Abstract
In this chapter, I examine instances of special significance in people’s experience with ayahuasca. Specifically, I consider instances in which psychological insights are gained and personal transformation and/or healing take place. The analysis provides a structural typology of facets of the ayahuasca experience based on empirical data gathered in a broader study that presents a systematic charting of the phenomenology of the special state of mind induced by this brew. The analysis and discussion are from a phenomenological cognitive-psychological approach rather than a clinical-psychological or medical perspective.
This chapter is a translation and reduced version from the original Spanish version published in 2013 as, ‘‘Momentos de Insight, Sanación y Tranformarción: Un análisis Fenomenológico Cognitivo,’’ in B. C. Labate and J. C. Bouso, (Eds.), Ayahuasca y Salud (pp. 348–376). Barcelona: Los Libros de La Liebre de Marzo. I thank Michael Winkelman for editing the original and Clancy Cavnar for the revision.
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Shanon, B. (2014). Moments of Insight, Healing, and Transformation: A Cognitive Phenomenological Analysis. In: Labate, B.C., Cavnar, C. (eds) The Therapeutic Use of Ayahuasca. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40426-9_4
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