Open MIND
June 22, 2026
Nina Verkoeyen
Background. Measures of self-transcendence and ego-dissolution typically operationalize transcendence as an attenuation or loosening of ordinary self-boundaries, and less often distinguish passive self-loss from integrated forms of identity expansion that may preserve or strengthen agency. Objective. We introduce and evaluate the Meta Self Scale (MSS), a 16-item measure of integrated...
Open MIND
June 19, 2026
The CANMAT 2023 guidelines for treatment-resistant depression incorporate a variety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies, reflecting evidence-based options like rTMS, lithium, and modest use of ketamine and esketamine, while highlighting the need for further studies on long-term efficacy.
Open MIND
June 16, 2026
Jan M. Keppel Hesselink
The academic study of Western esotericism has developed a sophisticated set of research approaches over the past three decades: historical-philological, discursive, sociological, anthropological, depth-psychological, and cognitive-scientific. Each approach illuminates important dimensions of esoteric traditions. What remains underdeveloped is a seventh approach: the...
Open MIND
June 14, 2026
Lee Gerald Bloomquist, Claude 4.6 (Free Version) (ai)
According to Plato, Socrates as a young man met with Parmenides. In his poem (not the Platonic dialog) Parmenides urged knowing both the way of truth and the way of mortal opinion, that seems to overlap with Ithe Delphic "Know Thyself" which Xenophon associated with Socrates. But there are more parallels in Eastern philosophy. In this paper I link interpretations-- Western pre-Socratic...
Open MIND
June 11, 2026
Paweł Krzysztof Chomiuk
This work presents a heuristic framework and proposes a coherent conceptual model integrating the domains of consciousness, intelligence, emotion, hope, free will, empathy, religion, culture, and social development. It is not intended as a verified empirical theory, but as a research programme centred on the concepts of systemic tension and coherence. The point of departure is the assumption...
Open MIND
June 10, 2026
Øcult Raver
ZIKAKU Theory v3.0 is a philosophical and experiential hypothesis that defines ZIKAKU as the primordial life output that continuously generates the present moment. This version develops ZIKAKU Theory into a Cosmic Life Hypothesis. It proposes that the source of the living present may be understood as a non-conscious primordial life nucleus, described as the Big Bang Life Nucleus, from which...
Open MIND
June 1, 2026
Kellie Elkrief
Les troubles liés à l’usage de substances (TUS) touchent environ 2 % de la population mondiale et sont associés à une morbidité importante ainsi qu’à un risque de rechute élevé. Les envies impérieuses (le craving), définies comme une envie intense de consommer une substance, constituent une caractéristique centrale et transdiagnostique des TUS et représentent un prédicteur clé de rechute. Les...
Open MIND
May 28, 2026
Bruno Tonetto
Abstract: The difference between holding a commitment provisionally and pretending to have none is the difference between intellectual humility and intellectual evasion — and what passes as metaphysical neutrality in contemporary scientific and technological culture is almost always the latter. This essay argues that the posture of neutrality, examined carefully, turns out to be unexamined...
Open MIND
May 28, 2026
Nate Travis
Mathematical theories of consciousness — Integrated Information Theory (IIT), Global Workspace Theory (GWT), Attention Schema Theory (AST), Higher-Order Thought (HOT), Predictive Processing Theory (PPT), Quantum Information Theory (QIT), and the Free Energy Principle (FEP) — are commonly framed as substrate-independent: identical mathematics applied to any sufficiently structured dynamical...
Open MIND
May 28, 2026
Josephine Jörke, Lena Erdmann, Michael A. Rapp et al.
This project investigates the safety profile of high ventilation breathwork (HVB). HVB has been shown to reliably induce altered states of consciousness (ASCs) comparable to psychedelics and has demonstrated multiple positive effects on mental health in clinical and non-clinical populations. Although HVB is regarded as generally safe when considering contraindications, intense somatic,...
Open MIND
May 21, 2026
Angela Boland
Background. Music performance anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders can lead to devastating outcomes for musicians, such as career abandonment and substance use. This thesis uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms through which mindfulness-based and somatic interventions may improve musicians’ health and well-being. Studies 1 and 2...
Open MIND
May 21, 2026
Pawan Upadhyay
Biology explains the mechanisms of life but does not fully answer foundational questions aboutthe origin of life, consciousness, coordinated cellular behavior, plant intelligence, and themoment of death. This research paper proposes a scientific-spiritual model in which the soulserves as the primary source of life-energy, intelligence, organization, and consciousness inliving organisms. The...
