The text defines ecstasy as an intense state of overpowering emotion or rapture, tracing its etymology to the ancient Greek ekstasis, meaning flight of the soul from the body. Drawing on Mircea Eliade's work on shamanism, it describes how select individuals among aboriginal peoples become shamans, specialists who induce ecstatic trance states where the soul is believed to leave the body. Shamans undergo initiation through isolation, suffering, and the imminence of death, and are considered technicians of the sacred, serving as intermediaries between everyday life and sacred alternative realities.
Treating drug dependence with hallucinogens shows promise, but earlier research was limited by weak methodology and lack of double-blind, placebo-controlled designs. Interest has revived, especially with ibogaine's apparent anti-craving properties, which may extend to all hallucinogens. Their potential efficacy may involve agonism and antagonism at specific serotonin receptor sites. After a hallucinogen, a positive 'afterglow' lasting weeks to months may be extended by repeated dosing. Ibogaine and LSD have lengthy action periods, but short-acting tryptamines like DMT could be administered in an office setting, suggesting a hallucinogen with superior anti-craving properties and few side effects may be discovered.