Altered states
Depression
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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
Consciousness
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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
Altered states
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A touch of absurdity can help to wrap your mind around reality
And now for something completely different: how a dose of the surreal or absurd helps to make sense of our place in the world
by David Robson
Transcendent experience
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Your consciousness has been completely transformed. Now what?
Awakening experiences are spiritual states often believed to unlock life’s mysteries – but sacred knowledge comes at a cost
by Kevin Berryman
Psychedelic-assisted therapy
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If you want psychedelic healing, your ego may need to die
What do we know about the role of ‘ego death’ and other transformative experiences in psychedelic therapies?
by Natasha Mason, Athena Demertzi & Johannes G Ramaekers
Altered states
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William James was right about our strange inner experiences
Rather than Freud’s cynicism or Jung’s enthusiasm, we need an inquisitive approach to unusual forms of consciousness
by David Yaden
Change and self-development
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Personal transformation can start with a whisper, not a bang
To understand personal transformation, we should listen to the incessant whispers in our stream of consciousness
by Jennifer Windt
Altered states
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My synaesthesia is no mere quirk but a self-shaking strangeness
My initial is pale pink, the month of June is cerulean blue: synaesthesia gets my senses crosswired, and makes me who I am
by Catherine Taylor
Sleep and dreams
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Five ways to take control of your dreams
Lucid dreaming lets you shape your dreamscape, whether your aims are practical or fantastical. These tips can get you started
by Christian Jarrett
Altered states
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Déjà vu is just one of many uncanny kinds of déjà experiences
What can the many types of déjà experiences that most people have tell us about reality, memory and the gaps in between?
by Art Funkhouser
Altered states
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Here’s to my lovely, incandescent relationship with alcohol
Liquid gold, social pass, window on to the past, filter of life experience: my love affair with alcohol has no downside
by Anandi Mishra
Altered states
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A spiritual emergency can be wild. This is how to ride the wave
Ecstasy can be messy. But there is a way to ride the wild wave of a spiritual emergency to greater wholeness and growth
by Jules Evans