Introduction to The Life of Maria Sabina

Estrada, Álvaro Castro

doi:10.1525/9780520342002-004

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…These rituals have played a central role in the traditional medicines of many cultures. These communities consider these plants to be sacred medicines that are the source of knowledge and cultural identity (Estrada, 1981 ; Furst, 1976 ; Narby and Chanchari Pizuri, 2021 ; La Barre, 1959 ; Tukano, 2017 ). Usually the ceremonies in which these medicines are taken involve the entire community.…”

Section: Hallucinations As the Normmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Bouso

Oña

Kohek

et al. 2023

Cult Med Psychiatry

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Hallucinations are currently associated almost exclusively with psychopathological states. While it is evident that hallucinations can indicate psychopathology or neurological disorders, we should remember that hallucinations also commonly occur in people without any signs of psychopathology. A similar case occurs in the case of hallucinogenic drugs, which have been long associated with psychopathology and insanity. However, during the last decades a huge body of research has shown that certain kinds of hallucinations, exerted by hallucinogenic drugs, may serve to improve mental health. We propose that, in light of historical, epidemiological, and scientific research, hallucinations can be better characterized as a common phenomenon associated sometimes with psychopathology but also with functional and even beneficial outcomes. In the last sections of the manuscript, we extend our argument, suggesting that hallucinations can offer a via regia to knowledge of the mind and the world. This radical shift in the cultural interpretation of hallucinations could have several implications for fields such as drug policy, civil law, and psychiatry, as well as for the stigma associated with mental disorders.

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Section: Hallucinations As the Normmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Bouso

Oña

Kohek

et al. 2023

Cult Med Psychiatry

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“…Munn also speculates that Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Aztecs, were capable of inventing highly developed writing systems and books precisely because of the constant use of psilocybin in analogous ritual, linguistically-inflected contexts. Estrada, A. (1981).…”

Section: Mazatecsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The above edition is a translation of the Spanish language original titled Vida de María Sabina: la sabia de los hongos (Estrada, 1989). It represents one of the most important explorations of the ritual use of sacred mushrooms among the Mazatecs, and arguably the most celebrated biography of María Sabina.…”

Section: Mazatecsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She was stigmatized in her community for the dramatic changes Wasson's publications precipitated in Huautla de Jiménez, which became a countercultural pilgrimage destination for mid-1960s hippies in pursuit of "magic mushrooms." More interest was shown in Sabina's life by Mazatec writers Alvaro Estrada (1981) and García Carrera (1986), who wrote autobiographies of this new icon of Indigenous and psychedelic culture, and who explored local accounts that offered alternative perspectives to those elaborated by Wasson. Contemporary Mazatec researchers have since critiqued the exploitation suffered by María Sabina (García Flores, Acosta López, & Piña Alcántara, 2020;García Cerqueda, 2020) and the Mazatec people at large, and made calls for reparations (Gerber et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Indigenous psilocybin mushroom practices: An annotated bibliography

Spiers,

Labate,

Ermakova

et al. 2024

JPS

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This annotated bibliography comprises 49 texts concerning psilocybin mushroom practices developed by Indigenous peoples. The books and articles have been selected for their academic rigor, relevance, and historical significance, and to foreground overlooked research and subject matter. This includes research on a plurality of contemporary practices and evidence of historical uses, from cultural traditions in Mexico and other regions of the world. The curated texts are sourced from various disciplines, including anthropology, history, archaeology, ethnolinguistics, and ethnomycology. Employing diverse methodological and analytical frameworks, the texts explore the diversity of ways Indigenous cultures have related with, utilized, and conceptualized psilocybin mushrooms and the effects occasioned by their consumption. The annotations include brief summaries of the texts, contextualization of the research, and more critical appraisals. The aim of this annotated bibliography is to offer the reader a diverse overview of the research to date and provide an accessible resource for further exploration of historical and contemporary Indigenous psilocybin practices. The team of psychedelic researchers behind this annotated bibliography hope it will contribute to more nuanced dialogue around Indigenous people and practices in the context of the so-called psychedelic renaissance.

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“…Indigenous rituals that utilize psychedelic substances are rooted in a framework that integrates both spiritual and physical dimensions of being. These rituals, which are generally facilitated by healers trained in the use of a particular plant or fungus to produce expanded states of consciousness, often involve ceremony, prayer, intentional songs, and evocation (Estrada, 1981; Labate & Cavnar, 2014). In these practices, psychedelics might be understood as “entheogens,” a modern word (coined from Ancient Greek roots) for an ancient practice of bringing into being ( genésthai ) an experience of divine inspiration ( éntheos ), or giving rise to the Divine within (Godlaski, 2011; Smith, 2000).…”

Section: A Note On Expanded Consciousness Facilitated By Psychedelicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spiritual experiences in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Case reports of communion with the divine, the departed, and saints in research using psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Podrebarac¹,

O’Donnell²,

Mennenga³

et al. 2021

Spirituality in Clinical Practice

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Psychedelic substances have been central to religious and shamanic healing practices of various cultures for generations. More recently, in western medicine, psychedelic substances have demonstrated promise in the treatment of various mental health indications. A growing evidence base supports not only the therapeutic potential of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, but also the importance of integrating spiritual aspects of psychedelic experiences into the traditional therapeutic process. Psilocybin, a classic psychedelic, is a serotonergic hallucinogen that can elicit profound spiritual experiences even in the research setting. Our group is currently conducting a randomized controlled trial exploring the therapeutic potential of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for alcohol dependence. Over the course of the trial, many individuals have reported experiences that take a variety of forms, including spiritual insights, beatific visions, and communion with the Divine. Here we present three case studies of experiences involving communion with a deceased loved one, with a holy figure, and with the Divine from our clinical trial. These cases have been selected to illustrate the diverse nature of the spiritual experiences observed in this clinical trial, and to also explore elements of spiritual care that may be supportive in the psychotherapeutic process during and after the medication experiences. Should psychedelic medicine continue to show treatment promise in clinical trial stages, there is a strong possibility that these medicines will become an integral part of psychotherapy, which will require integration of direct spiritual experiences and spiritual care into the healing process.

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Introduction to The Life of Maria Sabina

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Hallucinations and Hallucinogens: Psychopathology or Wisdom?

Indigenous psilocybin mushroom practices: An annotated bibliography

Spiritual experiences in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy: Case reports of communion with the divine, the departed, and saints in research using psilocybin for the treatment of alcohol dependence.

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