Consciousness
![Double exposure image of a person and a landscape, showing a silhouette overlaid with a scenic view of mountains and a river.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/3114b1b3-d774-4b89-bb54-ee413f12581e/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Depression
idea
Depression is more than low mood – it’s a change of consciousness
Understanding depression as an altered state of consciousness, like a dream or drug trip, could help people awaken from it
by Cecily Whiteley & Jonathan Birch
![Close-up of a cracked oil painting depicting a man’s face in profile, showing the texture and age of the artwork.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/bebef20f-16d5-40c0-b62a-410a06db18e8/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Consciousness
idea
What happens to the brain during consciousness-ending meditation?
Psychologists are studying a form of meditation known as ‘nirodha-samāpatti’ that reportedly ceases all mental function
by Shayla Love
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/6e156052-3dda-4be9-b664-472ce710a7ce/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Mindfulness and meditation
film
A leaf, a bird and a fisherman animate Heraclitus’ aphorism on flux
A film by Michelle Brand
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/06d1a8ef-c973-489d-a192-17a5b2d2b801/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Sleep and dreams
idea
What dream characters reveal about the astonishing dreaming brain
Such stuff as dreams are made on: the characters who populate your dreams have their own minds, separate from yours
by Antonio Zadra
![](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/a63099db-01c5-4ed9-ab38-a9316ce19f85/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Consciousness
idea
Why your consciousness depends on the low-entropy early Universe
What would your time-reverse twin think and feel walking back from the present into the past? And why does it matter?
by Jonathan Simon
![Illustration of a coastal landscape with a yellow tower, green hills, and cacti in the foreground, overlooking a calm sea under a blue sky.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/471aca07-fe48-48e8-9f1b-c6a455f2e6ab/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Travel
film
Postcards from a Tuscan island where an unhurried pace is a way of life
Directed by Tom Schroeder
![A person standing and looking at a large, detailed projection of the cracked surface of the Mona Lisa’s face.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/5e695fa5-6ed4-4955-8df9-87de199efa08/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Philosophy of art
idea
Engaging with an artwork leaves you and the art transformed
When you engage with an artwork, a form of cognitive coupling takes place in which your mind and the art are transformed
by Miranda Anderson
![Close-up of a person with glasses looking at a computer screen displaying lines of code, with code text reflected on the glasses.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/c3234f38-5f01-4047-83bf-3ca43be36a99/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Consciousness
idea
The myth of machine consciousness makes Narcissus of us all
The idea that AI can be conscious is a mistake. It’s just a very shiny mirror of humanity, reflecting what we want to see
by David Bentley Hart
![A moody cityscape with dark buildings and bright yellow-lit rooms, featuring silhouetted figures inside.](https://images.aeonmedia.co/images/a06a551e-2101-4070-973d-6232b9702769/original.jpg?width=3840&quality=75&format=auto)
Altered states
film
An odyssey into the Parisian night reflects the allure and anxieties of cities
Directed by Adrien Mérigeau