Understanding Altered States of Consciousness
UNDERSTANDING ALTEKED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS:
A SYSTEMS APPROACH Charles T. T a r t Psyc holsgy &par tment U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Davis, C a l i f o r n i a
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P r e g r e t t h a t I cannot be p r e s e n t t o p r e s e n t my paper today due t o o t h e r c o m i t m e n t s , a s P was looking forward t o i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h a n t h r o p o i o g i s L s who had e x p e r i e n c e w i t h a l t e r e d s t a t e s of consciousness 5;: o t h a r c u l t u r a l s e t t i n g s :
narrow i r k t h i s r e s p e c t .
m y p s y c h ~ i o g i c a lc o l l e a g u e s a r e u s u a l l y v e r y
I e x p e c t t h a t Dr. Cowan w i i l g i v e a n e x c e l l e n t
p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h i s paper and be a b l e t o answer any q u e s t i o n s t h a t a r i s e on my systems approach t o a l t e r e a s t a t e s of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , f o r n o t o n l y i s he thoroughly f a m i l i a r w i t h i t , b u t our i n t e r a c t i o n s s e v e r a l y e a r s ago were
q u i t e u s e f u l i n my f o r m u l a t i o n of t h i s approach. I n more t h a n f i f t e e n y e a r s of o b s e r v i n g and r e s e a r c h i n g the psychologic a l phenomena l o o s e l y c a l l e d a l t e r e d s t a t e s of consciousness (ASCs), have been r e p e a t e d l y impressed w i t h t h e i n c r e d i b l e range of phenomena
P
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encompassed by t h a t term and a l s o by t h e h i g h d e g r e e o f u n r e l a t e d n e s s o f most of t h e s e phenomena.
Hundreds of people have t o l d me about r a d i c a l
a l t e r a t i o n s i n t h e i r mental functioning, not only f o r r e l a t i v e l y f a m i l i a r a r e a s a s dreaming o r s t r o n g emotional changes, b u t a l s o f o r changes assoc i a t e d w i t h such e x o t i c procedures l i k e v a r i o u s k i n d s of m e d i t a t i o n , hypnosis, marijuana i n t o x i c a t i o n , i n t o x i c a t i o n wFth major p s y c h e d e l i c d r u g s , out-of-
the-body e x p e r i e n c e s , m e d i u m i s t i c t r a n c e s t a t e s , a v a r i e t y o f more i d i o s y n c r a t i c s t a t e s t h a t seem unique to p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d u a l s , s h a r e d ASCs by p r a c t i t i o n e r s of p a r t i c u l a r s p i r i t u a l d i s c i p l i n e s , and e x p e r i e n c e s i n that c a t e g o r y t h a t w e vaguely l a b e l "rnystica:
experiences."
I n terms o f
s c i e n t i f i c u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f ASCs, however, we have thousands of m i s c e l l a n e o u s b i t s of d a t a b u t few o f them have any c l e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o any of t h e o t h e r s . Although I r e s e a r c h e d some of t h e above ASCs f a i r l y e x t e n s i v e l y , I g r a d u a l l y r e a l i z e d t h a t my own and o t h e r s ' r e s e a r c h e s were mainly adding more i n t e r e s t i n g b u t u n r e l a t e d p i e c e s t o a n a l r e a d y scrambled p i c t u r e , s o around 1970 I t e m p o r a r i l y moved away from l a b o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h and t r i e d o u t t h e r o l e of t h e o r e t i c i a n i n o r d e r t o make s e n s e of t h i s a r e a .
The r e s u l t has
been t h e c r e a t i o n of a t h e o r e t i c a l framework o r paradigm t h a t I c a l l a
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syotems approach t o ASCs.
To my g e n e r a l knowledge, i t makes most of t h e
psychologica),, a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , and p h y s i o l o g i c a l d a t a a b o u t ASCs f a l l i n t o a u,seful p a t t e r n . 5in twenty minutes 1 c a n do v e r y l i t t l e toward p r e s e n t i n g a comprehen-
s i v e p i c t u r e o f this systems approach
t o ASCs, s o I s h a l l focus mainly on
c l a r i f y i n g the concept of t h e " s t a t e " of c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
T h i s systems
approach has been p r e s e n t e d i n f u l l i n my r e c e n t S t a t e s o f Consciousness book, and t h a t book can be c o n s u i t e d f o r d e t a i l s . Constructed Nature of Ordinary Consciousness A main oiutcome of iay s t u d i e s of .4SCs has been t o make me aware of how
i g n o r a n t we a r e o f t h e n a t u r e of o u r o r d i n a r y s t a t e .
Particularly, there
a r e two major, l a r g e l y i m p l i c i t o p e r a t i n g a s s u n p t i o n s used by almost all o r d i n a r y people and alinost a l l s c i e n t i s t s t h a t s e r i o u s l y d i s t o r t our understanding of
o u r o r d i n a r y and a l t e r e d s t a t e s .
The f i r s t assumption is t h a t our o r d i n a r y s t a t e o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s somehow " n a t u r a l , "
t h a t i t i s sirnply t h e way consciousness ought t o be.
One e f f e c t o f t h i s assumption i s t o make t h e phenomena r e p o r t e d i n ASCs seem odd o r unusual:
many of t h e phenomena w e r o u t i n e l y e x p e r i e n c e i n our o r d i n a r y
s t a t e would be j u s t a s odd from a d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e , b u t , b e i n g f a m i l i a r ,
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Tart we pay l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n t o them.
I t r u s t t h a t a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s are n o t a s
s t r o n g l y taken i n by t h e i d e a t h a t our o r d i n a r y s t a t e o f c o n s c i o u e n e s s i s natural as investigators i n other disciplines. The second assumptfon, r e l a t e d t o t h e f i r s t , i s t h a t our ordinary
s t a t e is somehow "normal,"
.
eonsci~usnass
t h a t i t is t h e b e s t o r o p t i m a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of
Consequently WSCs tend t o be f m p l i c i t l y viewed In a b i a s e d
manner, a s somehow b e i n g i n f e r i o r o r p a t h o l o g f c a l .
important A s w e know how/ i t is t o
c l e a r l y s e p a r a t e t h e d e s c r i p t F v e a s p e c t o f d a t a g a t h e r i n g from t h e cvaluarna y t i o n we/want t o make l a t e r , i t is c l e a r t h a t t h i s
id
v e r y bad f o r s c i e n c e
t o confuse r h e s e two p r o c e s s e s . P s y c h o l o g i c a l d a t a now show q u i t e c l e a r l y , c o n t r a r y t o the above assumpcion, tnac our ordinary s t a t e of c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s a c o n s t r u c t i o n , n o t a given, a a n d / s p e c i a l i z e d c o n s t r u c t i o n t h a t is, i n many ways, q u i t e a r b i t r a r y . The f i r s t s l i d e i l l u s t r a t e s a concept I l e a r n e d i n anthropology c l a s a e s y e a r s ago (and h e r e I would l i k e t o e x p r e s s my i n d e b t e d n e s s t o John Honigman, one of my most b r i l l i a n t t e a c h e r s ) , t h e concept of t h e spectrum of human
potentials.
a Simply by b e i n g b o r n a human b e i n g e a c h of us p o s s e s s e s / c e r t a i n
kind of body and nervous system, o p e r a t i n g i n accordance w i t h t h e p h y s i c a l
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laws o f our environment, and t h u s we have a v e r y l a r g e ( b u t n o t i n f i n i t e ) number of p o t e n t i a l a which could be developed. into a particular culture,
of o n l y sone of t h e s e p o t e n t i a l s .
