Altered states Quote by James David Lewis-Williams

“The behaviour of the human nervous system in certain altered states creates the illusion of dissociation from one’s body (less commonly understood in hunting and gathering shamanistic societies as possession by spirits).” quote by James David Lewis-Williams — Download Open image

““The behaviour of the human nervous system in certain altered states creates the illusion of dissociation from one’s body (less commonly understood in hunting and gathering shamanistic societies as possession by spirits).””

James David Lewis-Williams

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“I now argue that entry into Upper Palaeolithic caves was probably seen as virtually indistinguishable from entry into the mental vortex that leads to…

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“For the makers, the paintings and engravings were visions, not representations of visions.”

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“The principal aim of a vision quest is to ‘see’ a spirit animal that will become the quester’s animal-helper and source of his power.”

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“I suggest that the type of consciousness – not merely the degree of intelligence – that Neanderthals possessed was different in important respects from…

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“To understand the ‘wounded men’ of Upper Palaeolithic art, I now consider somatic hallucinations; these include attenuation of the body and limbs, polymelia (having…

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“The picture of change in human society that emerges from this recent research throws new light on that aspect of the Transition that has…

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“Perhaps the most striking feature of the west European Upper Palaeolithic, one on which many writers comment, is a sharp increase in the rate…

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“The first point to notice is that the Transition cannot be explained by climatic change alone: human change was not the direct result of…

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“The world’s oldest ‘art’ (77,000 years old) comes from Blombos Cave on the southern coast of South Africa.”

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“Improved memory made possible the long-term recollection of dreams and visions and the construction of those recollections into a spirit world.”

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“Under certain social circumstances, which may have varied from time to time and place to place, certain people (shamans) saw a relationship between the…

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“Primary consciousness is a state of being aware of things in the world – of having mental images in the present.But it is not…

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“although those who exhibit structural division of the personality commonly exhibit altered states of consciousness, only relatively few individuals who experience altered states of…

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Selectively pick a teacher, one that you respect, not just someone who can talk with wonderful poetic figures about enlightenment, but someone who has…

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For me, being a writer is not an altered state. It's very ponderous, and very - it's like being a shoemaker.

Anne Lamott

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You don't meditate to experiment with altered states of consciousness or whatever else. You meditate only to perceive by yourself that everything is within…

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“As human beings, we are connected in many ways to each other, to the nature that surrounds us and to the outermost parts of…

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This is part of the complexity of grief: A piece of you recognizes it is an extreme state, an altered state, yet a large…

Meghan O'Rourke

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“They luxuriated in the feeling of deep and all pervading satisfaction, a feeling of knowing absolutely that all was well with the world...Not only…

Hubert Selby Jr

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If we think about folk forms, they belong to disenfranchised people, people who have not been allowed access to the poetry of literature or…

Eliza Griswold

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The goal of spiritual life is not altered states, but altered traits

Huston Smith

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Obviously there is pain in childbirth. But giving birth is also a moment of awe and wonder, a moment when the true miracle of…

Riane Eisler

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“The genius craves inspiration: she craves altered states and fresh perceptions. She will have them either through evolving closer to the divine or through…

Carolyn Elliott

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As a longtime practitioner of yoga and a person who's been involved in physical fitness my whole life, I can tell you, yoga helps…

Joe Rogan

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Altered states Quote by James David Lewis-Williams

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