Jhanas are profound states of mind achieved through advanced meditation, offering valuable insights into the nature of consciousness and tools to enhance well-being. Yet, its neurophenomenology remains limited due to methodological difficulties and the rarity of advanced meditation practitioners. We conducted a highly exploratory study to investigate the neurophenomenology of jhanas in an...
Common mental health pathologies such as depression, anxiety, addiction, and PTSD have recently seen treatment inroads. These issues share a phenomenological core—a dissociative quality that involves the disintegration of self and other. Interestingly, some of the most effective treatments of these pathologies are themselvesacutely dissociative. For example, psychedelic therapy has been...
Abstract This chapter presents a series of problems for Dretske-inspired causal-informational-teleological theories of conceptual intentionality, which I take to be the best hope for the naturalization of intentionality. It argues that these problems arise from the exclusion of the subjective aspects of intentionality, and that the phenomenal-intentionalist approach avoids them. This approach...
ABSTRACT Healthcare professionals use various technologies to evaluate and support patients who have suffered severe brain injuries. They integrate monitoring and sensory assessments into their clinical practice, and these assessments can have an impact on treatment decisions and prognostication. Responses from patients during different interactions are interpreted as “signs of consciousness”...
Abstract Background Depression is a major global health challenge, affecting over 300 million people worldwide. Current pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have limited efficacy, underscoring the need for novel approaches. Emerging evidence suggests that peak emotional experiences characterized by awe, transcendence, and meaning hold promise for rapidly shifting maladaptive...
Introduction: This study explores the effects of different types of augmented reality (AR) mandala coloring activities on mindfulness and flow in college students. Methods: A total of 76 college students participated in the study and were divided into two groups based on their drawing skills: the high-skilled group (n = 38) and the low-skilled group (n = 38). With the help of AR technology, two...
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...