Liquid Light : : Ayahuasca Spirituality and the Santo Daime Tradition / / G. William Barnard.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2022
• VerfasserIn: Barnard, G. William,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource

The Santo Daime is a syncretic religion that arose in the Amazon region of Brazil in the middle of the twentieth century and now has churches throughout the world. Its spiritual practice is based around the sacramental use of ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew consumed only within regular ceremonies. In Liquid Light, G. William Barnard—an initiate of the religion and a scholar of religious studies—considers the religious practice and transformative inner experiences of the Santo Daime community.Immersing readers in his own journeys into nonordinary states of consciousness, Barnard provides a vivid as well as introspective depiction of the dramatic ritual and visionary worlds that a practitioner of this tradition encounters. He combines striking first-person accounts of the ritual life of the Santo Daime with accessible examinations of the psychological and philosophical significance of mystical states and mediumship. Bridging insider and outsider perspectives on religious experience, Barnard demonstrates how the Santo Daime offers its practitioners a transformative and profoundly illuminating spiritual path. Liquid Light also reflects on the broader implications of psychedelics, arguing that entheogenic religions can shed light on a wide range of key philosophical questions concerning consciousness, selfhood, and reality.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Beginnings -- Not Your Typical Academic Text -- Do Your Best Then Let It Go -- Navigating a Minefield -- Portuguese Studies -- 1. First Encounter with the Daime -- Plunging Right In -- The Retreat Begins -- “Getting Well” -- My First Day: Continued -- Day Two: “I Went Up, I Went Up, I Went Up.” -- Day Three: Releasing -- Day Four: Breathing -- What I Did Not Yet Know About the Santo Daime -- 2. Initial Philosophical Reflections -- First-Person Writing and the Nature of Consciousness -- The Relationship Between the Brain and Consciousness: William James -- The Relationship Between the Brain and Consciousness: Henri Bergson -- A Jamesian Theory of Visionary/Mystical Experiences -- The “More-ness” of Visionary/Mystical Experiences -- 3. Next Steps on the Path -- My First “Official” Santo Daime Work -- Sensing and Riding the Waves of the Force -- Firmness -- Juramidam -- The Santo Daime as a Religion -- Concentration Works -- Receiving My Star -- 4. Céu do Mapiá—Beginnings -- Heading to the Heart of the Amazon Rainforest -- Taking the Boat to Céu do Mapiá -- Céu do Mapiá: First Impressions -- Young People in Céu do Mapiá -- More Impressions of Céu do Mapiá -- Temporal Discursion -- My First Full Day in Céu do Mapiá -- Padrinho Alfredo’s Veranda -- 5. Feitio—the Ritual of Making the Daime -- The Feitio in Mauá: Beginnings -- Raspação: Mauá -- Batação: Mauá -- Cooking the Daime: Mauá -- 6. Early Works in Céu do Mapiá -- Get Me to the Church on Time -- An Overabundance of Material -- The Night of St. John -- Santo Daime “Theology” -- Reflections on Hymns -- Back to the Night of St. John -- The Fire Burns Hot in Mapiá -- Santa Missa in Céu do Mapiá -- 7. Mirações—Visionary/Mystical Experiences in the Santo Daime -- A Powerful Series of Mirações -- Beginning the Process of Takeoff -- Relaxing Into the Daime -- Rocketing Into the Astral -- Theoretical Reflections on Mirações -- Mirações as Potentially Valuable Spiritual Gifts -- Maps of Spiritual Progress -- “Diabolical Mysticism” -- Various Levels of Mirações -- The Question of the Truth and/or Value of Mirações -- Padrinhos and Madrinhas: Elders in the Santo Daime -- More Is Not Always Better -- 8. Mediumship in the Santo Daime -- A Brief History of Healing/Mediumship Works in the Santo Daime -- Mesa Branca: Céu do Mapiá -- Ruminations on Mediumship -- Suffering Spirits -- Other Forms of Mediumship -- More Ruminations on Mediumship -- A Spectrum of Beings -- A Spectrum of Sameness/Otherness -- Theological Ruminations on the Daime -- James and Bergson on Co-consciousness -- Ethical Issues in Mediumship -- Singing and Receiving Hymns as Forms of Mediumship -- My First Time Receiving a Hymn -- More on Receiving Hymns -- When Is a Hymn a “Real” Hymn? -- Even More on Receiving Hymns -- Receiving Hymn 30 -- And Still More on Receiving Hymns -- 9. The Holy House in Céu do Mapiá—Rosary Works -- The Santa Casa -- The Rosary Works -- A Rosary Work -- 10. Final Days in Céu do Mapiá -- Leaving Céu do Mapiá -- Concluding Odds and Ends -- Health Issues -- 11. Post-Mapiá Ponderings: Divinization -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index