Meditation training is widely used to enhance mental well-being. However, a mechanistic cognitive science framework for understanding how it transforms mental processing is still needed. The act of practicing meditation involves trying to be deliberately conscious of a target content. This requires monitoring the contents of one’s consciousness and regulating them in favor of the target. I...
There is a growing hype regarding the efficacy of psychedelics to fundamentally change how we interact with the theme of death. The underlying evidence consists of anecdotal and self-report data collected in naturalistic and clinical settings suggesting that psychedelics inculcate more acceptance and less fear and anxiety of one’s mortality. However, given hundreds of empirical studies...
В статье анализируется распространение эзотерического буддизма (Ваджраяны) в России, включая его проникновение в нетрадиционные для него регионы. Рассматриваются причины роста интереса: поиск альтернатив материализму, психологическая саморегуляция (mindfulness), синтез с другими духовными практиками, а также экологическое сознание. Уделяется внимание критике с позиции православного богословия:...
Abstract:The Besloten hofes (enclosed gardens) of Mechelen are cabinet-shaped altarpieces that feature miniature garden spaces filled with an assortment of handmade silk flowers, devotional images, and relics. This article examines the process of creating these silk flowers and their impact on the presumed crafters or restorers—the professed nuns at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwegasthuis (Hospital of...
Defining "dance" is challenging, because many distinct classes of human movement may be considered dance in a broad sense. Although the most obvious category is rhythmic dancing to a musical beat, other categories of expressive movement such as dance improvisation, pantomime, tai chi, or Japanese butoh suggest that a more inclusive conception of human dance is needed. Here we propose that a...
Tanya Luhrmann’s notable contribution to the cognitive study of religion consists of demonstrating that religious experience is based on purposeful practice of the believer. Through this practice, the objects of religious doctrine – gods and spirits – eventually begin to be perceived as more real and present. However, considering realness only in the context of encounters with invisible beings...
To explore the scientific approach to Recalled Experience of Death (RED) and correlate it with the philosophical foundations of Family and Community Medicine to expand the understanding of the human consciousness. Non-systematic review on PubMed database for relevant “prospective studies” on “near-death experience”. Five prospective studies documented RED phenomenon occurrences during clinical...
In the article, I present changes that analytic philosophy of mind underwent throughout the twentieth century, as well as consequences these transformations have for the latest debates. I argue that over the past century, the analytical movement abandoned its anti-metaphysical stance and accepted materialism that supposed to respect main assumptions of the early program of analysis. However, by...
Abstract Ketamine, often associated with its frequent illicit recreational use, is renowned as an approved alternative for treatment-resistant depression. This paper evaluates the mechanism of ketamine’s role in treating depression, emphasising its positive safety profile and acute onset of action. Ketamine’s mechanism of action involves antagonism of N-methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptors,...
This article focuses on the presentation of parallel worlds in the early twentieth century Bengali writer Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s (1894-1950) novel Debjan (1946) [literally, ‘the path of the Gods’]. Bandyopadhyay is known abroad mainly for his novels Song of the Road (in Bengali Pather Panchali, 1929) and Mountain of the Moon (Bengali Chander Pahar, 1937), both of which have been...