Each of us i s , however, b o r n
t o people who r e c o g n i z e t h e e x i s t e n c e
Among t h o s e t h e y r e c o g n i z e , some have
been c l a s s i f i e d as 'qgood"and. t h u s h a v e c u l t u r a l p r e s s u r e t o develop them,
w h i l e o t h e r s a r e "bad1' and a c t i v e l y inl.iibited
or discouraged.
Thus c u l t u r e
A i n t h e first s l i d e r e i n f o r c e s c e r t a i n human p o t e n t i a l s and d e l i b e r a t e l y
blocks nthers.
:>t:.l.ture B . mekes d i f f e r e n t selections from t h e s g e c t r w l of
human p o t e n t i a l s : totally different.
some may o v e r l a p t h o s e of c u l t u r e A , o t h e r s w i l l be
A s w e w e l l know, e a c h c u l t u r e i s l i a b l e t o view t h e
o t h e r a s s t r a n g e , savage, o r m a l i c i o u s .
a i a r g e number of human p o t e n t i a l s .
Both c u l t u r e s remain i g n o r a n t of
Some o f t h e s e p o t e n t i a l s r a y remain
l a t e n t , and have t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f b e i n g developed l a t e r under unusual circunlstances, o t h e r s , i f n o t developed w i t h i n n c r i t i c a l p e r i o d , n a y become permanently i n a c c e s s i b l e , The second
s l i d e b r i e f l y o u t l i n e s the e n c u l t u r a t f o n process.
W e do n o t have time t o c o n s i d e r i t i n d e t a i l , b u t b a s i c a l l y t h e many unorganized p o t e n t i a l s of t h e i n f a n t , under p r e s s u r e from p a r e n t s , t e a c h e r s , p e e r s , and
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i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h e x t e r n a l r e a l i t y g r a d u a l l y become shaped i n t o a s m a l l e r b u t organized number, and i t is t h e h a b i t u a l o p e r a t i o n of t h e developed psychological p o t e n t i a l s t h a t c o n s t i t u t e s our o r d i n a r y s t a t e of consciousness. Through psychological processes such as c o n d i t i o n i n g , we develop an o r d i n a r y s t a t e of consciousness t h a t might be b e t t e r c a l l e d "consensus" consciousness, a h a b i t u a l p a t t e r n o f mental f u n c t i o n i n g and s t y l e s of coping w i t h r e a l i t y t h a t r e f l e c t the g o a l s , v a l u e s , advantages, and disadvantages o r our p a r t i cular culture.
N a t u r a l l y t h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e i n d i v i d u a l v a r i a b i l i t y here,
depending both on chance circumstances i n t h e e n c u l t u r a l process and i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t i o n s t o i t , b u t i n g e n e r a l t o s a y t h a t a person is i n an "ordinary" s t a t e means t h a t h i s mental processes r e f l e c t the v a l u e s of h i s culture,
My systems approach views b a s i c awareness, the undefinable b u t
u l t i m a t e a s p e c t of coneciouaness behind more a r t i c u l a t e d phenomena a s common t o a l l f u n c t i o n i n g human beings, b u t t h e r e l a t i v e l y permanent psychological s k i l l s , h a b i t s , and s t r u c t u r e s developed i n t h e course o f e n c u l t u r a t i o n constitute s o lead
t h e s t r u c t u r e s t h a t a r e a c t i v a t e d by the p l a y of awareness, and
t o "consciousness,
"
t h a t compounds b a s i c awareness mu1t i p l i e d by
learned, e n c u l t u r a t e d psychological s t r u c t u r e s .
While we have some voluntary
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c o n t r o l of b a s i c awareness, i t u s u a l l y runs i n h a b i t u a l p a t t e r n s which, i n turn, have been l a i d down during t h e course of e n c u l t u r a t i o n . States. of Consciousness
Now l e t us consider the concept of " s t a t e s " of consciousness i n a general way.
Since a p a r t i c u l a r human p o t e n t i a l 3s developed by a given c u l t u r e
determines what w@ can exPerience,what we can be conscious o f , the f i r s t s l i d e could be re-viewed as a spectrum of e x p e r i e n t i a l p o t e n t i a l i t i e s , and then we would s a y t h a t c u l t u r e A, through i t s e n c u l t u r a t i o n process, has e f f e c t i v e l y patterned the experience of i t s membere along c e r t a i n common l i n e s and r e s t r i c t e d i t from c e r t a i n o t h e r l i n e s of experience,
Culture B,
by making a d i f f e r e n t s e l e c t i o n , has given a d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i e n t i a l p a t t e r n i n g t o the everyday conscious experience of i t s members, i n s t e a d of being
Thus the two f o c i ,
labeled c u l t u r e A and c u l t u r e B, could be labeled
state
of consciousness A and s t a t e of consciousness B, and s o i l l u s t r a t e the d i f f e r e n t consensus consciousnesses f o r two d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s ,
We can use t h i s same
analogy, however, t o c l a r i f y one of the two b a s i c i d e a s underlying t h e concept of a s t a t e of consciousness, namely t h a t w i t h i n the same i n d i v i d u a l there
may be
o r more
f o c i of organization of consciousness, each of
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which r e p r e s e n t s a c e r t a i n s e l e c t i o n of human p o t e n t i a l i t i e s .
Thus s t a t e
of consciousness B becomes a n a l t e r e d s t a t e of consciousness w i t h r e s p e c t t o s t a t e A.
I f a person is unhappy i n h i s o r her ordinary state, one way
of seeking g r e a t e r happiness might be t o t r y t o reorganize h i s or her mind i n a fashion we c a l l an a l t e r e d s t a t e where the (more d e s i r a b l e ) s e l e c t i o n of p o t e n t i a l s from focus B is a v a i l a b l e .
The reasons f o r d e s i r i n g such
temporary o r permanent r e o r g a n i z a t i o n can be n e u r o t i c o r healthy, depending on the s t a t e of the c u l t u r e i n which a person l i v e s . Now l e t us approach the concept of s t a t e from a d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n . Bla~pingExperience The terms " s t a t e of consciousness" and "altered s t a t e s of consciousness" a r e now used s o imprecisely t o cover s o many d i f f e r e n t things, not only i n popular b u t f r e q u e n t l y i n s c i e n t i f i c usage, t h a t i t is important i n my systems approach t o c l a r i f y what i s meant by s t a t e . by a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s i n a s i m i l a r loose way.
The term "trance" has been used Both "state" and "trance" a r e
n o t i d e n t i c a l w i t h whatever t h e momentary content of coneciousness happens i t is t o be, b u r l t h e way the words a r e a l l too f r e q u e n t l y used:
far-xeaching, r a d i c a l changes i n mental functioning,
they r e f e r t o
Tar t
-9A way of c l a r i f y i n g the concept comes from using the procedure of mapping
experience.
an W e can u s e f u l l y keep t r a c k o f / o b j e c t l s or i n d i v i d u a l ' s movements
i n physical space by s e t t i n g up a coordinate system and t h e n l o c a t i n g the individual's p o s i t i o n i n t h a t space a t various times.
