Technoshamanism
Encyclopedia
Technoshamanism is a term used to describe various methods of integrating modern technology into shamanic practice (see shamanism
). Methods of doing this include such diverse disciplines as synthetic drug use
, modern psychotherapy
, and raving
.
Technoshamans generally embrace the view that mystical experiences are at least partially biological in nature; as such, they find the use of biological and mechanical means to influence and even induce mystical states and experiences perfectly acceptable. Technoshamanism is strongly related to the modern primitive
movement.
chambers, transcranial magnetic stimulation
devices, neurofeedback
machines, music
, and synthetic drugs, and may one day include cybernetic technology.[1] These devices may be used in isolation or in conjunction with each other, in order to facilitate breakthrough or transcendent experiences or allow shamanic journeying.
While it is possible to employ the brain wave-altering effects of binaural beats in technoshamanic practice, many people use binaural beats to meditate or simply relax.
.
Technoshamanists tend to embrace futuristic metaphors and imagery when describing the role of drugs in their practice. This is possibly an adaptation of traditional spiritual language to modern technological terms. For example, Steve Mizrach, in an article titled "Modern Primitives: The Accelerating Collision of Past and Future in the Postmodern Era" says that to many self-described technoshamans:
This view may be informed by Terence McKenna
's writing on the potential extraterrestrial origin of mushrooms and Timothy Leary's exopolitical writing. The "circuits" made reference to are not electrical circuits, per se, but rather psychic circuits from Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness
.
Drug users who consider themselves serious technoshamans may or may not be offended by strictly recreational drug use
; in general, however, they are proponents of safe and constructive drug use.
scene, possibly due to the higher level of exposure to entheogens and other so-called consciousness-expanding drugs members of this subculture have.
The repetitive, percussive beats featured in much electronic music
can serve the same function as a mantra
, that is, by virtue of their repetition provide a point of focus. The natural high provided by the release of endorphins during strenuous physical activity (in this case, dancing) is also used to facilitate shamanic journeying, trance, and meditative states.[2]
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
). Methods of doing this include such diverse disciplines as synthetic drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
, modern psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, and raving
Raving
Raving may mean*A verb used to describe the action of dancing to techno, house, drum and bass or other electronic music; most often used to describe a large group of people engaging in this action...
.
Technoshamans generally embrace the view that mystical experiences are at least partially biological in nature; as such, they find the use of biological and mechanical means to influence and even induce mystical states and experiences perfectly acceptable. Technoshamanism is strongly related to the modern primitive
Modern primitive
Modern primitives or urban primitives are people in developed nations who engage in body modification rituals and practices while making reference or homage to the rite of passage practices in "primitive cultures" These practices may include body piercing, tattooing, play piercing, flesh hook...
movement.
Devices Used in Technoshamanism
Examples of specific technologies used in technoshamanism include sensory deprivationSensory deprivation
Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
chambers, transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain...
devices, neurofeedback
Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback , also called neurotherapy, neurobiofeedback or EEG biofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses realtime displays of electroencephalography or functional magnetic resonance imaging to illustrate brain activity, often with a goal of controlling central nervous system activity...
machines, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and synthetic drugs, and may one day include cybernetic technology.[1] These devices may be used in isolation or in conjunction with each other, in order to facilitate breakthrough or transcendent experiences or allow shamanic journeying.
Binaural Beats
Binaural beats are warbling, low amplitude (~3db), low frequency (0-30Hz) waveforms perceived when a person listens to one tone with one ear while listening to a slightly different tone with the other. Listening to them can influence brainwave activity. According to Oster, they produce evoked potentials in the brain that are qualitatively and quantitatively different to those elicited by monaural stimuli. This phenomenon relies upon the 'frequency following response'. The concept is that if one receives a stimulus with a frequency in the range of brain waves, the predominant brain wave frequency tends to move towards the frequency of the stimulus (a process called entrainment).While it is possible to employ the brain wave-altering effects of binaural beats in technoshamanic practice, many people use binaural beats to meditate or simply relax.
