Measuring subjective experience during meditation remains methodologically challenging due to reliance on verbal self-reports for embodied phenomena. To address this, we developed the Meditation Pictographic Scale (MPS) using a first-person phenomenological approach. We developed and validated the MPS across four phases: (1) qualitative interviews to refine pictographic items; (2)...
Abstract Background Integrated Information Theory (IIT) predicts gradual consciousness changes, while Global Workspace Theory (GWT) emphasizes discrete threshold events. We tested whether sleep stage transitions exhibit these distinct patterns using quantitative EEG analysis. Methods We analyzed 622 sleep stage transitions from 12 healthy adults (Wake→N1, N1→N2, N2→N3, REM→Wake) using the...
Author: Igor Alexandrovich PavlenkoAffiliation: Clinical Psychologist, Rostov-on-Don, Russian FederationEmail: Lolkeey73@gmail.comAbstract This paper presents an integrative ontological framework in which phenomenality - the existence of subjective experience - is interpreted as a mode of self-presence of matter, realized through the retention of differences within a closed dynamic structure....
In this paper, I examine the relationship between subjective and objective experiences in dreams, highlighting their psychological and philosophical significance. Dreams act as a space where personal emotions and universal symbols intersect, offering insights into human consciousness. Historical perspectives- from ancient traditions to Freudian and Jungian theories- inform our understanding of...
Meditation practitioners, historically and today, sometimes report experiencing energy-like sensations in their body. While recent empirical studies have explored such experiences in the context of Buddhist and Yogic practice, no comparable research has yet examined energy-like sensations in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. We interviewed 30 practitioners and 30 teachers from Abrahamic...
Purpose: This paper dives into consciousness as a kind of projection from this vast, unseen realm that's both everything and nothing, shaping how we humans experience the world. Methodology: The work blends bold speculation with grounded evidence from metaphysics and science. It pulls from ancient Buddhist scriptures, timeless philosophical stories like Plato's cave, and cutting-edge research...
Contemporary interpretations of psychedelic spirituality are dominated by the “mystical experience model,” which emphasizes that psychedelics can lead to well-being through bringing about ego dissolution and a unitive mystical experience. Rooted in perennialist and dualist assumptions—often derived from Christian mysticism, Vedanta, and Plotinian Neoplatonism—this framework has shaped both...
Ketamine is an NMDA-receptor antagonist, which alters the state of wakeful consciousness at high doses. At lower doses, it induces reversible psychotic-like symptoms and has been used as a pharmacological model of psychosis. In this study, we explore whether low doses of ketamine disrupt conscious access in relation with its psychotomimetic effects, and investigate the neural correlates of its...
This paper explores the implicit thought of the “body-network” in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology of the body, drawing from both his earlier and later works. It demonstrates that, for Merleau-Ponty, the phenomenal body is inherently interconnected with the world through motor intentionality. Meanwhile, in his later concept of “flesh,” this interconnectedness deepens into a relationship of...
To explore the abnormal experiences of time and space among transitional-age youth with major depressive disorder. A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study. The study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital in China. Purposive sampling was used to recruit transitional-age youth with major depressive disorder. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using...