April 20, 2000Steven J. Heine, Dale S. Wright4 citations
Abstract The term kōan (C. kung-an, literally “public cases”) refers to enigmatic and often shocking spiritual expressions based on dialogical encounters between masters and disciples that were used as pedagogical tools for religious training in the Zen (C. Ch’an) Buddhist tradition. This innovative practice is one of the best-known and most distinctive elements of Zen Buddhism. Originating in...
Each macroscopic process can be subdivided on the quantum and classical stages. Particularly, the quantum stages of Cycle of Mind involves:1) the stimulation of dynamic correlation between water clusters in the same and remote microtubules (MTs) in state of mesoscopic Bose condensation (mBC) by phonons (acoustic waves) and by librational IR photons (electromagnetic-EM waves) distant exchange;...
Abstract Aristotle’s remarks on the soul and its relationship to the body, perhaps more than those of any other ancient philosopher, continue to be welcomed as stimulating contributions to contemporary debate in the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences. Indeed, no modern reader with an interest in philosophical psychology will fail to be impressed by the high degree of conceptual...
Abstract Psilocybin and psilocin are indolealkylamines present in Central American Psilocybe species of mushrooms and in Panaeolus mushroom species of the United States (3,4). For thousands of years, Mexican Native Americans have eaten Psilocybe mushrooms ritualistically for their hallucinatory and psychedelic (“mind-revealing”) properties. In the United States during the 1980s, recreational...
The unique experience of swimming the English Channel is a test of mind and body to overcome multiple challenges. The purpose of this study was to examine psychological characteristics and reflective meanings of these swimmers. Eight English Channel swimmers were interviewed. Inductive and deductive analyses compared interviews and interpretations with the coinvestigator and swimmers. Themes...
BackgroundSome people who come close to death report having experiences in which they transcend the boundaries of the ego and the confines of time and space. Such near-death experiences (NDEs) share some features with the phenomenon of dissociation, in which a person's self identity becomes detached from bodily sensation. This study explored the frequency of dissociative symptoms in people who...
The Tibetan Buddhist classification of mind, its divisions and the system of meditation practices aimed at achieving ideal states of being are a complex presentation of psychological, behavioral and spiritual concepts and processes that demand thorough understanding before assessing their value and outcome (Yeshe, 1995). It is the authors' belief that with the rapid advances in the neuroscience...
Although quantum mechanics allows consciousness to have some effect on the collapse of wave functions, most conventional scientists expect the effect to be quite small. Their experience with expert systems, computer-aided design, etc., would cause them to deny the possibility that a specific human intention could be imprinted into a simple electronic device via a meditative process and that...
Several recently developed philosophical approaches to the self promise to enhance the exchange of ideas between the philosophy of the mind and the other cognitive sciences. This review examines two important concepts of self: the 'minimal self', a self devoid of temporal extension, and the 'narrative self', which involves personal identity and continuity across time. The notion of a minimal...
It is widely supposed in the scientific and popular literature on dreams that flying in dreams is of mostly delightful character. Domhoff (1996) recently emphasised the highly positive feelings experienced in flying dreams although he mentions a turn to apprehension later in the dream ("crashing", "coming down"). In my research (an interview-sample of flying dreams) I met flying experiences in...