While altered states of consciousness can be frightening or unpleasant experiences, they can also be intensely pleasurable. Some people claim that they can provide glimpses of a deep reality beyond the realm of everyday thought. It is not surprising that people have developed numerous techniques to explore these states.
Everyone deliberately alters their state of consciousness many times a day whenever they take a deep breath to calm down. You can sit down or watch a funny film to cheer yourself up; you are using a mind-altering technique. However, these forms of mind manipulation do not produce a radically different quality of consciousness; they merely intensify or blunt it a little. To achieve the states beyond – of ecstasy, or of the ‘ no-self ‘ oneness with the universe reported by mystics – most people need extraordinary stimuli or must learn how to make their brains function unusually. Every society, in every age, has had its methods of doing this.
Altered states result from changes in the workings of the brain. These can be elicited in three main ways: by manipulating neuronal activity directly with drugs; by changing brain state using sensory stimuli, such as dance, breathing exercises, or other physical rituals; and by using the mind itself to change its thought patterns through meditation or other psychological techniques. Sometimes, different methods are combined to augment the effect.
Drug-induced states
Drugs offer the shortest path to a ‘visionary’ state. Although many mind-altering substances are illegal, vast numbers of people use them. These include synthetic chemicals like Ecstasy and LSD and natural substances, including cannabis and heroin. Drug-induced pleasure results from changes to chemical pathways in the brain. The ‘high’ produced by nearly all recreational drugs results from the release, or increased retention, of the pleasure chemical dopamine. Some drugs also affect other neurotransmitters (brain chemicals): serotonin and endorphins promote feelings of serenity, noradrenaline gives a feeling of excitement, and inhibitory neurotransmitters close down some normal brain processes. Drugs that increase noradrenaline (cocaine, amphetamines) create a feeling of energy and power; those that work on serotonin and endorphins (Ecstasy, heroin) may produce a deep glow of warmth; and those that affect the dopamine system (cannabis, magic mushrooms) may intensify or distort sensory perception.
The precise effects that a drug exerts on consciousness depend on which chemical pathways are affected, how these changes interact with the subject’s mood and expectations, and the context in which the drug is taken. Certain drugs, especially synthetic prescription drugs such as tranquilizers and a tide presents, target specific groups of brain cells and so have fairly predictable effects. Most, though, work more randomly. Altering many different chemical pathways produces complicated and often unpredictable changes. A little alcohol drunk at a party, for example, produces a feeling of mild euphoria, while the same amount at the end of a stressful day may induce relaxation.
But drinking too much and pleasure may give way to anger, depression, or catatonia. Many drugs also have undesirable long-term effects. Ecstasy, for example, can produce ‘burn-out ‘ in the neurons it affects so that users can no longer function normally. The resulting feelings of depression may even lead to a permanent mood disorder.
Dance trance
Altered states can be reached legally and far more safely by using sensory or psychological stimuli to change patterns of brain activity. One common technique is dance. Moving the body to a persistent rhythm while shutting out all other thoughts encourages the release of dopamine in the limbic system, giving a similar effect to certain drugs. Depending on the context and the mental state of the dancer, the result may be heightened awareness of sensory stimuli, which makes the environment seem more vivid and exciting, or a dreamy, euphoric trance.
In the West, dance is primarily a social event. Its cheering effects have more to do with its ability to break down social barriers than to induce altered states. But in other cultures, the purpose of group dance is often spiritual. Shamanic rituals, for example, involve dancing to a repetitive rhythm for hours or sometimes days – long enough for the body to ‘ know’ the music without having to hold it in mind. Movement becomes automatic, leaving the conscious mind free to become aware of messages from the spiritual self. Dancers in this state often experience ‘separation ‘ from their bodies and may feel as though they have moved into an alternative reality.
For some people, music alone can produce a similar effect. Most of us have experienced an upwelling of emotion in response to a particularly beautiful or haunting melody. Such a response may be the precursor to feelings of transcendence beyond mere pleasure. Chanting, such as that of Gregorian monks, taps into this channel of experience, with repetitive sounds freeing the mind to tune into a spiritual experience.
Ceremony and ritual
Any ritual, even making a cup of tea, calms the mind because the familiarity of the actions releases consciousness from the task of directing body movements. Some cultures have developed rituals that extend this effect and lead the participants into altered states. The Japanese tea ceremony, for example, is meant to induce relaxation and concentration. Most religious services are deliberately ritualistic and designed to free the blind to take in awareness of God. Some depend on repetitive prayers, actions, and sensory stimulation; for example, in Roman Catholicism, the 59 beads of the Rosary provide a tactile focus for cycles of prayer. In other traditions, wailing, singing, and swaying are encouraged.
The power of thought
Some rituals dispense with physical actions altogether. Instead, the individual goes through a program of familiar mental behaviors to slow down the frantic rush of thoughts and sensations that typify waking consciousness. This type of practice, known as meditation, takes many forms. It may involve focusing the mind on a thought, an image, a sensation such as breathing, or an imagined sound such as a mantra. Meditation aims to rid the mind of content so that only ‘ pure’ awareness remains. It is very difficult to achieve this state because our brains are designed to dart around constantly.
Although meditative states seem to take practitioners outside the everyday mental realm, brain scans show that, like other mental states, they are marked by distinct patterns of brain activity. Compared to brains in a normal state of attentive awareness, the meditating brain has less activity in the sensory cortex – particularly the parietal lobe, which processes information about the body – and it is more active in the parts of the frontal lobes than are concerned withholding attention. Some studies have shown that spiritual experience also activates certain areas of the temporal lobes – the so-called ‘god spot.’
