Consciousness - An Introduction (ch24)

What are examples of 'exceptional human experiences'? - Chapter 24

EHE

Some people say that they have exceptional experiences that others can not imagine. For example, James speaks of someone who is standing on a mountain top and feels that his soul 'opens' and goes to infinity. Such an experience is also called an ' exceptional human experience' (EHE) . This category includes religious experiences, lucid dreams and mystical experiences.

What do these kinds of experiences actually say? There are roughly three different answers to this:

1. There are people who believe that people lie with these experiences or come up with things or that these experiences are side effects of brain processes.                               

2. Then there are people who use EHEs to indicate that materialism is wrong and that the paranormal and the soul exist.                                    

3. Finally, there are people who consider these experiences as normal and try to understand them without using terms like God and spirits.                           

Step outside the body ('out-of-body experiences', OBEs)

Out-of-body experiences, OBE, are events in which someone feels that he is outside of himself and looks at the world. An OBE can occur just like that: if someone walks on the street or sits on the couch. Before such a thing happens, people are often relaxed and have reduced sensory input. An OBE often takes a few minutes. With an ' asomatic' OBE, someone only has the feeling that he has a consciousness, while he is not in his own body. With a 'parasomatic' OBE, there is a second body outside the body that you have.

An OBE is not something like a dream. People who experience an OBE say that their senses become sharper during an OBE. OBErs are less afraid of death when they have experienced an OBE. In addition, they often remember their dreams better and often have lucid dreams.

There is no connection between OBE and psychopathology. It is not easy to generate an OBE. In the past, hypnosis was often used in this context, but nowadays it focuses more on relaxation and imagery exercises. Drugs (and especially psychedelics) can lead to an OBE. Some people use the existence of OBE as evidence for the idea that consciousness exists and functions independently of the body. Other explanations are, however, also possible.

Theories about OBE

OBEs are so compelling that people are convinced that their consciousness has left their bodies and that they can survive death. Researchers from the nineteenth century who pursue theosophy assumed that everyone has multiple bodies. When the consciousness leaves the one (physical) body, it ends up in the astral body. The term ' astral projection' is still used today. So theosophy starts from a form of dualism. There have been many attempts, but the existence of a non-physical body or entity has never been proven. The idea has also been put forward that no one will leave his body during an OBE, but that this will feel the same. However, this does mean that the experience should be explained by means of neuroscience. The first question is whether there are ASCs, ie altered forms of consciousness.

OBEs in psychology and neuroscience

Research shows that OBEs are associated with a relaxed way of waking up. There is no deep sleep during an OBE and certainly not REM sleep. Psychoanalytic theories describe an OBE as an extreme expression of the fear of dying. However, these theories can hardly be tested and do not lead us further to the understanding of OBEs.

Psychological theories, mostly from the 80s and 90s of the last century, build on the fact that an OBE occurs when sensory input and body image are disturbed. The cognitive system would like to solve this disturbance by creating a new (and incorrect) body image and creating a new world that is derived from memory and imagination. This new world really feels.

Research shows that people who have experienced an OBE are better at spatial representations, can better influence their dreams and often dream that they are looking at themselves from above. In addition, research results show that there is a link between body image and OBE. When the temporal lobes of people with epilepsy are stimulated, they shout that they feel as if they are outside their body. The temporal lobes seem to play a role at OBE.

The brain area that is involved in an OBE appears to be the tempo parietal junction (TPJ), on the right. Visual, tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular information come together in this area. With this an image of the body is constructed. This image is continuously updated, as the body moves almost continuously. Research shows that an OBE occurs when this normal process becomes defective. Direct stimulation of this area causes an OBE.

Near-death experiences, NDEs

In many cultures, people who are close to dying say that they have specific experiences at such a moment. The experiences are similar in many cultures. During a near death experience NDE, someone experiences a bright, white or golden light, positive and loving emotions, images of a different world, a reflection on life and the decision to return. It rarely happens that someone has very unpleasant experiences during an NDE. An NDE is not the result of medication. People who have attempted suicide often experience positive NDEs and then do a second suicide attempt much less frequently. In addition, it appears that people who have experienced an NDE, compared to people who do not, after their experience much stronger in life after death to believe.They are also less afraid of death, they become very interested in spirituality and feel a lot of love and acceptance for others.

Interpretation of NDES

Many people grasp the existence of NDEs to prove that there is a soul that can leave the body and survive on its own. This is also called the ' afterlife hypothesis' . Some scientists argue that the understanding of NDEs can only happen when a new form of science emerges that examines consciousness. The consciousness seems to be related to experiencing an NDE. First of all, it is true that people who experience an NDE state that they are very aware of themselves at that moment. This is an interesting fact, since their brains often function poorly because they have had an accident, for example.

How can it be that they feel that they are aware of themselves? This question is difficult to answer because we do not know when a NDE is exactly experienced. However, there are examples of people who can observe what happens around them during a coma. This can not be explained properly, because you would expect that their consciousness does not function properly at that moment.

The ' dying brain hypothesis' states that stress, extreme anxiety and oxygen deprivation in the brain ensure that there are no more inhibitions and that brain activity can no longer be controlled. This could result in an NDE. For example, tunnels and lights are often caused by the fact that the visual cortex can no longer be inhibited. During an NDE, people often see new worlds, but these worlds fit in with their philosophy of life.

There is no doubt that NDEs change through experience and there is some evidence that deeper experiences lead to greater change. It seems plausible that NDEs are involved in profound changes in the sense of self that are caused by a wrong integration in the TJP.

Mystical experiences

James states that an experience can be called 'mystical' if four conditions are met:

1. not being able to retell it in words ('ineffability'),         

2. ' neotic',                      

3. impermanence ('transiency'), and

4.  passivity .              

'Ineffability' means that people can not express in words exactly what they have experienced. 'Noetic' means that a mystical situation is a state of knowledge, insight and enlightenment. A mystical experience often lasts for half an hour to an hour before everything starts to become less sharp. Afterwards they can not be remembered exactly, but they can easily be recognized if they occur again. This phenomenon is summarized by the word 'transiency'. Finally, there is passivity: once the mystical experiences begin, they can not be influenced.

Other criteria have been added by Suzuki. He says that a mystical experience still goes hand in hand with ' exaltation' and ' affirmation'. This means that the experience gives someone respect for everything that exists. In addition, he added the criterion ' sense of the beyond' . This is about the feeling that people experience something that lies outside the world of normal events.

Consideration

Paranormal explanations of mystical experiences are inadequate. They are not supported by scientific research and are often not testable. Yet they are very popular. A less popular view is that the deepest mystical insights are monistic and not paranormal. These insights would go perfectly with science. This is because mystical experiences often experience that the universe is one and that the separate self is an illusion.

Resources: Blackmore; Susan. (2010). Consciousness, Second Edition An Introduction. Abingdon, Oxon: Taylor & Francis.