non-ordinary states of consciousness.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” -M. Proust

There are various methods for achieving non-ordinary states of consciousness. Dreaming is the most common, but for 1,000’s of years, humans have also been using meditation, breath-work, trance dance, &/or psychedelic-medicines to alter their perceptions. These non-ordinary state mystical experiences are often indescribable, and frequently regarded as transformational.

“…was blind but now I see.” -A. Grace

Some Qualities of Mystical Experiences:

• feeling interconnected with all people/things

• sense of ineffability

• feelings of sacred peace/joy

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• ego dissolution

• extreme anxiety

• fear/terror

Neuroscience is beginning to understand the physical processes involved in mystical experiences; specifically, the existence & function of the Default Mode Network (DMN). To find out more about the DMN, and how it relates to the psychedelic-medicine psilocybin, check out the video below. It starts @ 11:00, and the portions relating to psychedelic-induced mystical experiences & the Default Mode Network go until 17:05. (If you’re interested in a sometimes flawed theoretical model of treating male domestic-violence offenders with psilocybin, then by all means, start at the very beginning.)