Ayahuasca Entity Visitations: a Thematic Analysis Of
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________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info AYAHUASCA ENTITY VISITATIONS: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF INTERNET-REPORTED ENCOUNTERS by John Heuser A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY in CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY California Institute of Integral Studies San Francisco, CA 2006 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info UMI Number: 3218522 Copyright 2006 by Heuser, John All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3218522 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read Ayahuasca Entity Visitations: A Thematic Analysis of Internet-reported Encounters by John Heuser, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Frank Echenhofer, Ph.D., Chair Professor, Clinical Psychology '£^/LudL<Q-l.&. Lee Bach, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Psychology Program Chair, Masters Degree Center for Humanistic Studies Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info © 2006 John Heuser Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info John Heuser California Institute of Integral Studies, 2005 Frank Echenhofer, Ph.D., Committee Chair AYAHUASCAENTITY VISITATIONS. ATHEMATIC ANALYSIS OF INTERNET-REPORTED ENCOUNTERS Abstract Aliens, robots, insectoid creatures, deities, and mythic beings are familiar to users of the hallucinogenic plant mixture Ayahuasca. While Ayahuasca has been extensively studied, this is the first systematic analysis of these entities, even though they are widely known by Ayahuasca users. The analysis focused on the texts of Ayahuasca experiences among Internet forum discussions. The selected data consists of text archives from a four-year period of a single anonymous users’ forum. Using a systematic, computer-assisted method, the researcher developed a code consisting of classifications of entities and their attributes. I used thematic analysis as described by Boyatzis (1998). An integral literature review includes brief references to the origins and use of Ayahuasca; more lengthy treatment is given to theoretical considerations with respect to Ayahuasca research. A brief exploration of mental imagery in current psychological literature introduces the theoretical framing. The contributions of cognitive psychologist Shanon (2002) produced the most comprehensive report of Ayahuasca phenomenology to date; he draws conclusions that question fundamental assumptions about psychological science. Many Western scientific approaches look to inner cognitive structures, attitudes, and neurophysiology for causes and functional iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info roles of mental imagery. In contrast, Jungian and transpersonal theories address content rich dimensions of nonordinary states and collective universals. The results of the present study include over 140 categories of entities and their interactions, and thematic patterns that were associated with two affectiveantipodes , which means diametrically opposed poles, derived from 29 codes for nuances of negative and positive emotions. The discussion relates these results to Jungian thought and the transpersonal perspective of Grof (2001); it also responds to some of Shanon’s contributions to the study of Ayahuasca. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info Acknowledgements This project was inspired and guided by my teachers and colleagues at California Institute of Integral Studies. First and foremost, I am deeply grateful and indebted to my patient mentor Frank Echenhofer, who has stayed with me through many personal and professional challenges and adventures. I also thank David Stuckey, with whom in the early stages of the project I shared many hours of exploration of literature and experiences of Ayahuasca. Thank you also to Anna Baldwin for her alert observations. Finally, special thanks and applause goes to the 73 Ayahuasca Forum members whose records in the public domain made this unusual and provocative research possible. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info Dedication No words can possibly capture the essence of my love and appreciation for all of you. To my extended family: Dawn, Ryan, Amber, Tom, Lyla, Eden, Florence, Kate, Libre, Gwennyth, Diane, Karen, and Sandy. To Colibri Circle and friends: Corie, Brian, Mario, David N., David S., and many others. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... vi Dedication......................................................................................................... vii List of Figures and Tables ...................................................................................... x Chapter I: Introduction............................................................................................1 Chapter II: Literature Review................................................................................ 6 Introduction to Ayahuasca................................................................................... 6 Integral Review of Ayahuasca Literature............................................................ 6 Literature of Users of Ayahuasca and Related Substances, Including Religious, Traditional, and Non-Traditional Practitioners............................... 7 Literature of Academic and Scientific Researchers.................................... 13 Literature of Academic Researchers Who Report Their Own Participation in Ayahuasca or Other Hallucinogen Use.......................................................15 General Psychology Literature about Hypnagogic and Mental Imagery........18 Overview of Transpersonal and Jungian Theory........................................ 22 Unresolved Issues.......................................................................................... 38 Research Question.......................................................................................... 39 Chapter III: Methods......................................................................................... 40 Design, Materials, and Procedure.................................................................. 40 Design and Sampling Issues........................................................................41 Developing Themes and a Code................................................................. 43 Reliability and Validity ...............................................................................44 Using Computer Software and Visual Modeling for Qualitative Analysis ... 45 Chapter IV: Results............................................................................................48 Themes of Ayahuasca Entity Encounters.......................................................48 NVivo Results Appear as Trees......................................................................49 Overview of the Results................................................................................. 51 Results of Two Boolean Matrices: Emotional Antipodes.............................