LINK

I was almost seduced from archaeology to anthropology because of my interest in shamanism. My one professor in fourth year tried hard to draw me in.

I had a colleague who routinely took me out to lunch to pump me with propaganda promoting Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan and other stories. He similarly followed an unusual lifestyle of total abstinence despite being married, and eating dishes containing meat from male animals (he could tell it had been male by its energy...) He took a psychedelic holiday to Mexico, availed himself to the spirits, had no transcendental visions or experiences, became disillusioned, began an affair, and forgot all about shamanism. I found the books semi-interesting but found the methodology of withholding declaring one's hypothesis / interpretation until after you already have the results to fit it to was particularly irritating.

Still, if American CEO's subsist on sucking Kale stalks and thinking of yoga, they might just have the Sustenance adept power. After all, it's that time of the Cycle.

The major difference being of course that SR shamanism gets stuff done, whereas these are basically just fad diets

Well, the CEOs 'claim' there are powerful benefits, just as the article suggests real world shamans claim benefits. The important suggestion is that the asceticism of the CEO causes others to ascribe a 'heightened state' to the CEO, and hold him/her in awe. Belief is at the core of much power, one over another, no?

Maybe SR power depends at least in part on belief in it, too.

Sure, placebo effects definitely are a thing.