The contents of awareness can substantially change without any modification to the external world. Such effects are exemplified in binocular rivalry, where a different stimulus is presented to each eye causing instability in perception. This phenomenon has made binocular rivalry a quintessential method for studying consciousness and the necessary neural correlates for awareness. However, to...
Within the realm of consciousness research, different methods of measuring the content of visual awareness are used: On the one hand, subjective measures require a report of sensory experiences related to a stimulus. On the other hand, objective measures rely on the observer's performance to accurately detect or discriminate the stimulus. The most appropriate measure of awareness is currently...
People commonly cope with chronic low back pain (cLBP) by ignoring and distraction. Can mindful interoceptive exposure to the pain sensation itself and its phenomenological components be an alternative approach? Single-arm feasibility study in patients with cLBP using a 2-minute attention exercise guided by a smartphone app several times per day over 8 weeks. We assessed feasibility, pre/post...
The typical near-death experience (NDE) is generally understood as an altered state of consciousness that occurs during real or presumed life- threatening and/or near-death circumstances, often including the experiencer’s (NDEr’s) perception of existing as an extrapersonal self out of and/or away from their physical body. The ego, while in this presumed disembodied state, some- times has the...
The human brain is a unique and complex system where neurotransmitters are not merely biological components but may serve as "divine tools" enabling higher states of consciousness. Endogenous DMT (dimethyltryptamine) emerges as a key substance capable of inducing altered states of awareness linked to profound spiritual and mystical experiences. Research suggests that DMT, produced naturally in...
Mental disorders are increasingly understood as involving complex alterations of self that emerge from dynamical interactions of constituent elements, including cognitive, bodily, affective, social, narrative, cultural and normative aspects and processes. An account of self that supports this view is the pattern theory of self (PTS). The PTS is a non-reductive account of the self, consistent...
ABSTRACT:Psychedelics have again become a subject of widespread interest, owing to the reinvigoration of research into their traditional uses, possible medical applications, and social implications. As evidence for psychedelics' clinical potential mounts, the field has increasingly focused on searching for mechanisms to explain the effects of psychedelics and therapeutic efficacy of...
The Bhagavad Gita concentrates on awakening, which serves as the scripture’s overarching core theme. Meditation and expanding one’s consciousness can help one achieve self-realisation. Reflection and self-awareness are crucial in realising one’s true nature and achieving self-actualisation. The Bhagavad Gita generally gives a complete and multifaceted view of self-realisation. This notion...
Daoist Celestial MedicineCommunity, Cultivation, and Compassion Jack Schaefer (bio) What is the connection between Daoist practitioners and medicine? At first glance, people may see Daoism only as a path of self-cultivation. While this is certainly true, there are many aspects to Daoist cultivation that go beyond the study of philosophy and meditation. Medical care is actually an important...
Traditional theories of motor learning emphasize the automaticity of skillful actions. However, recent research has emphasized the role of pre-reflective self-consciousness accompanying skillful action execution. In the present paper, we present the course-of-experience framework as a means of studying elite athletes' pre-reflective self-consciousness in the unfolding activity of performance...