I n p r i n c i p l e we can
a l s o map a person's p o s i t i o n i n e x p e r i e n t i a l space a t any time i f we i d e n t i f y and d e f i n e and f i n d ways of measuring the important dimensions of experience t h a t q u a n t i t a t i v e v a r i a t i o n occurs a l o n g ,
E x p e r i e n t i a l , behavioral, and
physiological measures can be combined i n f r u i t f u l ways here, a l t h o u g h f emphasize e x p e r i e n t i a l dimensions.
W e might def Lne a dimension as " r a t i o n a l f ty"
f o r example, where we can give a person a b r i e f problem every few minutes and score the r a t i o n a l i t y of h i s answer, i.e.,
the degree t o which i s answer
follows g e n e r a l l y accepted r u l e s f o r a c e r t a i n consensus r e a l i t y .
W e might
then f i n d t h a t r a t i o n a l i t y v a r i e d from very high values t o very low values. A second dimeasion might be a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e o r h a l l u c i n a t e , the degree t o which a n image t h a t we believed t o e x i s t only w i t h i n the mind has the i n t e n e i t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a n a c t u a l sensory perception versus p a r t i a l degrees of such i n t e n s i t y .
For s i m p l i c i t y , assume that two dimension8 would be adequate f o r study
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o f a given problem, even though we r e a l l y need multi-dimensional maps f o r t h e r i c h n e s s of human experience.
The t h i r d s l i d e then can give us a
s p e c i f i c example of t h i s kind of e x p e r i e n t i a l mapping.
Suppose, working
w i t h a sigale i n d i v i d u a l , t h a t on twenty-eight temporally s u c c e s s i v e occasions
I _
we measured both t h e degree of r a t i o n a l i t y and t h e a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e .
For
each p a i r o f measurements w e put a c i r c l e on t h e map d e f i n e d j.n t h e s l i d e . Suppose we o b t a i n t h e r e s u l t s shown, namely t h a t our measurements obviously f a l l i n t o t h r e e d i s c r e t e c l u s t e r s , which I have drawn l i n e s around for convenience, and do n o t seem t o ' f a l l anywhere e l s e i n t h i s two-dimensional space, even w i t h a d d i t i o n a l observation.
This kind of mapping, done i m p l i c i t l y ,
i s behind t h e b a s i c concept of a ''state"
of consciousness.
Done consciously
and p r e c i s e l y , i t is t h e o p e r a t i o n f o r d e f i n i n g states w i t h i n t h e systems approach.
Here we have d a t a t h a t i n d i c a t e t h a t experience f a l l s i n t o s e v e r a l
d i s c r e t e clusters or ranges of Eunctioning, and t h a t t h e s e c l u s t e r s are import a n t l y d i f f e r e n t from one another. For t h e s p e c i f i c example shown i n t h e s l i d e , I have p u t i n two univers a l l y known and one more e x o t i c s t a t e s .
The c l u e t e r i n t h e lower r i g h t hand
c o r n e r , where r a t i o n a l i t y ranges from moderate t o very high and a b i l i t y t o
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v i s u a l i z e ranges Erm somewhat low t o f a i r is, f o r most people, t h e i r o r d i n a r y s t a t e , consensus consciousness. f o r our c u l t u r e .
The c l u s t e r i n
t h e upper l e f t hand c o r n e r , w i t h v e r y h i g h a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e b u t r a t i o n a l i t y o f t e n q u i t e low, is t h e s t a t e o f n o c t u r n a l dreaming, where we e x p e r i e n c e t h e v i s u a l world which seems q u i t e i n t e n s e t o us a t t h e time, b u t , by cons e n s u s consciousness s t a n d a r d s , we o f t e n t a k e c o n s i d e r a b l e l i b e r t y w i t h rationality.
The upper r i g h t hand c o r n e r of t h e graph i l l u s t r a t e s a s t a t e
as c h a r a c t e r i z e d as by/high i n a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e a s i n o r d i n a r y dreaming, t h e " h a l l u c i n a t e d " s c e n e r y seems q u i t e i n t e n s e and r e a l , b u t r a t i o n a l i t y a l s o seems q u i t e high.
T h i s is a s t a t e t h a t h a s been termed lucid dreaming.
T h i s is a s p e c i a l type o f dream, u e u a l l y a r i s i n g from an o r d i n a r y dream, i n which a person r e p o r t s t h a t he "wakes up" i n t h a t he u s u a l l y remembers h i s i d e n t i t y , r e a l i z e s that he is a c t u a l l y a s l e e p and t h a t he i s dreaming, and t h a t t h e dream world around him must be h a l l u c i n a t o r y , b u t even though he
feels p e r f e c t l y r a t i o n a l and h i s mental f u n c t i o n i n g seems t o work j u s t as yours d o e s now, he n e v e r t h e l e s s f i n d s himself e x p e r i e n t i a l l y l o c a t e d i n t h e dream world.
This kind of mapping a l ' l w o , o f c o u r s e , f o r changes w i t h i n cll9.fiters:
-
Tart no s t a t e i s s t a t i c .
12-
But by s t a t e we mean t h a t i n s p i t e of v a r i o u s changes
a l o n g v a r i o u s dimensions, our experience doee seem t o f a l l i n t o a recognizable
area of e x p e r i e n t i a l space. D i s c r e t e S t a t e s of C o n s c i o u ~ n e a s While the kind of e x p e r i e n t i a l mapping of t h e t h i r d s l i d e adequately conveys t h e idea of q u a n t i t a t i v e v a r i a t i o n of p a r t i c u l a r human p o t e n t i a l s i n various a l t e r e d s t a t e s , i t does not adequately convey the idea of q u a l i t a t i v e changes, which does indeed g e t r e p o r t e d ,
Nor does t h i s kind of map-
p i n g a d e q u a t e l y convey t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l q u a l i t i e s of t h e p o t e n t i a l s involved i n a s t a t e of consciousness, t h e f a c t t h a t they form a s t a b i l i z e d , i n t e r r e l a t e d g e s t a l t from which a r i s e .system p r o p e r t i e s that cannot be deduced j u s t from a knowledge of t h e p a r t s . way of r e p r e s e n t i n g an a l t e r e d s t a t e .
The f i r s t s l i d e shows a b e t t e r
I f you w i l l look j u s t a t t h e heavy
g a m e t r i c a l o b j e c t s which symbolize v a r i o u s human p o t e n t i a l s and t h e heavy l i n e s connecting them, what you have i s a kind of time l a p s e photograph of a s t a t e of consciousness.
A t t e n t i o n t r a v e l s i n h a b i t u a l , conditioned
manners from one p o t e n t i a l t o a n o t h e r , and t h e shape t h a t t h i s leaves over a
time g i v e s you the system q u a l i t i e s , t h e g e s t a l t p r o p e r t i e s o f j s t a t e of
- 13-
Tart coneciousness. t o it.
Thus our analogy shows a s t a t e t h a t has
a " s t a r shape1' f e e l
Indeed, when we q u e s t i o n people a s t o haw they c l a s s i f y what s t a t e
of c ~ n s c i o u s n e s a they am i n , sometimes they t r y t o n o t i c e whether p a r t i c u l a r e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t they can use a s markers a r e o c c u r r i n g , b u t o f t e n they, i n a sense, w h o Z l i s t i c a l l y s c a n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r shape.
the whole f i e l d of t h e i r experience and i d e n t i f y
Thus i f I aek you r i g h t now would you want t o b e t
f i f t y d o l l a r s t h a t you're a c t u a l l y dreaming about being here and y o u t l l wake up i n bed i n f i v e minutes, I doubt t h a t anyone would take me up on t h e b e t . Some of you would immediately j u s t s c a n the p a t t e r n of your experiences
and
see t h a t t h i s i s t h e p a t t e r n you a s s o c i a t e w i t h your o r d i n a r y waking s t a t e ,
w i t h no doubt about i t .
