Ancient contemplative traditions offer sophisticated technologies for cultivating stable states of consciousness underlying sustainable well-being. This integrative review synthesizes empirical and theoretical literature on Patañjali’s Sanyam—the integrated practice of Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditative absorption), and Samadhi (non-dual awareness)—and its Zen parallel, Joriki...
ABSTRACT Modern research has suggested that almost all human behavior occurs with an interaction between conscious and unconscious processes. However, the exact degree and specifics of that association are still a matter of debate. This article draws attention to an additional domain of consciousness related to that particular conversation that might be beneficial in resolving some of the...
Ritual is a cultural-psychological technology that facilitates transitions by establishing safety, trust, and shared meaning. In psychedelic therapy, ritual remains underdeveloped despite the heightened vulnerability and suggestibility inherent in non-ordinary states. Without clear frameworks, ritual applications can become prescriptive or ethically problematic—particularly when elements are...
This paper proposes a novel model of consciousness as a process of competitive stabilization, where the brain selects and stabilizes one state among multiple co-existing possibilities within an informational state space. The framework integrates concepts from cognitive neuroscience, attractor dynamics, and information theory to explain perceptual variability, bistable perception, and altered...
This paper proposes a novel model of consciousness as a process of competitive stabilization, where the brain selects and stabilizes one state among multiple co-existing possibilities within an informational state space.The framework integrates concepts from cognitive neuroscience, attractor dynamics, and information theory to explain perceptual variability, bistable perception, and altered...
Transpersonal psychology has contributed significantly to the understanding of spiritual emergence and crisis by legitimizing non-ordinary states of consciousness and anomalous experiences. However, many prevailing frameworks continue to rely on intrapsychic explanatory models that lack clear evidential thresholds when confronted with experiences that appear to involve autonomous or external...
Biological consciousness is the product of millions of years of evolution, being deeply rooted in the neural architecture of living organisms. It emerges from the interplay of sensory processing, memory, emotion, and metacognition, with the human brain being its most complex known expression. Synthetic consciousness, on the other hand, remains a theoretical construct, an aspiration rather than...
Abstract Self-transcendent experiences (STEs) offer profound and beneficial shifts in perspective, yet remain largely inaccessible outside elite contemplative or pharmacological contexts. Although neural measures have advanced our understanding of these states, their cost and limited ecological validity restrict broader application. This study evaluates heart rate variability (HRV) amplitude, a...
This article examines the therapeutic function of physical immobilisation and sensory escalation for high-net-worth individuals. By systematically stripping the executive of their physical agency and enforcing silence, the ritual induces a profound "cognitive deconstruction," detaching the mind from its corporate identity. Through extreme sensory contrast and the subsequent neurochemical flood...
We aim to investigate the spatial experience of patients with chronic scotomas caused by lesion to early visual cortex, including primary visual cortex (V1) and adjacent extrastriate visual areas. These experiments are conducted as part of an adversarial collaboration testing contrasting theories of consciousness: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and two Predictive Processing accounts,...