


Volume 9 No 2 (2011)
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Spiritual Content in Experiential Reports from Ayahuasca Sessions
Stanley Krippner and Joseph Sulla
Abstract
There has been little rigorous research on the spiritual content of ayahuasca
sessions, despite the tribal use of this herbal concoction and the existence of three
Brazilian churches in which ayahuasca is considered a sacrament. The Casto
Spirituality Scoring System, a reliable measure designed to identify spiritual content
in dream reports, was utilized to answer the following question: "Is it possible to
identify spiritual content in ayahuasca reports?" This system was found to be
feasible in identifying "spiritual objects," "spiritual characters," "spiritual settings,"
"spiritual activities," "spiritual emotions," and "spiritual experiences" in ayahuasca
reports taken from pertinent literature. The Casto system defines "spiritual" as one's
focus on, and/or reverence, openness, and connectedness to something of
significance believed to be beyond one's full understanding and/or individual
existence.
Keywords
ayahuasca, spirituality, Casto Spirituality Scoring System, Barquinha, Santo Daime, União do Vegetal, shamanism
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