The Mystery

Our life comes on hold and we keep stuck in a pattern (when the self is divided within). When becoming aware life continues and flows. Then we can move on with life. Here our purpose (plot) furthers, continues. At this level it is like the self gets (back) on the highway (synchronicity). The author has found patterns (shared meaning) in dreams of several persons (of which the majority are independent or don't know each other) forming larger wholes, which constitute this path on the highway forming this (shared) purpose in life. This stage becomes collective and can only be experienced and completed when embedded in this collective context of dreams of others which share this common vision (in the collective unconscious). These dreams only gain meaning in group context like pieces of a puzzle. So here, beyond Self, the task of these groups is finding (downloading) these shared patterns of meaning in their dreams, which are like the parts/episodes of a larger Tale or myth. These patt...

Lucid dreaming and transpersonal studies are two vigorous and important fields with overlapping interests and much to contribute to one another. Unfortunately, they have remained largely isolated and ignorant of each other, in spite of the fact that lucid dreaming research has significant transpersonal implications. Researchers are now investigating advanced forms of lucidity, finding technological means to enhance it, observing physiological correlates, using lucid dreaming as a spiritual practice, and building conceptual bridges to ancient techniques such as Tibetan dream yoga. Recently, dreams have been regarded psychologically as 'the royal road to the unconscious' (Freud), and as messages of healing and intuitive wisdom from the unconscious (Jung). However interpreted, dreams are a nightly 'miracle' in which a whole universe arises populated with people, places and creatures that seem solid, independent and 'real'. Moreover, in our dreams we appear to posse...

Babies can't tell us what their consciousness is like. Fortunately, we have Alison Gopnik, who has spent years researching and writing on how babies think. Gopnik is a psychologist and author of The Philosophical Baby. Gopnik distinguishes between the lantern consciousness of childhood from the spotlight consciousness found in adults. Children, she explains, are “vividly aware of everything without being focused on any one thing in particular” adding that “Consciousness narrows as a function of age. As we know more, we see less.” One of the great questions that you could ask as a philosopher is what it's like to be a baby? What is childhood experience actually like? And some philosophers over the ages have acted as if, well, babies aren't the sort of people who would have much experience. Having consciousness is something that is reserved for adults. But I think that actually there's good reason to believe that children have in some ways more consciousness than adults, ...

Dreaming can transport us to wondrous new places, throw us into perilous and exciting adventures, and make us re-evaluate our waking lives from an entirely different perspective. That’s exactly what the best films – the ones that stay with us long after watching and bury themselves in our subconscious – do too. It’s no wonder that cinema has been preoccupied with dreams since its earliest days; after all, George Méliès made The Astronomer’s Dream (1898) years before he ever took that legendary trip to the moon. In film, dreams can serve a wide variety of functions. They can be extravagant and fantastical – a chance to explore lands far beyond the reach of the characters’ waking minds (all the while showing off some impressive special effects). Or they can be searching and reflective – an opportunity to process hopes, worries and regrets, and tell us what’s going on deep down inside our hero’s psyche. The most frequent cinematic dreams are, of course, nightmares: the fearsome fuel of th...

Daydreaming is the stream of consciousness that detaches from current, external tasks when attention drifts to a more personal and internal direction. This phenomenon is common in people's daily life shown by a large-scale study in which participants spend 47% of their waking time on average on daydreaming. There are various names of this phenomenon including mind wandering, fantasy, spontaneous thoughts, etc. Daydreaming is the term used by Jerome L. Singer whose research programs laid the foundation for nearly all the subsequent research in this area today. The list of terminologies assigned by researchers today puts challenges on identifying the common features of the phenomenon, in this case daydreaming, and on building collective work among researchers. There are many types of daydreams, and there is no consistent definition among psychologists. However, the characteristic that is common to all forms of daydreaming meets the criteria for mild dissociation. Also, the impacts of...

Despite the ubiquitous Hollywood depiction of hypnosis as a trance, investigators have had an extremely difficult time pinpointing any specific 'markers'—indicators—of hypnosis that distinguish it from other states. The legendary American psychiatrist Milton Erickson claimed that hypnosis is marked by several unique features, including posthypnotic amnesia and 'literalism'—a tendency to take questions literally, such as responding 'Yes' to the question “Can you tell me what time it is?” We have already seen that posthypnotic amnesia is not an inherent accompaniment of hypnosis, so Erickson was wrong on that score. Moreover, research by Green, Binghamton University psychologist Steven Jay Lynn and their colleagues shows that most highly hypnotizable subjects do not display literalism while hypnotized; moreover, participants asked to simulate hypnosis demonstrate even higher rates of literalism than highly hypnotizable subjects do. Other experts, such as the late ...

Charles T. Tart, PhD discusses a couple of altered states; dreaming and hypnosis. He describes his concept of 'state specific research' using lucid dreaming as a clear example. Excerpts from the film, Altered States, with actor William Hurt are shown as they refer to Tart and his work. He also reviews the significance of altered states of consciousness for psychology in general as well as for our understanding of spirituality and the soul. He suggests that different states of consciousness are like different tools, each with unique capabilities. Charles T. Tart, PhD, is emeritus professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, as well as the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. He is a past-president of the Parapsychological Association. He has published over 100 scientific papers in parapsychology. He is editor of several anthologies including Altered States of Consciousness, Transpersonal Psychologies, Mind at Large, and Body Mind Spirit: Exploring the Paraps...