Heroic and Shamanic Initiations - Academic Lecture (2017) - Prof Jordan B Peterson

In this lecture, 04 and 05 combined, I discuss the relationship between the initiatory structure characteristic of shamanism and the process of radical personality transformation, self- or therapy-induced. The basic structure is order/paradise, chaos/the fall, re-establishment of order/paradise. Since all paradises fall, however, the true paradise is identification with the process of transformation itself.

A very interesting insight from the professor when it talks about the mystical experiences of DMT (when you skip the lecture to 2h: 30m), professor Peterson talks about the mystical experience people tend to have after taking substances like Ayahuasca. These experiences can result in permanent personality transformations.

Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian professor of psychology, clinical psychologist, YouTube personality, and author. He began to receive widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues, often described as conservative.

Born and raised in Alberta, Peterson obtained bachelor's degrees in political science and psychology from the University of Alberta and a PhD in clinical psychology from McGill University. After teaching and research at Harvard University, he returned to Canada in 1998 to permanently join the faculty of psychology at the University of Toronto.

In 1999, he published his first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, which became the basis for many of his subsequent lectures. The book combined information from psychology, mythology, religion, literature, philosophy, and neuroscience to analyze systems of belief and meaning.