All language subtitles for Ancient.Aliens.S06E09.The.Shamans.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.HEVC-Saon_track5_[eng]

NARRATOR: They can
control nature--

DAVID WILCOCK (VOICEOVER):
Clouds come swirling in.

Lightning is coming down.

NARRATOR: They can
access other dimensions--

This energy enables them
to travel into the realm

of the spirit beings.

NARRATOR: And connect
with other worldly beings.

Those creatures actually
existed, in physical form.

NARRATOR: Throughout
history, spiritual leaders,

known as shamans, have
healed, protected,

and advised their people.

But are they simply putting
on elaborate ceremonies?

Or is there something
more to their rituals?

In a sense, in these
shamanistic states,

you're tapping into
extraterrestrial powers.

NARRATOR: Millions of
people around the world

believe we have been
visited in the past

by extraterrestrial beings.

What if it were true?

Did ancient aliens really
help to shape our history?

And if so, might the evidence
lie with mystical healers known

as the shamans?

Northern China, 1211 AD.

Five years after uniting the
nomadic tribes of Mongolia,

Genghis Khan launches a brutal
invasion against Chinese Jin forces.

Despite being
severely outnumbered,

the Mongol army
decimates their enemy,

in what is believed to be
one of the bloodiest battles

in Genghis Khan's more
than 20 years of conquest.

By the time of his death,
in 1227, his empire,

covering most of Asia,
Russia, and parts of Europe,

had become the
largest in the world.

JONATHAN YOUNG (VOICEOVER):
Genghis Khan was a great warrior.

He amassed one of the
most awesome armies

in the history of the planet.

And he would go up the mountains
to commune with the sky gods,

to gain power for his battles.

NARRATOR: According to
historical accounts,

the Great Khan
was also described

as relying on powerful magic
to create severe weather

on demand, like hailstorms,
hurricanes, and tornadoes,

to confound and
defeat his enemies.

DAVID WILCOCK (VOICEOVER):
They march into battle.

And the next thing you know,
clouds come swirling in.

Lightning is coming down.

Rain is falling down.

Ice is falling down,
chunks of hail, snow.

The soldiers are not equipped
for this sudden burst of cold.

They're shivering.
They're freezing.

They're slipping and
falling on the ice.

And then, they get totally wiped
out by the invading Mongolian army.

What was remarkable
about Genghis Khan

is that we tend to
think about him today

as being this despotic,
mad, cruel ruler.

He was a priest king,
something known as a shaman.

NARRATOR: In Mongolian culture,
certain members of the tribe

were thought to have the
ability to communicate directly

with the gods, accessing
seemingly supernatural powers

and information.

These holy prophets were
commonly known as shamans.

Is it possible that Genghis
Khan, one of the greatest

conquerors in human
history, used his connection

with the divine to build
the massive Mongol empire?

And if so, just what does
it mean to be a shaman?

For thousands of years, in
cultures throughout the world,

shamans have been
described as intermediaries

who provide a link between
humans and other worldly beings.

Known in some cultures as
medicine men or witch doctors,

they are believed
to have the power

to travel to other
realms, in order

to bring back healing, wisdom,
and guidance to their people.

The word shaman originated
with the indigenous people

of Siberia and means
simply "to know."

Shamans think of the
universe as being constructed

in different layers, one on
top of each other, each one

containing a separate world.

One of the skills
of the shaman is

to be able to travel
herself for himself

between these different
worlds in spirit form.

Shamans are people
who enter those realms

and negotiate with the
intelligent beings that inhabit

those realms.

NARRATOR: But are shamans simply
experiencing hallucinations,

daydreams manifested
in their minds?

Or is it possible that
their visions are real?

Dismissed by some today,
as madmen or charlatans,

in the ancient world, shamans
like Genghis Khan often held

positions of great influence.

And ancient astronaut
theorists claim

the stories of these
shamans reveal a connection

to other worldly beings.

Copan, Western Honduras.

In the ruins of this
archaeological site,

once a major Mayan city that
thrived from 400 to 800 AD,

stands a statue of one of its
most powerful ancient kings,

Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil,
commonly known as 18 Rabbit.

