Plants of the gods and shamanic journeys

Among agents which alter the boundary between conscious and non conscious cognition, the ritualistic use of plant species (often in a spiritual context, hence ‘plants of the gods’) provides an example of long-standing empirical knowledge subsequently verified by scientific (chemical, pharmacological and psychological) evidence. Based on such an impressive record of acquired knowledge, exploration of experiences of the shaman, who deliberately enters an altered state of consciousness to obtain otherwise inaccessible information allegedly from other ‘dimensions’ of consciousness, may contribute new insights in the neuroscience of consciousness.