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Drugs have been used for altered states of consciousness for as long as humans existed.
But we have also been using other means to change our state of mind, apart from ingesting psychoactive substances.
What is an Altered State of Consciousness?
Although there are a variety of different definitions, an altered state of consciousness, also called a non-ordinary state of consciousness, can certainly be defined as a conscious experience that is significantly different from ordinary waking consciousness.
Altered states of consciousness can be induced through various sources.
In his book, Dieter Vaitl, for example, suggests a classification into five categories:
• Spontaneous (daydreaming, near-death experience)
• Physical and physiological (fasting, sex, dancing)
• Psychological (mediation, music, hypnosis)
• Pathological (Epilepsy, brain damage)
• Pharmacological (psychoactive substances)
There is a lot of debate about what falls under the category altered state of consciousness and the term itself.
However, the individual, more than anything else, determines when a state of mind is altered, or non-ordinary.
Therefore, subjectively, any experience may or may not lead to an altered state of mind.
Meditation
Meditation is one of the best-known ways to induce a non-ordinary state of consciousness.
However, many of us have difficulties meditating in the beginning.
Often, we just get lost in thought and don’t even realize we are lost in thought.
The easiest way is to concentrate on your breathing and when you get lost in thought you just gently return to your breath without judging yourself.
Although I say “the easiest way” it’s not easy.
Just try to focus on 10 consecutive breaths without interruption and you will realize how hard it actually is.
When starting your meditation practice, you might have the feeling that it’s “not working.”
But with time you will be able to focus on your breathing longer and be aware of getting lost in thought quicker.
As you progress, you will less and less identify with your thoughts and become the observer in contrast to the experiencer.
And the moments where you are fully present can be filled with an infinite sense of peace and interconnectedness.
Moreover, keep in mind that meditation should not be a way to gain something, but it is the gain itself.
The most important thing is to do it daily. The moment when you decide to sit down for meditation is already a gain.
Or as is said in Zen, we practice the practice to practice the practice.
Yoga
Another practice, that is gaining more and more attention is yoga.
However, yoga is more than just a physical practice, it’s a way of life, a way of being.
Similar to meditation, the most important thing in yoga is being present in its practice and you do that by focusing on your breathing or pranayama.
When you are getting better at focusing on your pranayama your postures or asanas will become easier and stronger.
To truly gain the benefits of yoga you should have a regular practice.
However, even one yoga lesson can induce a heightened state of consciousness.
For many, yoga becomes important in their life not primarily because of the value for the physical body but their spiritual development.
Yoga can put you in a state of calmness and peacefulness while becoming more in touch with your body and its abilities.
Like meditation, the practice itself is the goal. And the more you practice the better you get at practicing.
Holotropic Breathwork
Holotropic Breathwork is a breathing technique developed by Stanislav and Christina Grof to induce a non-ordinary state, or as he has also termed it a holotropic state of consciousness.
Sometimes it’s called rebirthing because some people re-experience their birthing process.
Holotropic breathing involves rhythmic breathing similar to hyperventilation and is often practiced in group settings.
People are often paired off, so one person can be the “breather” while the other is the “sitter”. The roles are switched in future sessions and a session can take up to 3 hours.
A holotropic breathwork session might bring you deeper into the present moment.
On the other hand, it might bring up some trauma that has to be dealt with.
The effects are depending on one’s state of being or set.
Holotropic breathing is a powerful technique. My experiences with it have induced profound altered states of consciousness.
Some might have a deep mystical experience, others deal with past traumatic events, and some might feel like being reborn.
Fasting
While prolonged fasting can be dangerous it can undoubtedly alter or heighten your consciousness.
If you can, you might want to stay under a professional’s supervision to ensure safety.
In spiritual and religious history fasting has often played a role in reaching states of enlightenment.
Buddha, Jesus, and Krishna all fasted for extended periods as a means to reach a higher state of consciousness.
While shorter fasts may heighten your awareness and concentration, longer fasts sometimes provide a deeply spiritual experience.
However, fasting might not be safe for everybody and there are methods you might want to try before trying a longer-term fast.
Sleep deprivation
Everyone who had stayed awake for more than two nights already knows that your state of mind is different than usual.
And the longer you stay awake the dreamier your mindset gets.
However, sleep deprivation is an unpleasant experience most of the time and I wouldn’t recommend it.
Nonetheless, sleep deprivation can undoubtedly induce a non-ordinary state of consciousness.
Dreaming / Lucid Dreaming / Daydreaming
Dreaming is something people have been interested in for millennia.
Sometimes, dreams can consist of surreal places and experiences. Other times, dreams might be so real that they are indistinguishable from reality.
Most of us have experienced daydreaming. Often, music can be the trigger for a daydream.
You hear a song while sitting on a bus and start imagining being in a made-up scenario. You lose your sense of time and suddenly you already arrived at your destination. The time just flew by.
While daydreaming and dreaming when being asleep is a regular experience for most people, lucid dreaming is not quite as easy to achieve.
Lucid dreaming is when you are aware that you are dreaming and therefore have access to your waking consciousness.
