The nose and altered states of consciousness: Tascodrugites and Ezekiel

Abstract

The Church Father Epiphanius' description of the Tascodrugite practice of placing the forefinger on the nostril during prayer call be plausibly interpreted as a strategy for inducing an altered state of consciousness (ASC). Anthropological and neurophysiological research on how this human gesture achieves such an effect which is a pan-human potential suggests a similar plausible interpretation for Ezekiel 8:17 and the experience of Jesus in the Garden on the night of his arrest (Luke 22:43-44).