Grofians Unauthorized
Discussion Group
Grofian Peyotists
Rites of Passage
The following excerpts are from
THE STORMY SEARCH FOR THE SELF
(Grof, C. & Grof, S. 1990)
http://www.erowid.org/library/books/stormy.shtml
--excerpts from Chapter 6:
Rites of Passage
"Another important source of information about culturally sanctioned crises of transformation is the ritual events anthropologists call rites of passage. Here the cultural understanding and appreciation of the positive value of nonordinary states of consciousness goes one step further: while in the case of the shamanic crisis, social groups accept and value spontaneously occurring episodes of altered states of consciousness, with rites of passage they actually use various techniques that have been specifically developed to induce such episodes.
Ceremonies of this kind existed in many cultures of antiquity and are being performed to this day in preindustrial societies. Their main purpose is to redefine, transform, and consecrate individuals, groups, and even entire cultures. Rites of passage are conducted at times of critical change in the life of an individual or a culture. Their timing frequently coincides with major physiological and social transitions, such as childbirth, circumcision, puberty, marriage, menopause, and death.
Similar rituals are associated with initiation into warrior status, acceptance into a secret society, calendrical festivals of renewal, healing ceremonies, and geographical moves. In all these situations, the individual or social group leaves behind one mode of being and moves into totally new life circumstances. This transition is typically dramatic and is associated with unusual experiences that often are terrifying and psychologically disorganizing.
The term 'rite of passage' was coined by Arnold van Gennep, the author of the first scientific treatise on the subject. Van Gennep recognized that in all the cultures he had studied, rituals of this kind followed a standard pattern with three distinct stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In the first stage, separation, the individual is removed from his or her social fabric--family, clan, and the rest of the tribe. At this time, the neophyte can be completely alone or can share this unsettling situation with peers or age-mates.
Loss of the familiar network and absence of a new one to replace it leads him or her to a state of liminality, a condition of being betwixt and between. During this period of separation, one can feel intense grief over the loss of the old way of being. One can also become fearful and anxious--afraid of uprootedness, of the unexpected, and of the unknown. This situation bears a deep similarity to spiritual emergency, where familiar reality is forcefully replaced by the challenges of the inner world. However, in group initiations that occur in tribal rites of passage, this frightening period of separation has its positive side; as a result of it, the neophytes develop a sense of bonding and community with each other.
During this time, the initiators teach the novices the culture's cosmology and mythology and prepare them for the next stage of transition. This happens indirectly through mythical stories, songs, and dances, or directly by descriptions of the experiential territories they will traverse. Such a preparation is very important for the outcome of the transformative process. The neophytes learn that the journey, strange and ominous as it may seem, has a universal and timeless dimension. It has been and will be traveled by many others--sacred ancestors, as well as past and future initiates. The knowledge of this broader context has the potential to reassure the novices and help them face the difficult aspects of the transformation process.
In the next stage--transition--the initiates move from intellectual learning to powerful direct experiences of nonordinary states of consciousness. The practices used by different cultures to induce such states cover a wide range: some are relatively gentle, such as suggestion, group pressure, monotonous chanting and dancing, fasting, and sleep deprivation; others are more drastic, involving agonizing pain and mutilation of the body, strangling and choking, or extreme physical exertion and exposure to vital danger. Also among the common mind-altering techniques are social or even sensory isolation and, conversely, sensory overload by strong acoustic and optical stimuli. Some of the most powerful tools of ritual transformation over the centuries have been various plants with psychedelic properties.
In the course of a typical rite of passage, the experiences and behaviors of the neophytes--and often those of the initiators as well--can be most unusual and extravagant. As in the case of the shamanic crisis, a Western observer with traditional psychiatric training would very likely label them as psychotic." (pp. 121-123)
"Whatever most Westerners might think of such extreme experiences and behaviors, the typical result of ceremonies of this kind is often a considerable increase in emotional and physical well-being, an enhanced sense of personal strength and independence, feelings of deep connection with nature and the cosmos, and a sense of social belonging and cohesion. The inner experiences and external events of the rite of passage communicate a profound message to the neophytes, the core insight of all human transformative processes, including spiritual emergencies: one can suffer through the chaos of liminality and dying, undergo an experience of total annihilation, and yet emerge feeling healed, reborn, rejuvenated, and stronger than before. This awareness reduces greatly the fear of death and enhances one's ability to enjoy life.
Although in some rites of passage a significant part of the transformative ordeal is enacted in a realistic and concrete way, this is not the only alternative. Various mind-altering techniques of a much gentler kind can trigger similar sequences of suffering, death, and rebirth, by activating the psyche's own inner repositories. A purely symbolic experience of this kind will have an identical impact on the person involved. In spiritual emergencies, episodes of this kind often occur spontaneously.
The third stage in van Gennep's triad is that of incorporation. It involves the reintegration of the individual into his or her community in a new social role defined by the type of ceremony: an adult, a parent, a warrior, etc. However, the person who returns is not the same as the one who entered the initiation process. As a result of a deep psychological transformation, he or she has a new and much expanded worldview, a better self-image, and a different system of values. All this is the result of a deliberately induced crisis that reaches the very core of the initiate's being and is at times frightening, chaotic, and disorganizing. The rites of passage are thus another example of a situation in which a period of temporary disintegration and turmoil leads to greater sanity.
The two examples of 'positive disintegration' we have discussed so far--the shamanic crisis and the experience of the rite of passage--have many features in common, but they also differ in important ways. The shamanic crisis invades the psyche of the future shaman unexpectedly and without warning; it is spontaneous and autonomous in nature. In comparison, rites of passage are a product of the culture and follow a predictable time schedule; the experiences of the initiates are the result of specific mind-altering technologies developed and perfected by previous generations. In cultures that venerate shamans and also conduct rites of passage, the shamanic crisis is considered to be a form of initiation much superior to the rite of passage. It occurs in individuals as a result of a higher power and is thus seen as an indication of divine choice and special calling." (pp. 124-125)
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