Psience Quest

Usual old recommendations. After 3-5 posts of discussion please make a new thread. This way people who aren't interested in the discussion don't have to wade through a lot of posts to find the next resource.

Phenomenological Convergence between Major Paradigms of Classic Parapsychology and Cross-Cultural Practices: An Exploration of Paranthropology

Quote:A new generation of researchers have begun to contribute to the emerging transdisciplinaryendeavours of paranthropology. This intriguing area of research unifies methodologies andtheoretical perspectives of both parapsychology and anthropology to enhance understanding ofanomalous phenomena related to consciousness. Furthermore, by employing aparanthropological perspective, a number of cross-cultural convergences between disciplines arerevealed. We begin by summarizing a number of major paradigms typically observed in classicparapsychology, followed by a brief historical overview of the development of paranthropologyand its implications for subsequent research. Finally, phenomenological convergences betweenparapsychology and anthropology are discussed, before a final summary of general conclusionsare entertained.

Key Words:
 Consciousness, psi, mediumship, culture, shamanism, magico-religious practices,parapsychology, paranthropology, altered states of consciousness, field research, anomalies

I just got notification that the Parapsychological Association has posted a new video on YouTube:

Panel discussion: The Emerging Field of Paranthropology
Serena M. Roney-Dougal (Chair), Stanley Krippner, David Luke & Jack Hunter give a brief overview of the fields of transpersonal anthropology, the anthropology of consciousness and - the most recent development in this lineage - paranthropology. The panel outlines the contributions of these fields to the development of a new approach to the investigation of so-called non-ordinary realities which emphasizes the need for ethnographers to participate in the transpersonal practices and experiences of their fieldwork informants.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg8gAGc1sFE

This blog by Kim McCaul has some interesting information about psychical phenomena among Australian aborigines:
http://www.multidimensionalevolution.com/blog

I wondered if anyone here had read Ronald Hutton's book, "Shamans: Siberian Spirituality and the Western Imagination" (2001). 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamans_(Hutton_book)

Apparently the main focus of the book is on revising beliefs about shamanism that "we think we know". I'm not sure what Hutton's conclusion is, but this is the view of one reviewer:
"Hutton's approach to his subject is sympathetic. In fact, like many of those who have written on this subject, he seems to be something of a cultural relativist. He finds that rationalist interpretations of the shamans' spiritual explorations and their own explanation of what they are doing are functionally equivalent, and from one or two hints, especially in his closing pages, I get the impression that he is prepared to accept shamanic claims that the shamanic world is in some sense real."
http://www.acampbell.org.uk/bookreviews/r/hutton.html

Courtesy of the Daily Grail, here's an interesting blog post from TED about the thriving tradition of shamanism in South Korea. Apparently the practice is common in urban areas, and 90-95% of the shamans are female. In fact to my ignorant ears it sounds like a cross between traditional shamanism and the kind of mediumistic spiritualism that's familiar in the West:
https://fellowsblog.ted.com/in-21st-cent...a8862a7bc8

Courtesy of the SPR Facebook page, here's a 22-page paper by David Luke, published in Time and Mind: The Journal of  Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture in 2010. It discusses the anthropology of psi, beginning with a historical survey of the field:
https://www.academia.edu/766405/Anthropo...in_science

(2018-03-29, 08:30 AM)Chris Wrote: [ -> ]Courtesy of the SPR Facebook page, here's a 22-page paper by David Luke, published in Time and Mind: The Journal of  Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture in 2010. It discusses the anthropology of psi, beginning with a historical survey of the field:
https://www.academia.edu/766405/Anthropo...in_science

Thanks for this, great read!

The Daily Grail says that "The Shaman and the Scientist", a short documentary on plant medicine among Amazonian shamans, is free to view with a free trial of the Labocina service. The Grail article includes a short trailer:
https://www.dailygrail.com/2018/04/the-s...-for-free/

Hope this is appropriate.

Some of parapsychologist Stanley Krippner's work on Shamanism.....

The epistemology and technologies of shamanic states of consciousness

Conflicting perspectives on shamans and shamanism: Points and counterpoints

Anyone who dreams partakes in shamanism



And for good measure/enjoyment: Krippner talking on his association with the controversial Rolling Thunder.