shamans are a role within an animist culture. calling their beleif system "shamanism" is like calling any other role a beleif system... for example, dentists... dentistism... doesnt really work... shamans participate in an animist beleif system and practice shamanry. all the semantics aside though. your right entheogen assisted therapy is like sex with a condom... oh its safe and all but it really doesnt feel as good... and it isnt as fulfilling.

seriously? come on... how can a culture who has shamans not be animist? and eliade was full of poop. the suffix ism indicates a beleif system. religious scholars and anthropologists that came after eliade and have corrected his mistake. eliade took shamanry out of the context of animism made it some sort of ungrounded universal out of context ideal of primoridal religion, he disconnected from animism and he himself confused a role with a beleif system and ignored animism. seriously... dentistism.... farmerism... sculpterism... aritism.... basket weaverism... seriously? you can just boil it down to bad grammar. check out graham harveys animsim: respecting the living world.

yeah i studied entheotherapy, and entheogenic shamanry in college and worked with it a bunch. its effective but not as effective as shamanic healing ceremonies. i would have to say from lookign at the results in people before and after each one has a more drasitic effect then the other.

This may be vearing more off-topic - but LLB and others, how do you see shamanic healing ceremonies in the context of modern city dwellers? This is a subject i'm becoming more and more interested in; how can we integrate shamanic healing into our mashed up culture full of sceptics and fear-led zombies?

I dream of one day setting up a local centre to hold such ceremonies.

not to hijack the thread... so i created a response in anoth3r thr3ard.
http://www.dmt-nexus.me/...p;m=60828&#post60828

i would love to continue this conversation on the other post...

He's doing ok actually, and thanks for asking! When I'd finished it I took the plunge and lent him The New Mood Therapy. We also all clubbed together and sent him away for a long weekend. It seems like even that brief time apart has given both of them a perspective on their relationship and they both seem a lot more positive, he's got purpose about him for the first time in ages. We're building on this by buying him another ticket and making the effort to get my close but scattered friendship group together in one place (without her) next weekend and I'm going to have a long heart to heart about everything with him then.

I'm feeling quite bleak at the moment myself actually. Despite a generally relentless optimism and a mood that bounces back in an instant when I compare my situation to guys like B, on the whole I feel hollow, directionless, like my life is drifting past me and I'm wasting moments I can't ever get back. Self-cognitive therapy only goes so far, a concrete philosophy on life and existence only goes so far when you have to continually struggle against things that bring you down. It boils down to my job, my family, and the fact my partner of 5 years is in emotional turmoil herself I think. Only 21 weeks left though so I'm living in the moment, practising walking meditation right up to the door and getting on with it! I know from experience that every day and then every week will ultimately end.

Any supplements you guys can reccommend? Unconcealable entheogens are out of the question due to living arrangements.