http://mindhacks.com/2006/05/28/ancient-hallucinogenic-ayahuasca-ceremony/ Neuroscience and psychology news and views. Wed, 22 May 2013 13:23:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://mindhacks.com/2006/05/28/ancient-hallucinogenic-ayahuasca-ceremony/#comment-7934 Sun, 28 May 2006 22:27:29 +0000 http://mindhacksblog.wordpress.com/2006/05/28/ancient-hallucinogenic-ayahuasca-ceremony/#comment-7934 This article is quite interesting. These kinds of profound transformative experiences have long been associated with psychological healing. After psychology was emerging from its late 19th century “spiritualism” phase (prompted by the desire of the American populace wanting to contact their ancestors killed during the Civil War), William James wrote extensively on it, and it formed the basis for his lectures in Edinburgh on The Varieties of Religious Experience. He describes these kinds of transcendant experiences in his chapter on “Conversions.” We are only now, after the behaviorism, cognitive science, and neuroscience dominance of the field, coming back to study consciousness (despite James’ pleadings that the new science of psychology should not ignore consciousness). The wheel turns ’round.

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