July 31, 2021Shelley R. Upton, Tyler L. Renshaw, Amanda Morice
preprint
Mindfulness is a traditional, sacred Buddhist practice that has entered the mainstream of applied psychology and become secularized. This study examined the differential influence of the presentation priming of mindfulness meditation—as either a “sacred Buddhist practice” (sacred condition) or a “scientifically proven tool” (secular condition)—on its therapeutic effectiveness in a general...
The commonsense view is that a lucid dream starts when the dreamer realizes that they are currently dreaming. The notion of realization, however, has been accepted at face value, with little consideration of whether the dreamer realizes that they are dreaming in the sense of actual reasoning, or if it is a mere epiphenomenon of lucid dream initiation. This article offers a solution to this...
Due to an increasing number of depression diagnoses and limited effective treatments, researchers continue to explore novel therapeutic strategies for this disorder. Recently, interest has revolved around the use of serotonergic psychedelics to reduce the symptoms of depression. In this systematic review, we summarize the currently available knowledge on the safety and efficacy of psychedelic...
Anesthetic manipulations provide much-needed causal evidence for neural correlates of consciousness, but non-specific drug effects complicate their interpretation. Evidence suggests that thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) can either increase or decrease consciousness, depending on the stimulation target and parameters. The putative role of the central lateral thalamus (CL) in consciousness...
The work addresses the mystical elements in the selected poems of W. B. Yeats and Lal Shabaz Qalander. For this purpose, the concept of mysticism and Sufism was understood in the light of different material taken from books, journals and articles. After thorough study of concerned literature, the selected poems were analyzed on the mystic pattern as suggested by Elvyn Underhill’s book on the...
Psychedelic research is said to be going through a renaissance with widespread public and political attention on psychedelics' ability to clinically resolve various medicalized issues.The prevailing cultural narrative of psychedelics almost touts it as a panacea when used in regulated, clinical settings under the supervision of a trained guide.While clinical studies are certainly informative,...
Abstract Introduction Emerging evidence suggests that psychedelic compounds, including the Amazonian botanical decoction ayahuasca, may provide clinical benefit in the treatment of alcohol or other drug use disorders. This study investigates associations between ayahuasca consumption in naturalistic settings and current alcohol and other drug use. Methods Online cross‐sectional study of people...
The known theories discussing the essence of consciousness have been recently updated. This prompts an attempt to integrate these explanations concerning several distinct components of the consciousness phenomenon such as the ego, and qualia perceptions. Therefore, it is useful to consider the latest publications on the 'Orch OR' and 'cemi' theories, which assume that quantum processing occurs...
In recent studies, mysticism is divided into three realms: Mystical Experience, Mystical Practice, and Mystical Theory. There are conflicting opinions with regard to their precedence and antecedence. Some are of the opinion that theoretical principles precede mystical experiences and conduct believing that by the time the individual is not epistemologically informed, he does not approach...
Abstract Substance use and related mental health epidemics are causing increasing suffering and death in diverse communities. 1,2 Despite extensive efforts focused on developing pharmacotherapies for treating substance use disorders, there is an urgent need for radically different therapeutic approaches. 3,4 Ibogaine provides an important drug prototype in this direction, as a psychoactive...