A Multidisciplinary Model of Consciousness-Altering Practices: Article
A Multidisciplinary Model of Consciousness-Altering Practices Meditation, magic/hypnosis, and philosophy are consciousness-altering practices that shift attention to different layers of experience, changing how we perceive, feel, and act. Each practice foregrounds a different part of a large-scale back-to-front spectrum of experience in the brain, shaping how consciousness is experienced and engaged. 1. Meditation: Automatic Processes and Action Foregrounded layer: Older brain / automatic and perceptual processes Mechanism: observing automatic thoughts and actions Example: open-monitoring meditation 2. Magic / Hypnosis: Emotion and Perception Foregrounded layer: Middle systems / emotional and meaning-based processing Mechanism: suggestion, ritual, and belief to influence emotions and perception Outcome: Hypnosis (psychological): can be self-directed or induced by others, changing beliefs, emotions, and perception Magic (spiritual): the idea that reality can be altered through belief and emotion because it is dreamlike and fluid Other examples include music, psychedelics, and strong emotional experiences, which can alter emotion and perception 3. Philosophy: Conscious Mind, Reason, and Action Foregrounded layer: Frontal systems / reflective and conceptual thinking Mechanism: conscious reasoning and deliberate action to understand and influence reality Outcome: reasoning produces logical insights, and its deepest result is radical skepticism. Existentialism shows that, although radical skepticism is challenging, it is a more sophisticated perspective and discusses ways to handle it Intellectual Context Influenced by Iain McGilchrist, Max Weber, and Leonard Shlain, this model integrates neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. ...