Shamanic Practice and Constructive Altered States of Consciousness
The purview of the shaman is the realm of soul. This is regarded as the spiritual essence of a human being or animal that is usually regarded as immortal. Different paradigms offer different explanations of “reality” that are underpinned by assumptions about what composes “reality.” Philosophers assert that reality can only be known through our faculty of reason via our intellect. The scientific method determines that reality can be known through a systematized study of the natural and physical world through observation and experiment. It is curious to me how some people are naturally drawn to any one of these orientations as a way to know reality. Perhaps it is a matter of temperament. Maybe it is the influence of karma or the influence of intergenerational family beliefs. However I try to understand this, in the end I suspect it really does not matter because in a sense, these different orientations are all competing with one another while at the same time crossing over and to some degree, complementing each other. The question they all seek answers to is “How can I “know reality?” or “What is truly real and ultimately meaningful?”
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