Changes

Most contemporary histories, however, do not delve into the religious literature but look more toward the objective, scientific approach to the study of states of consciousness in the West, which they maintain begins only with Franz Anton Mesmer in the late eighteenth century.

Most contemporary histories, however, do not delve into the religious literature but look more toward the objective, scientific approach to the study of states of consciousness in the West, which they maintain begins only with Franz Anton Mesmer in the late eighteenth century.

===FRANZ ANTON MESMER===

===Franz Anton Mesmer===

A remarkable healer of what are called psychosomatic and hysterical illnesses, Mesmer (1734–1815) was knowledgeable in medicine, psychology, hermeticism, and alchemy. He postulated that people possess two distinct realms of consciousness, the ordinary waking state and an underlying unseen realm. In this invisible realm two related powers seem to be activated. The first is an exchange of rarefied energies or "fluids" between individuals that allows certain sensitive persons to influence others by their presence; that is, to influence them in more subtle ways than are generally believed operative in human exchanges. The second is a faculty of superior intelligence and will. The recognition of these submerged potentials as put forth by Mesmer and the psychologists who succeeded him led to investigation into the powers, scope, and subtleties of the unconscious as opposed to the functioning of normal everyday waking consciousness.

A remarkable healer of what are called psychosomatic and hysterical illnesses, Mesmer (1734–1815) was knowledgeable in medicine, psychology, hermeticism, and alchemy. He postulated that people possess two distinct realms of consciousness, the ordinary waking state and an underlying unseen realm. In this invisible realm two related powers seem to be activated. The first is an exchange of rarefied energies or "fluids" between individuals that allows certain sensitive persons to influence others by their presence; that is, to influence them in more subtle ways than are generally believed operative in human exchanges. The second is a faculty of superior intelligence and will. The recognition of these submerged potentials as put forth by Mesmer and the psychologists who succeeded him led to investigation into the powers, scope, and subtleties of the unconscious as opposed to the functioning of normal everyday waking consciousness.

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:

But what is the relationship between altered states of consciousness, the superior intellectual faculties described by James, and the evolution of this power of sustained directed attention toward ultimate reality? On the whole, these questions—so central to the esoteric traditions—were only slightly addressed at the interface between depth psychology and religious studies, and largely ignored by mainstream scientific psychologists, until interest in the neurosciences forced the issue of different states of consciousness on reductionistic theorists. Other scientific and medical men, both around James and since James's time, have also been interested in the reality of different states of consciousness, however.

But what is the relationship between altered states of consciousness, the superior intellectual faculties described by James, and the evolution of this power of sustained directed attention toward ultimate reality? On the whole, these questions—so central to the esoteric traditions—were only slightly addressed at the interface between depth psychology and religious studies, and largely ignored by mainstream scientific psychologists, until interest in the neurosciences forced the issue of different states of consciousness on reductionistic theorists. Other scientific and medical men, both around James and since James's time, have also been interested in the reality of different states of consciousness, however.

===Pierre Janet===

===Pierre Janet===

Phenomena such as dissociation and somnambulism—the waking fugue state—and the study of hysteria and other "neuroses," including multiple personality, brought the French neurologist Pierre Janet (1859–1947) into the international spotlight in the late 1880s through the so-called French experimental psychology of the subconscious. This school of thought flourished between 1880 and 1910 as a driving force behind a larger French, Swiss, English, and American psychotherapeutic axis that dominated developments in scientific psychotherapy in the West long before psychoanalysis came into international prominence. In such works as L'automatisme psychologique (1889), L'état mental des hysteriques (1894), and The Major Symptoms of Hysteria (1907), Janet postulated that human beings are either in control of themselves if they are psychologically strong or operate under the control of the subconscious if they are psychologically weak.

