Uses and Abuses of Power in Ritual Practice with Ayahuasca

Abstract: In this presentation I will show how people participating in ritual practices with ayahuasca experience transformations of power during ceremonies and in their everyday life. In my PhD-project “Sacred plants – spiritual experiences” I examine how people, as part of contemporary spirituality, use ayahuasca and how this gives them experiences of both disempowerment and empowerment. Ayahuasca may cause harm, even though the plants are prescribed and used with the intention of healing or transformation. In what ways can the ritual practice be considered as abuse of power generating overwhelmingly physical and psychological reactions as well as positive use of power where the benefits sanctify the side effects?

Presenter bio: Silje Trym Mathiassen is priest in The Church of Norway and has worked for several years with interreligious dialogue in Stavanger, Norway. Her special competence is within new spiritualities. Co-author of several books on interreligious dialogue and meditation, she is a PhD candidate at the University of Stavanger with the project “Sacred plants - spiritual experiences”.

Presenter affiliation: University of Stavanger, Norway