GRAHAM PHILLIPS (VOICEOVER):
Around 2,000 years ago,

the Mayan empire
was at its height.

And they had a king by
the name of 18 Rabbit.

The rabbit, to the ancient
Mayans, represented the moon.

So basically, 18 Rabbit was
considered to be an incarnation

of the moon god.

And he is said to have had all
sorts of miraculous powers.

NARRATOR: By the end
of his 44-year reign,

18 Rabbit had erected 7 stone
pillars, each depicting him

interacting with the divine.

KATHLEEN MCGOWAN
COPPENS (VOICEOVER):

The Stelae of Copan shows
King 18 Rabbits standing

in the center of the universe.

But on the side of him is
a portal to another world.

So it would seem to be
telling us that he had access

to the other world, as well as
being the commander in chief

of this world.

EDWIN BARNHART
(VOICEOVER): Today, we

separate politics and religion.

In the past, especially for the
Maya, that was not the case.

To be the king was to
also be supernatural,

to have shamanic ability.

You were not just a king.

You were a shaman king.

And 18 Rabbit, like every other
king in the dynasty of Copan

and in the cities around
them, was a shaman.

NARRATOR: According
to Maya tradition,

shaman kings, like 18
Rabbit, would connect

with other worldly beings
through a process known

as blood letting.

LOGAN HAWKES (VOICEOVER):
The Mayan king

would put a spine
through his hand.

Blood would be collected by the
shaman into a piece of paper.

And it would then
be put into a fire.

And it would smoke.

And by watching the
smoke rise, the shaman

could see what actions
they were supposed to take,

according to the
will of the gods,

revealed in the smoke that was
made by the blood of the king,

or the ruler.

EDWIN BARNHART
(VOICEOVER): The right to rulership

for a Maya king,
the thing that the people

followed him for,
was his ability

to contact the other world
through shamanic ceremonies.

He was able to ask for the favor
of the gods for the people.

WILLIAM HENRY (VOICEOVER):
18 Rabbit was a very powerful

shaman king.

You have to ask, is it
possible that these gods

could be extraterrestrials?

And perhaps it was
the guidance of

these extraterrestrial
beings that made him

such a powerful leader.

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS
(VOICEOVER): All around the world,

we can hear stories of how shamans

state that they were in
communications with beings

from other worlds.

Is it possible that what
we see in the experiences

of ancient shamans is
extraterrestrial human contact?

And this contact wasn't seen as
something dangerous or strange,

but rather as a means for
moving humanity forward,

due to new and important
knowledge received.

NARRATOR: Were kings,
like 18 Rabbit,

really communicating
with divine, perhaps even

extraterrestrial beings?

Was it this other
worldly guidance

that made them so powerful?

But if so, where did
these ancient shaman

learn how to access these
incredible abilities?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the answers can be found by
examining the transformative

and sometimes dangerous
process of becoming a shaman.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

January 27th, 2014.

A Peruvian-born shaman leads
a group of participants

in an ancient Andean practice.

Known as a despacho
ceremony, this ritual

dates back thousands of years.

In Peru, despachos,
or (non-english),,

which are offerings, have
existed since the first

pre-Colombian peoples settled
the Andes and coastal area.

A despacho consists of a
ritual honoring with reverence

our ancestral star
relatives in the cosmos that

has been guiding the evolution
of humankind on planet Earth.

Every time I perform a Pachacuti
ritual, portals are opened,

conduits between the Earth
and the sky are revealed.

It is believed that
through ceremonies,

such as the despacho, shamans
are in fact able to access

these so-called nonlocal realms
of being in the universe.

It helps to unify those of
Earth with those from the sky.

NARRATOR: If shamans
really are able to access

these so-called nonlocal
realms, how are they doing it?

And who or what has
chosen them to be the ones

to communicate with beings
from beyond our world?

I came into this shamanic
tradition as a result

of deep curiosity as a child.

(non-english).

I learned from my
two primary mentors

in folk healing, known as
curanderismo, the following.

The spirit world
is here with us.

Let us celebrate through
that portal to the stars.

