Changes

Man's sleep is not a negative state, nor is it simply the absence of wakefulness; modifications of this state have taught me that the faculties of a sleeping man not only are not suspended, but that often they continue to function with more perfection than when he is awake. One can observe that certain persons walk, and conduct their affairs with more planning and with the same reflection, attention, and skill as when they are awake. It is still more surprising to see faculties which are called "intellectual" being used to such an extent that they infinitely surpass those cultivated in the ordinary state. (Mesmer, 1980, p. 112)

Man's sleep is not a negative state, nor is it simply the absence of wakefulness; modifications of this state have taught me that the faculties of a sleeping man not only are not suspended, but that often they continue to function with more perfection than when he is awake. One can observe that certain persons walk, and conduct their affairs with more planning and with the same reflection, attention, and skill as when they are awake. It is still more surprising to see faculties which are called "intellectual" being used to such an extent that they infinitely surpass those cultivated in the ordinary state. (Mesmer, 1980, p. 112)

===GUSTAV THEODOR FECHNER===

===Gustav Theodor Fechner===

A German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher, Fechner (1801–1887) is often credited as the founder of modern psychophysics for his expression of the Weber-Fechner Law, in which the just noticeable difference between two weights can be detected. Intensely interested in the mind-body problem, Fechner's true intent, however, was to measure the threshold between any two different states of consciousness, but this idea was lost on later reductionists in experimental psychology who claimed him as their patron saint. Fechner experienced a nervous breakdown in 1839 as an aftereffect from experiments gazing into the sun, and he spent a year in a condition of blindness, during which time he had various Asian scriptures read to him. In 1851 he produced his own text outlining a theory of universal consciousness. Borrowing his main title from the great Zoroastrian scripture by the same name, he called it Zend Avesta: Oder über die Dinge des Himmels und des Jenseits.

A German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher, Fechner (1801–1887) is often credited as the founder of modern psychophysics for his expression of the Weber-Fechner Law, in which the just noticeable difference between two weights can be detected. Intensely interested in the mind-body problem, Fechner's true intent, however, was to measure the threshold between any two different states of consciousness, but this idea was lost on later reductionists in experimental psychology who claimed him as their patron saint. Fechner experienced a nervous breakdown in 1839 as an aftereffect from experiments gazing into the sun, and he spent a year in a condition of blindness, during which time he had various Asian scriptures read to him. In 1851 he produced his own text outlining a theory of universal consciousness. Borrowing his main title from the great Zoroastrian scripture by the same name, he called it Zend Avesta: Oder über die Dinge des Himmels und des Jenseits.

William James later became enamored with Fechner's writings on the subject. In his Hibbert Lectures at Oxford in 1907, James summarized Fechner's doctrine of the earth soul and of beings intermediary between God and man. James also wrote a preface to the fourth edition of the English translation of Fechner's Little Book of Life after Death (1907), in which Fechner outlined the three great spheres of evolutionary consciousness—a womb consciousness characterized by the fetus immersed in amniotic fluid, waking rational consciousness in the physical body, and a higher spiritual consciousness after death. Fechner believed that each stage presaged and was therefore preparation for the next, but that all stages were available simultaneously in human beings while still alive in the body.

William James later became enamored with Fechner's writings on the subject. In his Hibbert Lectures at Oxford in 1907, James summarized Fechner's doctrine of the earth soul and of beings intermediary between God and man. James also wrote a preface to the fourth edition of the English translation of Fechner's Little Book of Life after Death (1907), in which Fechner outlined the three great spheres of evolutionary consciousness—a womb consciousness characterized by the fetus immersed in amniotic fluid, waking rational consciousness in the physical body, and a higher spiritual consciousness after death. Fechner believed that each stage presaged and was therefore preparation for the next, but that all stages were available simultaneously in human beings while still alive in the body.

===William James===

===William James===

James (1842–1910) is the most noted modern psychologist to have seriously investigated altered states of consciousness and the influence of states of consciousness on the perception of reality. An avid physiologist,Page 1948 | Top of Article psychologist, philosopher, and psychical researcher, James studied trance states in mediums from an early age. He also experimented throughout his professional life with mind-altering drugs, including ether, chloral hydrate, nitrous oxide, and peyote. He was an expert hypnotist and often encouraged people to try automatic writing. In his monumental Principles of Psychology (1890) he defined consciousness as a stream and investigated subconscious conditions at the periphery of awareness, such as fugue states in somnambulism. He also studied the hypnogogic zone—the twilight period between waking and sleeping—in his 1896 Lowell Lectures on exceptional mental states. In The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) James discussed ultimately transforming mystical states that, although inaccessible to purely rational consciousness, impart exceptional meaning and understanding to experience. The enhanced powers of cognition exhibited in such states suggest that human beings possess faculties beyond those of the ordinary mind for attaining certainty and wisdom:

James (1842–1910) is the most noted modern psychologist to have seriously investigated altered states of consciousness and the influence of states of consciousness on the perception of reality. An avid physiologist,Page 1948 | Top of Article psychologist, philosopher, and psychical researcher, James studied trance states in mediums from an early age. He also experimented throughout his professional life with mind-altering drugs, including ether, chloral hydrate, nitrous oxide, and peyote. He was an expert hypnotist and often encouraged people to try automatic writing. In his monumental Principles of Psychology (1890) he defined consciousness as a stream and investigated subconscious conditions at the periphery of awareness, such as fugue states in somnambulism. He also studied the hypnogogic zone—the twilight period between waking and sleeping—in his 1896 Lowell Lectures on exceptional mental states. In The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) James discussed ultimately transforming mystical states that, although inaccessible to purely rational consciousness, impart exceptional meaning and understanding to experience. The enhanced powers of cognition exhibited in such states suggest that human beings possess faculties beyond those of the ordinary mind for attaining certainty and wisdom: