An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from a normative waking beta wave state. The expression was coined by Charles Tart and describes induced changes in one's mental state, almost always temporary. A synonymous phrase is "altered states of awareness". An associated body of research has been conducted in trance and this is becoming the predominant auspice terminology. Trance includes all "altered states of consciousness" as well as the various forms of waking trance states. Beta is the frequency range of brain activity above 12 Hz (12 transitions or cycles per second). ... Charles Tart (1937- ) Charles T. Tart, Ph. ... Look up Trance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Explanation

An altered state of consciousness can come about accidentally through indigestion, fever, sleep deprivation, starvation, oxygen deprivation, nitrogen narcosis (deep diving), or a traumatic accident. Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... Indigestion is a condition that is frequently caused by eating too fast, especially by eating high-fat foods quickly. ... An analogue medical thermometer showing the temperature of 38. ... Sleep deprivation is a general lack of the necessary amount of sleep. ... A female child during the Nigerian-Biafran war of the late 1960s, shown suffering the effects of severe hunger and malnutrition. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... Nitrogen narcosis or inert gas narcosis is a reversible alteration in consciousness producing a state similar to alcohol intoxication in scuba divers at depth. ... Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. ...

It can sometimes be reached intentionally by the use of a sensory deprivation tank or mind-control techniques, hypnosis, meditation, prayer, or disciplines (e.g. Mantra Meditation, Yoga, Sufism or Surat Shabda Yoga). It is sometimes attained through the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as alcohol and opiates, or psychoactive plants and chemicals such as LSD, DXM, 2C-I, peyote, marijuana, mescaline, Salvia divinorum, MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms, ayahuasca or datura (Jimson weed). Another effective way to induce an altered state of consciousness is using a variety of neurotechnologies such as psychoacoustics, light and sound stimulation, cranial electrical and magnetic stimulation, and such; these methods attempt to induce specific brainwave patterns, and a particular altered state of consciousness. A prisoner at the United States Camp X-ray facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba being subjected to sensory deprivation, through the use of ear muffs, visor, breathing mask and heavy mittens. ... Professor Charcot was well-known for showing, during his lessons at the Salpêtrière hospital, hysterical woman patients – here, his favorite patient, Blanche (Marie) Wittman, supported by Joseph Babiński. ... A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating Meditation describes a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or awareness. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion. ... Statue of Shiva performing Yogic meditation Yoga (Devanagari: योग) is a Sanskrit word that has a wide range of different meanings. ... Sufism is a mystic tradition that is practised by some muslims and some non-muslims and encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to divine love and the cultivation of the heart. ... Surat Shabd Yoga or Surat Shabda Yoga is a form of spiritual practice that is followed in the Sant Mat and many other related spiritual traditions. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Functional group of an alcohol molecule. ... In medicine, the term opiate describes any of the narcotic alkaloids found in opium. ... The general group of pharmacological agents commonly known as hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... It has been suggested that Triple C be merged into this article or section. ... 2C-I is a psychedelic drug and phenethylamine that was developed and popularized by Alexander Shulgin. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Binomial name Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva[1] Salvia divinorum, also known as Diviners Sage,[2] Magic Mint,[2] ska María Pastora,[3] Sally D, Sage of the Seers, or simply Salvia (although the genus name is shared among many plants), is a powerful psychoactive plant, a member... ecstasy and religious ecstasy MDMA, most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy, is a synthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family whose primary effect is to stimulate the brain to rapidly secrete large amounts of serotonin, causing a general sense of openness, empathy, energy, euphoria, and well-being. ... Magic mushrooms are also known as sacred mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, and, more generally, hallucinogenic mushrooms. ... Ayahuasca (Quechua, pronounced ) is any of various psychoactive infusions prepared from the Banisteriopsis spp. ... Species See text below Datura is a genus of 12-15 species of vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae. ...

