The Triune Brain, Hypnosis and the Evolution of Consciousness
The Triune Brain, Hypnosis and the Evolution of Consciousness

Author: Adam Weishaupt

Publisher: Magus Books

Published:

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13:

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The only person who has produced a cogent understanding of the extraordinary phenomenon of hypnosis is Julian Jaynes, one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, but tragically overlooked. Jaynes linked hypnosis to the bicameral (two-hemisphered) structure of the brain, and inferred that consciousness arose from the breakdown of a prior "master-slave" mode of functioning that he called the "bicameral mind". The architecture of consciousness is the opposite of the architecture of bicameralism. The former hasn't replaced the latter. It simply sits on top of it, and in certain circumstances the old architecture can reassert itself. This is what happens with hypnosis. All of human behavior may be understood in terms of the ongoing conflict between these two architectures. Although most people seem conscious, they are often in a thinly-disguised bicameral mode that reflects the master-slave paradigm. This book is one of a series by the Pythagorean Illuminati.

Living Mythos
Living Mythos

Author: Mark Allard

Publisher: Balboa Press

Published: 2017-12-14

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1504391349

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As we consider the unfolding conditions of our lives through a mythological filter, archetypal qualities of behavior recognizably manifest. This empowers us to infuse value and meaning into our lives that are relevant to our personal experience. Nietzsche understood this process to be essential in the development of his Overman. Carl Jung called this process of bringing unconscious qualities of behavior into consciousness, individuation. Building on the structure of elementary ideasthe universal symbolism that transcends cultural and spiritual landscapesLiving Mythos presents a compelling alternative to the dependency doctrines of modern tradition, and it inspires us to imagine a tomorrow in which we have reclaimed the spiritual nature of our thoughts. Through an exploration of Norse mythology and the influence of Indo-European shamanism, we may begin to understand the mythological worldview as a form of ancient psychology, designed to awaken us to our inherent potential to create and become our own unique living mythos.

Altering Consciousness
Altering Consciousness

Author: Etzel Cardeña

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2011-05-18

Total Pages: 838

ISBN-13: 031338309X

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This authoritative, multidisciplinary overview of altered states of consciousness (ASC) shows how their study is necessary to gain a fundamental understanding of human culture, history, and biology. Altered consciousness is one of humanity's most mystical and life-altering aspects. These remarkable changes in mental state have understandably been a topic of general interest and scientific inquiry across time. Beyond simply satisfying our curiosity, however, studies focused upon altered consciousness can also bring valuable insights into our experience, biology, and culture. This unprecedented two-volume set will intrigue anyone interested in psychology, biology and neurology, science, history, arts and the humanities, and literature on consciousness, from general readers to scholars and researchers. An impressive collection of international contributors address altered states of consciousness from the perspectives of history, evolution, psychology, culture, literature, human biology, contemporary science, and society, seeking to illuminate the causes, effects, and meanings of altered consciousness. The first volume provides an introduction and centers on the importance of altered states in history, culture, and the humanities, while the second volume presents biological and psychological perspectives on altered consciousness and examines their potential for healing and pathology.

Hypnosis and Conscious States
Hypnosis and Conscious States

Author: Graham Jamieson

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2007-01-18

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0191588482

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The phenomenon of hypnosis provides a rich paradigm for those seeking to understand the processes that underlie consciousness. Understanding hypnosis tells us about a basic human capacity for altered experiences that is often overlooked in contemporary western societies. Throughout the 200 year history of psychology, hypnosis has been a major topic of investigation by some of the leading experimenters and theorists of each generation. Today hypnosis is emerging again as a lively area of research within cognitive (systems level) neuroscience informing basic questions about the structure and biological basis of conscious states. This book describes the latest advances in understanding hypnosis and similar trance states by researchers within the neuroscience of consciousness. It contains many new and exciting contributions from up and coming researchers and provides a lively debate on methodological and theoretical issues central to the development of emerging research paradigms in the neuroscience of conscious states. The book introduces and describes many of the recent new tools that have become available to researchers in this field. Academics, researchers, and clinicians wanting to develop their knowledge of the latest findings, theories and methods in the scientific study of hypnosis and related states of consciousness will find this an up to date guide to this rapidly advancing field.

