Altered states

Creativity and the arts Spirituality and transcendence

Altered states Drugs and psychedelics Mindfulness and meditation Prayer and contemplation Rituals and celebrations Sacred places Spirituality and religion Symbols and myth The irrational and uncanny Transcendent experience Visions and mysticism Wonder and the sublime

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Wide, empty urban road flanked by modern apartment buildings under a partly cloudy sky.

Creativity

idea

Your 10-step plan for achieving a creative breakthrough

We often think of Aha! moments occurring by fluke, but there are evidence-based ways to make it more likely they will occur

by Nick Kabrél

Photo of a person walking a dog on a sunlit forest path with a warm, orange glow in the background.

Emerging therapies

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Could dreams during anaesthesia help to heal life’s trauma?

Scientists are studying the dreamlike states produced by anaesthesia – and their potential benefits for people with PTSD

by Shayla Love

A waterfall under a stormy sky with mist and a building on the left cliff surrounded by trees in the background.

Wonder and the sublime

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How to think about the sublime

An exquisite mix of fear and awe, pleasure and pain, the sublime stretches the imagination and reveals the limits of reason

by Nicole A Hall

Desert with a blurred yellow road sign and distant hills under a blue sky.

Altered states

film

Ride along on a road trip suffused with LSD, petty theft and true love

Directed by Aric Allen

Marble sculpture of a seated figure playing a harp on a grey background.

Music

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Ancient Greek ideas of attunement can breathe new life into music

In Athenian philosophy, attunement is important not only in music, but also for moods, attitudes and states of mind

by John Bagby

Stained glass artwork depicting two figures in medieval attire, one seated and sleeping, the other standing, on a blue background.

Altered states

idea

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

Sketch of a bathroom with a vanity unit and mirror. An illustrated nude woman stands in the centre, reflected in the mirror.

Altered states

film

A woman summons a stoic calm after accidentally trapping herself in a shower

A film by Tom Schroeder

Photo of a person standing by a window watching a forest sunset, with warm light illuminating their silhouette.

Altered states

idea

The small pleasures in life can produce moments of rapture

Rapture is a delight that turns us both towards the object of attention and towards oneself, resulting in a sense of freedom

by Christopher Hamilton

Photo of a joyful woman at a beach festival surrounded by people and drummers, reflecting vibrant energy and celebration.

Dissociation and detachment

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The therapeutic potential, and addictive lure, of losing yourself

In ketamine therapy and other contexts, dissociation is seen as an unwanted side-effect. But what if there’s more to it?

by Shayla Love

Two people in a park performing a balancing act on white chairs and a wooden plank, surrounded by pine trees.

Theatre and performance

film

Two gravity-defying performances play with the physics of life on Earth

A film by Bastien Dausse