Beginning in the fall of 1969, I went through a number of experiences v/hich I can only term "extraordinary". These are notes taken shortly after the first incident: A state of hyperalertness . Occurred with one other person. It was experienced as an immersion into a fantastic flow of energy and a manner of perceiving which made the "meanings" of all perceptions secondary to the direct...
Drawing on neuroscientific research and metacognitive theory, this groundbreaking volume examines the theoretical implications that are elicited when neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) are identified.The relationship between consciousness and the brain has concerned philosophers for centuries, yet a tacit assumption in much empirically minded consciousness research seems to be that if we...
ABSTRACT Kambô is the name for the secretion of the Giant Leaf Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) containing a plethora of bioactive peptides. Originally, it is ritually used by different ethnicities from the Amazon basin as a remedy against bad luck in hunting. In the last twenty years, Kambô has spread to Western urban centers, often associated with the use of ayahuasca. Anecdotal reports claim...
In clinical setting, consciousness can be described by two components: wakefulness and awareness. It is now established that a wide range of states or experiences characterized by dissociation between these two components exists. This chapter discusses certain of those most intriguing instances, such as disorders of consciousness, hypnosis, anaesthesia and near-death experiences. We here...
lt's usual to consider religion as a conservative institution. Nonetheless , this article shows that it may also have a great transfoming potential. The history of two Japanese religious founders, Miki Nakayama (1789-1887) and Nao Deguchi (1836-1918) is taken to discuss three leve is of religious experience: (I) the person' s personality reintegration level, (II) the person's social status...
Consciousness is, probably, the most common and the most mysterious experience in human life. It encompasses a stream of mental activities that include knowledge and recognition, emotions and feelings, organic dispositions, and linguistic acts, as well as altered states such as those provoked by drugs and pathologies, and mystical moments. The philosophy of mind is habitually reprimanded for...
The paper addresses representations of danger in the spiritual sphere in contemporary society in Slovakia by exploring the specific case of neoshamanic groups. This argument is based on Mary Douglas’s theory and the representations of spiritual practices are interpreted in relation to the particular social context. I present the results of ethnographic research conducted in Bratislava. I argue...
There is growing recognition that substance use is associated with the emergence of psychosis.Elements of post-modernity dominate contemporary social contexts and operate as existential background factors that contribute to the emergence of substance-related psychotic phenomena, particularly use of potent and highly rewarding novel psychoactive substances (NPS). About 25% of first-episode...
ABSTRACT Empirical cross-cultural research provides a typology of magico-religious practitioners and identifies their relations to social complexity, their selection-function relationships, and reveals their biosocial bases. Different practitioner types and configurations are associated with specific ecological and political dynamics that indicate a cultural evolutionary development. Relations...
Objectives: There is quite a debate about frequencies around 8 Hz playing a role in the human brain but also in micro-vibrations in muscles of the body. There are also claims about a positive bodily and mental influence of various kinds of vibrating whole-body stimulations. We have studied the effects of such a rhythmic whole-body stimulation on a subjective level. Study Design: We tested the...