Arguing that altered states of consciousness are not spontaneous ruptures of grace but <BR>intentional, embodied methods, this book explores the question, »what if ecstasy is not a <BR>loss of control, but instead a form of knowledge?' <BR><BR>Moving between Eleusinian mystery rites, Afro-Brazilian possession ceremonies and <BR>Amazonian shamanism, to Mediterranean tarantism, Anastenaria firewalking and <BR>Santo Daime, the book reveals how ritual, rhythm, movement, and myth operate as <BR>sophisticated pedagogies - ancient technologies of transmission developed across <BR>cultures and centuries.<BR><BR>Written from both observation and participation, and drawing on immersive research <BR>with Indigenous, Afro-Diasporic, and women-led communities, Marianna Kokkinaki <BR>repositions ecstasy as a radical curriculum - one that awakens ecological consciousness <BR>and restores relational ways of being at a moment of urgent global crisis.