ipl-logo

Entheogens Research Paper

1295 Words6 Pages

The Effects of Using Entheogens in a Ceremonial Setting

For a long time, the use of psychoactive plants have played a role in the cultures of indigenous peoples. They are often plants that come in the form of peyote, fungi, and more. These plants are then ingested as a part of a ritual or ceremony with the focus on healing, growth, gaining insight, curing disease, and in a way taking a good look at one’s own heart. When psychedelics are used for the purpose of spiritual growth and insight they are called entheogens. As opposed to a person simply taking a psychoactive substance for the purpose of just tripping, participating in ceremony or ritual creates a profound experience.
For a long time the shamanic traditions of the amazon involve drinking a plant medicine known as ayahuscha. Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant that is used in a brew as a part of the healing ceremonies carried out by the indigenous people of the people of the Amazon Basin. (Trichter,2) There is a whole ceremony around it that involves drinking the brew, physically purging the body by vomiting, a result of the brew, and letting the medicine show …show more content…

The relationship between the person taking the plant medicine and the ritual is like taking an already paved trail in the woods to get to the chosen destination rather than stumble around the uncharted parts. Plant medicines are amazing tools to explore the mind. Toys they are not, as they still manipulate the chemistry of the brain and can affect a person in almost unpredictable mind. By taking a plant substance person is agreeing to let that plant take your perception to a possibly completely different level. This shift of perception is not always a choice. Setting intention and participating in a ceremony or ritual allows the perception to be taken to a place that doesn’t turn your brain to

Show More
Related

  • Shaman's Apprentice Book Report

    752 Words  | 4 Pages

    • This book is about finding medicinal plants in the Amazon Rainforest to cure common diseases. • Sometimes, Western medicines cannot cure the common diseases. • This book was written by Mark Plotkin and it was published in 1993. • Mark Plotkin travels to different parts of the rainforest and collect several medicinal plants for a research experiment. •

    Read More

  • How Did Medicine Influence The Ancient Mayan Society?

    94 Words  | 1 Pages

    Medicine influenced the ancient Mayan society by forcing the ancient Mayans to believe in the limited treatments that were available to them. Much of Mayan medicine was reliant on spiritual chants because of their lack of in-depth research, however they did use plant extracts to cure certain ailments; relying on the color of the plant to determine what it could cure. Today, we know that the color of the plant means very little about its healing properties which shows us how the Mayans had to trust their remedies because they had no other options.

    Read More

  • The Sunshine Makers Documentary Analysis

    544 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘The Sunshine Makers’ is a 2015 documentary by Cosmo Feilding-Mellen, covering the fabled exploits of American clandestine LSD chemists Nick Sand and Tim Scully. Written by Connie Littlefield (who also wrote the excellent ‘Hofmann’s Potion’), the subject seems like a natural progression for Feilding-Mellen, given that he’s the son of legendary self-trepanees and counter-culturalists Amanda Feilding (artist and activist – now Lady Neidpath, heading up the Beckley Foundation) and Joe Mellen (gallery owner and author of the seminal ‘Bore Hole’). Tim Scully & Nick Sand - LSD chemistsMuch anticipated by the cognoscenti, ‘The Sunshine Makers’ (aka ‘Breaking Good: the Untold Adventures of Two Underground Psychedelic Chemists and Their Mission to Save the World One Trip at Time’) is a well-presented and warm take on a fascinating period of the underground psychedelic culture. Based around interviews with the chemists and their fellow travellers, we learn exactly what it was that

    Read More

  • Enuma Elish Research Paper

    332 Words  | 2 Pages

    Question 2 With the text Enuma Elish, we can theorize that their society was violent. When Apsu is first faced with the issue of noisy children inside of the belly of Tiamat, he plans to murder them. He doesn 't decide to ignore or try to calm and quiet them down, but instead chose to kill his children. The children do not lie down to die, but instead preemptively kills their father.

    Read More

  • Theseus Research Paper

    595 Words  | 3 Pages

    Michael I Jewell Professor Mayes CLA 2000 23 November 2015 Phaedra and Hippolytus Phaedra is the wife of Theseus, given to him by Deucalion by order of Minos, the king of Crete. She is, however not his first wife according to Apollodorus. Theseus took his first wife from the Amazons who he attacked while adventuring with Heracles. Theseus kidnapped Hippolyte, who is also known by the names Antiope, and Melannipe, as well as her sisters.

