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What is an Altered State of Consciousness?
Before I look at answering the question what is an altered state of consciousness, it worth first establishing how such a state can be entered.
The most common controlled methods include static meditation, dynamic meditation or the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Static meditation is the classic form of meditating while sitting, standing or lying down. This can be done in silence or while chanting or reciting some mantra. The precise number of forms this can take are innumerable but some common ones may include mirror or candle meditation. Dynamic meditation involves the repetitive execution of a pattern of movements usually over an extended period of time. This can be as simple as jogging but a common shamanic form is ritualistic dancing. Of course, martial arts practice is also a form of dynamic meditation. Hallucinogenic drugs have become vilified in the West but in other parts of the world a rich shamanic tradition has been preserved and imbibing psychedelic drugs is considered a valid and useful religious / spiritual practice. The most famous is ayahuasca, a brew used in South America. Other paths to altering consciousness may include sleep deprivation and prolonged fasting among others.
An altered state of consciousness may also be entered into during a Near Death Experience (NDE) or during supposed cases of alien abduction. We may also have an experience when very sick (when the body is weak and under stress). Arguably we are also experiencing an altered state while dreaming. Precisely how we spontaneously step out of reality into a perception of a different reality is unknown, but a strong suggestion is through an increased level of the endogenous hallucinogenic DMT entering the pineal gland. Another is through shifts in brain hemisphere dominance from the left (rational) to the right (non-rational).
So, moving on to the question what is an altered state of consciousness, we find that the answer is different for different people at different times and in different circumstances. Two people could take ayahuasca for example at different times in different places and have very different experiences. In fact the same person may use the same method to enter an altered state in a different setting and also have a very different experience. However, using a wide variety of data from different sources, we can establish certain common experiences.
In his book Inner Paths to Outer Space Dr Rick Strassman identifies the following commonalities between people taking hallucinogens. Although he is talking specifically about the use of psychedelic drugs, these features are common to all who enter an altered state of consciousness using any of the means I have highlighted above.
An important point to note is that although I am describing each effect in isolation, often the subject will experience several or even all of the following states simultaneously. So, in no particular order...
Visual changes in perception may include a visible, buzzing, vibrating field around physical objects and a melting of the boundaries of those objects allowing them to seem to merge. Objects may be magnified or become diminutive. Color intensity may change. Different colors may even generate different auditory impressions. True hallucinations may also appear: the subject may see things that are simply not there using normal perception. These objects may be seen whether the eyes are or are not open. A common feature of the experience is seeing geometric swirls and it is in part for this reason that a credible explanation for ancient cave art expressing hallucinogen trips has been put forward as these shapes are a common feature of such art. Images may also become very complex and include such subjects as living creatures, machinery and landscapes. Ultimately a bright white light may also be seen, the sign of enlightenment according to various mystical traditions.
Sounds may also vary from more mellow to painfully harsh. Subjects in an altered state of consciousness may even “see” sounds. Unaccounted for voices may also be heard. On occasions, others may be in a state of functional deafness, unable to hear anything at all.
Tactile and gravitational senses can also be affected. One of the most famous feelings is that of disassociation of the consciousness from the body (an out of body experience). Other people become hypersensitive to inner and outer physical stimuli.
Emotional variation can similarly swing from one extreme end of the spectrum to the next. Some may experience abject terror, while others may have a feeling of complete and utter bliss. Very rapid emotional shifts, for no apparent reason, are also common, from joy to sadness, anger to calm, hate to love. At other times all emotions may be missing; others may be fully empathic towards another person, whether real or imagined, or even nonhuman entities such as animals, plants and rocks.
Mental faculties may also change. The thought process may speed up or slow down. Personal or philosophical insights may be had; others may find all thought shut down and be unable to process information. Opposites can be united, while divisions in previously apparent unity may be recognized. The sense of reality itself may also be changed. Some supposed hallucinations may feel “more real than real”. Information can also be gleaned from such innocuous objects as a flower or a cloud. Beings and entities can sometimes communicate with the subject.
Finally subjects in an altered state of consciousness can also become more sensitive to the people around them. People often become easier to be swayed or influenced by others. Non-verbal communication is also better understood.
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