Shamanism
Although in recent history, Westerners have called the practice of shamanism a work of Satan and barbaric, human's have been recored as going into trances since the beginning of humanity.Altered States of Consciousness
"Contrary to what is commonly thought, we have better access to the religious experiences of Upper Paleolithic people than to many other aspects of their lives."Altered states of consciousness reside on a continuum. One side is considered alert consciousness and the other is a deep trance. We go into alert consciousness during daily life through daydreaming and focusing deeply on a project. Deep trances are an essential part of shamanism where people can hallucinate. Hallucinations can be achieved through natural occurrences such as epilepsy, migraines, and schizophrenia. It can also be achieved through psychotropic drugs.
Stages of Trance
Stage 1 - Seeing geometric shapes.Stage 2 - Trying to make sense of the shapes with emotional and spiritual connections.
Transition - Seeing a vortex or tunnel which the subjects feel drawn to.
Stage 3 - Seeing projected images. "Pictures painted before your imagination." A common theme throughout history is of people feeling like they transform into animals.
Caves
While we could never know exactly why ancient people painted the walls of caves, a theory could be that it was used for religious purposes. Shamans could have worked in these haves and had their visions painted on the walls.