I was introduced to a
universe in which seen,

as well as unseen,
relatives and allies

and spirit helpers abound.

And forming relationships
with these spirit helpers

was the foundation
of my apprenticeship.

NARRATOR: But who are
the spirit helpers?

Are they actual beings who
exist in a realm most of us

are unable to experience?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

the answer may be
found in the story

of a famous Native
American shaman.

Big Horn Mountain
Range, Wyoming.

Nearly 10,000 feet
up on a desolate peak

that is only accessible
during the brief summer months

lies a structure known as
the Bighorn Medicine Wheel.

This massive stone
circle measures over

75 feet in diameter
and contains 28 spokes,

representing the lunar cycle.

By studying the astronomical
alignments of the stones,

researchers were able to date
the construction of the site

to approximately 1,200 AD.

Although it is held
sacred by over 60

different Native American
tribes, just who built

the Medicine Wheel
remains a mystery.

So the Bighorn
Medicine Wheel is--

is significant to
a lot of tribes,

because it has this
connection to a lot

of different traditions,
in terms of star knowledge

and star power and ceremony.

NARRATOR: According to the oral
tradition of the Crow tribe,

the 19th century leader
Red Plume made a journey

to the Medicine Wheel as a young
man that shaped his destiny

as a powerful shaman and chief.

BRIAN BURKHART (VOICEOVER):
The Medicine Wheel

will connect to particular
constellations that are kind

of like vortexes between certain
star energy

and certain Earth energy.

And the Medicine Wheel seems
to be creating some place that

marks the particular spot
at a particular time, where

those star energies and Earth
energies and human energy come

together.

NARRATOR: During what the Crow
tribe call his Vision Quest,

Red Plume claimed to have
encountered a mysterious race

of beings he called
Little People.

He was visited, he
said, by these little men,

who then took him
inside the Earth,

into some kind of
a vortex, wormhole.

There, they taught him
secrets of medicine.

There are lots of
stories about Little People

in Native tradition
across the Americas.

The Little People come
from another planet.

And they kind of play
around with human beings,

but they're also protectors
of them, teaching them even

through that playfulness.

Is it possible that this
medicine man was actually

meeting with extraterrestrials
who then taught

him some medical secrets and
then allowed him to return back

to his people?

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS
(VOICEOVER): These stories

didn't originate
in our ancestor's imagination.

There is a core of truth
to all those stories.

And so those beings,
are they, in reality,

of extraterrestrial origin,
something physical,

flesh and blood?

Absolutely.

Those beings are the
progenitors of knowledge.

NARRATOR: Could the stories
of the Bighorn Medicine Wheel

be describing
extraterrestrial contact?

Is this where shamans like
Red Plume acquired wisdom

from other worldly beings?

In cultures
throughout the world,

there are stories of
shamanic initiation,

at the hands of
so-called spirits.

Oftentimes, the process
is described as dangerous.

In fact, many healers are said
to be taken against their will

for this instruction.

SABINA MAGLIOCCO (VOICEOVER):
When shamans narrate their life

stories, they usually
do not say, well,

I chose to be a shaman.

The healer does not choose
her or his profession.

They are chosen by the spirits.

DAVID CUMES (VOICEOVER):
The shaman usually called

and there's some sort of wound
that the shaman sustains.

It can be any bizarre malady,
being struck by lightning,

epileptic fits, a bad
accident, anything that

wounds the person,
enables them to go inward,

that kind of hardship, you
know, that's not something

that anybody who
really knows about it

would readily undertake.

RONALD HUTTON (VOICEOVER):
Once the spirits have got you,

you either die or
remain permanently sick

or become a shaman.

There aren't a lot of ways out.

You often go mad for a bit,
or fall sick for a bit,

as the spirits take
possession of you.

And then, you go through a--
a visionary process, in which,

for example, quite often,
you feel your entire body

being taken apart and then
put back together again.

And when you're
back together again,

you're starting to acquire
the abilities to travel

through time and space.

NARRATOR: Why would so many
of these traditional healers

share this belief that they
had been chosen and physically

changed by spirits?