Psychoactive Drugs and Technoshamanism
MDMA, psilocybe mushrooms, LSD, and other psychoactive drugs can be employed to assist a practitioner in entering trance, achieving ego loss, or realizing another psychic/shamanic goal. Some users classify these drugs as mystical substances that produce meaningful experiences in themselves, while others maintain that psychoactive drugs are simply tools that allow mind-expansion, and that the altered states of consciousness that they produce may or may not be constructive, depending on how the user deals with and ultimately integrates them. A public proponent of the latter view was Timothy LearyTimothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
.
Technoshamanists tend to embrace futuristic metaphors and imagery when describing the role of drugs in their practice. This is possibly an adaptation of traditional spiritual language to modern technological terms. For example, Steve Mizrach, in an article titled "Modern Primitives: The Accelerating Collision of Past and Future in the Postmodern Era" says that to many self-described technoshamans:
The hallucinogenic mushroom really becomes an extraterrestrial colonizing spore, seeking to link human consciousness with its cosmic roots. The use of mystical drugs like LSDLSDLysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
really becomes a means to activate normally dormant "circuits" within the "biocomputer" known as the brain, thus making "metaprogramming" possible.
This view may be informed by Terence McKenna
Terence McKenna
Terence Kemp McKenna was an Irish-American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, teacher, lecturer and writer on many subjects, such as human consciousness, language, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and end of the universe, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.-Early...
's writing on the potential extraterrestrial origin of mushrooms and Timothy Leary's exopolitical writing. The "circuits" made reference to are not electrical circuits, per se, but rather psychic circuits from Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness
8-Circuit Model of Consciousness
The eight-circuit model of consciousness is a theory in psychology, first proposed by Timothy Leary. It consists of several quantum psychological systems that unify the various interpretations of the main altered states of consciousness into one coherent meta-theory...
.
Drug users who consider themselves serious technoshamans may or may not be offended by strictly recreational drug use
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
; in general, however, they are proponents of safe and constructive drug use.
Technoshamanism and Rave Culture
Technoshamanism is often embraced by members of the raveRave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
scene, possibly due to the higher level of exposure to entheogens and other so-called consciousness-expanding drugs members of this subculture have.
The repetitive, percussive beats featured in much electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
can serve the same function as a mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
, that is, by virtue of their repetition provide a point of focus. The natural high provided by the release of endorphins during strenuous physical activity (in this case, dancing) is also used to facilitate shamanic journeying, trance, and meditative states.[2]
See also
- NeurotheologyNeurotheologyNeurotheology, also known as spiritual neuroscience, is the study of correlations of neural phenomena with subjective experiences of spirituality and hypotheses to explain these phenomena....
- NeurotechnologyNeurotechnologyNeurotechnology is any technology that has a fundamental influence on how people understand the brain and various aspects of consciousness, thought, and higher order activities in the brain...
- God helmetGod helmetGod Helmet refers to an experimental apparatus used in neuroscience, primarily in the field of neurotheology. Originally called the "Koren helmet" after its inventor Stanley Koren, it was conceived to study creativity and the effects of subtle stimulation of the mesiobasal temporal lobes...
- MysticismMysticismMysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
- PsychedelicPsychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
- Core ShamanismCore ShamanismCore Shamanism is a system of shamanic beliefs and practices synthesized by Michael Harner. Core shamanism does not hold a fixed belief system, but instead focuses on the practice of shamanic journeying and may on an individual basis integrate indigenous shamanism, the teachings of Carlos...
- Plastic ShamanPlastic shamanPlastic shaman is a pejorative colloquialism applied to individuals who are attempting to pass themselves off as shamans, holy people, or other traditional spiritual leaders, but who have no genuine connection to the traditions or cultures they claim to represent...