The video presented in our History 203 class, Lost Civilizations: Africa, talked about ancient African kings using spiritual mediums to find guidance and answers. I wanted to take a further look into the concept of spiritual mediums and see how they were able to communicate with a greater being. Spiritual journeys can be accomplished by many different ways. First is the use of mind altering drugs, such as peyote and ayahuasca, that create a shift into a different state of consciousness. Peyote is a small, spineless cactus and causes hallucination because the chemical, mescaline. The use of drumming, chanting and dancing is another technique used by spiritual mediums to find answers from the spirits. These techniques are a few that shamans use to change their conscious level and allow them to talk to the gods.
Information taken from:
Time Lifes, Lost Civilizations: Africa
http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Peyote
http://www.theafrican.com/Magazine/shaman.html
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