Learn More About Psilocybin Mushroom Spores
Examples of Altered States of Consciousness
Breathwork
Breathing is typically an unconscious process, requiring little thought or active effort on our part. Breathwork is what happens when we bring our full, conscious awareness to this typically unconscious process. Through intentional, structured breathing practices, we can activate the mind-body connection, access non-ordinary states of consciousness, and release stuck emotions and stagnant energy.
Holotropic breathwork, one of the most widely-known breathing practices, was developed by transpersonal psychologist Stanislav Grof. This practice involves rapid breaths—or controlled, voluntary hyperventilation—designed to shift the ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the body. Stemming from the Greek words “holos” (whole) and “trepein” (to move toward), holotropic breathwork is believed to orient us toward the wholeness of existence and the true nature of reality.
Because breathwork has the potential to evoke intense feelings and sensations—akin, in some cases, to the effects of a peak psychedelic experience—sessions should be guided by a trained facilitator to ensure a safe emotional container. Research highlights the potential of breathwork as a healing modality. In a 1996 study, individuals who received a combination of psychotherapy and six monthly sessions of holotropic breathwork exhibited a significant reduction in death anxiety and an increase in self-esteem, when compared participants in the control group, who received only psychotherapy sessions.
Breathwork can also serve as a tool for spiritual exploration. In a study of psychiatric in-patients who participated in holotropic breathwork sessions, 82% of the 482 self-reports described having transpersonal, spiritually transcendent, or mystical experiences. Sixteen percent reported having prior life or pre-birth experiences through this breathing modality. No adverse outcomes were reported in over 11,000 patients across 12 years, showing that the holotropic breathwork experience, while intense, poses minimal risk to participants when guided by trained facilitators.
Meditation
There are many reasons why one might practice meditation—such as to reduce stress, to enhance well-being, to facilitate personal and spiritual growth, and to explore consciousness. Meditation encompasses a broad range of techniques, whose purpose is to shift the individual’s level and scope of awareness. It is an opportunity to bring subconscious material into one’s conscious state.
While the common theme across most meditative practices is to tune into the present moment, different contemplative frameworks will resonate with different people. Some may feel called to transcendental meditation, in which the individual focuses on a mantra as their psychological anchor. Others may benefit from mindfulness-based meditation, which emphasizes the witnessing of one’s present-moment experience through a compassionate and nonjudgmental lens.
Meditation correlates with shifts in consciousness across time. Research has found that people who undergo meditation training demonstrate more resilience to stress, increased relaxation, and improved problem-solving skills. Regular meditators exhibit less brain activity in the default mode network, the region responsible for rumination and mind-wandering—a result also prevalent among microdosers.
Trance
In the altered state known as trance, one becomes absorbed by internal cognition and less aware of external stimuli. Someone in trance is neither fully awake nor fully asleep. This state of semi-consciousness stems from the Latin term trānseō (“to cross over”), suggesting that there is some degree of transcendence to be experienced within a trance state.
Traditionally, trances have been used by shamans to facilitate healing within spiritually-oriented and indigenous cultures. Shamans enter into trance states through singing, chanting, drumming, dancing, or a combination of all these activities—typically in ceremonial contexts—and are able to access profound insights while under trance. Trance allows the practitioner to transcend the conscious mind and to explore subconscious realms of knowing.
The auditory context plays a key role in inducing this altered state of consciousness, according to neuroscience research. FMRI scans show that the trance state correlates with decreased connectivity in the auditory cortex of the brain. Repetitive drumming, singing, and chanting serve as a predictable external stimulus, which requires such little cognitive processing that the individual can turn most of their attention inward, leading to the extended state known as trance.
While the original trance state was typically embodied by shamans in ceremonial contexts, there is another way to experience a version of trance in modern society: through music. Given the link between soundscapes and trance states, it stands to reason that trance music––a genre of electronic dance music with repetitive, rhythmic tunes––can induce the altered state after which it is named. In fact, any music with repetitive, rhythmic elements creates the consciousness-altering conditions that are conducive for inner journeying.
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is a non-ordinary state of consciousness marked by an increase in focus, concentration, and suggestibility. Awareness of external stimuli fades, and the boundary between what is real and what is imagined becomes temporarily blurred.
The hypnotic reality is co-created between the hypnotist and the subject. One person induces hypnosis in another by verbally guiding them into a state of relaxed yet focused awareness. The hypnotist then offers suggestions to evoke imaginary experiences within the subject’s mind and body. For instance, the hypnotist may suggest that the subject is experiencing a heavy weight in their right arm; when the subject attempts to lift their arm, they may truly feel as though there is additional weight in their limb.
Brain activity responds to imagined experiences in a similar manner as it responds to actual experiences within physical reality. Case in point: Hypnotically induced and physically induced pain lead to activation in similar parts of the brain. Along those same lines, an individual who is guided to experience peace and calmness while under hypnosis is training their brain to recognize and reproduce these positive sensations in the future.
Experiences that take place while under hypnosis provide a neural blueprint from which the conscious, non-hypnotized mind can evolve and grow. Hypnosis harnesses the power of the imagination to show us what is possible when we step out of our conditioned ways of being. When used in a therapeutic context, hypnosis has proven effective in treating anxiety, phobias, chronic pain, smoking addiction, and PTSD.