• Part I
  The Overlap Between NDEs and Shamanism
  
• Part II
  Contemporary Western Shamanism and the Work of Michael Harner
• Part III
  Shamanic Extractions
  
  
• Part IV
  Shamanism
  and Applied Science

A similar situation exists in trying to deal with shamanic journeys from an empirical standpoint. Unless the researcher is able to enter into Shamanic State Consciousness, and travel with the practitioner into these realms, it is impossible to verify that the shaman did, in fact, do so. However, from a purely clinical perspective, there is no need to verify the subjective aspect of the shamanic intervention. In order to employ shamanic techniques ethically, we need prove only that the treatment was effective in alleviating the presenting problem, that it was other than placebo and that it is safe. The underlying theory about why shamanic techniques are effective can remain theoretical indefinitely.

Similar situations occur quite often in modern medicine as well as other areas of science. To take just one example, no one has been able to identify which pharmacological action of some of the new generation of antidepressant medications is the active mechanism in alleviating depression. In other words, what happens once the person takes the medication, how it works within the brain to alleviate depressive symptoms is, at this point in time, theoretical. All we are able to do is hypothesize about what may be happening inside the brain that results in symptom relief.

Despite this, we are able to prove these medications are effective in treating depression using the most rigorous scientific methods, and because of this, we employ them, assuming that further research will someday answer the question of why they work. What may be a better example comes from physics. When Einstein first proposed his theory of relativity, it was just that - a theory. But like all good theories, Einstein’s generated a number of testable hypotheses and each time researchers were able to put his ideas to the test, the results supported Einstein’s insights. Over a period of time, what had been scientific theory became accepted scientific fact.

In the case of shamanic interventions, many Western practitioners have now begun to use these methods, some with great success. And they have also set forth a theory, the same theory that underlies NDEs, that some individuals are able to enter into a spiritual realm, journey to different locations, interact with spiritual beings who exist in those locales, and bring back information that is helpful in alleviating human suffering. And although they cannot at this time prove their theory, the effects of their interventions are objective, empirical facts that are well within the realm of the most rigorous of scientific studies.

Although these studies have yet to be done, if shamanic techniques can be shown to be effective, they should be employed along with biological and psychological treatments. In fact, to withhold or refuse to utilize a therapeutic modality, simply because one holds a worldview which is inconsistent with the theory it is based on, is not only unscientific, it is clearly unethical, the ethical principle being the best interest of the patient.

Finally this thought. Although there is no longer any controversy surrounding the issue of whether NDEs are reported, skeptics have always been able to dismiss these accounts because of their subjective nature. However, every successful shamanic intervention provides direct, objective support for the theory that the field of near-death studies rests upon. Because of this, the best thing that could happen for the field of near-death studies would be to have a number of shamanic practitioners. As shamanism gains wider acceptance, what was theory will slowly become accepted scientific fact, at which point the shift in paradigms will have come full circle.

As Thomas Kuhn wrote in his study of scientific revolutions, “I’d like to end this article with an anecdote from my own practice as a clinical psychologist. Last year a woman consulted with me following the death of her husband. The couple had been happily married for 31 years. One night they went to bed. The next morning she slipped quietly out of the room to allow her husband time to sleep in. At 11:00 a telephone call came for him and she went in to wake him up only to find that he had died during the night. When I saw her two weeks later her grief was inconsolable. I was deeply touched listening to her account.

“Because I am training in shamanic techniques I thought it a perfect opportunity to journey to the middle world and see if her husband was still there. Outside of the therapeutic hour I journeyed and almost immediately found myself in a house in the section of the city in which I knew they lived. A man approached me and I asked if he was her husband. He said that he was. From behind him another man said that he also answered to the same name which confused me somewhat. The first man pointed to his ring finger and told me repeatedly to tell her about ‘the sapphire ring.’ After saying this a number of times, I asked him if he was sure, because I had only met this woman once and if this information was inaccurate, I might lose her confidence. He assured me that this was the message.

“All week long I pondered what to do with this information. The following week when she came in for her appointment, not wanting to get into a lengthy discussion about shamanism, I told my client that her husband had come to me in a dream and given me some information. I explained that I didn’t know if this would make any sense to her, but I wanted to tell her. I then said her husband had told me to remind her about the sapphire ring. Her jaw dropped slightly and she told me that her husband had a sapphire ring in a man’s setting and that for 10 years he had been after her to have it put in a woman’s setting and to wear it. There was a moment of silence and, although I don’t know what she was thinking, I felt an incredible sense of awe and humility. We both knew that I had never met her husband, that nothing had been said about a ring in our first meeting. The only explanation was that I had somehow traversed the boundaries between life and death long enough to receive what was for her a very important message.

“I doubt there was anything I could have done therapeutically which would have been more helpful to her at that moment, and the incident formed the basis of a very nice therapeutic relationship which we share to this day. I later told her that what I had really done was journeyed shamanically into the middle world. Prior to her experiencing this first hand, I doubt that she would have believed that anything like this is possible. But following this, she is utterly convinced that shamanic techniques work. In exactly this way, in millions of offices and homes, people will experience the efficacy of shamanic techniques in a way that is utterly convincing to them and slowly the shift in paradigms will begin.”

All of science attempts to be empirical. Yet, the entire scientific enterprise rests on a number of metaphysical assumptions, untestable hypotheses — therefore, in short, beliefs. And probably the most deeply ingrained assumption made by modern science is that physical reality is the only reality. Because of this, whenever materialistic scientists are faced with phenomena that do not fit into their own belief systems, they quickly attempt to interpret them

It is not less scientific, or less logical, to suggest or entertain the hypothesis that physical reality is not the only reality and that even a minor alteration in consciousness can put someone in contact with a different reality. And, given the overwhelming evidence in support of the ecstatic experience, this hypothesis fits the known facts

As Thomas Kuhn wrote in his Structure of Scientific Revolutions, “In much the same way, scientific revolutions are inaugurated by a growing sense, again often restricted to a narrow subdivision of the scientific community, that an existing paradigm has ceased to function adequately in the exploration of an aspect of nature to which the paradigm itself had previously led the way.”

Conclusion

A profound shift in paradigm is already well underway, and the field of near-death studies can pride itself on having played a major role in this shift. After more than 20 years of research into NDEs, investigators have thoroughly documented the existence of this phenomenon. An entire generation has grown up hearing and reading about these accounts, which are now taken for granted. We now find ourselves in a position to enter a new phase, evolving from pure science, to the development of a therapeutic modality, one based on spiritual principles that will stand side by side with biological and psychological treatments.

If we recognize the overlap between NDEs and shamanism and realize that much of the work has already been done by shamans who have kept these sacred techniques alive, then we will have an excellent starting point. This knowledge has been brought back to Western culture and is now available to anyone who chooses to walk the path of the shaman. NDEers have, in fact, already begun to tread this path and, for those who choose to pursue it, formalized training in shamanism may help them realize the fullest potential of their experience.

The article entitled "Near Death Experiences (NDEs), Shamanism and the Scientific Method," first appeared in the Journal for Near-Death Studies and is reprinted here with the author's permission.