Some ancient astronaut theorists
believe more clues can be found

by examining the similarities
between the shamanic experiences

and the stories
of modern day UFO abductions.

GRAHAM HANCOCK (VOICEOVER):
People who believe they've been

abducted by aliens will speak of

implants being
put in their bodies,

put there by the aliens.

Exactly the same
experiences are reported

in much more
traditional culture,

sh-- shamanistic cultures.

The construal there is that this
is being done by the spirits.

And the similarity between
the two experiences

are very, very, very strong
and very, very powerful.

DAVID CHILDRESS
(VOICEOVER): Perhaps what's

happening is that you're really
in contact with some kind

of extraterrestrials.

And in a sense, in these
shamanistic states,

you're tapping into
what we would almost

call extraterrestrial powers.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that shamans received

their mysterious powers
through alien abductions?

And might this explain why
shamans all over the world

claim to have a connection
to other realms?

Perhaps the answers can be found
in the strange and powerful

visions experienced by
shamans in the Amazon.

The Amazon Jungle, Peru.

Stretching from
the Andes Mountains

to the eastern shores of
Brazil, this rainforest

is home to more
than 80,000 species

of plants, many of which
shamans and religious healers

have consumed for
thousands of years,

as a way to access
realms, they say,

are inhabited by
other worldly beings.

In the Amazon, one
of the shaman's jobs,

aside from going
to the other world

and speaking with
the spirits,

is to find the plants right
here on Earth that can heal

the people of his tribe.

And in the Amazonian
belief systems,

each plant in the jungle
has its own spirit.

And one of the shaman's gifts
is that he can communicate

with these plant spirits.

NARRATOR: Originating in the
Central Andes of South America,

ayahuasca, meaning
"the vine of the souls"

is a psychedelic brew consisting
of two different types

of plants cooked with water.

ROSS HEAVEN (VOICEOVER):
This is drunk by the shaman,

in order to enter the spirit
world to gain information

about diseases, to
foresee the future,

to carry out a
healing for somebody.

We know some of the
history of ayahuasca,

because archaeologists
have found artifacts

from the rainforest, which
date back 3,500 or 4,000 years.

But those are only the surviving
artifacts that they found.

Potentially, this could go
back to the beginning of time.

NARRATOR: Ayahuasca contains
dimethyltryptamin, or DMT, one

of the most powerful
hallucinogens known to man.

But strangely, this
chemical compound

only works when consumed
under precise conditions.

Ingest DMT, it's inactivated
in the intestine by--

by certain enzymes.

So in order to get the
DMT to be activated

and to be able to
be absorbed, they

had to combine it
with other plants.

Ayahuasca contains a
mixture of two plants.

There's actually quite subtle
and sophisticated knowledge

of plants goes into
the preparation,

because these two things on--
separately will not work.

You have to mix them together.

And let's not
forget that there's

150,000 different species of
plants and trees in the Amazon.

It's really quite an
amazing achievement

of ancient chemistry, to bring
these two plants together

to produce a highly
psychoactive visionary brew.

NARRATOR: But how
did ancient people

living in the jungles of
Peru over 3,000 years ago,

with tens of thousands
of plants to choose from,

figure out that combining
these two particular plants

would produce these
powerful visions?

According to the mythology
of the Achuar people

of the Amazon, their
ancestors didn't discover

this on their own,
but were guided

by extraterrestrial beings.

ROSS HEAVEN
(VOICEOVER): The shamans

were communicating
with the spirits

and were told to go into the
jungle and turn two corners,

as the myth goes.

And then, they would
find this plant.

And they brought that back
to the village, prepared it,

and they paved the way.

The oral tradition
says that ayahuasca is

a linkage to the upper world.

And it is entirely possible
that they were given this gift

by their own gods, which
may be extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: If the Achuar story of
how their ancestors discovered

ayahuasca is true,
could they have

been guided not by spirits,
but by extraterrestrial beings,

beings who communicated
with them on another plane

of reality?

Between 1990 and 1995,
scientists at the University

of New Mexico administered
DMT, the active ingredient

in ayahuasca, to 60
volunteers and discovered

shocking results.

Medical researchers actually
administered DMT to patients

in a controlled medical setting.