The Mystic Mind
The Mystic Mind

Author: Jerome Kroll

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-06

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1134297688

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Drawing on a database of over 1400 medieval holy persons and in-depth studies of individual saints, this fascinating collaboration between a medieval historian and a professor of psychiatry applies modern biological and psychological research to the lives of medieval mystics and ascetics.

Shamanism
Shamanism

Author: Michael J. Winkelman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-08-05

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 0313381828

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This book examines shamanism from evolutionary and biological perspectives to identify the origins of shamanic healing in rituals that enhance individual and group function. What does the brain do during "soul journeys"? How do shamans alter consciousness and why is this important for healing? Are shamans different from other kinds of healers? Is there a connection between the rituals performed by chimpanzees and traditional shamanistic practices? All of these questions—and many more—are answered in Shamanism, Second Edition: A Biopsychosocial Paradigm of Consciousness and Healing. This text contains crosscultural examinations of the nature of shamanism, biological perspectives on alterations of consciousness, mechanisms of shamanistic healing, as well as the evolutionary origins of shamanism. It presents the shamanic paradigm within a biopsychosocial framework for explaining successful human evolution through group rituals. In the final chapter,"the author compares shamanistic rituals with chimpanzee displays to identify homologies that point to the ritual dynamics of our ancient hominid ancestors.

A Guide to the World of Dreams
A Guide to the World of Dreams

Author: Ole Vedfelt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-18

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1317364937

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In A Guide to the World of Dreams, Ole Vedfelt presents an in-depth look at dreams in psychotherapy, counselling and self-help, and offers an overview of current clinical knowledge and scientific research, including contemporary neuroscience. This book describes essential aspects of Jungian, psychoanalytic, existential, experiential and cognitive approaches to dreams and dreaming, and explores dreams in sleep laboratories, neuroscience and contemporary theories of dream cognition. Vedfelt clearly and effectively describes ten core qualities of dreams, and delineates a resource-oriented step-by-step manual for dreamwork at varying levels of expertise. For each core quality, key learning outcomes are clarified and resource-oriented, creative and motivating exercises for practical dreamwork are spelled out, providing clear and manageable methods. A Guide to the World of Dreams also introduces a new cybernetic theory of dreams as intelligent, unconscious information processing, and integrates contemporary clinical research into this theory. The book even includes a wealth of engaging examples from the author’s lifelong practical experience with all levels and facets of dreamwork. Vedfelt’s seminal work is essential reading for psychotherapists, psychologists, counsellors, and even psychiatrists, and could well be a fundamental textbook for courses at high schools, colleges, universities and even in adult-education classes. The book’s transparent method and real-life examples will inspire individuals all over the world who seek self-help or self-development – any reader will be captivated to discover how knowledge of dreams stimulates creativity in everyday life and even in professional life.

Belief in the Past
Belief in the Past

Author: David S Whitley

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 1315433079

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Human actions are often deeply intertwined with religion and can be understood in a strictly religious context. Yet, many volumes and articles pertaining to discussions of religion in the archaeological past have focused primarily on the sociopolitical implications of such remains. The authors in this volume argue that while these interpretations certainly have a meaningful place in understanding the human past, they provide only part of the picture. Because strictly religious contexts have often been ignored, this has resulted in an incomplete assessment of religious behavior in the past. This volume considers exciting new directions for considering an archaeology of religion, offering examples from theory, tangible archaeological remains, and ethnography.

Haunted by the Archaic Shaman
Haunted by the Archaic Shaman

Author: H. Sidky

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780739126219

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Haunted by the Archaic Shaman critically engages the general discourse on shamanism by using ethnographic data gathered among different ethnic groups in the Nepal Himalayas to address several key conceptual issues and problems in the scholarly field of shamanic studies. Sidky not only tackles topics that appear beyond resolution to many, such as defining shamanism and delimiting its geographical scope, but also challenges on empirical and theoretical grounds several widely held ideas that have assumed the status of incontrovertible facts, such as the antiquity of shamanism and its place in the rise of human religiosity. This book makes a significant theoretical contribution to the field of shamanic studies and the anthropology of religion.