The authors argue that many disagreements about consciousness stem from confusing consciousness itself with the contents of consciousness. They build on Block's distinction among phenomenal, access, self, and monitoring consciousness, noting that all share an implicit separation between consciousness and its content. The term "altered state of consciousness" commits a fallacy by treating changes in the content of experience as changes in consciousness itself. To avoid this confusion, the authors propose replacing "altered state of consciousness" with "altered pattern of phenomenal properties," an extension of the concept of a phenomenal field. They discuss implications of this fallacy for theory and research.
A meta-analysis of 56 samples totaling 24,494 participants found that greater mindfulness is associated with less perceived stress, with a moderate weighted effect size. Studies that measured mindfulness using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale or the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and stress using the Perceived Stress Scale, showed substantial effects. The results suggest a possible bidirectional relationship: nonjudgmental awareness may help appraise events as less stressful, and lower perceived stress may free cognitive resources that promote mindfulness. The analysis does not establish causality.
Dream-ESP is a form of extrasensory perception in which a sleeping person supposedly gains information about a randomly selected target without using normal senses or logic. A meta-analysis of studies from 1966 to 2016 found significant effects supporting the ESP hypothesis. A critique by Howard (2018) reported much weaker effects after re-analyzing the data using inverse-variance weights. While Howard replicated some findings, other results are disputed. The authors discuss meta-analytic methods, including publication bias and handling outliers, and present re-analyses challenging some of Howard's conclusions.
A review of rationalist and empiricist approaches to the problem of causality in metaphysics finds both lacking from a transpersonal perspective. The authors apply Charles Tart's concept of a 'state specific science' to advaita vedanta, a school of Hindu psychology. They argue that advaita vedanta qualifies as a state specific science because its practitioners apply scientific methods from within various grades of samadhi to enhance understanding of reality, consciousness, and self. The paper attempts to show that such a state specific science can provide experiential insights into the ontology of causation that are unavailable through a priori reasoning or normal consciousness sciences.