Modern cosmology has established that ordinary baryonic matter constitutes only a small fraction of the cosmic mass–energy budget, while dark matter and dark energy account for the dominant remainder. Although their gravitational and cosmological effects are strongly supported by observation, their underlying physical nature remains incompletely understood. At the same time, consciousness...
Cultivating the mystical experience and the contemplative traditions that underpin it can have profound ethical consequences. By taking this path, alongside or instead of the analytic post-enlightenment route more familiar in the West, mysticism can shape the way that we relate our consciousness to our lived experience. Contemporary society is a hostile place in which to hold onto ideas of...
Background: Occult beliefs, including beliefs in witchcraft, supernatural forces, divination, and mystical practices, remain significant components of many cultural belief systems and may influence adolescents’ perceptions, experiences, and psychological functioning. Despite increasing interest in supernatural beliefs globally, limited empirical attention has been given to the prevalence of...
This qualitative study, employing a library research design, aims to examine the ontological essence and soteriological dimensions of the teachings of Ṣaḍaṅga Yoga in the Vrhaspati Tattwa and to explore their relevance to the dynamics of the contemporary Hindu religious tradition in Bali. The study is motivated by the growing functional reduction of yoga, which is increasingly perceived merely...
The clinical use of psychedelic substances and Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) is an area of growing interest that also raises significant social concerns and controversy. Despite existing legal restrictions, empirical research on substances such as psilocybin, mescaline, MDMA, LSD, DMT, and ibogaine has been developing, particularly in the treatment of conditions such as treatment-resistant...
Background: Serotonergic psychedelics induce their psychoactive effects by stimulating the brain’s serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR). In humans, a cerebral 5-HT2AR occupancy of ≥60% is required to elicit a profound psychedelic experience with psilocybin [1] and for pigs, a dose corresponding to ∼65% 5-HT2AR occupancy elicits headshakes [2]. We posit that in order to assess biochemical and...
AbstractPsychedelics often produce a rich, intricate, and dynamic experience that is challenging to capture effectively. This chapter explores the essential phenomenological features of psychedelic experiences, emphasizing elements with potential implications for religious practices. I will start by highlighting the key aspects of mystical experiences commonly associated with psychedelic use....
This study investigated the lived experience of adaptive resolution in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as both a process and outcome, from the perspectives of adult clients in outpatient mental health settings in the United States. Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological method was used to analyze interview data from 8 participants. The results were used to answer...
Visual stimuli-induced "narrowband" gamma oscillations (30-70 Hz) are generated due to excitation-inhibition interactions and are linked to attention/binding. These oscillations attenuate with aging and neurodegeneration, potentially indicating declining inhibitory function. In contrast, meditation enhances endogenous stimulus-free gamma (power in a broad frequency range above 25 Hz). However,...
Integrated information theory (IIT) aims to account for the quality and quantity of consciousness in physical terms. According to IIT, a substrate of consciousness must be a system of units (e.g. synapses, neurons, minicolumns, etc.) that is a maximum of intrinsic, specific, unitary cause-effect power, quantified by integrated information ([Formula: see text]). The grain of each unit must be...