working definition of shamanism

The shaman applies the downward pressure on the mind of the subject to be healed, along with the guidance and mediation necessary, to enable him or her to access parts of their mind previously unknown directly.

ALSO NOTE: To piece the bits of the shamanistic puzzle together more precisely than I have done previously, the value of the primitive "object relations" level of the mind is to faciliate a reintegration of the ego at a level that incorporates more knowledge, self-awareness, adaptation, etc. than had existed previously. Thus the deployment of these mechanisms at an adult level is not necessarily pathological, but rather can be reconstructive of the self in a positive way.

See Anton Ehrenzweig on this, and how being unable to collapse into a dream state at night, or into an artist's state of fugue, is a sign of pathology.