Shamanic Healing Ceremonies, Hypnosis and the Survival of the Suggestibles
December 10, 2019 DOI: 10.33552/ojcam.2019.03.000554 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Shamanic rituals share the same stages as modern hypnosis: induction, deepening, suggestion, and enactment. Shamans claim to gain information through visions or journeys, which they use to heal community members. Those who did not respond to shamanic treatment may have lacked self-healing abilities, so their genes were less likely to be passed on. Modern humans retain adaptive traits like responding to placebos, suggestion, imagination, and hypnotic induction, which likely originated in prehistoric shamanism.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Modern human capacities for placebo response, suggestion, and hypnosis likely evolved from prehistoric shamanic practices. |
Abstract
Shamanic rituals typically consist of induction, deepening, suggestion, and enactment, the same stages that characterize most forms of contemporary hypnosis. Shamans claim to obtain information in ways not typically available to their peers, such as “visions” and “journeys.” They use this information to help and to heal community members. Tribal members who did not respond to the shaman’s treatment may have lacked the ability to mobilize their self-healing processes, thus their genes would rarely be passed down to future generations. Contemporary humans are able to respond to placebos, suggestion, imagination, hypnotic induction, and other adaptive traits that had their origins in prehistoric shamanism.