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One experiment I'd like to see is the following: if people take Ayahuasca in a non-Amazonian setting do they also get in touch with Pachamama and friends? In o

by uh_uh 5y ago

One experiment I'd like to see is the following: if people take Ayahuasca in a non-Amazonian setting do they also get in touch with Pachamama and friends? In other words, how much is priming responsible for the types of experience one has under the influence of Ayahuasca?

capableweb 5y ago
Tripping is not only about the substance itself, no. Set and setting is extremely important also, and decides what kind of trip the user will experience. Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting This article might be particularly interesting to you: "The Impact of Set and Setting on Religious Experience in Nature" - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272579916_The_Impact_of_Set_and_Setting_on_Religious_Experience_in_Nature https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272579916_The_Impac...
ta1234567890 5y ago
I don’t know about Ayahuasca in particular, but with psychedelics in general, one of the most important aspects for the experience, is the setting that you are in. It is well known that whatever the setting and how you feel about it in that moment, will have a great effect on your experience. A good example is the Good Friday Experiment at Harvard, in which they gave psilocybin to some people and took them to church, then quite a few of them had “religious experiences”: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment#Experiment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment#Expe...
- admiral33 5y ago
  Was there a sermon? That could definitely make/break the experience. An empty chapel is probably an ideal place to facilitate that type of experience regardless of religious affiliation. Good lighting, acoustics, clean, ornate glass windows, no outstanding obligations from your life manifesting themself in the space.
jbotz 5y ago
This has been studied quite extensively and at least semi-scientifically for Ayahuasca specifically and also "clinical" DMT experiences (DMT is the main psychoactive ingredient in Ayahuasca) and the upshot is that yes, the imagery is surprisingly consistent even when removed from the typical ayahuasca-ceremony context and cultural factors. For some references see "The Antipodes of the Mind", a book by an Israeli cognitive psychologist who spent years doing phenomenological study of ayahuasca experiences, and "DMT: The spirit molecule", a book about studies using DMT done in the 90s.
max_ 5y ago
The generic name for these technologically advanced "spirits" is machine elves [0]. They can be very beautiful [1]. They have some similarities with Google's deep dream hallucinations. [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#Machine_elves https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#Machine_elve... [1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=machine+elves https://www.google.com/search?q=machine+elves
brianfryer 5y ago
> if people take Ayahuasca in a non-Amazonian setting do they also get in touch with Pachamama and friends? Yes. I've never participated in an ayahuasca ceremony outside of the US, and I was very intimately in touch with Pachamama. Too, simply drinking the brew likely wouldn't be enough to trigger a mystical experience. An experienced shaman is crucial for allowing such an event to arise.

by uh_uh 5y ago

capableweb 5y ago

Tripping is not only about the substance itself, no. Set and setting is extremely important also, and decides what kind of trip the user will experience. Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting This article might be particularly interesting to you: "The Impact of Set and Setting on Religious Experience in Nature" - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272579916_The_Impact_of_Set_and_Setting_on_Religious_Experience_in_Nature https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272579916_The_Impac...

ta1234567890 5y ago

I don’t know about Ayahuasca in particular, but with psychedelics in general, one of the most important aspects for the experience, is the setting that you are in. It is well known that whatever the setting and how you feel about it in that moment, will have a great effect on your experience. A good example is the Good Friday Experiment at Harvard, in which they gave psilocybin to some people and took them to church, then quite a few of them had “religious experiences”: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment#Experiment https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsh_Chapel_Experiment#Expe...

admiral33 5y ago
Was there a sermon? That could definitely make/break the experience. An empty chapel is probably an ideal place to facilitate that type of experience regardless of religious affiliation. Good lighting, acoustics, clean, ornate glass windows, no outstanding obligations from your life manifesting themself in the space.

jbotz 5y ago

This has been studied quite extensively and at least semi-scientifically for Ayahuasca specifically and also "clinical" DMT experiences (DMT is the main psychoactive ingredient in Ayahuasca) and the upshot is that yes, the imagery is surprisingly consistent even when removed from the typical ayahuasca-ceremony context and cultural factors. For some references see "The Antipodes of the Mind", a book by an Israeli cognitive psychologist who spent years doing phenomenological study of ayahuasca experiences, and "DMT: The spirit molecule", a book about studies using DMT done in the 90s.

max_ 5y ago

The generic name for these technologically advanced "spirits" is machine elves [0]. They can be very beautiful [1]. They have some similarities with Google's deep dream hallucinations. [0]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#Machine_elves https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_McKenna#Machine_elve... [1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=machine+elves https://www.google.com/search?q=machine+elves

brianfryer 5y ago

> if people take Ayahuasca in a non-Amazonian setting do they also get in touch with Pachamama and friends? Yes. I've never participated in an ayahuasca ceremony outside of the US, and I was very intimately in touch with Pachamama. Too, simply drinking the brew likely wouldn't be enough to trigger a mystical experience. An experienced shaman is crucial for allowing such an event to arise.