Paper short abstract:

What can we learn from those who derive meaning from psychedelic states of consciousness, and shift those understandings into their waking state? Ego-death experienced during altered states offer possibilities for becoming otherwise— other-than-human and modern— in an era requiring rapid change.

Paper long abstract:

What can we learn from those who derive meaning and value from the psychedelic state of consciousness, and shift those transformative understandings into their waking state? Ego-death experienced during altered states of consciousness offer possibilities for becoming otherwise— other-than-human and other-than-modern— in an era where eco-systems and lifeforms are becoming increasingly vulnerable. How can we, as anthropologists, deliberate the role of psychedelic states in regards to the future of this discipline, and humanity more broadly? By focusing on qualitative data concerning ayahuasca use, this paper shows how ayahuasca initiates decipher the frontiers between life and death, and death and rebirth. This paradox, whereby my informants choose to experience 'death' in order to exist more consciously, is of utmost relevance in the Anthropocene: "We must die in order to truly live. We must experience absolute non-existence in order to truly exist in a conscious way" (Adyashanti, cited in Sandler 2015). This paper explores how ego-death, facilitated through intentional and shamanic methods, promotes a sense of 'oneness' and 'unity' that persists into the waking state and awakens another way of being. By investigating the narratives of those who 'die' before death, a subsequent purpose of this paper is to explore how ayahuasca-induced ego-death might promote a reconceptualised, evolutionary-conscious, becoming.