We propose the Chaos-State Space Dream Model (CSSDM): a candidate neural correlate of dream consciousness. CSSDM treats dreaming as the brain's exploration of hierarchically organized attractor landscapes when sensory anchoring lifts and prefrontal control attenuates during REM sleep. The proposal combines two published frameworks. From chaos-theoretic accounts of dream phenomenology, we take...
When I was asked to write an obituary for Charles "Charley" Tart, I knew it would be an emotionally wrenching experience because we had been close friends and colleagues for more than half a century.Although we did most of our current work in California, neither of us were born there.I was born in Wisconsin, and Charley was born on April 29, 1937, in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and grew up in...
Abstract This chapter focuses on exploring various models of spiritual and transpersonal development. It first addresses philosophical dilemmas underpinning the concept of spiritual development by questioning whether these can be addressed without metaphysical assumptions embedded in religious worldviews and thus understood in any consensual way across different historical and cultural...
Transpersonal experiences transcend one’s usual self-identity, and may transform a person’s life. In this study, 25 on-line interviews were conducted with Filipinos who responded positively when asked if they had ever had a “life-changing experience.†The Casto Spirituality Scoring System was used to determine which of these could be considered “spiritual†in nature and which could...
The target article's use of core concepts is confused and excessively broad. Two main types of experiences have been described in relation to shamanism: magical flight and mediumship/possession. The first refers to visual and remembered experiences of events in other realms, the second to embodied experiences of ceding mental control and personality to a preternatural entity. These experiences...
This study asked the question, “Are there significant content differences between male and female dream reports obtained in dream seminars conducted in Japan?” Each of the 100 female and 100 male research participants contributed 1 recent dream report during dream seminars that were held in Japan be
In 2015, I began communicating with an events planner for the U.S. Army who shared with me a series of anomalous dreams -- anomalous in the sense that the dreams usually contained specific names of deceased servicemen previously unknown to her but known to an assistant chaplain with whom she worked. The goal of my ensuing case study research into this apparent episode of spontaneous mediumship...
Shamanic models of healing, counseling, and psychotherapy differ from Western models in that\nthey emphasize closeness to the natural world as well as to one’s body and life’s spiritual dimensions.\nShamanic practices reflect the ideals of harmony and knowledge. In shamanism, there is no division\nbetween “mind” and “body,” hence what Westerners refer to as “mental illness” is seen as part...
Abstract: Spiritual experiences are a potent means by which a person's attitudes and behaviors may changed, usually (but not always) in benevolent ways. This article presents examples from various times and places, many from the annals organized religion. Research into spiritually transformative experiences is reviewed as is a means to measure spiritual content in written or verbal reports: the...
There has been little rigorous research on the content of ayahuasca sessions, despite the tribal use of this herbal concoction and the existence of three Brazilian churches in which ayahuasca is considered a sacrament. The Casto Spirituality Scoring System, a reliable measure designed to identify content in dream reports, was utilized to answer the following question: Is it possible to identify...
We are pleased to present this special edition on Dreams, Telepathy, and Various States of Consciousness. This edition includes a broad array of articles from well-known authors in the field that address topics such as anomalous experiences of mediums and advanced meditators, shamanic experiences, near-death experiences, experiences related to dreams and body wisdom, and the various ways that...
Ecstasy (from the Greek, ekstasis: distraction; derangement; astonishment) is defined by dictionaries as (1) an emotional state so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought or self-control; (2) rapture associated with mystical experience. In this essay, we take the position that “addiction” is a social construct, a term that reflects a societal convention as much or more so that its...
This chapter focuses on exploring various models of spiritual development. It first addresses philosophical dilemmas underpinning the concept of spiritual development by questioning whether these can be addressed without metaphysical assumptions embedded in religious worldviews and thus understood in any consensual way across different historical and cultural contexts. Traditional models of...
Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant brew from the Amazon basin used as part of healing ceremonies by the local indigenous people of the region for centuries, is now being consumed by growing numbers of people throughout the world. Anecdotal evidence and previous research suggest that there are spiritual effects experienced among participants who take part in ayahuasca ceremonies. The current...
Abstract According to Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, “hypnosis” typically involves an introduction to the procedure during which a subject, client, or research participant is told that suggestions for imaginative experiences will be presented. The so-called “hypnotic induction” is an extended initial suggestion for using one’s imagination, and may contain further...
Recollections of humanistic and transpersonal psychology’s origin’s morph into the pros and cons of humanistic/transpersonal oriented schools developing APA accredited clinical programs. This discussion dovetails with the question will ATP ever become an APA division, raising an interesting alternative for those of us considering a career in counseling: becoming a spiritual coach. Enter the...
Recollections of humanistic and transpersonal psychology's origin's morph into the pros and cons of humanistic/transpersonal oriented schools developing APA accredited clinical programs.This discussion dovetails with the question will ATP ever become an APA division, raising an interesting alternative for those of us considering a career in counseling: becoming a spiritual coach.Enter the issue...
Previous research concerning the relationship between the shaman’s conscious experiences and the ‘spirit world’ suggests that shamans are realists in the sense that they conceptualize their multi-layered universe (e.g., upper, middle and lower world) as real, objective and independent of the perceiver. However, these studies have neglected to analyze the logical coherence of a realist...
Attempts to elucidate the kinds of "thing" or "things" to which the term shamanic journeying image is referentially linked must grapple with two related questions: what is the fundamental nature of shamanic journeying images, and how might the origin of a shamanic journeying image be found? The first question is ontological, concerned with the nature and essence of shamanic journeying images....
This article discusses preliminary data on advancing what we know about “sacred sites” and their effects on dreaming. Thirty‐five volunteers spent between one and five nights in one of four unfamiliar outdoor sacred sites in England and Wales. Another volunteer awakened them following the observation of rapid eye movement and asked for dream recall. The same volunteers monitored their own...
This study investigated if dream content differences exist between male and female dreamers in England. One most recent dream report was collected from each of the 100 male and 100 female research participants during dream seminars and a dream research project held in England between 1990 and 2004. The Hall-Van de Castle System of Content Analysis (1966) was used to score each dream report....
Block (2002) has argued that the multiplicity of meanings ascribed to consciousness is due\nto the erroneous treatment of very different concepts as a single concept. Block distinguished\nfour notions of consciousness intended to encapsulate the various meanings attributed to\nthe term: phenomenal, access, self, and monitoring consciousness. We argue that what is\ncommon to all of these...
Ervin Laszlo has used the ancient concept of the Akashic Records for the basis of his “Akashic Field” (A-field) model, one that has obvious implications for parapsychology, the scientific study of anomalous human–human and human–environment interactions, that is, “psi.” Experiments with “telepathic” and “precognitive” dreams are one example of parapsychological research that may fit the A-field...
For several years, I have been interested in the Brazilian churches that use a particular mind-altering brew as a sacrament. This brew is referred to as "ayahuasca,""yage,""hoasca," etc., depending on the part of the country in which one encounters it. I am often invited to participate in evening ceremonies by the church elders, and one visit was especially memorable.
In the spirit of William James, we present a process view of human consciousness. Our approach, however, follows upon Charles Tart’s original systems theory analysis of states of consciousness, although it differs in its reliance on the modern sciences of complexity, especially dynamical systems theory and its emphasis on process and evolution. We argue that consciousness experience is...