________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF AYAHUASCA EXPERIENCES REPORTED BY SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE SANTO DAIME CHURCH A dissertation presented to the Faculty of Saybrook University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Psychology by Jacqueline Senator Orcutt Oakland, California April 2019 ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info ProQuest Number:13880775 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ProQuest 13880775 Published by ProQuest LLC ( 2019). 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Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346 ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info © 2019 by Jacqueline Senator Orcutt ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info Approval of the Dissertation A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF AYAHUASCA EXPERIENCES REPORTED BY SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE SANTO DAIME CHURCH This dissertation by Jaqueline Senator Orcutt has been approved by the committee members below, who recommended it be accepted by the faculty of Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology in Human Sciences Dissertation Committee: ___________________________________ _______________________ Stanley Krippner, Ph.D., Chair Date ___________________________________ _______________________ Marc Applebaum, Ph.D. Date ___________________________________ _______________________ Allen Combs, Ph.D. Date ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info ii Abstract A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF AYAHUASCA EXPERIENCES REPORTED BY SELECTED MEMBERS OF THE SANTO DAIME CHURCH Jacqueline Senator Orcutt Saybrook University This descriptive phenomenological research study focused on the ayahuasca experiences examined the changes in consciousness experienced during ayahuasca ceremonies through the use of ethnopharmacology and rite interrelations. The research design was based on a phenomenological approach as proposed philosophically by Husserl (2001) and adapted by Giorgi (2009) for psychologists to investigate and understand individual experiences as actually given to those within the encounter that is being studied. Data consisted of reports given by participants who were willing to share their ayahuasca experiences. The phenomenological inquiry presented the understanding of reported changes in consciousness during the ceremonial use of ayahuasca, the experiential aspects of ritual space, and the perceived psychological value assessed by participants. All six participants reported experiencing profound change in the form of a dramatic permanent shift in conscious self-perceptions, which allowed for an integrated sense of wholeness, a sense of relating to oneself differently by means of releasing psychological patterns of unresolved past events. Participants reported experiencing an essential sense of self beyond their bounded identity that referenced divinity. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info iii Dedication I dedicate this work to my beautiful son Rowan: Thank you for nourishing my dreams and always being so good. And to my dearest friend Christine: your constant love and support have meant the world to me. I am truly grateful. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info iv Acknowledgments This present work would not have been possible without the truly amazing support I received. This was a long project that took almost five years to complete. Naturally, I have many people I wish to thank. I am truly grateful for them all. I am grateful to Dr. Stanley Krippner, mentor and professor extraordinaire, who supported my interests in different areas of study and always had an answer for any quandary. Thank you to Dr. Marc Applebaum, my professor of phenomenology, who gave me the tools and amazing support in working with this method of inquiry. I would like to thank Dr. Leslie Allen Combs, my professor of consciousness studies, who helped me in my studies and supported me throughout my project. I am grateful to all those with whom I studied at Saybrook University who helped me complete my double specialization in Creative Studies and Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrated Health. I am eternally grateful to all those I met through my fieldwork, especially those who opened themselves to sharing very extraordinary experiences with me, always allowing me to feel welcomed. I’d like especially to thank the Santo Daime churches and members who allowed me to participate in and learn from those experiences as well as supporting my research interests. I am grateful to the plant medicines for the opportunity to study what is possible. Thank you to all my friends and family members who helped me stay focused on completing my goal, who always believed in me, and who said so. Obrigado! Thank you, Rowan, Janellé, and Ryuu, for your love and support. I wish to acknowledge the divine consciousness that first led me to this research in a meditation that came to me, a novice without any previous knowledge, followed by ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info v a lucid dream to explore “other ways of learning” that launched me into a journey to complete this work. Lastly, thank you to nature. ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info vi Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... ii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................................1 Research Question ...........................................................................................................................2 Learning Objectives .........................................................................................................................2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................3 The Church of Santo Daime ............................................................................................................5 Experiences of Ayahuasca ...................................................................................................7 Consciousness ..................................................................................................................................9 Concepts of Consciousness ................................................................................................11 Neuroscience Models for Viewing Consciousness ............................................................13 Neuroscience research of consciousness ...............................................................14 Expanded states of consciousness ..........................................................................18 Mirror neurons .......................................................................................................21 Consciousness, Spirituality, and Mediumship within Syncretic Religions .......................24 Neuropsychological research into mediumistic states of consciousness ...............26 Spiritualism and mediumship ................................................................................30 Syncretic religions .................................................................................................32 The Santo Daime church ........................................................................................33 Daime .....................................................................................................................35 Elements of the sacred ...........................................................................................37 ________________________________________________________________________________________________www.neip.info vii Historic perspective on spirit possession ...............................................................40 Present-day perspective .........................................................................................43 Motifs within spirit possession ..............................................................................45 Mediumistic training ..............................................................................................47 Individual possession .............................................................................................48