Moreover, experienced lucid dreamers can control their dreams and do things that are impossible in waking reality, such as flying and materializing things out of nothing.
Like any other skill, lucid dreaming can be practiced.
First of all, you have to train to ask yourself if you are dreaming. You can do that by using varying techniques. For example, pull your finger; while dreaming you might see it stretching or just feel your finger stretching.
Another method, that works well is holding your nose and trying to breathe through your nose; in contrast to waking reality, you will be able to breathe in a dream.
To improve your ability to remember dreams you should keep a dream journal.
It took me quite some time to have my first lucid dreaming experience but when I did it was breathtaking.
As if everything was just waiting to be transformed into limitless possibilities of mind and matter.
If you practice lucid dreaming regularly, you might have your first lucid dream experience soon.
Astral Projection
Astral projection or astral travel is when you have an intentional out-of-body experience.
You separate your astral body (sometimes also called the soul) from your physical body to enter the astral plane.
While there is no clear definition of what the astral plane is, it can be seen as the spirit world.
Encounters with spirits and inhabitants of the astral realm are often reported.
The subjective experience may be very similar to lucid dreaming.
Astral projection might reduce the fear of death as regular astral travelers realize that they are not their physical bodies.
There are different methods of astral projection.
One of the best-known approaches is to keep the mind awake while letting the body fall asleep.
That’s where the lines between lucid dreaming and astral projection get blurry.
The method above is also called WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming). Although most see WILD as a method to lucid dream some would argue it is astral projection.
Generally, astral projection is when you consciously transition from the physical body to the dreaming body.
Binaural Beats
Binaural beats are audio files that can induce an altered state of consciousness.
The theory behind that is that binaural beats can influence the brain’s frequency.
The actual binaural beat is the difference between the tone entering the right ear and the one entering the left ear.
So, a 500Hz and 510Hz tone will produce a 10Hz binaural beat.
However, for your brain to detect them the two-tones frequencies should not be higher than 1000Hz.
Because the brain works at varying frequencies depending on your state of mind, a binaural beat might influence the brain’s frequency and lead to a state of consciousness related to that binaural beat.
There are five different frequency ranges:
• Delta Waves (0.5-4Hz): Binaural beats in the delta range are associated with a deep dreamless sleep as well as a loss of body awareness.
• Theta Waves (4-7Hz): Binaural beats in the theta range can help improve meditative and creative states as well as REM-sleep and dreams.
• Alpha Waves (7-13Hz): Binaural beats in the alpha range seem to stimulate relaxation and decrease anxiety.
• Beta Waves (13-30Hz): Binaural beats in the beta range may encourage alertness and concentration. However, beta waves at the higher range might also increase anxiety.
• Gamma Waves (30-50Hz): Binaural beats in the gamma range are associated with higher mental activity and might be able to improve memory function.
So, depending on your desired mental state you can choose different binaural beats.
Moreover, binaural beats can help you to achieve lucid dreaming, astral projection, and deeper meditation.
Finally, for the best experience use headphones and follow the instruction when using binaural beats.
Also, it’s best not to use them while operating heavy machinery (just in case).
Continuous Light (and Sound)
A combination of continuous light and sound as found in so-called mind machines (also called light and sound machines) can induce an altered state of consciousness.
Hypnagogic light machines such as the Lucia N°03, which uses only light, may help enter deep states of relaxation, cosmic journeying, or lucid dreaming. My experience with the Lucia was very psychedelic, opening a 3D world with closed eyes.
The effects of the light can then be supplemented by binaural beats, to push you more in the desired state of mind.
Usually, you lie down, close your eyes, and put headphones on while the light is in front of your face.
The combination of the solid and flickering light with the sound can bring about a variety of effects.
The closed eye visuals can range from flashing light, swirling fractal-like patterns to visual reality-like scenes.
Moreover, auditory hallucinations, as well as emotional and tactile shifts, are often reported by users.
Hypnosis / Self-Hypnosis
Although it is debated whether hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, it can increase your susceptibility to suggestions.
Hypnosis can work with someone (e.g. hypnotherapist) putting you in a state of trance or by using audio files for self-hypnosis.
The goal is to put your body into a state of relaxation and dissociation from your surroundings.
Usually, hypnosis shifts your awareness of sleep without falling asleep.
Generally, hypnosis allows you to address your subconscious more directly and can, therefore, be a powerful tool.
Hypnosis is often used to change unwanted behavior such as quitting smoking.
Moreover, some people use self-hypnosis to modify their belief systems, to become healthier, wealthier, or happier.
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“I have argued that every human being is born with an innate drive to experience altered states of consciousness periodically – in particular to learn how to get away from ordinary ego-centered consciousness. I have also explained my intuition that this drive is a most important factor in our evolution, both as individuals and as a species. Non-ordinary experiences are vital to us because they are expressions of our unconscious minds, and the integration of conscious and unconscious experience is the key to life, health, and spiritual development, and fullest use of our nervous systems. By instilling fear and guilt about altered states of consciousness into our children, we force this drive underground, guaranteeing that it will be expressed in antisocial ways.” – Andrew Weil
Luka
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