Spontaneous Mental Imagery and Healing Process of the Barquinha, a Brazilian Ayahuasca Religious System
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IMAGES OF HEALING: SPONTANEOUS MENTAL IMAGERY AND HEALING PROCESS OF THE BARQUINHA, A BRAZILIAN AYAHUASCA RELIGIOUS SYSTEM A dissertation to the Faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Human Sciences by Marcelo S. Mercante San Francisco, California June 2006 © 2006 by Marcelo S. Mercante Approval of the Dissertation IMAGES OF HEALING: SPONTANEOUS MENTAL IMAGERY AND HEALING PROCESS OF THE BARQUINHA, A BRAZILIAN AYAHUASCA RELIGIOUS SYSTEM This dissertation by Marcelo S. Mercante has been approved by the committee members bellow, who recommended it be accepted by the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in partial fulfillment of requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Sciences Dissertation Committee: ___________________________________ ________________ Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Chair Date ___________________________________ ________________ Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D. Date ___________________________________ ________________ Jodi Lang, Ph.D. Date ii Abstract IMAGES OF HEALING: SPONTANEOUS MENTAL IMAGERY AND HEALING PROCESS OF THE BARQUINHA, A BRAZILIAN AYAHUASCA RELIGIOUS SYSTEM Marcelo S. Mercante Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center This dissertation investigated the hypothesized interdependent nature of subjective and objective elements of conscious experience within a spiritual context. This was done by studying the spontaneous mental imagery (the mirações ) of people under treatment in the Centro Espírita Obras de Caridade Príncipe Espadarte (the Center). The Center is a congregation of the Barquinha , a Brazilian syncretic religious system that uses the psychoactive beverage Ayahuasca (locally called Daime ) as a sacrament. The ethnographic method, involving experiential observation of the religious and symbolic universe of the Center, was used for investigating the Center’s history, the healing techniques implemented during rituals, the concepts of healing and sickness among healers and patients, and the relationship between mirações and the healing process. Several narratives about mirações and healing experiences were collected on site, and five were analyzed more carefully. The conjunction of ingestion of Daime and the participation in the ceremony appeared to reliably promote the occurrence of the mirações . These were considered by the participants as a process of inner perception, the moment when different entities (physical body, thoughts, feelings, culture, emotions, mind, soul, spiritual space, etc.) iii become connected within their conscious awareness. The experience of mirações was considered to be the source of healing. At the Center, sickness is considered to have a spiritual source, being understood as an unbalance of forces. Healing is considered to be accomplished when one puts oneself into a hypothetical “current of healing energy” that is felt during the ceremonies. Mirações mediated and made conscious a coherent and workable whole that encompassed the ritual, the Daime, the processes of self-transformation/ knowledge/exploration, elements of the individual’s consciousness and physiological condition, and factors in a spiritual space. Mirações were believed to occur in a spiritual space, thought to be nonmaterial and multidimensional, nesting and informing the material world. This spiritual space is perceived as basic, generating dispositions, intentions, and meanings, and as containing within it the physical and psychological levels of existence. The exploration of that space during a ceremony was considered to accelerate one’s spiritual development. To Marileda ( in memoriam ), For nourishing my dreams And to my great friend Mario Lopes Guimarães Junior ( in memoriam ) May the Light of God keep guiding you through spiritual heights iv Acknowledgements This present work was a long project. From the initial dreaming, through to concluding this dissertation, I spent almost 7 years. Naturally, the list of those to whom I am extremely thankful is not short. First of all, I am very thankful to Madrinha Francisca and Padrinho Francisco. I still clearly remember being at the Casinha, during my first visit in 1999, siting on a stool, and trying to explain that I would return, three (and in fact, almost four) years later for doing fieldwork: “Can I do it Madrinha?” “Yes, my son, you can.” Thank you Madrinha, from the bottom of my heart. Also, as Madrinha Francisca would agree, nothing would be done without the spiritual authorization of Frei Daniel Pereira de Mattos. Thank you Frei Daniel. Thank you Professor Stanley Krippner: as my advisor, you