The Shaman's Toolkit

33 Research-Based Insights That Changed How I See Ancient Healing

By Nazar Diablo [Canva Pro, Fuchsia Shadow Effect, Replace Background]

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This post is a follow-up support piece for my last entry: Shamanism: Does It Work?

In that post, we examined shamanism through the lenses of three very different scholars and their approaches to/conclusions about the nature of authentic shamanic practices and their functions within societies throughout history. During the essay, many claims were implied, and I would like to clarify that these were only impressions and should not be taken as fact. I do not cross-reference or fact-check every unit of information I provide to you, at least not in any rigorous way. These are basically notes I scribbled down or highlighted while reading. Please always do your own research.

Below is a curated and categorized list of these impressions—not facts—that currently comprise my personal understanding of shamanism. There are 11 categories and three impressions per, for a total of 33. Said impressions or insights are based on several works on the subject of shamanism that operate through various modern disciplines: psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, religious history, evolution, biology, and pharmacology.

Manvir Singh’s Shamanism: The Timeless Religion (2025) is the basic framework used, but other writings are also considered and integrated where I felt it appropriate.

A list of references is included at the end.

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[🗺️] Universal Convergence

1. Shamanic roles appear in about 90% of documented hunter-gatherer societies; this is most likely a sign that it’s an evolutionary solution to a general human problem rather than the usually assumed cultural manifestation or diffusion theory.

2. Shamanic practices emerge independently across isolated cultures with zero contact, from Arctic Inuit to Amazonian tribes to Kalahari hunter-gatherers, again indicating convergent cultural evolution rather than diffusion.

3. Shamanic initiation follows similar patterns worldwide, with roughly 70% of traditional shamans reporting a critical period of severe psychological distress, illness, or near-death experiences before assuming their role.

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[🔮] Shamanic Psychology

1. Societies consistently select individuals who have survived psychological trauma as shamans; this probably acts as a natural screening process for those who can credibly help others through similar experiences.

2. Shamanic 'calling’ experiences are suspiciously similar to what modern psychology would classify as dissociative episodes, which suggests to me that traditional cultures developed sophisticated ways to channel psychological distress into social roles.

3. Traditional shamans demonstrate measurably higher rates of what psychologists call absorption, or the ability to become fully immersed in mental imagery and altered states. Psychoactive substances and rhythmic drumming significantly enhance these cognitive powers.

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[📈] Spiritual Economics

1. Shamans typically receive 15-25% more resources than average community members, making it an economically advantageous role that incentivizes competition and performance.

2. Successful shamans invest heavily in "spiritual theater” like elaborate costumes, dramatic rituals, mysterious paraphernalia, etc., pointing to an intuitive understanding of the psychology of authority and persuasion.

3. Communities that lose their shamans show measurably higher rates of social conflict and psychological distress; shamans serve genuine social regulatory functions regardless of supernatural claims.

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[🧠] Neuroscience & Mysticism

1. Shamanic drumming at 4-7 beats per second reliably induces theta brain waves, the same frequency found with deep meditation, REM sleep, and enhanced creativity.

2. Participants in shamanic healing ceremonies show significantly elevated levels of oxytocin, endorphins, and dopamine, the same neurochemicals released during effective psychotherapy and social bonding.

3. The soul-journey experience reported in shamanic traditions corresponds closely to what neuroscientists call ‘default mode network suppression,’ explaining why participants often report ego dissolution and mystical experiences like flight or remote vision.

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[🧬] Evolutionary Advantages

1. Groups with shamans show statistically significant advantages in conflict resolution (35% faster), treatment of psychological distress (40% better success rate), and community cohesion during crises (60% less social fragmentation).

2. Shamanic healing demonstrates measurable placebo effects in 60-80% of cases, making it genuinely therapeutic even without supernatural explanations.

3. The phenomenon of spirit possession occurs in cultures where direct confrontation is socially risky, potentially pointing to shamanic altered states evolving as safe ways to express dissent and process social tensions.

