This preprint presents The Last Dream, a theoretical model aimed at interpreting the subjective experience that may occur in the seconds immediately following cardiac arrest and preceding irreversible neuronal failure. Drawing on convergent evidence from physics of time, neuroscience, neurochemistry, and psychedelic research, the model explores the plausibility of a transient terminal state...
Abstract Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) profoundly alters conscious experience, yet the electrophysiological mechanisms by which it reshapes neural dynamics remain incompletely understood. A hallmark of psychedelic states is widespread cortical desynchronization, typically inferred from reductions in spectral power, but whether such effects reflect genuine weakening of neural oscillations or...
Non-Catholic philosophy speaks about mysticism, but often reduces it to one of the dimensions of human inner life, emphasizing either the human intellect or the will or feelings. As a rule, this experience detaches from God Himself, preaching atheism or agnosticism. He sees religious experience as a subjective human experience that can only be understood from the perspective of...
Abstract: This essay presents a phenomenological catalog of non-ordinary human experiences reported across cultures and historical periods. It documents what has been reported—from near-death experiences to meditative states to apparent psychic phenomena—without adjudicating what should be believed. The goal is descriptive completeness rather than evaluative closure. Part of the Return to...
This preprint proposes a thermodynamic framework for phenomenal consciousness, addressing the "hard problem" of why certain physical processes are accompanied by subjective experience (qualia). Consciousness is hypothesized to emerge in predictive, self-organizing systems that actively sustain steep, localized informational entropy gradients. These gradients are maintained by dynamic...
Maslow’a göre insanın kendisini gerçekleştirebilmesi için “ihtiyaçlar piramidi”nin doyuma ulaşması gerekir. Hümanist psikolojinin bu piramidinde fizyolojik ihtiyaçlar, güvenlik ihtiyacı, sevgi ve ait olma ile saygı ihtiyaçları karşılandığında kişi kendini gerçekleştirebilmektedir. Maslow, kendini gerçekleştirme güdüsü tatmin olduğunda “aşkın bilinç deneyimleri” yaşanabileceğini belirtmiştir....
Understanding consciousness requires bridging theoretical models and clinically measurable brain dynamics. This review integrates three complementary frameworks that converge on a dynamical view of conscious processing: continuous formulations of Integrated Information Theory (IIT), attractor-landscape modeling of brain-state transitions, and perturbational complexity metrics from transcranial...
Background: Changes in well-being, personality, and personal values have been documented post-psilocybin; however, evidence from placebo-controlled trials is limited. Aims: To examine the effects of psilocybin versus placebo on psychiatric symptoms, personality, and personal values in healthy participants. Potential mediators were also explored. Methods: This secondary analysis used data from a...
Abstract This is a critical overview of recent and current studies of spirit possession, a condition featuring an altered state of consciousness that is culturally defined as the occupation of a person by forces that are alien and often invisible—for example, spirits, ancestors, or other entities and powers. The chapter explores how possession offers insights, but it also poses challenges in...
Shamanism is an ancient spiritual tradition rooted in the belief that certain individuals can communicate with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness. Shamanism emphasizes harmony with nature, and birds often serve as symbolic guides between earthly and spiritual realms. This paper explores Shamanism's defining traits, such as adaptivity and inclusivity, that contribute to its...