Throughout the past 31 years transpersonal anthropologists and transpersonal psychologists seeking a scientific language to discuss anomalous phenomena and the farther reaches of human nature (or to invoke a discussion of ultimate reality, universal mind or cosmic consciousness) have referred to the holographic paradigm, the conceptual origin of which is directly related to David Bohm’s...
Mystical experiences have always been studied with a sense of awe and mystery both by the laypersons as well as the scientists. Today due to advancements in Spiritual Psychology, Consciousness studies and Meditation studies, they are being explored from a scientific perspective. As a result several features, identifying criteria, and unique characteristic of these experiences have surfaced in...
In the last thirty years, a relatively large group of cognitive scientists have begun characterising the mind in terms of two distinct, relatively autonomous systems. To account for paradoxes in empirical results of studies mainly on reasoning, Dual Process Theories were developed. Such Dual Process Theories generally agree that System 1 is rapid, automatic, parallel, and heuristic-based and...
Functional neuroimaging studies of epilepsy patients often show, at the time of epileptic activity, deactivation in default mode network (DMN) regions, which is hypothesized to reflect altered consciousness. We aimed to study the metabolic and electrophysiological correlates of these changes in the DMN regions. We studied six epilepsy patients that underwent scalp EEG-fMRI and later stereotaxic...
Musician, educator, and author Edward W. Sarath is among the first to implement contemplative practices and Integral Theory into higher education, facilitating a conceptualized understanding of the human condition and the phenomenon of consciousness. His book Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: Jazz as Integral Template for Music, Education, and Society offers a deep insight into his...
Most of the psychiatry practice in India is guided by the western concepts of mental health and illness, which have largely ignored the role of religion, family, eastern philosophy, and medicine in understanding and managing the psychiatric disorders. India comprises of diverse cultures, languages, ethnicities, and religious affiliations. However, besides these diversities, there are certain...
The article develops philosophical aspect of the problem of nonordinary states of consciousness research. The demarcation of terms «altered states of consciousness» and «nonordinary states of consciousness» is based on their phenomenology. Ontology and philosophical anthropology are the context of philosophical comprehension of this problem. The statement about the connection of the problem of...
Contemplative Studies and the Liberal Arts Andrew O. Fort Contemplative Studies—meaning both standard "third-person" study of contemplative traditions in history and various cultures as well as actual "first-person" practice of contemplative exercises as part of coursework—is a new field in academia, and aspects have been controversial in some quarters, seen as not completely compatible with...
Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) may experience distressing auditory hallucinations, phenomenologically similar to those seen in psychosis. However, access to effective intervention is limited. The cognitive model of auditory hallucinations highlights the role of appraisals in maintaining distress. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that targets such beliefs has shown...
The field of affective neuroscience has emerged from the efforts of Jaak Panksepp in the 1990s and reinforced by the work of, among others, Joseph LeDoux in the 2000s. It is based on the ideas that affective processes are supported by brain structures that appeared earlier in the phylogenetic scale (as the periaqueductal gray area), they run in parallel with cognitive processes, and can...