Introduction: Buddhist-derived meditation is a well-known phenomenological practice that enhances overall wellbeing of individuals. However, broad- and less-rigorous criteria in recruiting suitable meditation practitioners affect the reliability of results obtained through meditation research. Objectives: To develop an instrument to identify skilled meditators among meditation practitioners, in...
The article presents a critical evaluation of the Gateway Process, a neurological training system developed in 1983 by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the United States Army to harness human brainwave output and measure altered states of consciousness using innovative audio technologies. Initially classified, the Gateway Process training system was designed to enhance cognition...
Consciousness is a natural phenomenon, familiar to every person. At the same time, it cannot be described in singular terms. The rise of Artificial Intelligence in recent years has made the topic of Artificial Consciousness highly debated. The paper discusses the main general theories of consciousness and their relationship with proposed Artificial Consciousness solutions. There are a number of...
Visual hallucinations (VHs) are perceptions of objects or events in the absence of the sensory stimulation that would normally support such perceptions. Although all VHs share this core characteristic, there are substantial phenomenological differences between VHs that have different aetiologies, such as those arising from Neurodegenerative conditions, visual loss, or psychedelic compounds....
ABSTRACT This article addresses how breath is intra-active with reading and writing. The two meditation methods I used for concentrating on and writing the breath-experience were ‘attention on the breath’ as taught within a Korean Seon (Zen) tradition, and writing this experience as ‘meditative enquiry’ [Stephens, T. 2021. ‘A Meditative Enquiry into Presence: Unmaking the Autoethnographic...
This diagram is excerpted from my MFA thesis The Awakened Attention Acting Paradigm: A psychophysical approach to actor training through meditation techniques . This illustration outlines how we can adapt and utilise meditation practices in actor training. It articulates the similarities between the mechanisms both Buddhist monks and actors use in their practice, drawing a comparison between...
Background Psychedelic-assisted therapies hold early promise for treating multiple psychiatric conditions. However, absent standards for the care, teams providing psychedelic-assisted therapy pose a major roadblock to safe administration. Psychedelics often produce spiritually and existentially meaningful experiences, and spiritual health practitioners have been involved in administering...
Cannabis is used by one third of youth in Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) programs and high dose consumption of the primary constituent Δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is associated with higher risk for relapse in this group. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a secondary cannabis constituent that may have antipsychotic properties, though its health risks are only beginning to be understood. Little is...
This paper adopts the analytical approach of aesthetic taste, aligning with the methodology embraced by the Sufis themselves. Its objective is to illuminate the depth of Sufism, transcending surface-level criticisms and acknowledging its universal significance across civilizations. Additionally, it acknowledges the extraordinary wisdom of Sufism, as recognized by philosophers and psychologists...
By successfully integrating A.N. Whitehead's Process Philosophy into the Philosophy of Mind, a genuinely new position emerges, the Whiteheadian Monism, which is not only argumentatively superior to its competitors, dualism and physicalism, but is also able to philosophically substantiate one of the most current neuroscientific theories, the Integrated Information Theory. Not only does this make...