    Read More

  • Religion In The Andes Summary

    1672 Words  | 7 Pages

    In her book, Religion in the Andes, Sabine MacCormack describes one common religious practise in which the Indigenous population of Peru would partake in. As part of the colonization process, the Spanish attempted to rid Peru of any pre-colonial religiosity and implement the worship of Christ and the saints within Catholicism. During the Christian festival of San Pedro de Hacas, many Indigenous people participate by offering the Statue of Saint Peter coca leaves, a fermented corn drink called chicha, and guinea pigs sacrificed in his honour. Before starting the celebrations, they would also be sure to pay respects to their huacas, an Andean religious idol, by offering them coca leaves and drinks. Offerings of coca leaves, chicha, and blood sacrifices are all traditional Andean religious practises that the Spanish friars and

    Read More

  • Tequila Research Paper

    550 Words  | 3 Pages

    I know we drink tequila to cure our deceptions of life but what else is tequila good for besides getting us all giitty or making us forget about a bad day? Since when has tequila been around? The Aztecs loved a fermented drink known as pulque, which used the sap of the agave plant. The milky liquid was so important to Aztec culture that they had gods in relationship to booze. The first was Mayahuel, the goddess of the maguey, and the second was her husband, Patecatl, the god of pulque.

    Read More

  • Rituals In The Mayan Society

    234 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the Mayan society, the ritual enemas were used to shift one’s state of consciousness. Men, women, children, shamans and gods were using them all the time. South American Indians performed the rituals by using native rubber tree sap for bulbed enemas syringes. To alter one’s state of consciousness and suffer less side effects they injected the enemas into their rectum. According to Chapter 23 Ritual Enemas, “…the ritual importance of the intoxicating enema is highlighted by the involvement in the rite of one of the greatest underworld deities, a lord associated with earth, water, and agricultural fertility…Yucatecan god Pauchatun…”

    Read More

  • Psilocybe: The Magic Mushroom

    74 Words  | 1 Pages

    The term “magic mushroom”, coined in the middle of the 20th century, branches over the whole genus of Psilocybe plants. These plants are known to host a potent hallucinogen, by the name of psilocybin. It is believed that these “magic mushrooms” have been around longer than modern humans and have been used by many ancient civilizations. Statues depicting religious use of Psilocybe plants have been found as far back as 1,000 B.C. (Tomov 917).

    Read More

  • Aztec Medical Practices Essay

    1102 Words  | 5 Pages

    While it may not be fair to credit the Aztecs with the use of herbs as a point of superiority, since the biodiversity was much grander in the New World than in Spain, they without a doubt had a greater understanding of their importance in medicine. The Aztecs, under Moctezuma I, had implemented vast botanical gardens dedicated to experimenting with the usage of herbs for medicine, this can perhaps be viewed as one of the first instances of government supported scientific research. This was years before any kingdom in Europe had come up with the same idea. The creation of these gardens with the express intent of scientific research is noteworthy when compared to the Spanish Inquisition’s wholesale attack on medical

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Symbolism In Herbal By Nalo Hopkinson

    840 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Herbal” by Nalo Hopkinson can be interpreted in many ways. Some readers may presume that the story talks about anxiety and depression, while others say it is about drugs and possibly abuse. I believe that the story is about the main character, Jenny, and her life with an abusive partner. The story shows that a victim in an abusive relationship will always have feelings for their partner, even when the partner is no longer in his or hers life. There 's always that desire for the abusive partner because our human nature is to desire and be desired by someone.

    Read More

  • The Holy Ghost People Sociological Analysis

    932 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through partaking in interaction rituals, individuals become members of something greater than themselves. This feeling of being apart of something greater than oneself provides a moral community for the individuals, which then guides individuals in their beliefs and behaviors. It is similar to a never-ending circle; as individuals see the emotionally charged environment that this religion provides, they want to be a part of it, so they partake in unusual rituals, which furthers their engagement and emotional connectedness to their community. It almost reminds me a bit of an addiction. This community turns objects, such as poison and snakes as sacred, which in turn creates a sacred and profane world.

    Read More

  • Locura Research Paper

    869 Words  | 4 Pages

    Different cultures and religions believe in different types of healing practices, there are a lot of Americans that use herbal remedies to cure all sorts of illnesses. If these remedies don’t work, it is the responsibility of the individual and family members to seek out proper medical treatment for the

    Read More

  • Plant Magic In Ancient Babylon

    245 Words  | 1 Pages

    Plants were believed to have a gender; the female plants were believed to be less potent. These herbalists were important because they were the ones who healed any and all ailments, illnesses and injuries. Another type of magic very similar to plant magic was stone and amulet magic. Stones, like herbs, had a gender and special powers. They could be use to guard things

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Herbal Therapy

    1278 Words  | 6 Pages

    The University of Maryland Medical Center states that Herbal Therapy also called botanical medicine or phytomedicine, refers to using plant’s, seeds, berries, leaves, barks, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Herbalism has a long tradition of use outside conventional medicine. It is becoming more mainstream as improvements in analysis and quality control, along with advances in clinical research, show the value of herbal medicine in treating and preventing diseases. Herbal medicine is a natural, non-toxic way to treat many conditions of ill-health. It is holistic, meaning it treats the whole person, embracing all levels of an individual: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

    Read More

More about Entheogens Research Paper

Open Document