Phenomena such as dissociation and somnambulism—the waking fugue state—and the study of hysteria and other "neuroses," including multiple personality, brought the French neurologist Pierre Janet (1859–1947) into the international spotlight in the late 1880s through the so-called French experimental psychology of the subconscious. This school of thought flourished between 1880 and 1910 as a driving force behind a larger French, Swiss, English, and American psychotherapeutic axis that dominated developments in scientific psychotherapy in the West long before psychoanalysis came into international prominence. In such works as L'automatisme psychologique (1889), L'état mental des hysteriques (1894), and The Major Symptoms of Hysteria (1907), Janet postulated that human beings are either in control of themselves if they are psychologically strong or operate under the control of the subconscious if they are psychologically weak.

The implications for the neurosciences seem clear. Scientists have always presumed in biochemistry that there cannot be a thought without some chemical reaction somewhere. This example offers similar confirmation that thoughts not only are driven by body chemistry, but that they can alter it as well, in ways not normally deemed possible by normative science. The monks obviously did not enter into a lifetime of training just to be able to dry wet sheets on their backs. Their goal was the teachings and their effects on transforming consciousness. One's epistemology therefore, the core of one's belief system, must be tied into the outcome where the problem of consciousness is concerned, a thought altogether new for the way science is normally conducted.

The implications for the neurosciences seem clear. Scientists have always presumed in biochemistry that there cannot be a thought without some chemical reaction somewhere. This example offers similar confirmation that thoughts not only are driven by body chemistry, but that they can alter it as well, in ways not normally deemed possible by normative science. The monks obviously did not enter into a lifetime of training just to be able to dry wet sheets on their backs. Their goal was the teachings and their effects on transforming consciousness. One's epistemology therefore, the core of one's belief system, must be tied into the outcome where the problem of consciousness is concerned, a thought altogether new for the way science is normally conducted.

==CONCLUSION==

==Conclusion==

Virtually unheard of in the middle of the twentieth century, the expression "states of consciousness" has entered the common vocabulary. How this idea will present itself in the years to come, how a subject so intimately wedded to metaphysical and religious concerns will fare in modern culture, and how religion, philosophy, and psychology may meet in their concern over this subject may prove decisively important to all who seek answers to the larger questions of human life, who one is and why one is here. At the least the struggle to understand what happens to consciousness when it becomes more conscious of itself will contribute to the ongoing dialogue between science and religion.

Virtually unheard of in the middle of the twentieth century, the expression "states of consciousness" has entered the common vocabulary. How this idea will present itself in the years to come, how a subject so intimately wedded to metaphysical and religious concerns will fare in modern culture, and how religion, philosophy, and psychology may meet in their concern over this subject may prove decisively important to all who seek answers to the larger questions of human life, who one is and why one is here. At the least the struggle to understand what happens to consciousness when it becomes more conscious of itself will contribute to the ongoing dialogue between science and religion.

==BIBLIOGRAPHY==

==Quote==

 

 

==Bibliography==

#Aranya, Hariharananda. Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali. Albany, N.Y., 1983.

#Aranya, Hariharananda. Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali. Albany, N.Y., 1983.

#Bakan, David. Maimonides on Prophecy: A Commentary on Selected Chapters of the Guide of the Perplexed. Northvale, N.J., 1991.

#Bakan, David. Maimonides on Prophecy: A Commentary on Selected Chapters of the Guide of the Perplexed. Northvale, N.J., 1991.

==Source Citation==

==Source Citation==

Taylor, Eugene. "Consciousness, States of." Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1946-1954. 15 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale. University of the South. 8 Apr. 2009

Taylor, Eugene. [https://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentSet=EBKS&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3424500642&source=gale&userGroupName=tel_a_uots&version=1.0 "Consciousness, States of." Encyclopedia of Religion]. Ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 3. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1946-1954. 15 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Gale.  

<http://find.galegroup.com/gvrl/infomark.do?&contentSet=EBKS&type=retrieve&tabID=T001&prodId=GVRL&docId=CX3424500642&source=gale&userGroupName=tel_a_uots&version=1.0>.

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Psychology]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

[[Category: Philosophy]]

[[Category: Religion]]

[[Category: Religion]]