially repetition and it definitely helps to understand quicker and better integrate. Each section features some practical exercises and a series of questions, encouraging the reader to cognitively link what he has just read with his everyday life. I find this book unique and innovative; it provides a very good summary of the topic. It makes a lot of sense in the light of frameworks such as Grof's transpersonal approach or Tononi's information integration theory of consciousness. Promising research directions, fundamental as well as applied are pointed out and urgently need to be carried out.
I really recommend this book which is relevant for a wide spectrum of readers. I think the original background of the author contributes a lot to its intelligibility. More than a book, this is a practical manual to change your destiny: you can learn to detect when and how you are getting "entranced" by the external world and you can train to navigate and influence the inner realm on your way of love and compassion.
::About the author
Dennis Wier is indeed a retired computer systems analyst who has been heavily practising meditation and hypnosis. He has already written books about his model of trance, meditation as well as trance music composition. He is the founder and executive director of the Trance Research Fundation : a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote trance awareness. This fundation financially support scientific trance research projects as well as education through the Trance Institute.
::For further information
www.tranceresearch.org
www.trance.edu
"The Way of Trance" can be ordered online at www.lulu.com/trance.
Love !
::The Way of Trance by Dennis R. Wier
This book is a great introduction into the realm of trance. According to the author, trance covers a much wider spectrum than the cliché of ritual ecstatic trance, and it definitely has more to do with our daily thought processes and social interactions. One could define it as a cognitive processing mode, a kind of "reality filter". From this viewpoint, people go in and out of multiple trances a day, most of them without even noticing it. The central thesis in Wier's book is that outside influence changes our destiny by altering the way we perceive or process information; trance techniques are being extensively used by salesman, artists, politicians, cult leaders... “Trance is really a way of modifying energy in our heads, so you can think in different ways”. When practised willingly with loving compassion, it can be a powerful source of healing, inspiration and self-realization. When practised in secrecy, for selfish purposes and hidden agendas, trance can lead victims into delusion, illness and addictions of all kind. The author refers to this as "Trance Abuse".The main goal of this book is to promote "trance awareness" on a personal level, through the practice of meditation which is presented as a specific kind of trance. Since trance and meditation are words which have a strong tendency to be associated with esoteric frameworks, it has to be noted that the author is not calling upon any kind of mysticism and is not asking the reader to believe in anything except themselves. Meditation is referred to as a personal training to self-observation and introspection. It can be done by a wide variety of methods and the author is not advocating the use of a specific one. He strongly invites the reader to create their own experiments and proof: "you have to do it personally yourself, I can't do it for you", this is to me one of the greatest strength of his approach.
The author, in his previous book, developed a "Trance Model" which he describes in mathematical detail. The current book is intended for a wide audience and describes several types of trance, sometimes referring to the Trance Model, but no mathematical notions are required nor is it required to have read the previous books. Repetition is at the core of trance. Repetition is at the core of trance. One of the key features of the Trance Model is that repetition always results in the disabling of some cognitive functions such as critical judgment and short term memory. Different kinds of trance can be skilfully created using various features of the Trance Model and many of these features are examined throughout the book.
I already mentioned Meditation as a one kind of trance. Addiction is seen as a mutual lock between three trances, which suggests why it is so hard to break. A trance therapy based on this approach is under development by the Trance Research Fundation. Charismatic trance, characterized by strong ego-mania and total disconnection from reality is also being exposed. The chapter on invasive trance deserves full attention since it describes techniques, some of them already operating, which allow influencing people on a mass scale in a very invasive and often un-noticeable way. Their use ranges from vending machines in Japan to the Gulf war and offers a frightening glance into the future. Ethics is indeed a central point to be considered when using trance techniques. Without proper ethics and without trance awareness, can democracy really work in a land of sleepwalking citizens hypnotized by television and lacking critical judgement?
A full chapter is dedicated to ecstatic trance, which corresponds to what many people are referring to when using the word trance. This chapter is of special relevance for the trance music community. Wier asks very smart questions such as “what is so disturbing to social order about the ecstatic trance and what is its evolutionary function?” which is well reflected by the global climate of party repression. What is indeed so bad about experiencing deep states of joy and bliss together? Since it plays a great role in trance rituals from Morrocan Gnawa to psychedelic Goa trance, a section is dedicated to trance music. Sounds indeed "have subtle and profound meaning within a trance". The effects of beats per minute (BPM), frequencies, dissonances and use of verbal material are analyzed in detail. According to Wier, "if enough minds and bodies agree to do the same thing, the collective reality of those involved can be changed, or a new one created". This emphasizes the self-transformative potential of a collective trance ritual and the need for careful preparation in order to "design effective magical positive parties and celebrations".
"Highly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" once said Arthur C. Clarke. Wier defines the wyrd as the energy that gives its power to various trances; in that regard, magic is simply smart us of the wyrd. And so can tremendous changes of destiny occur through the skilful use of trance. The wyrd is the only fuzzy concept which is being referred to in this book; I feel that each reader shall interpret it according to its ontology of the world. It can be thought of as analogous to the eastern notions of chi and prana but it call also fit well with modern cognitive theories of consciousness.
The link between divine states and intoxication is well pointed out. Many ancient traditions have used intoxication as an aid to enter powerful trances. Entheogens - meaning awakening the divine within - offer a very relevant example of it and are surrounded by a tremendous taboo in our culture. Modern humans and especially western people have been separated from mother Nature and their divine nature. In that regard, trance appears not less that an alchemical process, a great tool for self-transformation on your own way towards unity.
The book is generally well-written and organized. The first sections can seem a bit long and repetitive but they then appear necessary for the good understanding of the authors point. Moreover he himself makes subtle use of some of the techniques he describes, especially repetition and it definitely helps to understand quicker and better integrate. Each section features some practical exercises and a series of questions, encouraging the reader to cognitively link what he has just read with his everyday life. I find this book unique and innovative; it provides a very good summary of the topic. It makes a lot of sense in the light of frameworks such as Grof's transpersonal approach or Tononi's information integration theory of consciousness. Promising research directions, fundamental as well as applied are pointed out and urgently need to be carried out.
I really recommend this book which is relevant for a wide spectrum of readers. I think the original background of the author contributes a lot to its intelligibility. More than a book, this is a practical manual to change your destiny: you can learn to detect when and how you are getting "entranced" by the external world and you can train to navigate and influence the inner realm on your way of love and compassion.
::About the author
Dennis Wier is indeed a retired computer systems analyst who has been heavily practising meditation and hypnosis. He has already written books about his model of trance, meditation as well as trance music composition. He is the founder and executive director of the Trance Research Fundation : a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote trance awareness. This fundation financially support scientific trance research projects as well as education through the Trance Institute.
::For further information
www.tranceresearch.org
www.trance.edu
"The Way of Trance" can be ordered online at www.lulu.com/trance.
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