Others might n o t e p a r t i c u l a r q u a l i t i e s p r e s e n t t h a t
a r e a v a i l a b l e only i n t h e i r o r d i n a r y state, and/or a l a c k of c e r t a i n q u a l i t i e s t h a t they a s s o c i a t e w i t h a dreaming s t a t e , and make a d e c i s i o n on t h a t b a s i s . I n o r d e r t o rescue t h e terms " s t a t e of consclousnessl' and " a l t e r e d s t a t e s
of consciousness" from ambiguity s o t h e y could have reasonable s c i e n t i f i c usage, I have proposed t h e terms d i s c r e t e s t a t e s of consciousness (d-SoCs) and d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s o f consciousness (d-ASCs).
A d-SoC f o r a given
i n d i v i d u a l i s a unique system o r c o n f i g u r a t i o n of psychological s t r u c t u r e s
Tart
.-
o r subsystems.
!I4.-
While t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems show some q u a n t i t a t i v e
and minor q u a l i t a t i v e v a r i a t . i o n s i n t h e way i n which they f u n c t i o n w i t h i n a
d-SoC, n e v e r t h e l e s s t h e i r p a t t e r n of i n t e r a c t i o n s r e t a i n s a recognizable a i d e n t i t y allowing the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f / s t a t e .
Further, t h e o p e r a t i o n s , of
t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems i n t e r a c t w i t h one another and s t a b i l i z e ea,ch o t h e r s ' f u n c t i o n i n g i n v a r i o u s ways t o p r o t e c t . t h e i n t e g r i t y of the system, t h e d i s c r e t e s t a t e , i n s p i t e of a wide range of i n p u t from the environment and a wide range of a c t i o n s performed by t h e person.. Understanding a s t a t e o f consciousness then, involves n o t o n l y a n understanding of v a r i o u s psyc h o l o g i c a l components of i t b u t a f e e l f o r t h e p a t t e r n o f t h e whole, If you w i l l r e t u r n pour a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s l i d e now and look a t the
l i g h t connecting l i n e s , you c a n s e e an i l l u s t r a t i o n of a d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d . state.
While t h e r e a r e some s t r u c t u r e s o r f u n c t i o n s t h a t were p r e s e n t i n
t h e o r d i n a r y s t a t e s t i l l p r e s e n t , some new p o t e n t i a l s t h a t were l a t e n t i n terms of the o r d i n a r y s t a t e a r e now p a r t of the f u n c t i o n i n g system, and the o v e r a l l p a t t e r n , t h e o v e r a l l s t y l e of use of these v a r i o u s p o t e n t i a l s is a l s o different.
By analogy, i t i s now a kind of r e c t a n g u l a r s t a t e of conw
s c i o u s n e s s r a t h e r than a roughly star-shaped one.
The d i f f e r e n c e s between
Tart
.-15-
a n y two d i s c r e t e s t a t e s then, exist
n o t o n l y on a m o l e c u l a r l e v e l , but a l s o
i n terms o f t h e i r emergent s y s t e m p r o p e r t i e s .
The same k i n d of argument
can, o f c o u r s e , be a p p l i e d when t a l k i n g a b o u t two c u l t u r e s , b u t one must f i n d not only e p e c i f i c t r a i t d i f f e r e n c e s b u t a d i f f e r e n t s t y l e of organizat i o n of t h e s e t r a i t s . Note c o n e c i o u s l y t h a t the a d j e c t i v e " a l t e r e d " i s o n l y d e s c r i p t i v e , i t means t h a t , g i v e n one d i a c r e t e s t a t e as a b a s e l i n e , u s u a l l y o u r consensus c o n s c i o u s n e s s , r a d i c a l changes o c c u r w i t h r e s p e c t t o i t . A t o u r p r e s e n t l e v e l of knowledge, t h i s systems approach t o d e f i n i n g d i s c r e t e s t a t e s i s mainly a p p l i e d t o what are cotmnonly r e c o g n i z e d es r a d i c a l
r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , s u c h a s dreaming, l u c i d dreaming, hypnosis, i n t o x i c a t i o n w i t h various drugs, e t c .
I'L~
a l s o convinced t h a t q u i t e s t r o n g
e m o t i o n a l s t a t e s a l s o b r t n g a b o u t sudden and r a d i c a l r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n t h e f u n c t i o n s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s e , p a r t i c u l a r l y s t a t e s such as h i g h s e x u a l a r o u s a l . Because time i s s h o r t , I must s k i p over many o f t h e most i n t e r e s t i n g a s p e c t s of t h e systems approach t h a t f o l l o w from t h i s b a s i c c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n , s u c h a s t h e v a s t importance of i n d i v i d u a l and c r o s s - c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s , what t h e major s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems of c o n s c i o u s n e s s a r e , t h e p r o c e s s e s
w t ~ s r c b yd i . ~ c r e l . estates arc: ~ t a b i . l i ~ . e daric! ,
p r a c t f c e s used c r o s s - c u l t u r a l l y ,
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The approai:!l
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p r e d i c t i o n s . , b e i n g p o t e n t i a l l y c a p a b l e o f s p e c i f y i n g , f o r example, s t a t e s
of c o n s c i ~ u s n e s s t h a t c a n ~ o otc c u r because o f t h e b a s i c n a t u r e o f t h e human mind and nervous s y s t e m , b u t , g i v e n v a s t g a p s i.n even o u r d e s c r i p t i v e
knowledge of n o s t d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s , I am n o t elnphasizing p r e d i c t i o n
a t t h i s p o i n t s o much a s d a t a g a t h e r i n g . The prime m e t h o d o l o g i c a l consequence o f t h e sys terns a p p r o a c h for me,
a l t h o u g h i t was n o t my i l i t e n t i o r i w h i l e d e v e l o p i n g i t , i s t h e way i n which
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you w h e t h e r t h e r e was a c t u a l l y a n y a l t e r a t i o n of c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
Although
b e h a v i o r h a s b e e n t h e f a d i n psychology f o r t b e l a s t f o r t y y e a r s , t h e s t u d y
of a l t e r e d s t a t e s f o r c e s us t o look a t e x p e r i e n t i a l d a t a , s o , f o r example,
t h e o n l y way to s t a t e unequivocaliy t h a t a n i n d i v i d u a l i s i n a p a r t F c u L o r
d i s c r e t e a i t e r e d s t a t e i e t o c o n d u c t some k i n d of e x p e r i e n t i a l mappFng c h a t
shows t h a t h i s e x p e r i e n c e s a c t u a l l y f a l l i n t h a t r e g i o n of e x p e r i e n t i a l
space.
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hypnotist t a l k ,
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t h ~ i j sg u a r a n t e e t b a c s n y d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e
will d e w l.(>jj. F i n a l l y , t h e h i g h l i g h t i n g of t h e c u l t u r a l r e l a t i v i t y of o u r o r d i n a r y zsnsene!,is c o n s c i o u s n e s s end ~ h cb i a s e s c h a t l i m i t and c o n d i t i o n i t , p l u s s
r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t , i n v a r i o u s d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s , t h e r e a r e sometimes radical s h i f t s i n the nature of these biases,
l e d me t o p r o p o s e , s e v e r a l .
years ago, t h a t we d e v e l o p s t a t e - s p e c i f i c s c i e n c e s .
