Meditation as an Altered State of Consciousness

Abstract

E. Maupin had ordinary subjects focus on breathing for several sessions. These subjects’ meditation experiences were rated on a five-point scale by “blind” judges. A discrete altered state of consciousness is a radically different way of handling information from the physical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal environments, yet the discrete altered state of consciousness may be as arbitrary as our ordinary discrete state of consciousness. T. Lesh also had subjects practice Zen breath meditation; he adapted Maupin’s five-point scale slightly but found essentially the same results. J. Kornfield gathered extensive data from meditators at five two-week and one three-month retreats for intensive insight meditation. C. Tart noted, “Given the great complexity of spiritual phenomena and discrete altered states of consciousness phenomena and their significance, the need for replication by trained observers to form a data base for future research is of exceptional importance.