Open MIND
May 20, 2026
Anubhav Srivastava
Humanity is currently approaching the final coordinate of its biological monopoly. But rather than see it as a tragedy or a horror, as so many present it in public discourse, the flip side of this is that for the first time in known history, we are approaching an era when we can finally bypass the biggest tragedy of biological existence of all – Death. This paper introduces the Eternal...
Open MIND
May 18, 2026
Nina Verkoeyen
This preregistered study examines the preliminary validation of the Meta Self Scale (MSS), a 16-item self-report measure assessing four dimensions of identity transformation: Ego-Self Dissolution, Expanded Identity, Unity, and Agency. The study examines the theoretical proposal that ego attenuation may co-occur with expanded identity, felt unity, and preserved agency within an integrated...
Open MIND
May 17, 2026
Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad
"Near-Death Experiences and the Myth of Judgment After Death," authored by Prof. Dr. Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad, Ph.D., DBA, delves into the fascinating realm of near-death experiences (NDEs) and explores their connection to the mythological and theological concepts of judgment after death. Drawing from historical accounts, religious traditions, and philosophical reflections, this book interrogates...
Open MIND
May 4, 2026
Zhenyuan Acharya
Consciousness research has long been trapped in the "Explanatory Gap" and the "Hard Problem," where traditional dualism and reductionism have failed to address its essence. This paper constructs a unified framework for consciousness research based on the four core axioms of YuanXian Theory: Conservation of the Universal Factor, Unique Spacetime Manifold (T^{64}), Self-Referential Mind Field...
Open MIND
April 28, 2026
Ginny Li
Peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii var. Jourdaniana) along with many other cacti can synthesize the hallucinogen, mescaline. They have recently garnered public attention after they re-emerged as a potential source as the new generation of mental health medications. Particularly since restrictions for psychoactive-based medication in research was relaxed in Canada. Despite the attention in...
Open MIND
April 26, 2026
Madison Knight
Both *Ceremony* and *Storyteller* serve as important written works that demonstrate the relationship between medicine ritual in the work of healing and harm for the Laguna Pueblo people. Author Leslie Marmon Silko demonstrates the symbiotic relationship between these two elements while creating parallels to time immemorial and the present. This paper seeks to analyze the presence and connection...
Open MIND
April 22, 2026
Bruno Tonetto
Abstract: Divergent frameworks rarely agree about what is true. They can agree about what any adequate account must explain. Once that agreement is secured, disciplined comparison becomes possible — exposing hidden commitments, distinguishing regularities from interpretations, and letting the force of what any framework must handle do its work. Integration by Constraints articulates this...
Open MIND
April 19, 2026
In this profound exploration, Prof. Dr. Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad, Ph.D., DBA., delves into the philosophical inquiries surrounding the possibility of existence beyond the material world. This book examines whether life is confined to the physical realm or if consciousness transcends dimensions, uncovering the intersections of metaphysics, spirituality, and scientific thought. By analyzing...
Open MIND
April 19, 2026
Memory and identity are the core pillars of human consciousness, shaping our perception of existence and defining our place in the world. But what happens when the physical body ceases to function? Do memory and identity persist beyond death, or are they bound to the material brain? In The Role of Memory and Identity in Life After Death, Prof. Dr. Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad, Ph.D., DBA, embarks on...
Open MIND
April 18, 2026
Nova Spivack
Lerchner (2026) argues that computational functionalism commits the "Abstraction Fallacy": treating computation as an intrinsic physical process when it is in fact a mapmaker-dependent description requiring a prior experiencing agent. His analysis correctly identifies the simulation-instantiation distinction but relies entirely on philosophical argument. This paper shows that the core claims...
Open MIND
April 17, 2026
Felipe Heemann
Brain Codex: Neurobioscience & Philosophy is an independent academic imprint publishing at the intersection of Evolutionary Biology, Neuroscience, Psychedelics, Molecular Neurobiology, Molecular Neuropsychopharmacology, Complexity Sciences, Complex Adaptive Systems, Nonlinear Dynamics Systems, Medical Epistemology, Paleoanthropology, Philosophy of Biology, Philosophy of Science, History of...
Open MIND
April 2, 2026
Rise Above: The Transformational Power of Spiritual Growth is a profound journey into the deeper dimensions of the human spirit, crafted with compassion and insight by Prof. Dr. Yoesoep Edhie Rachmad, Ph.D., DBA. Published in 1993 by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in New York, this work draws readers into an exploration of personal elevation through the nurturing of...
Open MIND
March 21, 2026
JH Saito
What physical process underlies the transition between unconscious and conscious brain states? Indicators such as the Perturbational Complexity Index (PCI) can track consciousness level with clinical reliability, yet the mechanism that generates conscious experience remains unspecified. We develop a framework—the Boundary Process Hypothesis (BPH)—built on a single empirically risky conjecture:...