And they had exactly
the same experiences

as those reported in the
jungles of South American

elsewhere who were
experiencing ayahuasca.

Ayahuasca users typically
experience hallucinations

in the visual form.

And a lot of them say that
they see other beings.

And a lot of them say that
they get messages sent to them

from these beings.

In several cases, those
intelligent entities

said to them, roughly
the following.

We're so pleased you've
discovered this technology.

Now, we can communicate
with you more often.

That's what we're dealing with
here is intelligent inhabitants

of other dimensions.

NARRATOR: Why would
so many people

report such similar experiences
while using ayahuasca?

Is it possible DMT provides
access to another realm?

ROSS HEAVEN (VOICEOVER):
Some shamans

believe that plants,
like ayahuasca, have

an extraterrestrial origin,
that they drifted here as space

spores, perhaps, and then came
to Earth on comets, started

growing here.

And perhaps they
even had an agenda.

Perhaps they are communication
from extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
extraterrestrials

gave the ancients the recipe
for this powerful concoction

as a way to communicate
healing powers with shamans?

And if so, might the very
core of mankind's knowledge

about medicine have come
from another worldly source?

Hua Shan Mountain, China.

This 7,000-foot high peak in
the Shaanxi Province is believed

to have been the
place where Shennong,

a benevolent emperor that ruled
the area more than 4,500 years

ago, was conceived.

According to accounts
from the Han Dynasty,

Shennong not only introduced
agriculture to mankind,

but also developed a profound
knowledge of Chinese herbs.

Shennong pledged that he
would venture out into the world

and test every
plant on the planet,

in order to determine
its benefits for humans

and also to catalog the more
toxic or dangerous effects

of ingesting these plants.

Sometimes, he would ingest,
of course, poisonous plants.

And he would suffer poisonings
up to 70 times per day.

NARRATOR: More than 2,000 years
later, Shennong's findings

were compiled in "The Divine
Farmer's Herb Root Classic,"

a medical journal that
became one of the foundations

of Chinese medicine.

But just how could
this mysterious being

have tested so many herbs, some
even containing deadly poisons?

DAVID CHILDRESS
(VOICEOVER): Shennong

was a quite unusual person.

It's said that he had
a transparent stomach.

And he himself, after
ingesting these poisons,

would look into his own stomach
and see how these poisons were

interacting with himself.

And then, he would take
the antidotes for it.

So you have to
wonder, if he's not

some kind of extraterrestrial.

Shennong could, in fact,
have been an astral or star

being who came to Earth to
teach the secrets of healing.

This idea would explain
his strange appearance

and also his ability to
withstand ingesting poisonous

plants without
ever being harmed.

NARRATOR: Might Shennong have
been an alien visitor, one who

traveled to Earth in order to
educate mankind about medicine

and the healing
nature of plants?

And is this proof that ingesting
DMT, a practice that dates back

thousands of years,
actually connects shamans

with extraterrestrial beings?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say, yes and claimed

further evidence lies with the
supernatural healing rituals

of the San bushmen.

The Kalahari Desert,
South Africa.

Here, the Native San bushmen
hold elaborate fireside rituals

lasting for hours
into the night.

During these ceremonies,
their shamans

perform what's known as a Trance
Dance, through which they reach

an altered state of being
and access other dimensions.

The Trance Dance is
thought to activate an energy

in their body called noom.

And this energy opens
a portal of sorts

that enables them to travel
into the spirit world.

And when the bushmen
activate this energy,

they're able to put
their hands in the fire

without being burned.
They can see vast distances.

And it's as if, in every
way, shape, and form,

they're transformed into
super powerful beings.

NARRATOR: By accessing
the power of noom energy,

it is believed that a shaman
can extract illness, see

the insides of the sick, and
travel out of their own body

to the land of the gods.

This noom goes up the body.

And then, often, it goes out
of the crown of the head.

And that's usually when the
out of body experience occurs.

And they travel to
the spirit world.

I've seen a bushman put
a coal in his mouth.

And he wasn't burnt.

They'll put their
heads in the fire

and although their hair might
singe and even catch fire,

their face won't be burnt.

