Background Psychedelic medicine is approaching regulatory approval, and suggestion alone can now occasion mystical-type experiences in the laboratory. Yet the field still names altered states after their triggers, and nobody can yet show whether the state itself, rather than its context, is what heals. Objective This review reads the evidence presented at the 2026 Annual Conference of the...
**Background.** Contemplative traditions have long associated water with stillness, concealment and renewal, and divers frequently describe underwater experience as meditative. This review asks whether immersion and submersion offer a distinctive context for mindfulness practice, and what the current evidence can and cannot support. **Methods.** A narrative review integrating epic and canonical...
Breathwork practices include traditional yogic pranayama and modern therapeutic protocols. Pranayama is the practice of manipulating breathing, which serves as a dynamic link between the mind and body, and is well known in traditional Indian medicine. (Podder et al., 2025) Autonomic modulation is altered by yoga breathing patterns, which results in modifications to cardiovascular functioning...
The Yoga Vasistha (Moksopaya), among the most psychologically sophisticated works of Indian philosophy, teaches that experienced worlds are mind-made, that latent impressions (vasana) sustain suffering, that disciplined imagination (bhavana) and self-effort can dissolve them, and that liberation is available in life (jivanmukti). Modern hypnotherapy - whose founding doctrine of suggestion...
The foundational paper of the Mindful Diving Institute: a conceptual and practical framework uniting contemplative practice and recreational diving. It introduces the presence layer for dive training (ARRIVE, STILL, readiness colours, the buddy agreement, the still minute, FFLN), the construct of Fundamental Peace and its 20-item measure (FP20), the safety architecture (practices optional at...
This chapter explores the relationship between self-clarity and happiness among artisans in rural India, integrating theoretical foundations from positive psychology with empirical evidence from a comprehensive intervention study conducted in Manpura village, Rajasthan. Drawing on Seligman’s PERMA model, self-determination theory, and culturally adapted contemplative practices, we investigate...
Ancient contemplative traditions offer sophisticated technologies for cultivating stable states of consciousness underlying sustainable well-being. This integrative review synthesizes empirical and theoretical literature on Patañjali’s Sanyam—the integrated practice of Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditative absorption), and Samadhi (non-dual awareness)—and its Zen parallel, Joriki...
Altered states of consciousness (ASC) represent a universal human capacity for accessing and transforming the subconscious mind, employed across cultures and millennia through diverse contemplative, somatic, pharmacological, ritual, and technological modalities. This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence from over 25 distinct disciplines spanning five clusters: (A) contemplative and...
Hypnosis has traditionally been conceptualized as a clinical technique for reducing physiological symptoms (e.g., pain, nausea) and psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety, intrusive thoughts), yet emerging neuroscientific evidence suggests it operates through the fundamental mechanisms of emotional regulation and self-integration. This integrative review synthesizes research on clinical hypnosis...
This comprehensive literature review synthesizes the published scholarship on transpersonal psychology, transpersonal psychotherapy, and transpersonal hypnotherapy from the field's inception in the 1960s through 2026. Drawing from 283 unique scholarly sources across multiple databases, this review examines the theoretical foundations, philosophical underpinnings, clinical applications,...
Hypnosis has traditionally been conceptualized as a clinical technique for symptom reduction, yet emerging neuroscience evidence suggests it functions more fundamentally as a mechanism of emotion regulation and self-integration. This integrative review synthesizes research from cognitive neuroscience, affective science, and clinical hypnosis to examine how hypnotic states modulate large-scale...