| Titel: | The challenges of the return from a shamanic odyssey: A heuristic exploration |
|---|---|
| Autor: | Whitehouse, HS |
| Mediengruppe: | dissertation |
| Herausgeber: | --- |
| Zeitschrift: | Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering |
| Jahr: | 2005 |
| Band: | 66 |
| Heft: | --- |
| Seiten: | --- |
| Sprache: | English |
| Abstract: | This study draws on the heuristic research method to explore the challenges individuals encounter when they return from a shamanic journey and begin to integrate those experiences into the context of their lives. The data collected to serve as the foundation for the study includes: (1) The author's ten-year apprenticeship in shamanic healing; (2) The author's formal academic research and training in psychology, augmented by experiential workshops and professional conferences related to the field of shamanism; (3) In-depth interviews with eight experienced teachers who have demonstrated their ability to successfully integrate shamanic experiences into their own lives, and also made significant contributions within their respective communities; (4) An extensive exploration of the literature in the field of shamanism. Relevant findings include a phenomenological composite structure of the shamanic process that contains two essential features: the personal challenges encountered in the shamanic process and the context needed to support the shamanic experience. The implications of the dialectic between the individual challenges and the supportive context are explored. A comparison is presented between the shamanic context and the context that supports the Buddhist and Integral Yoga traditions. A phenomenological map describes the trajectory of the shamanic experience through the personal, transpersonal, and interpersonal/inter-relational realms. An in-depth discussion focuses on the challenges encountered when individuals return and begin to integrate the shamanic experience back into the framework of their daily lives. The powerful overarching effects of encounters with the shadow realm of the unconscious and with the realm of sacred interconnectedness are explored. Two levels of set and setting are introduced-that of the sacred and profane. The role of shamanism within the contemporary world is briefly considered, and finally, the author shares a personal reflection on the overall research experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) |