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By Larisa Mihali
Have you ever wondered what altered states of consciousness are and how they work? Specifically, how does the brain react, for example, during lucid dreaming, deep meditation, or under the influence of psychedelics?
Well, in order to understand what an altered state of consciousness is, we must understand what consciousness is first. Consciousness is the state of being awake and aware. This awareness is connected to a person's internal feelings and external environment and is known as a human's normal or typical state of being.
In states of consciousness, a person has the ability to make choices and interact with the world in a way that others can see and understand. A person can understand their feelings and make sense of the world around them through critical thought, but what happens if this awareness changes?
Now that we've briefly gone through the definition of consciousness, we can broaden the basic vocabulary and finally address altered states of consciousness. What is an altered state of consciousness? An altered state of consciousness is any state in which a person's sense perceptions are different from normal. This temporary difference could be due to a medical condition, drugs or other mind-altering substances, and can even occur in a state of meditation. When people are unable to grasp or understand reality in their normal/typical way, they are in an altered state of consciousness. Some examples of altered states of consciousness: dreams, mental state achieved through meditation, reaction to a psychoactive drug, hypnosis, symptoms of a medical problem, etc.
The way in which individuals experience altered states of consciousness can differ from person to person, even if they are experiencing the same external stimuli. For example, two people can take the same drug and have different reactions in the same way people dream but experience different images. The same is true for the other types of altered states.
Now we will be able to understand what a lucid dream is, and why it occurs. A lucid dream comes about when a person is asleep but aware that they are dreaming. In this state, a person can take control of their dream’s narrative to some degree, essentially guiding and directing the course of their dream. Because this type of sleep is associated with awareness and the reflection of this awareness, it is often associated with what is known as metacognition. Metacognition involves the awareness and understanding of your own thought processes.
Research suggests that lucid dreaming and metacognitive functions share similar neural systems. This means that people with heightened abilities to monitor their own thoughts may be more likely to experience lucid dreams.
Just like regular dreams, lucid dreaming occurs most frequently during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep is a phase of sleep that is characterized by rapid movements of the eyes, lack of muscle tone throughout the body, and a tendency to dream.
Another altered state of consciousness is deep meditation. Deep meditation is a type of meditation that involves a partial or complete loss of awareness, as though your nervous system no longer perceives your surroundings. Deep meditation is not its own meditation style but rather a state reached within a meditation session. Daily meditations, guided visualizations led by meditation apps, deep sleep meditations, and transcendental meditation sessions can all lead to states of deep meditation. When you reach a deep state of meditation, you become at least partially unaware of your physical space, of other people, and of your own consciousness. You may not even be aware you are meditating.
The last altered state of consciousness that we address in this article is the effect of psychedelics on the brain. Psychedelic drugs (also known as hallucinogens or hallucinogenic drugs) are a group of psychoactive substances that cause changes in a person’s sensory perception, emotions and thoughts. They can either come in natural or synthetic forms.
Psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), peyote (mescaline) and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) are some of the most common “classic hallucinogens”. These ones typically change the way someone thinks and feels. Consequently, they are also the focus of most research.
Psilocybin is also known as magic mushrooms. It is a natural hallucinogenic component found in mushrooms worldwide, including in the U.S., South America and Mexico. People who use psilocybin experience paranoia, panic attacks, hallucinations and “spiritual experiences.” Although it may seem contradictory, they also feel relaxed. For users, the latter effect is compared to low doses of marijuana.
Peyote is a cactus with mescaline as its active ingredient and a naturally occurring hallucinogen. The psychedelic effects of mescaline are compared to LSD. Users of peyote feel their heart rate increase as well as their body temperature. They sweat profusely and experience hallucinations, flushing and ataxia.
DMT is a naturally occurring psychedelic found in certain trees of Central America and the Amazon. DMT is the main component of ayahuasca tea, but people can also use its synthetic form (as a white powder). DMT users suffer from agitation, elevated heart rate and hallucinations. Also, DMT hallucinogenic “trips” lead to a person seeing distorted bodies and environments.
LSD is a highly hallucinogenic chemical made from acid found in ergot – fungi that spread onto rye grains. In 1938, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss pharmaceutical chemist, initially synthesized it as a stimulant, but didn't know about its psychedelic effects, which he found out a few years later. LSD users experience numbness, tremors, sweating, loss of appetite, dizziness, impulsiveness, hallucinations that compare to “drug-induced psychosis” and elevated heart rate and blood pressure.
In conclusion, these altered states of consciousness provide valuable insights into the human mind. They can be beneficial for psychological treatments, improving creativity and self-knowledge. It is crucial to study them with scientific rigor and responsibility in order to harness their potential. Exploring them can help us understand more deeply the existence and fascinating capabilities of our mind.
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