Consciousness Structure: Dissociation, Integration, and the Limits of the Ordinary Mind
Open MIND March 1, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18825254 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Proposes that psychopathology, trauma, and spiritual development can be mapped using two axes—boundary permeability and integrative coherence—which explains shared phenomenological features between psychosis and mystical experience without collapsing them, and argues that stabilization must precede integration when coherence has collapsed. |
Abstract
Abstract: This essay develops a framework for understanding psychopathology, trauma, and spiritual development within analytic idealism — an ontology assumed rather than argued here. A two-axis model (boundary permeability × integrative coherence) maps these phenomena within a single space, explaining why psychosis and mystical experience share phenomenological features without collapsing one into the other, why identical diagnoses yield divergent treatment responses, and why stabilization must precede integration when coherence has collapsed. The model functions as a phenomenological and clinical structure independent of metaphysical commitments; analytic idealism — assumed, not argued here — provides an interpretive layer explaining why this structure coheres. Permeability regulates what enters awareness and can shift rapidly; coherence regulates the capacity to integrate and develops slowly. Their dissociability under stress is what generates clinical risk. The essay notes convergent structural observations across contemplative traditions regarding ordinary egoic consciousness, includes safety considerations for boundary-opening practices, and emphasizes throughout that description is not recommendation. Keywords: dissociation · psychopathology · analytic idealism · boundary permeability · integrative coherence · trauma · spiritual development · ego · mental health Part of the Return to Consciousness research program — 26 philosophical essays exploring consciousness-first metaphysics. Full project: https://brunoton.github.io/return-to-consciousness/