Litrture on different states of consciousness

>brain states during altered states of consciousness
there's plenty of studies on the effects of specific things, like taking psilocybin or lsd, or dreaming, but there's no good theory to explain the general concept of an "altered state of consciousness"

since every theory in neuroscience is controversial, especially theories about more abstract properties of the brain that are difficult to measure, any popular book is bound to be epicly wrong in some way i think, but maybe someone else can recommend specific authors

>mark solms
nope

bump

I'm made it a project of mind to begin a sort of catalogue that systematically describes various states of perception and their combinations, and how they have specifically effected my own abilities. I believe that in doing so I may be able to explain a great deal about why so many people have such trouble grappling with 'serious' literature and poetry, as the ability to do so in an ordinary state of mind seems to depend on the activation and development of very specific thought patterns that are basically entirely unnatural otherwise.

This is the best advice.

Try taking something that alters your consciousness and then try to write about it truthfully and accurately and you will find why it's a difficult thing to discuss. Like earlier today I took a quarter of a tab of acid, and was functioning basically normally, until I reheated some pasta from last night and I couldn't believe that something with so few ingredients can be so radically different depending on who that day was making the sauce. Like, me my mother my sister all begin with the same recipe, but it always tastes like someone's particular cooking. Week to week, it's good or bad, better or worse, but it always tastes like either mom made it or god-forbid dad. Then I got thinking about how someday my mom will die, and like so will her pasta.

Charles Tart - Altered States of Consciousness, States of Consciousness, On Being Stoned

Stanislav Grof - The Realms of Human Unconscious, Holotropic Mind. Good description for transpersonal states, although the theory, not the experience, behind "perinatal matrices" seems off to me.

Ronald K. Siegel. Haven't read personally, because can't find anywhere, but he did clinical work related to drug and hallucinations (Fire in The Brain; Hallucinations). I encountered his description of the evolution of visual hallucinations in psychedelic experiences cited in other books.

is there anything not written by people who have a kind of apologist stance on psychedelics. i mean, i just want them to be sober going about their descriptions, not slobering over how dmt opens your third eye

this was a pretty useful book that focused on the use of psychedelics in controlled settings to conduct psychotherapy. goes a little into the childhood hallucinations one of the books' subjects used to have, which was neat.

I was looking around and found this paper you might find useful, especially as a starting point to find others (look up references and go back)
arxiv.org/pdf/1605.07153.pdf
interesting stuff. and if you're curious, there's lots of resources online for understanding functional neuroimaging

Litrture

It's not that kind of literature.

All three authors participated in experiments where other people were drugged or induced into altered states of consciousness, then analyzed the details, and wrote books.

It's scientific work, not an erowid trip description.

Pic is from Charles Tart's "Altered States of Consciousness."

wouldn't mckenna have made or inspired someone to make something like this?

The wiki, start at geometry and explore from there
psychonautwiki.org/wiki/Geometry

1 1. Visual noise
2 2. Motion and color
3 3. Partially defined geometry
4 4. Fully defined geometry
5 5. 3-Dimensional geometry
6 6. Partially overriding visual perception
7 7. Fully overriding visual perception
[-]8 Level 8A and level 8B
8.1 8A - Perceived exposure to semantic concept network
8.2 8B - Perceived exposure to inner mechanics of consciousness

After Rick Strassman MD documented the role of melatonin in humans he was basically told that he could pick any subject of research and it would get founded. He immideality responded with "I want to research conciosness" and concluded the first study in America with psychedelic drugs in over twenty years. During the project's five years he administered approximately 400 doses of DMT to 60 human volunteers. The project generated a wealth of biological and psychological data, much of which have been published in peer-reviewed jouirnals and scientific literature. His book DMT - The Spirit Molecule mostly features the volunteers' stories, experiences and is somewhat light on the actual reasearch but it's still a very interesting read.

The Conscious Mind

Dmt the spirit molecule is about experiments done with dmt.

bag in your cage chalmers

you've had your fun silly p-zombie

the time for chalmersposting is at hand

Easy on the sauce, user.

legit

Walter Benjamin - On Hashish

Look into the research MAPS is doing.

will do. ive heard of them—how are you familiar with them? ever gone to a MAPS event or anything

can't believe nobody mentioned The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test yet

still the most accurate rendition of tripping in prose, IMO

Altered States of Consciousness: A Book of Readings by Charles T. Tart. It's a collection of readings and studies, published in 1972. Nothing comparable has ever been published since. Not just about drugs and their effects, it covers waking states, dream states, meditative states and yogis, hypnosis, as well. Highly recommended as a base study for consciousness research.

Correct

Also, Flaubert's The Temptation of St Anthony

But the cool take here is that radically different states of consciousness derive from radically different social formations. Eg., Heidegger on the ancient Greek's ecstatic experience of being. It's only in atomised late capitalism that the extreme possibilities of consciousness seem best narrated in terms of personal neurological experiences.