So something is happening
with this noom energy.

They call it boiling energy.

It's almost like there's
a vibrational change

in their whole body and,
probably, in their DNA,

in some way.

NARRATOR: Could this
so-called noom energy really

be inherent in shamans, accessed
only while in a sort of dream state?

And is it possible
that the genetic makeup

of these medicine men
is what allows them

to access other dimensions?

GRAHAM PHILLIPS (VOICEOVER): The
San bushpeople have a tradition

that they are the first
tribe ever created,

they're the oldest
people in the world.

DNA tests have shown
that they probably are,

that all other cultures and
all other peoples that spread

throughout the world came,
originally, from where the San

people are now.

When we look at the San
bushmen and we see the clear

genetic evidence that they are
the primordial seed of human

civilization and life on Earth,
it is possible that their DNA

is especially well-equipped to
have this potential to access

these nonordinary
states of consciousness,

which may in fact be a
key physically journeying

into them, giving these people
the ability to do things that

most of us seemingly cannot.

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that the San bushmen have

special knowledge of how to
alter their genetic makeup,

in order to access other realms,
a knowledge that is shared

by shamans around the world?

And might this
knowledge or power

have been given to
them by alien beings?

Ancient astronaut
theorists believe

an undeniable connection between
shamans and extraterrestrials

can be found in cave paintings
that date back thousands

of years.

The Lascaux Caves,
southwestern France.

Discovered in 1940, near
the village of Montagnac.

This cave complex is covered
in Paleolithic paintings,

dating back more
than 17,000 years.

Anthropologists
believe ancient shamans

used these subterranean chambers
to perform sacred rituals.

And curiously, among
the many Ice Age animals

that are depicted
on the walls, there

is a strange creature
that has the body of a man

and the head of a bird.

The technical term for such
a creature is a therianthrop.

And that's from
the Greek therion,

which means "wild beast" and
arthropods, which means "man."

Clearly, these were not
things that one encounters

in everyday life.

The imagery of cave art is best
explained as the experiences

that shamans undergo in
a deep state of trance.

When they return from
the trance state,

they then depict
on the cave walls

the visions that they have
seen in this deeply altered

state of consciousness.

NARRATOR: The bird
man found in Lascaux

is reminiscent of one of the
Egyptian's most important gods,

Thoth.

It is also consistent with the
depiction of the Sumerian sky

gods, the Annunaki.

But is it mere coincidence that
these shamans are encountering

the same types of
beings while in a trance

that the world's earliest
civilizations depicted

as their gods?

DAVID WILCOCK (VOICEOVER):
In all of these different

of these different indigenous
cultures around the world,

there are remarkable
similarities

of what types of beings people
claim to be meeting when they

go out of body.

This suggests that
in the dream plane

and in the shamanic
state, there is, in fact,

a real place that we are going
and real beings that we are

encountering when we get there.

This is where the ancient
astronaut theory suggests

that they were the same
teachers, the teachers that

went to all the ancient
cultures and brought them

the basics for what we've
accomplished to day.

But there was a big noticeable
change in human behavior,

around 40,000 years
ago, exactly at the time

that our ancestors begin to
manifest the first amazing cave art.

But what is clear is that it
is not a coincidence,

that at the moment that
the cave art begins,

we also witness, in the
archaeological record,

a radical change
in human behavior.

NARRATOR: Could the
Lascaux Cave paintings

be proof that shamans
really do communicate

with extraterrestrial beings, as
ancient astronaut theorists suggest?

And if shamans, like
those of the San bushmen,

undergo a physiological
change in order

to make this connection,
what might that change be?

Perhaps the answer can be
found inside the human brain.

Tepoztlan, Mexico.

October, 2011.

Here, just 50 miles
from Mexico City,

shamans from all over
North and South America

gather to commemorate the
region's long tradition

of shamanic healing.

Throughout the
three-day celebration,

these modern day medicine
men engage in sacred dances,

rhythmic chanting, and
drumming, all methods

that shamans use to
connect with other realms.

But why?

Do these practices
really affect a change

within the shamans that allows
them to communicate with beings

that are otherwise
beyond our perception?

