After learning about shamanism and the detailed description of the painful way that the group of Native Americans did it I was instantly intrigued by the whole thing. It seems like a pretty simple concept but after reading about it I don't know if its some sort of spiritual awakening or journey or just hallucinations brought forth by severe mental or physical anguish.
Part of me also feels as if it is just a sort of meditation in which the one meditating reaches this highest level of concentration and can embark on whatever kind of Journey he or she wants.
Wikipedia explains it as "a practice that involves a practitioner reaching altered states of consciousness in order to encounter and interact with the spirit world.[2] A shaman is a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of benevolent and malevolent spirits, who typically enters into a trance state during a ritual, and practices divination and healing"
I think that this makes sense but I don't know if i agree with the "spiritual" aspect of it. I just think to myself that if I put myself through immense pain that i would eventually start seeing stuff as well...Maybe I just don't get it though.
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