Although I can mention
i t o n l y b r i e f l y h e r e , t h e e s s e n c e o f s c i e n t i f i c method ( a s opposed t o t h e
p a r t i c u l a r p r o d u c t s and p h i l o s o p h i e s t h a t have become i d e n t i f i e d w i t h s c i e n c e ) i s a n emphasis on d i s c i p l i n e d o b s e r v a t i o n , t h e o r i z i n g , p r e d i c t i o n , and f u l l
communication w i t h c o l l e a g u e s a b o u t e a c h of t h e s e p r o c e s s e s , a knowledger e f i n i n g p r o c e d u r e a b o u t some segment o f r e a l i t y t h a t makes o u r c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n s f i t o u r o b s e r v a t i o n s t o a b e t t e r and b e t t e r d e g r e e .
While t r a d i -
in t i o n a l l y the a r e a o f interest: i s s m e t h i n g l t h e e x t e r n a l , physical world,
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A SYSTEMS APPROACH Charles T. T a r t Psyc holsgy &par tment U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Davis, C a l i f o r n i a
95616
P r e g r e t t h a t I cannot be p r e s e n t t o p r e s e n t my paper today due t o o t h e r c o m i t m e n t s , a s P was looking forward t o i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h a n t h r o p o i o g i s L s who had e x p e r i e n c e w i t h a l t e r e d s t a t e s of consciousness 5;: o t h a r c u l t u r a l s e t t i n g s :
narrow i r k t h i s r e s p e c t .
m y p s y c h ~ i o g i c a lc o l l e a g u e s a r e u s u a l l y v e r y
I e x p e c t t h a t Dr. Cowan w i i l g i v e a n e x c e l l e n t
p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h i s paper and be a b l e t o answer any q u e s t i o n s t h a t a r i s e on my systems approach t o a l t e r e a s t a t e s of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , f o r n o t o n l y i s he thoroughly f a m i l i a r w i t h i t , b u t our i n t e r a c t i o n s s e v e r a l y e a r s ago were
q u i t e u s e f u l i n my f o r m u l a t i o n of t h i s approach. I n more t h a n f i f t e e n y e a r s of o b s e r v i n g and r e s e a r c h i n g the psychologic a l phenomena l o o s e l y c a l l e d a l t e r e d s t a t e s of consciousness (ASCs), have been r e p e a t e d l y impressed w i t h t h e i n c r e d i b l e range of phenomena
P
Tart
-2-
encompassed by t h a t term and a l s o by t h e h i g h d e g r e e o f u n r e l a t e d n e s s o f most of t h e s e phenomena.
Hundreds of people have t o l d me about r a d i c a l
a l t e r a t i o n s i n t h e i r mental functioning, not only f o r r e l a t i v e l y f a m i l i a r a r e a s a s dreaming o r s t r o n g emotional changes, b u t a l s o f o r changes assoc i a t e d w i t h such e x o t i c procedures l i k e v a r i o u s k i n d s of m e d i t a t i o n , hypnosis, marijuana i n t o x i c a t i o n , i n t o x i c a t i o n wFth major p s y c h e d e l i c d r u g s , out-of-
the-body e x p e r i e n c e s , m e d i u m i s t i c t r a n c e s t a t e s , a v a r i e t y o f more i d i o s y n c r a t i c s t a t e s t h a t seem unique to p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d u a l s , s h a r e d ASCs by p r a c t i t i o n e r s of p a r t i c u l a r s p i r i t u a l d i s c i p l i n e s , and e x p e r i e n c e s i n that c a t e g o r y t h a t w e vaguely l a b e l "rnystica:
experiences."
I n terms o f
s c i e n t i f i c u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f ASCs, however, we have thousands of m i s c e l l a n e o u s b i t s of d a t a b u t few o f them have any c l e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o any of t h e o t h e r s . Although I r e s e a r c h e d some of t h e above ASCs f a i r l y e x t e n s i v e l y , I g r a d u a l l y r e a l i z e d t h a t my own and o t h e r s ' r e s e a r c h e s were mainly adding more i n t e r e s t i n g b u t u n r e l a t e d p i e c e s t o a n a l r e a d y scrambled p i c t u r e , s o around 1970 I t e m p o r a r i l y moved away from l a b o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h and t r i e d o u t t h e r o l e of t h e o r e t i c i a n i n o r d e r t o make s e n s e of t h i s a r e a .
The r e s u l t has
been t h e c r e a t i o n of a t h e o r e t i c a l framework o r paradigm t h a t I c a l l a
Tar r
-3-
syotems approach t o ASCs.
To my g e n e r a l knowledge, i t makes most of t h e
psychologica),, a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , and p h y s i o l o g i c a l d a t a a b o u t ASCs f a l l i n t o a u,seful p a t t e r n . 5in twenty minutes 1 c a n do v e r y l i t t l e toward p r e s e n t i n g a comprehen-
s i v e p i c t u r e o f this systems approach
t o ASCs, s o I s h a l l focus mainly on
c l a r i f y i n g the concept of t h e " s t a t e " of c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
T h i s systems
approach has been p r e s e n t e d i n f u l l i n my r e c e n t S t a t e s o f Consciousness book, and t h a t book can be c o n s u i t e d f o r d e t a i l s . Constructed Nature of Ordinary Consciousness A main oiutcome of iay s t u d i e s of .4SCs has been t o make me aware of how
i g n o r a n t we a r e o f t h e n a t u r e of o u r o r d i n a r y s t a t e .
Particularly, there
a r e two major, l a r g e l y i m p l i c i t o p e r a t i n g a s s u n p t i o n s used by almost all o r d i n a r y people and alinost a l l s c i e n t i s t s t h a t s e r i o u s l y d i s t o r t our understanding of
o u r o r d i n a r y and a l t e r e d s t a t e s .
The f i r s t assumption is t h a t our o r d i n a r y s t a t e o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s somehow " n a t u r a l , "
t h a t i t i s sirnply t h e way consciousness ought t o be.
One e f f e c t o f t h i s assumption i s t o make t h e phenomena r e p o r t e d i n ASCs seem odd o r unusual:
many of t h e phenomena w e r o u t i n e l y e x p e r i e n c e i n our o r d i n a r y
s t a t e would be j u s t a s odd from a d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e , b u t , b e i n g f a m i l i a r ,
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Tart we pay l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n t o them.
