The Antipodes of the Mind

Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience

Benny Shanon

The first complete mapping of the Ayahuasca experience.

The Antipodes of the Mind

Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience

Benny Shanon

Description

This is a pioneering cognitive psychological study of Ayahuasca, a plant-based Amazonian psychotropic brew. Benny Shanon presents a comprehensive charting of the various facets of the special state of mind induced by Ayahuasca, and analyzes them from a cognitive psychological perspective. He also presents some philosophical reflections. Empirically, the research presented in this book is based on the systematic recording of the author's extensive experiences with the brew and on the interviewing of a large number of informants: indigenous people, shamans, members of different religious sects using Ayahuasca, and travellers. In addition to its being the most thorough study of the Ayahuasca experience to date, the book lays the theoretical foundations for the psychological study of non-ordinary states of consciousness in general.

The Antipodes of the Mind

Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience

Benny Shanon

Prologue
Preliminaries General background; Theoretical foundations; Methodology and general structure
The Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience Atmosphere and general effects; opn eye visualizations; A structural typology of Ayahuasca visualizations; Interaction and narration; The contents of visions; The themes of visions; ideas, insights, and reflections; Non-visual perceptions; Consciousness I; Transformations; Time; Meaning and semantics; Consciousness II; Light
Theoretical issues Stages and order; Contextual considerations; Cognitive parameters; Synamics; A general theoretical perspective; Concluding philosophical reflections
Epilogue
Appendix (Quantitative Data)
Bibliography