Who are we and what are we capable of?

abril 05, 2026

Who are we and what are we capable of?

Jacobo Grinberg Zylberbaum: Science and Shamanism

In everyday life, it's common to hear about people's individual beliefs, which vary according to their lifestyle, childhood, personal development, nationality, and other factors. Some believe in miracles, while others try to understand the reasons behind each event from a more rational perspective, using science. What is commonly observed is that each ideology is usually studied as an independent branch—whether paranormal events or science—but they are rarely unified.

That's why today we want to talk about how Jacobo Grinberg Zylberbaum, a prominent Mexican scientist, neurophysiologist, and psychologist from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), brought us closer, from both a scientific and shamanic perspective, to knowledge such as consciousness, telepathy, meditation, and more. Starting from disbelief in what he considered unimaginable, he managed to substantiate many of his ideas through research, having written more than 36 books before his death.

Jacobo believed that consciousness does not express ethics or morality, but rather, while it cannot be fully explained, it can be defined as the quality of conscious experience. He explained elements such as sound in conjunction with listening or light with sight, conceptualizing consciousness as everything that underlies each perceptual act, that sustains the very quality of experience. He indicated that there are many levels of consciousness and perception (information compiled from the interview conducted on "El sol de medianoche" titled "Ser o no ser" with its director: Sibila Pironti).

Although the aforementioned interview presents the opinions of each of the guests, all equally important, we will focus on Grinberg, due to his achievements and career.

Mexican tradition, among the systems implemented for the development of consciousness, includes meditation through observation. According to this tradition, the observer can observe everything and unify everything. It recommends self-knowledge to find meaning in existence, integrating everything. This is achieved by observing the breath while seated with eyes closed, allowing thoughts and sensations to flow freely, learning to focus attention. Then, we observe each part of our being, guided by the sensations that pass through us, until we can observe ourselves as a unity, witnessing the experience and the experience itself. This culminates in the simultaneous perception of the body, bodily sensations, thoughts, and the connections between them, maintaining the natural flow of each process. We continue with the understanding of present emotions, the inner body, the environment, and the whole. According to tradition, this allows us to connect with the Self, eliminating our prejudices and bringing us closer to a deeper understanding of Being.

And why share his ideas? Well, he managed to train children to develop their potential, allowing them to learn skills that we might consider impossible, or even part of what we call witchcraft: the ability to see blindfolded (extraocular vision), to see beyond what our eyes allow us to observe due to physical barriers, such as visualizing body organs, detecting illnesses, and healing affected areas. It is said that the first experiment conducted with children had to be stopped because the children's parents, as well as the school principal, forbade its continuation, claiming that the children were able to read minds, move objects at a distance, and, in general, challenge their entire worldview.

Likewise, Jacobo participated in the non-sterile healings performed by Bárbara Guerrero, known as Pachita, a Mexican shaman who performed supposed psychic healings with a kitchen knife, sometimes materializing organs out of thin air, according to her account, by invoking the spirit of Cuauhtémoc (the last Aztec emperor).

It is surprising how humans are capable of experiencing things that are often considered social taboo, and not only in terms of extraocular perception and psychic healing, but also in many other things we hear about daily, such as clairvoyance, mediumship, telepathy, and telekinesis, among others.