This chapter explains that recourse to the brain is a possible solution to the old problem of whether it is conceivable that a person could know another person's private phenomenal experience. It gives the provocative suggestion that mind language is reducible to brain language and that the representation of a brain state will permit the reconstruction of phenomenal experience. This chapter...
Article matching phenomena associated with the passage into otherworlds as reported during out-of-body and near-death experiences, with imagery associated with the passage into otherworlds as depicted in classic modern fantasies and fairy tales.
This is a review of psychological approaches to out-of-body experiences (OBEs) since the 19th century. Some of the work discussed includes explanations of OBEs based on imaginal processes, telepathic hallucinations, and psychodynamic factors. Particularly important for their detail and empirical orientation are recent OBE theories of Blackmore, Irwin, and Palmer, and survey and experimental...
The article outlines reasons why the field of transpersonal psychology arose and some of its current theoretical and experimental frontiers. These frontiers include full-spectrum models of development that encompass transconventional stages, possible integrations among different psychological schools, new understandings of contemplative practices and altered states of consciousness, and...
An analysis is made of adolescent hallucinogenic plant ingestion during initiation rituals among Australian Aboriginal males, Tshogana Tsonga females and among Chumash youth of Southern California. This use pattern contrasts with abusive patterns of drug abuse found among American adolescents. Findings indicate the existence of managed altered states of consciousness in the tribal societies...
The original diaries of 13 members of British polar expeditions of the Heroic Age (mid-19th to early 20th century) were subjected to content analysis. Entries were categorized into 5 areas: the physical and social environments and their effects, positive and negative affective appraisals of the experience, and altered states of consciousness. Individual words were rated on pleasantness and...
This paper reviews some of the evidence indicating that hallucinogens or psychedelic substances have therapeutic effects. The general character hallucinogen use in non‐ Western societies is briefly reviewed to present data about the characteristic beliefs and uses associated with these substances. Evidence for therapeutic effectiveness is addressed from several perspectives: the findings from...
This article has explored research to date concerning the efficacy of introducing meditation into the therapeutic setting. I have presented the views of proponents and critics of the relaxation model of meditation and of theories describing the cognitive changes brought about by meditation--for example, Deikman's theory of the deautomatization of consciousness and Delmonte's view that...
A rationale for a multileveled description of states of consciousness is presented, as a continuation of an integrated model of the main states of consciousness. The previous model described and distinguished four main states of consciousness: ordinary waking states of consciousness, differentiated waking states of consciousness, REM sleep, and non-REM sleep. These are considered now in a...