Naturally occurring altered states of consciousness include dreams, lucid dreams, euphoria, ecstasy, psychosis as well as purported premonitions, out-of-body experiences, and channeling. Dreaming is the subjective experience of imaginary images, sounds/voices, thoughts or sensations during sleep, usually involuntarily. ... Lucid dreams occur during REM sleep after the person becomes conscious and aware of dreaming within the dream. ... Look up euphoria in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... ecstasy (drug) and religious ecstasy Ecstasy, from the Greek ekstasis, to be outside oneself, is a category of trance or trancelike states in which an individual transcends ordinary consciousness and as a result has a heightened capacity for exceptional thought or experience. ... Psychosis is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a loss of contact with reality. Stedmans Medical Dictionary defines psychosis as a severe mental disorder, with or without organic damage, characterized by derangement of personality and loss of contact with reality and causing deterioration... A premonition occurs when future events, often calamitous in nature, are foreknown via individual psychic experience. ... An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is an experience that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of ones body and, in some cases, seeing ones physical body from a place outside ones body (autoscopy). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Psychology of religion
• Neurotheology
• Freedom of thought
• Places of power
• Aldous Huxley
• Carlos Castaneda
• Charles Tart
• Claudio Naranjo
• John C. Lilly
• Timothy Leary
• Stanislav Grof
• John Curtis Gowan
• Bruce Eisner
• Psychedelic experience
• Psychonaut
• Flow (psychology)
• Trance
• Lenard

Psychology of religion is psychologys theory of religious experiences and beliefs. ... Not to be confused with neuroethology. ... Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience and freedom of ideas) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, regardless of anyone elses view. ... The term places of power was introduced by a fictional character Mexican Indian, sorcerer Don Juan Matus, described in the books of Carlos Castaneda. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ... Carlos Castaneda (spelled Castañeda in Spanish) (December 25, 1925 (?) – April 27, 1998) was the author of a series of books that purport to describe his training in traditional Mesoamerican shamanism, which he referred to as a form of sorcery. ... Charles Tart (1937- ) Charles T. Tart, Ph. ... Claudio Naranjo is a Chilean-born anthropologist and psychiatrist who is noted for his inter-disciplinary work with mind-altering substances, as well as the Enneagram and Gestalt psychotherapy. ... John Lilly John Cunningham Lilly (January 6, 1915 – September 30, 2001) was an American physician, psychoanalyst and writer. ... For the American baseball player use Tim Leary (baseball player) Timothy Francis Leary, Ph. ... Stanislav Grof (born 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology and a pioneering researcher into the use of altered states of consciousness for purposes of healing, growth, and insight. ... John Curtis Gowan (b 1912 - d 1986) was a psychologist who studied, along with E. Paul Torrance, the development of creative capabilities in children and gifted populations. ... Bruce Eisner Bruce Jay Ehrlich (better known by his writing name Bruce Eisner) (born Brooklyn, New York, February 26, 1948) is an American writer, psychologist, and counterculture spokesman best known for his book Ecstasy: The MDMA Story. ... A psychedelic experience, or trip, is characterized by the perception of aspects of ones mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ordinary fetters. ... A psychonaut (from the Greek ψυχοναύτης, meaning literally a sailor of the psyche) is a person who uses trance technologies from any of the worlds religions, modern psychology, and other assorted paradigms, to explore the psyche, their own consciousness, and potentially improve real performance of certain psychological tasks. ... Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, characterized by a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. ... Look up Trance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The name Lenard may refer to: Mark Lenard, actor Philipp Lenard, scientist Voshon Lenard, basketball player Categories: | ...

References

• James, William The varieties of religious experience (1902) ISBN 0-14-039034-0
• Tart, Charles T., editor. Altered States of Consciousness (1969) ISBN 0-471-84560-4
• Tart, Charles T. States of Consciousness (2001) ISBN 0-595-15196-5
• Wier, Dennis R. Trance: from magic to technology (1995) ISBN 1-888428-38-4
• Hoffman, Kay (1998). The Trance Workbook: understanding & using the power of altered states. Translated by Elfie Homann, Clive Williams, and Dr Christliebe El Mogharbel. Translation edited by Laurel Ornitz. ISBN 0-8069-1765-2

For other people named William James see William James (disambiguation) William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher. ... Charles Tart (1937- ) Charles T. Tart, Ph. ... Charles Tart (1937- ) Charles T. Tart, Ph. ...

External links

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• HypnosisAndSuggestion.org exploring the science behind hypnosis and suggestion
• John C. Lilly
• Divine Way of Spiritual Heart A system of methods for developing the consciousness as a spiritual heart
• Ekstasis Journeys in trance, meditation, mysteries and altered states of consciousness
• Explorations in Consciousness Online community dedicated to the exploration of consciousness through out-of-body experiences, lucid dreams and altered states of consciousness.
• Mantra Meditation
• Trance Research Foundation - Trance Institute
• Mind Media Guide to Hypnosis and Altered States
• Trance Meditation]