I t r u s t t h a t a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s are n o t a s
s t r o n g l y taken i n by t h e i d e a t h a t our o r d i n a r y s t a t e o f c o n s c i o u e n e s s i s natural as investigators i n other disciplines. The second assumptfon, r e l a t e d t o t h e f i r s t , i s t h a t our ordinary
s t a t e is somehow "normal,"
.
eonsci~usnass
t h a t i t is t h e b e s t o r o p t i m a l o r g a n i z a t i o n of
Consequently WSCs tend t o be f m p l i c i t l y viewed In a b i a s e d
manner, a s somehow b e i n g i n f e r i o r o r p a t h o l o g f c a l .
important A s w e know how/ i t is t o
c l e a r l y s e p a r a t e t h e d e s c r i p t F v e a s p e c t o f d a t a g a t h e r i n g from t h e cvaluarna y t i o n we/want t o make l a t e r , i t is c l e a r t h a t t h i s
id
v e r y bad f o r s c i e n c e
t o confuse r h e s e two p r o c e s s e s . P s y c h o l o g i c a l d a t a now show q u i t e c l e a r l y , c o n t r a r y t o the above assumpcion, tnac our ordinary s t a t e of c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s a c o n s t r u c t i o n , n o t a given, a a n d / s p e c i a l i z e d c o n s t r u c t i o n t h a t is, i n many ways, q u i t e a r b i t r a r y . The f i r s t s l i d e i l l u s t r a t e s a concept I l e a r n e d i n anthropology c l a s a e s y e a r s ago (and h e r e I would l i k e t o e x p r e s s my i n d e b t e d n e s s t o John Honigman, one of my most b r i l l i a n t t e a c h e r s ) , t h e concept of t h e spectrum of human
potentials.
a Simply by b e i n g b o r n a human b e i n g e a c h of us p o s s e s s e s / c e r t a i n
kind of body and nervous system, o p e r a t i n g i n accordance w i t h t h e p h y s i c a l
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laws o f our environment, and t h u s we have a v e r y l a r g e ( b u t n o t i n f i n i t e ) number of p o t e n t i a l a which could be developed. into a particular culture,
of o n l y sone of t h e s e p o t e n t i a l s .
Each of us i s , however, b o r n
t o people who r e c o g n i z e t h e e x i s t e n c e
Among t h o s e t h e y r e c o g n i z e , some have
been c l a s s i f i e d as 'qgood"and. t h u s h a v e c u l t u r a l p r e s s u r e t o develop them,
w h i l e o t h e r s a r e "bad1' and a c t i v e l y inl.iibited
or discouraged.
Thus c u l t u r e
A i n t h e first s l i d e r e i n f o r c e s c e r t a i n human p o t e n t i a l s and d e l i b e r a t e l y
blocks nthers.
:>t:.l.ture B . mekes d i f f e r e n t selections from t h e s g e c t r w l of
human p o t e n t i a l s : totally different.
some may o v e r l a p t h o s e of c u l t u r e A , o t h e r s w i l l be
A s w e w e l l know, e a c h c u l t u r e i s l i a b l e t o view t h e
o t h e r a s s t r a n g e , savage, o r m a l i c i o u s .
a i a r g e number of human p o t e n t i a l s .
Both c u l t u r e s remain i g n o r a n t of
Some o f t h e s e p o t e n t i a l s r a y remain
l a t e n t , and have t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f b e i n g developed l a t e r under unusual circunlstances, o t h e r s , i f n o t developed w i t h i n n c r i t i c a l p e r i o d , n a y become permanently i n a c c e s s i b l e , The second
s l i d e b r i e f l y o u t l i n e s the e n c u l t u r a t f o n process.
W e do n o t have time t o c o n s i d e r i t i n d e t a i l , b u t b a s i c a l l y t h e many unorganized p o t e n t i a l s of t h e i n f a n t , under p r e s s u r e from p a r e n t s , t e a c h e r s , p e e r s , and
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i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h e x t e r n a l r e a l i t y g r a d u a l l y become shaped i n t o a s m a l l e r b u t organized number, and i t is t h e h a b i t u a l o p e r a t i o n of t h e developed psychological p o t e n t i a l s t h a t c o n s t i t u t e s our o r d i n a r y s t a t e of consciousness. Through psychological processes such as c o n d i t i o n i n g , we develop an o r d i n a r y s t a t e of consciousness t h a t might be b e t t e r c a l l e d "consensus" consciousness, a h a b i t u a l p a t t e r n o f mental f u n c t i o n i n g and s t y l e s of coping w i t h r e a l i t y t h a t r e f l e c t the g o a l s , v a l u e s , advantages, and disadvantages o r our p a r t i cular culture.
N a t u r a l l y t h e r e is c o n s i d e r a b l e i n d i v i d u a l v a r i a b i l i t y here,
depending both on chance circumstances i n t h e e n c u l t u r a l process and i n d i v i d u a l r e a c t i o n s t o i t , b u t i n g e n e r a l t o s a y t h a t a person is i n an "ordinary" s t a t e means t h a t h i s mental processes r e f l e c t the v a l u e s of h i s culture,
My systems approach views b a s i c awareness, the undefinable b u t
u l t i m a t e a s p e c t of coneciouaness behind more a r t i c u l a t e d phenomena a s common t o a l l f u n c t i o n i n g human beings, b u t t h e r e l a t i v e l y permanent psychological s k i l l s , h a b i t s , and s t r u c t u r e s developed i n t h e course o f e n c u l t u r a t i o n constitute s o lead
t h e s t r u c t u r e s t h a t a r e a c t i v a t e d by the p l a y of awareness, and
t o "consciousness,
"
t h a t compounds b a s i c awareness mu1t i p l i e d by
learned, e n c u l t u r a t e d psychological s t r u c t u r e s .
While we have some voluntary
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c o n t r o l of b a s i c awareness, i t u s u a l l y runs i n h a b i t u a l p a t t e r n s which, i n turn, have been l a i d down during t h e course of e n c u l t u r a t i o n . States. of Consciousness
Now l e t us consider the concept of " s t a t e s " of consciousness i n a general way.
Since a p a r t i c u l a r human p o t e n t i a l 3s developed by a given c u l t u r e
determines what w@ can exPerience,what we can be conscious o f , the f i r s t s l i d e could be re-viewed as a spectrum of e x p e r i e n t i a l p o t e n t i a l i t i e s , and then we would s a y t h a t c u l t u r e A, through i t s e n c u l t u r a t i o n process, has e f f e c t i v e l y patterned the experience of i t s membere along c e r t a i n common l i n e s and r e s t r i c t e d i t from c e r t a i n o t h e r l i n e s of experience,
Culture B,
by making a d i f f e r e n t s e l e c t i o n , has given a d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i e n t i a l p a t t e r n i n g t o the everyday conscious experience of i t s members, i n s t e a d of being
Thus the two f o c i ,
labeled c u l t u r e A and c u l t u r e B, could be labeled
state
of consciousness A and s t a t e of consciousness B, and s o i l l u s t r a t e the d i f f e r e n t consensus consciousnesses f o r two d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e s ,
We can use t h i s same
analogy, however, t o c l a r i f y one of the two b a s i c i d e a s underlying t h e concept of a s t a t e of consciousness, namely t h a t w i t h i n the same i n d i v i d u a l there
may be
o r more
f o c i of organization of consciousness, each of
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which r e p r e s e n t s a c e r t a i n s e l e c t i o n of human p o t e n t i a l i t i e s .
Thus s t a t e
of consciousness B becomes a n a l t e r e d s t a t e of consciousness w i t h r e s p e c t t o s t a t e A.
I f a person is unhappy i n h i s o r her ordinary state, one way
of seeking g r e a t e r happiness might be t o t r y t o reorganize h i s or her mind i n a fashion we c a l l an a l t e r e d s t a t e where the (more d e s i r a b l e ) s e l e c t i o n of p o t e n t i a l s from focus B is a v a i l a b l e .
The reasons f o r d e s i r i n g such
temporary o r permanent r e o r g a n i z a t i o n can be n e u r o t i c o r healthy, depending on the s t a t e of the c u l t u r e i n which a person l i v e s . Now l e t us approach the concept of s t a t e from a d i f f e r e n t d i r e c t i o n . Bla~pingExperience The terms " s t a t e of consciousness" and "altered s t a t e s of consciousness" a r e now used s o imprecisely t o cover s o many d i f f e r e n t things, not only i n popular b u t f r e q u e n t l y i n s c i e n t i f i c usage, t h a t i t is important i n my systems approach t o c l a r i f y what i s meant by s t a t e . by a n t h r o p o l o g i s t s i n a s i m i l a r loose way.