understood and supported my work more than any other person. Thanks also to Jeanne Achterberg and Jodi Lang, for the dedication, attention, and sharp eyes. I am very thankful for all of those who taught, shared, and revealed so much to me at the Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, and especially for David Lukoff and Annemarie Welteke. Two other friends that had a very special participation in the development of this dissertation require mention, as I am sure that without them I would not have been able to complete this work. They are Kathleen Huston and Lynne Little. Thank you, for your friendship and for your support. I extend a profound gratitude to all the spiritual guides of the Barquinha: all the Pretos-velhos and Pretas-velhas, Caboclos, Encantos, and Missionários, and specially Dom Simeão, Vó Maria da Calunga, Vó Maria Clara, Vó Benedita das Almas, Vó Maria v do Rosário, Vó Benedito, Pai José, and Vô Leôncio. Gratitude as well for my own spiritual guides; may God allow you to keep guiding my steps. I have all the people from the Centro Espírita Obras de Caridade Príncipe Espadarte within my heart. They all received me as a friend (even when disagreeing with me), and I too hold them all dearly as very special friends. Here I must mention a few persons for their special participation in the development of my work: Jairo Lima, Mira, Izabel, Gilberto, João Guedes, Carlos Renato, Kleymani and Neide, Gianne and Xandão, Alcimar and Silvana, Nazário, Hita and Roberta, Charles, Darci, Salu, Feliz and Alana, Gilson, and Mana. Thanks to my friends Neville Rose, Elder Lannes (“Man, you have to visit Madrinha Chica’s church in Rio Branco”), Eduardo Cunha, Benki Ashaninka (for opening my eyes), Edna Yawanawa, Adrian Yabar, Ali Zeitoun, and Stephani Cooper. Thank you to Eurythmy Spring Valley and Rudolf Steiner Fellowship Community, and specially Christiane Landowne, Barbara Schneider-Serio, Marcia Rulfs, Ann Scharf, Bill Linderman, and Gerald Karnow. Thank you Rodrigo Grünewald, Jean Langdon, and Christian Frenopoulo. Thank you Mário Guima (in memoriam), I wish you had the opportunity to read this dissertation. I am deeply thankful for the grant I received for three years from the CNPq (Brazilian National Council of Research) and for those who made it possible within the institution especially Carlos Kawamura, “Seu” Clóvis, Eli Ribeiro, and Angela Maria Cunico for your memorable assistance during my process of returning to the United States. vi Finally, I am, with all my soul, thankful for my wife Daniela and my son Yuri, for being by my side during all the moments, even those of bad mood, anxiety, fear, and doubts, for giving me joy and pleasure, and for supporting my life. Thank you grandma Alayde, my father Jurandir (in memoriam), my mother Marly, and my brother Leonardo, my aunt Marcia, and my aunt Marileda (in memoriam): you made me who I am. Thanks Lucy, for being, above all, my friend, and not only my mother-in-law. Above and beyond all, thank you God, for giving me Light, Life, Strength, Love, and the chance of doing this wonderful Work. vii Table of Contents List of Tables....................................................................................................................... x List of Figures ....................................................................................................................xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Ayahuasca ........................................................................................................................... 3 Neurochemicals, Emotions, and Causation......................................................................... 5 Neurophysiology of Ayahuasca ........................................................................................ 10 Ayahuasca in Brazil .......................................................................................................... 18 Santo Daime .......................................................................................................... 18 União do Vegetal (UDV) ...................................................................................... 21 Barquinha .............................................................................................................. 22 New Uses of Ayahuasca........................................................................................ 25 Spontaneous Mental Imagery............................................................................................ 31 The Spiritual Space ........................................................................................................... 34 Notes on Terminology....................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS .....................................................