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Altered State of Consciousness (ASC)
A state in which the usual balance
between consciousness and unconsciousness is changed for example,
during hypnosis, or in a trance or dream state, when the conscious is
subdued and the unconscious takes over.
Medical science and psychology have
determined that human beings experience countless numbers of altered
states of consciousness everyday of their lives, such as day dreaming,
internal scanning of ones inner states, joy, rapture, deep relaxation,
or sadness. Besides these states, there are the ones which everyone
experiences: the normal waking state, sleep, the hypnagogic state just
preceding sleep, and dreaming.
Scriptures and various religious
teachings also have shown that the mind can be trained to enter
meditative and trance-like states. The eastern religions have documented
this process along with modern science.
The operation of some phenomena, such as
astral travel,
channeling and lucid dreaming, is thought to depend on the
subject being in an altered state of consciousness, which also have been
shown to facilitate PSI performance. In a long
series of experiments conducted at the Parapsychology Division of the
Maimonides Medical Center
in Brooklyn, New York, and elsewhere, researchers have demonstrate
clearly that PSI information transference occurs with greater regularity
during periods when the perceiver has less conscious sensory input to
deal with.
Altered states of consciousness fall into three categories: physical,
mental, and spiritual. Within these categories they can be voluntary and
involuntary.
On a physical level, an altered state of consciousness can be
voluntarily induced by the use of a sensory deprivation tank, mind-control techniques,
staring, fasting, and fatigue, or also
through the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as alcohol and opiates, or
psychoactive plants and chemicals such as LSD, 2C-I, peyote, marijuana,
mescaline, Salvia Divinorum, MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms, or datura (Jimson
weed).
An altered state of consciousness can
as well come about accidentally or involuntarily through indigestion, sleep deprivation, starvation, oxygen
deprivation, nitrogen narcosis while deep diving, many different kinds of fever, or a traumatic accident.
On a mental level,
trance,
hypnosis, meditation, prayer, Yoga,
and dreaming, to list a few, can either voluntarily or involuntarily
alter a persons consciousness.
Altered state of consciousness can also
occur naturally, either by dreaming, euphoria, ecstasy, psychosis as
well as purported premonitions,
out-of-body experiences, and channeling.
Finally, on a spiritual level the Holy
Spirit can alter a persons consciousness by divine visions and
revelation (Romans 12:2).
In the eastern religions this is called cosmic consciousness.
See
Astral Travel,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1) Tart, Charles T. (Editor),
Altered State of Consciousness, Harper
Publishing;
(2)
World Almanac Editors,
The World Almanac Book of the
Strange,
New American Library; (3) Dr. Lee
Warren's
Plim Report.
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