The term "trance" has been used Both "state" and "trance" a r e
n o t i d e n t i c a l w i t h whatever t h e momentary content of coneciousness happens i t is t o be, b u r l t h e way the words a r e a l l too f r e q u e n t l y used:
far-xeaching, r a d i c a l changes i n mental functioning,
they r e f e r t o
Tar t
-9A way of c l a r i f y i n g the concept comes from using the procedure of mapping
experience.
an W e can u s e f u l l y keep t r a c k o f / o b j e c t l s or i n d i v i d u a l ' s movements
i n physical space by s e t t i n g up a coordinate system and t h e n l o c a t i n g the individual's p o s i t i o n i n t h a t space a t various times.
I n p r i n c i p l e we can
a l s o map a person's p o s i t i o n i n e x p e r i e n t i a l space a t any time i f we i d e n t i f y and d e f i n e and f i n d ways of measuring the important dimensions of experience t h a t q u a n t i t a t i v e v a r i a t i o n occurs a l o n g ,
E x p e r i e n t i a l , behavioral, and
physiological measures can be combined i n f r u i t f u l ways here, a l t h o u g h f emphasize e x p e r i e n t i a l dimensions.
W e might def Lne a dimension as " r a t i o n a l f ty"
f o r example, where we can give a person a b r i e f problem every few minutes and score the r a t i o n a l i t y of h i s answer, i.e.,
the degree t o which i s answer
follows g e n e r a l l y accepted r u l e s f o r a c e r t a i n consensus r e a l i t y .
W e might
then f i n d t h a t r a t i o n a l i t y v a r i e d from very high values t o very low values. A second dimeasion might be a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e o r h a l l u c i n a t e , the degree t o which a n image t h a t we believed t o e x i s t only w i t h i n the mind has the i n t e n e i t y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a n a c t u a l sensory perception versus p a r t i a l degrees of such i n t e n s i t y .
For s i m p l i c i t y , assume that two dimension8 would be adequate f o r study
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o f a given problem, even though we r e a l l y need multi-dimensional maps f o r t h e r i c h n e s s of human experience.
The t h i r d s l i d e then can give us a
s p e c i f i c example of t h i s kind of e x p e r i e n t i a l mapping.
Suppose, working
w i t h a sigale i n d i v i d u a l , t h a t on twenty-eight temporally s u c c e s s i v e occasions
I _
we measured both t h e degree of r a t i o n a l i t y and t h e a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e .
For
each p a i r o f measurements w e put a c i r c l e on t h e map d e f i n e d j.n t h e s l i d e . Suppose we o b t a i n t h e r e s u l t s shown, namely t h a t our measurements obviously f a l l i n t o t h r e e d i s c r e t e c l u s t e r s , which I have drawn l i n e s around for convenience, and do n o t seem t o ' f a l l anywhere e l s e i n t h i s two-dimensional space, even w i t h a d d i t i o n a l observation.
This kind of mapping, done i m p l i c i t l y ,
i s behind t h e b a s i c concept of a ''state"
of consciousness.
Done consciously
and p r e c i s e l y , i t is t h e o p e r a t i o n f o r d e f i n i n g states w i t h i n t h e systems approach.
Here we have d a t a t h a t i n d i c a t e t h a t experience f a l l s i n t o s e v e r a l
d i s c r e t e clusters or ranges of Eunctioning, and t h a t t h e s e c l u s t e r s are import a n t l y d i f f e r e n t from one another. For t h e s p e c i f i c example shown i n t h e s l i d e , I have p u t i n two univers a l l y known and one more e x o t i c s t a t e s .
The c l u e t e r i n t h e lower r i g h t hand
c o r n e r , where r a t i o n a l i t y ranges from moderate t o very high and a b i l i t y t o
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v i s u a l i z e ranges Erm somewhat low t o f a i r is, f o r most people, t h e i r o r d i n a r y s t a t e , consensus consciousness. f o r our c u l t u r e .
The c l u s t e r i n
t h e upper l e f t hand c o r n e r , w i t h v e r y h i g h a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e b u t r a t i o n a l i t y o f t e n q u i t e low, is t h e s t a t e o f n o c t u r n a l dreaming, where we e x p e r i e n c e t h e v i s u a l world which seems q u i t e i n t e n s e t o us a t t h e time, b u t , by cons e n s u s consciousness s t a n d a r d s , we o f t e n t a k e c o n s i d e r a b l e l i b e r t y w i t h rationality.
The upper r i g h t hand c o r n e r of t h e graph i l l u s t r a t e s a s t a t e
as c h a r a c t e r i z e d as by/high i n a b i l i t y t o v i s u a l i z e a s i n o r d i n a r y dreaming, t h e " h a l l u c i n a t e d " s c e n e r y seems q u i t e i n t e n s e and r e a l , b u t r a t i o n a l i t y a l s o seems q u i t e high.
T h i s is a s t a t e t h a t h a s been termed lucid dreaming.
T h i s is a s p e c i a l type o f dream, u e u a l l y a r i s i n g from an o r d i n a r y dream, i n which a person r e p o r t s t h a t he "wakes up" i n t h a t he u s u a l l y remembers h i s i d e n t i t y , r e a l i z e s that he is a c t u a l l y a s l e e p and t h a t he i s dreaming, and t h a t t h e dream world around him must be h a l l u c i n a t o r y , b u t even though he
feels p e r f e c t l y r a t i o n a l and h i s mental f u n c t i o n i n g seems t o work j u s t as yours d o e s now, he n e v e r t h e l e s s f i n d s himself e x p e r i e n t i a l l y l o c a t e d i n t h e dream world.
This kind of mapping a l ' l w o , o f c o u r s e , f o r changes w i t h i n cll9.fiters:
-
Tart no s t a t e i s s t a t i c .
12-
But by s t a t e we mean t h a t i n s p i t e of v a r i o u s changes
a l o n g v a r i o u s dimensions, our experience doee seem t o f a l l i n t o a recognizable
area of e x p e r i e n t i a l space. D i s c r e t e S t a t e s of C o n s c i o u ~ n e a s While the kind of e x p e r i e n t i a l mapping of t h e t h i r d s l i d e adequately conveys t h e idea of q u a n t i t a t i v e v a r i a t i o n of p a r t i c u l a r human p o t e n t i a l s i n various a l t e r e d s t a t e s , i t does not adequately convey the idea of q u a l i t a t i v e changes, which does indeed g e t r e p o r t e d ,
Nor does t h i s kind of map-
p i n g a d e q u a t e l y convey t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n a l q u a l i t i e s of t h e p o t e n t i a l s involved i n a s t a t e of consciousness, t h e f a c t t h a t they form a s t a b i l i z e d , i n t e r r e l a t e d g e s t a l t from which a r i s e .system p r o p e r t i e s that cannot be deduced j u s t from a knowledge of t h e p a r t s . way of r e p r e s e n t i n g an a l t e r e d s t a t e .
The f i r s t s l i d e shows a b e t t e r
I f you w i l l look j u s t a t t h e heavy
g a m e t r i c a l o b j e c t s which symbolize v a r i o u s human p o t e n t i a l s and t h e heavy l i n e s connecting them, what you have i s a kind of time l a p s e photograph of a s t a t e of consciousness.
