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Podcast #034 - Antipodes of the Mind - Ayahuasca - An Interview with Prof. Benny Shanon
June 08, 2009 02:07 AM PDT
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew that is traditionally used by indigenous cultures in the Amazon basin. The brew is made with the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Psychotria veridis - and other ingredients may or may not be added - including the very dangerous and deadly Datura. The brew also contains MAOIs (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) and DMT - the most powerful psychedelic drug on earth - which is also a natural neurotransmitter in all mammalian brains. If the Ayahuasca experience were charted by a leading psychologist, what would the scientific research on its effects show? How do psychological studies on Ayahuasca differ from anthropological studies? What happens when the full-blown psychedelic experience with Ayahuasca is brought toe to toe with science? Can it be proved that the Ayahuasca experience real? Or is it only a culturally induced hallucination? Does Ayahuasca merely provide a single type "experience," or do the experiences progress through multiple uses? What if the experience of this mystical substance could be described in great literary detail that exceeds that of Aldous Huxley's Doors of Perception? Today I interview Professor Benny Shanon, professor of Psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel. Benny Shanon holds the Mandel Chair in Cognitive Psychology and Education. Born in Tel Aviv, Shanon studied philosophy and linguistics at Tel Aviv University and received his doctorate in experimental psychology from Stanford University. He is author of the 2002 book Antipodes of the Mind: Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience published by Oxford University Press. Benny Shanon is known for his controversial theory that the patriarch Moses was under the influence of hallucinogens when he received the law. Specifically, he believes that a psychedelic cocktail similar to ayahuasca may explain Moses's vision of the burning bush: "In advanced forms of ayahuasca inebriation, the seeing of light is accompanied by profound religious and spiritual feelings". Order Antipodes of the Mind: http://astore.amazon.com/gnosmedi-20/detail/0199252939 |
Podcast SummaryGnostic Media Research & Publishing's podcast with host Jan Irvin.A show that takes you far beyond the commonly understood concepts of religious practice, history, philosophy, the ancient mysteries, and politics, into the heart of cognizance itself. My focus is to bring together the leading independent and academic scholars from their respective fields of study to discuss shamanism, entheogens / psychedelics, religion, fertility cults, archaeoastronomy, direct religious experience, politics, and much more. My hope is that by providing a forum where both academic and independent scholars can present their ideas and research in a complete format, I will help to facilitate further understanding in these related fields - not only for the listening audience, but also for the researchers and everyone involved. Here the word 'gnostic' pertains to knowledge, and not necessarily dogmatic "Gnostic" teachings. The word gnostic has it's origins in the word 'knowledge' or to know [Greek gnosis, knowledge, from gignoskein, to know]. This is a one of a kind show, so sit back and relax as I take you on journey through time to deepest recesses of your mind. Jan Irvin of GnosticMedia.com is an independent researcher, author and lecturer in ancient and modern religious practices. He's the author of The Holy Mushroom: Evidence of Mushrooms in Judeo-Christianity; A critical re-evaluation of the schism between John M. Allegro and R. Gordon Wasson over the theory on the entheogenic origins of Christianity presented in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, © 2008. For more information, please see TheHolyMushroom.com  Jan is the co-author of Astrotheology & Shamanism: Christianity's Pagan Roots, © 2006/2009, and co-producer of The Pharmacratic Inquisition DVD, 2007, with Andrew Rutajit. See www.gnosticmedia.com and Pharmacratic-Inquisition.com   He is the publisher of the upcoming 40th anniversary edition of John Marco Allegro's The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross and is also the curator of the official John Allegro website and has contributed much to the re-examination of many of Allegro’s theories. See JohnAllegro.org   Stumble It!
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