Any mental and emotional state (such as extreme joy or extreme sadness) that differs markedly from our normal way of being could be described as an altered state of consciousness. However, we usually reserve the term for the experience of a heightened or unusual sense of awareness, in which our perception of the world and of ourselves within the world appears significantly altered. Experiences of this kind may provide us with what seems to be a deeper understanding of reality, for example an understanding in which the inter-connectedness, the essential unity of all things, seems apparent, causing us temporarily to lose our sense of ourselves as separate and distinct from the rest of creation.
Such experiences may come as a result of outer events - for example listening to music or poetry, or gazing at great sculpture, art and architecture - or may be prompted by practices such as meditation, dancing or singing. At other times, they may arise unexpectedly and unbidden, revealing states of mind that we had no idea existed. At yet other times they may come after ingesting certain drugs, particularly psychedelics such as mescaline, LSD and peyote. Even dreams can be described as altered states of consciousness in that they take us into an imaginative world which presents us with what seems to be a parallel existence defying the logic of waking life.
All the great spiritual traditions have reported altered states experienced by mystics which seem to draw the individual into a deeper relationship with the divine or with existence. In such states normal experience is seen as illusory, as the result of what is variously called our ignorance, our self-delusion or our spiritual blindness. Recipients of mystical experience typically find their lives changed as a result. Often they speak of complete conviction that life is not terminated by physical death, and that love and compassion are at the heart of existence.
The altered states of consciousness associated with Near Death Experiences (NDEs - see separate entry) - in which the individual is resuscitated from apparent clinical death or in which he or she escapes death by inches - can have a similar life-changing impact. NDEs appear to happen to somewhere between 10 and 40 per cent (dependent upon the criteria for near death used by researchers) of those close to death, and frequently those concerned claim to have lost all fear of dying, and to be convinced of the post-mortem survival of consciousness. In both NDEs and Out of Body Experiences (OBEs), consciousness appears to be located outside the physical body, and in the case of NDEs sometimes to travel to 'paradise' conditions from which the individuals concerned return with reluctance.
Altered states are not always experienced as pleasant. Bad trips under the influence of psychedelics, nightmares, and the experience of what are described as hellish realms in NDEs and OBEs all suggest that the nature of an altered state may depend in part at least upon the belief system, the mental orientation, and the expectations of the individual concerned. Nevertheless, altered states give us an insight into areas of being untapped in normal consciousness. As such they remind us of what seems to the infinite potential of the human spirit.
Key texts
Abhayananda, S. (1996). History of Mysticism: The Unchanging Testament.
Olympia, Washington: Atma Books. (3rd edn.).
There is a vast literature on mysticism, but this is certainly one of the best surveys of the field, commencing with the ancient Hindu sages of the Vedas, and ending with references to 20th Century mystics
Bailey, L. W. and Yates, J. (1996) (eds.). The Near-Death Experience. A Reader. London: Routledge. An excellent collection of chapters by some of the leading experts on the subject. Highly readable and informative.
Bucke, R. M. (1969). Cosmic Consciousness. New York: Dutton. Originally published in 1901, Cosmic Consciousness remains a classic, drawing upon the author's personal mystical experience which convinced him of the living universe, the immortality of the soul, and the ultimate foundation of love. Bucke goes on to show that the mystical experience is very much the same in all traditions, though it may be interpreted differently.
Currie, I. (1978). You Cannot Die: The Incredible Findings of a Century of Research on Death. Shaftesbury: Element Books. (New Edition revised by C. Currie 1993).
One of the best surveys of the literature which suggests that death may be the ultimate altered state of consciousness.
Fenwick, P. and Fenwick, E. (1997). The Hidden Door: Understanding and Controlling Dreams. London: Headline Books. Advice on how to develop lucid dreaming, dream telepathy, creative dreaming, and much more besides.
Fontana D. (1992). The Meditator's Handbook. Shaftesbury: Element Books (now published by Thorsons). An attempt to survey the various different forms of meditation developed by the major traditions, and to give guidance on how to develop one's own meditative practice.
Fontana, D. (1996). Teach Yourself to Dream. London: Duncan Baird. An illustrated guide to developing your dream life and interpreting dream material.
Masters, R. E. L. and Houston, J. (1967). The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience. London: Blond (Turnstone edition 1973). Recent authoritative studies of psychedelics and altered states are virtually non-existent. This remains something of a classic.
Peterson, R. 1997). Out of Body Experiences: How to Have Them and What to Expect. New York: Hampton Roads.
A comprehensive manual for inducing OBEs and managing the
experience. The author draws upon his own OBEs and the extensive literature on the subject. Sensible and non-sensational, the book is one of the best how-to-do-it manuals available.
Tart, C. (1969) (ed.). Altered States of Consciousness. New York: Doubleday.
Still the best introduction to the whole field.
Professsor David Fontana holds chairs in the universities of Algarve, Minho and Liverpool John Moores.