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[☯️] Gender Dynamics

1. Approximately 60% of shamans worldwide are male, but female shamans typically specialize in healing while male shamans focus on divination and warfare magic, reflecting broader gender role patterns. However, there is plenty of overlap.

2. In societies under extreme stress from factors such as warfare, colonization, and environmental crisis, the percentage of female shamans increases dramatically (sometimes to 70-80%), suggesting shamanic roles may adapt to social needs.

3. Transgender and non-binary individuals become shamans at rates 10-15 times higher than their representation in the general population, across cultures worldwide and throughout recorded history.

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[💊] Pharmacology

1. Traditional shamans in plant medicine cultures demonstrate peak-sophisticated knowledge of drug interactions, frequently combining plants in ways that maximize psychoactive effects while minimizing toxicity.

2. Shamanic plant use follows consistent patterns: stimulants are typically used for divination sessions, hallucinogens for healing work, and depressants for spirit communication. Sounds like an empirically developed protocol to me.

3. Non-drug shamanic techniques such as drumming, dancing, and sensory deprivation can produce altered states neurologically indistinguishable from those created by psychedelics, indicating multiple pathways to the same consciousness states. They can also enhance one another.

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[👨‍👩‍👧‍👦] Social Mechanisms

1. Traditional shamans maintain authority through strategic ambiguity by making predictions and diagnoses vague enough to allow multiple interpretations while specific enough to seem meaningful.

2. Shamanic diagnoses correlate strongly with existing social tensions, suggesting shamans function as sophisticated social diagnosticians who can read community dynamics.

3. Failed shamanic treatments are typically blamed on patient non-compliance or spiritual interference, protecting the shaman's reputation through unfalsifiable explanations.

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[🧙] Modern Differences

1. Western shamanic practitioners show dramatically different brain activation patterns than traditional shamans; therefore, cultural context probably shapes the neurological experience.

2. Traditional shamans undergo average training periods of 10-15 years, compared to 1-3 years for most Western practitioners, inevitably manifesting vast differences in preparation and community integration.

3. Neo-shamanic practices focus on individual healing 85% of the time, while traditional shamanism addresses community problems 70% of the time, showing a significant gap in function and purpose.

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[🪨] Historical Persistence

1. Shamanic practices survive colonial suppression, religious conversion, and modernization at higher rates than almost any other traditional institution; presumably, they fulfill needs that modern alternatives don't address.

2. Urban populations show increased interest in shamanic practices during periods of social instability, with participation rates correlating with trust in governmental and medical institutions.

3. The shamanic renaissance we’re currently seeing in developed countries coincides precisely with rising rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation, which could mean modern shamanism emerges as a response to specific contemporary problems and therefore needs to take a different form. It could even be why you’re reading this right now.

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[🛞] Communal Authority

1. Shamanic effectiveness varies dramatically based on cultural context: 80% success rates in traditional settings drop to 30-40% in cross-cultural applications, highlighting the importance of shared belief systems.

2. The most successful neo-shamanic programs incorporate community elements, achieving outcomes 50% better than individualistic approaches, supporting Singh's emphasis on social embedding.

3. Traditional shamanic training produces practitioners who can reliably induce specific altered states, while modern weekend workshops show highly variable and often negligible neurological changes in participants.

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References and Further Reading

Singh, M. (2025). Shamanism: The timeless religion. Little, Brown and Company.

Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism: Archaic techniques of ecstasy. Princeton University Press.

Harner, M. (1980). The way of the shaman. Harper & Row.

Additional Modern Resources on Shamanism:

Winkelman, M. (2021). The mechanisms of psychedelic visionary experiences: Hypotheses from evolutionary psychology. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 15, 681389.

Krippner, S. (2020). Shamanism and psychology: A historical perspective. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 39(1-2), 1-18.

Walsh, R. (2019). The world's great wisdom: Timeless teachings from religions and philosophies. SUNY Press.

Harner, M. (2018). Cave and cosmos: Shamanic encounters with another reality. North Atlantic Books.

Pollan, M. (2018). How to change your mind: What the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence. Penguin Press.

Taussig, M. (2019). Palma Africana. University of Chicago Press.

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—The Green Philosopher