Showing results for "Thoughts" in Shamanism

Originally drawn to Yaqui Indian spiritual leader don Juan Matus for his knowledge of mind-altering plants, best-selling author Carlos Castaneda soon immersed himself in the sorcerer's magical world entirely. Ten years after his first encounter with the shaman, Castaneda examines his field notes and comes to understand what don Juan knew all along - that these plants are merely a means to understanding the alternative realities that one cannot fully embrace on one's own.

What is it that attracts shamans, mystics, and other visionaries to the experience of altered states? It is the fact that some wisdom cannot be accessed through ordinary consciousness alone, proposes Daniel Pinchbeck. In Reality 2.0: Shamans, Psychedelics, and the Next Step in Evolution, this trailblazer of nonordinary reality shares a firsthand account of his quest for a "system upgrade" for human society.