Abstract
As humanity has been utilizing psychedelic substances for millennia, much knowledge has already been accumulated about the exploratory potential and therapeutic power of the psychedelic-induced nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC). However, we still have only a limited understanding of the process that unfolds in mind and the brain. Only recently have systematic investigations become possible, as the myths about psychedelics are abating and the legal strictures gradually loosening. With the availability of brain imaging techniques, exciting findings have been made about the associated dynamic brain processes. Our prospective observations of spontaneously generated NSC, major mood disorders, have been elucidating another dynamic aspect, the oscillatory brain processes. The findings indicate that the NSC’s propensity is markedly increased at the peaks of the oscillatory brain activity and that the NSC entirely unfolds when the oscillations exceed their normal range. The observation that neurobiological correlates of experientially opposite NSC, melancholy and mania, appear qualitatively the same is compatible with the concept that the experiential content is emerging from nonlocal consciousness. Psychedelic experiences are triggered by the administration of the psychedelic drug. However, they are influenced by nondrug factors and molded, in particular, by the individual’s mental set and the setting of the session. The transformative process can be utilized psychotherapeutically for healing and profound inner restructuring.
Highlights
We know much about the profound experiences they induce, and there is evidence about psychedelics’ therapeutic potential and the involvement of neurotransmitters
Why does the intensity of psychedelic experiences fluctuate from session to session, even if the same dosage is used every time? Why do the peak, breakthrough, and mystical transformative experiences come at a particular time but not at other times, even when the circumstances are similar? These are some examples of questions that cannot be answered from the present knowledge
Experiences induced by the administration of psychedelic substances are an example of nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC) that can be experienced under different circumstances
Summary
We know much about the profound experiences they induce, and there is evidence about psychedelics’ therapeutic potential and the involvement of neurotransmitters. Experiences induced by the administration of psychedelic substances are an example of nonordinary states of consciousness (NSC) that can be experienced under different circumstances. They can be induced physiologically in Holotropic Breathwork (by combining guided relaxation, speeded breathing, and evocative music) or developed spontaneously during major mood disorders. Better understanding of oscillatory brain processes’ contribution to psychedelic experiences could be obtained by observing prospectively recurrent major mood disorders. Such observations suggest that the oscillations taking place in the brain at the time of the substance’s ingestion significantly influence the intensity and oscillatory unfolding of the psychedelic experience. The observation that all the investigated neurobiological processes during manic and depressive states are qualitatively indistinguishable is compatible with the interpretation that psychedelic experiences’ experiential content may be emerging from nonlocal consciousness
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