In many shamanic
traditions, shamans

have special tools that allow
them to access the spirit world.

Among the most
important of these

tools are the shaman's drum
and/or the shaman's rattle.

These are rhythm
instruments that beat out

a particular rhythm that
allow the shaman to enter

into trance and to journey
to the world of spirits.

We see this rapid, very
steady rhythm on the drum

as being a central tool of
shamans being able to open up

the doors of the mind, giving
voice to the unseen realms

of the cosmos.

NARRATOR: Is it
merely coincidence

that shamans all over the
world share the belief

that by repeating certain
rhythmic movements and sounds,

they can communicate
with other realms?

Or might this ancient
practice produce

a real physiological change
in the shamans themselves?

SABINA MAGLIOCCO
(VOICEOVER): There's a neurological

explanation for this.

One of the ways that we
can alter our consciousness

is through rhythmic movement.

So throughout the world, you see
many traditions in which people

communicate with the gods by
spinning, by dancing, by doing

something rhythmic.

NARRATOR: At the University of
California in San Francisco,

neuroscientist Dr. Adam Gazzaley
is performing experiments

using 3D gaming technology that
actually track how drumming

affects the human brain.

Participants wear
virtual reality goggles

and experience both visual
and auditory rhythms.

We feel that if we
have a participant

and learn how to entrain
with different rhythms,

through game mechanics, we
could strengthen the rhythms

of the brain and lead to better
performance, better cognition,

better memory, better attention.

And so we're recording,
in real time, what's

going on in her brain.

You can have a rhythm going
on that you're listening to

and your brain has its
own natural rhythms.

The entrainment
would be that they'd

become locked in time, such
that they follow each other.

We're sort of at like the
gateway of this frontier now.

NARRATOR: Could
rhythm and repetition

hold the key to discovering
untapped potential

within the human brain?

Might shamans have been aware
of this connection for thousands

of years?

And is the practice of
entering a trance state

still used to access this power in
other spiritual ceremonies

across the world?

Pentecostal faith healers
incorporate music that mirrors

the rhythm of the heart.

Hypnosis is often achieved
through the use of a pendulum.

I tell that you have
someone close to you--

NARRATOR: Priests performing
exorcisms repeat phrases

over and over.

Even the Catholic rosary
involves repeating a sequence

of prayers, counted out
on a string of beads,

to communicate
with almighty God.

It seems possible that the
shamans must have understood

something about the brain that
we're only rediscovering today

and how the drum, in particular,
can affect the brain.

It's the brain who works
different with the shamans

than with normal people.

I always suggest that,
look at our brain

like a gigantic hall with
big machines in there.

Some of the machines are
running and others are dead.

Now, with the shamans,
some of the machines

are running, which, in other
brains, they are not working.

That makes the difference
between the brain of a shaman

and the normal, average people.

NARRATOR: Have shamans
discovered the means

to communicating with
extraterrestrials

within the human brain?

And does this suggest that
similar powers might exist

within all of humanity,
powers that we have yet

to fully realize?

As we settle into
the 21st century,

our craving to be connected
with what we used to know,

what we can know again,
and how unlimited we

are as human beings is something
that we're all seeking.

And it is through the
power of shamanism,

it is with the help of
these intermediaries

that we can begin to
experience this again.

WILLIAM HENRY (VOICEOVER):
The shamans were always

bringing advanced
knowledge and leading

humanity forward.
They represented healing.

And they represented expansion
of our consciousness.

If these shamans
are really in contact

with some kind of
extraterrestrial gods,

then we can see how these ETs
have been purposely guiding us

throughout our history.

In many ways, they created us.

And even today, they are still
manipulating and guiding us

into the future.

NARRATOR: Did shamans really
communicate with other worldly

beings in the distant past?

Is it possible that, through
these spiritual mediators,

extraterrestrials were
able to influence mankind?

And might such celestial
command continue even today?

Perhaps one day we will
realize that the key

to contact with
our alien ancestors

does not lie in technology
that propels us to the stars,

but in rediscovering
abilities that already

exist deep within ourselves.