Contemporary mind and brain sciences provide theories and data that seem to confirm a hypothesis about human nature that we might formulate as follows. Human life is conditioned by a need that is no less important than elementary biological needs (such as survival and reproduction) or universal forms of social competition: the need to build and, indeed, defend a subjective identity whose...
Infertility is a prominent problem affecting millions of couples worldwide. Recently, there has been a hightened emphasis on elucidating the subtle linkages between infertility treatment leveraging assisted reproductive technology and the complex realm of psychological challenges, as well as efforts in implementation of psychological interventions.The Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program seeks...
CureusMarch 1, 2024Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan, Thomas M Brod, Thomas Lowder et al.1 citation
Background "Awe" is typically an inspiring emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli signifying the transcendence beyond all cognitive frames of reference when we encounter the unexpected. Physicians' experience of awe in clinical care interactions has not been studied in an empirical, evidence-based way. We aim to present a focused study of awe in a psychiatrist's empathic listening (EL)...
Ayahuasca is an original Amazonian brew made from the vines and leaves of Psychotroa viridis and Banisteriopsis caapi. Both P. viridis and B. caapi give this brew its unique psychedelic properties which have been revered over centuries. In recent years, ayahuasca has gained attention as a potential therapeutic tool for mental health disorders, including substance abuse and depression. The...
Sleep ScienceFebruary 29, 2024Carlo Lazzari, Marco Rabottini
Dear Editor, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online defines dreams as a succession of ideas, pictures, or feelings that happen while people sleep ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dream ). The Sleep Foundation describes a dream as ideas or images that come to mind while people are asleep; a dream may occur at any sleep stage, but rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is when dreams tend to...
The religious or spiritual value of contemplative practices and the use of psychedelics is not intrinsic to experiences obtained through them and is instead relational—a function of how they alter consciousness. In support of that claim, I first present a nonreductive, nondualist Buddhist account of consciousness that calls critically into question the merits of both physicalist and...
The current biophysical model of clinical care posits that all mental disorders, originate and end in the brain and fail to address the worsening scale of such disorders effectively.Quantum psychology posits a worldview based on the fact that Consciousness is fundamental and is a more useful model of mind-brain relationships and under-stands that feelings thoughts, emotions, and intuition...
Abstract This article examines some of the changing forms of religion in contemporary Hungary, with a focus on a case study conducted at a mindfulness and lifestyle festival called Everness. The emerging need for an alternative kind of spirituality supplementing or opposed to traditional forms of religion has generated a new conceptual approach that I call event religion. In inductive empirical...
The term psychonaut has become increasingly common in recent years.Introduced in 1949 by Ernst Jünger, a German author and fellow traveler of Albert Hofmann, the word is used to describe individuals dedicated to the exploration of their mind, often with use of psychedelics.Distinct to those who experiment with psychedelics haphazardly, the title 'psychonaut' suggests an aura of method,...
February 26, 2024Bruce Ecker, Robin Ticic, Laurel Hulley
It is well established that psychedelic experiences can result in potent therapeutic change when induced within a program of psychotherapy that skillfully provides preparation of mindset, an environment of accompaniment, safety, and supportiveness during the experience(s), and a subsequent process of review, reflection, and integration. The question addressed in this chapter is whether...