The Science of Shamanism

THE SCIENCE OF SHAMANISM provides a synthesis of realms of knowledge that hitherto were either blinded out from human consciousness or that were seen from a disparaging perspective that is in turn the result of mental and emotional fragmentation. Shamanism, perennial science traditions and modern science have been relegated to different cognitive and experiential realms; they were seemingly different topics, while in reality, they belong systemically together. The need for this book is evident in a time where an intuitive and integrative approach to life and living is more and more replaced by academia and scientific 'authorities', and where people begin to build awareness of their multiple fragmentations. The study is destined to broaden the reader's awareness for apprehending a network of hidden connections that is spanning the whole gamut of human experience, once one honestly approaches living systems with a mindset that is as much as possible free of conceptual conditioning and intellectual assumptions and projections. The book is designed to show that at the basis of shamanism, there is not myth and mythology, but empirical and logical behavior that approaches nature without preconceptions, and an open inquisitive mind. The reason why most people are at pains with the shamanic quest is that they are not critical enough in the face of conformity pressure and the general solidifying framework of modern consumer culture that models citizens instead of accepting them as they are - in their full humanity. The study outlines the shamanic science paradigm, which is empirical and holistic, and then presents and discusses the author's personal experiences, as first-person accounts, of mind-opening shamanic experiences. Further, the book outlines the person of the warrior-scientist, the shaman, his or her roles, and the scientific nature of their proceedings. The author revealed his own shamanic quest, a twenty-five years of unusual, disturbing, intriguing and revelatory cognitive experiences that he went through with an open mind and a curious heart. He then presents research done since twenty years on shamanic cultures to find eight specific dynamic patterns of living that characterize their living continuum, and that are the pillars of their peaceful and nature-loving kind of life. The primary audience of the book is academic in the sense that some deeper understanding of scientific research, the scientific method, and scientific, non-moralistic thinking is needed. The secondary audience is a larger lay public who is interested in converging paradigms and intersecting knowledge traditions, especially the cognitive dimension of shamanic experience when it is really seen without cultural prejudice and from an empirical point of view. The author comes up with an integrative vision; in this sense, he goes beyond mere science and reveals to be a visionary.