A t t e n t i o n t r a v e l s i n h a b i t u a l , conditioned
manners from one p o t e n t i a l t o a n o t h e r , and t h e shape t h a t t h i s leaves over a
time g i v e s you the system q u a l i t i e s , t h e g e s t a l t p r o p e r t i e s o f j s t a t e of
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Tart coneciousness. t o it.
Thus our analogy shows a s t a t e t h a t has
a " s t a r shape1' f e e l
Indeed, when we q u e s t i o n people a s t o haw they c l a s s i f y what s t a t e
of c ~ n s c i o u s n e s a they am i n , sometimes they t r y t o n o t i c e whether p a r t i c u l a r e x p e r i e n c e s t h a t they can use a s markers a r e o c c u r r i n g , b u t o f t e n they, i n a sense, w h o Z l i s t i c a l l y s c a n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r shape.
the whole f i e l d of t h e i r experience and i d e n t i f y
Thus i f I aek you r i g h t now would you want t o b e t
f i f t y d o l l a r s t h a t you're a c t u a l l y dreaming about being here and y o u t l l wake up i n bed i n f i v e minutes, I doubt t h a t anyone would take me up on t h e b e t . Some of you would immediately j u s t s c a n the p a t t e r n of your experiences
and
see t h a t t h i s i s t h e p a t t e r n you a s s o c i a t e w i t h your o r d i n a r y waking s t a t e ,
w i t h no doubt about i t .
Others might n o t e p a r t i c u l a r q u a l i t i e s p r e s e n t t h a t
a r e a v a i l a b l e only i n t h e i r o r d i n a r y state, and/or a l a c k of c e r t a i n q u a l i t i e s t h a t they a s s o c i a t e w i t h a dreaming s t a t e , and make a d e c i s i o n on t h a t b a s i s . I n o r d e r t o rescue t h e terms " s t a t e of consclousnessl' and " a l t e r e d s t a t e s
of consciousness" from ambiguity s o t h e y could have reasonable s c i e n t i f i c usage, I have proposed t h e terms d i s c r e t e s t a t e s of consciousness (d-SoCs) and d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s o f consciousness (d-ASCs).
A d-SoC f o r a given
i n d i v i d u a l i s a unique system o r c o n f i g u r a t i o n of psychological s t r u c t u r e s
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.-
o r subsystems.
!I4.-
While t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems show some q u a n t i t a t i v e
and minor q u a l i t a t i v e v a r i a t . i o n s i n t h e way i n which they f u n c t i o n w i t h i n a
d-SoC, n e v e r t h e l e s s t h e i r p a t t e r n of i n t e r a c t i o n s r e t a i n s a recognizable a i d e n t i t y allowing the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f / s t a t e .
Further, t h e o p e r a t i o n s , of
t h e s e s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems i n t e r a c t w i t h one another and s t a b i l i z e ea,ch o t h e r s ' f u n c t i o n i n g i n v a r i o u s ways t o p r o t e c t . t h e i n t e g r i t y of the system, t h e d i s c r e t e s t a t e , i n s p i t e of a wide range of i n p u t from the environment and a wide range of a c t i o n s performed by t h e person.. Understanding a s t a t e o f consciousness then, involves n o t o n l y a n understanding of v a r i o u s psyc h o l o g i c a l components of i t b u t a f e e l f o r t h e p a t t e r n o f t h e whole, If you w i l l r e t u r n pour a t t e n t i o n t o t h e s l i d e now and look a t the
l i g h t connecting l i n e s , you c a n s e e an i l l u s t r a t i o n of a d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d . state.
While t h e r e a r e some s t r u c t u r e s o r f u n c t i o n s t h a t were p r e s e n t i n
t h e o r d i n a r y s t a t e s t i l l p r e s e n t , some new p o t e n t i a l s t h a t were l a t e n t i n terms of the o r d i n a r y s t a t e a r e now p a r t of the f u n c t i o n i n g system, and the o v e r a l l p a t t e r n , t h e o v e r a l l s t y l e of use of these v a r i o u s p o t e n t i a l s is a l s o different.
By analogy, i t i s now a kind of r e c t a n g u l a r s t a t e of conw
s c i o u s n e s s r a t h e r than a roughly star-shaped one.
The d i f f e r e n c e s between
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a n y two d i s c r e t e s t a t e s then, exist
n o t o n l y on a m o l e c u l a r l e v e l , but a l s o
i n terms o f t h e i r emergent s y s t e m p r o p e r t i e s .
The same k i n d of argument
can, o f c o u r s e , be a p p l i e d when t a l k i n g a b o u t two c u l t u r e s , b u t one must f i n d not only e p e c i f i c t r a i t d i f f e r e n c e s b u t a d i f f e r e n t s t y l e of organizat i o n of t h e s e t r a i t s . Note c o n e c i o u s l y t h a t the a d j e c t i v e " a l t e r e d " i s o n l y d e s c r i p t i v e , i t means t h a t , g i v e n one d i a c r e t e s t a t e as a b a s e l i n e , u s u a l l y o u r consensus c o n s c i o u s n e s s , r a d i c a l changes o c c u r w i t h r e s p e c t t o i t . A t o u r p r e s e n t l e v e l of knowledge, t h i s systems approach t o d e f i n i n g d i s c r e t e s t a t e s i s mainly a p p l i e d t o what are cotmnonly r e c o g n i z e d es r a d i c a l
r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s of c o n s c i o u s n e s s , s u c h a s dreaming, l u c i d dreaming, hypnosis, i n t o x i c a t i o n w i t h various drugs, e t c .
I'L~
a l s o convinced t h a t q u i t e s t r o n g
e m o t i o n a l s t a t e s a l s o b r t n g a b o u t sudden and r a d i c a l r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n t h e f u n c t i o n s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s e , p a r t i c u l a r l y s t a t e s such as h i g h s e x u a l a r o u s a l . Because time i s s h o r t , I must s k i p over many o f t h e most i n t e r e s t i n g a s p e c t s of t h e systems approach t h a t f o l l o w from t h i s b a s i c c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n , s u c h a s t h e v a s t importance of i n d i v i d u a l and c r o s s - c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s , what t h e major s t r u c t u r e s and subsystems of c o n s c i o u s n e s s a r e , t h e p r o c e s s e s
w t ~ s r c b yd i . ~ c r e l . estates arc: ~ t a b i . l i ~ . e daric! ,
p r a c t f c e s used c r o s s - c u l t u r a l l y ,
he :JZ.SI.I:
i - e t i l r e ef t . 1 ~:?rnyu
acd go d i r e c t l y t o scme of t h e m e t h o d o l o g i c a %
coasequences cf t h e systecls a p p r o a c h f c r r e s e z r c h s n g ~ h j sa r e a
i~ p ~ i m a r ) . .j : l ~ a C t l C r ? ,
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a l . ? c ~ : e d c t . 2 t - e s now.
., L . e r ~ i ~oaf lily gener-i underscar?cii.ng, it: w o r k s quj-te w e l l :
~y ;;:;t-:ident-s and
':re a p p l y i n g F t t o t h e e x i s t i n g l i t e r s t u r e on d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s i n
2
ore s y s t e m a t i c way t h i s y e a r .
The approai:!l
ca!l a l s o l e a d t o t e s t a b l e
p r e d i c t i o n s . , b e i n g p o t e n t i a l l y c a p a b l e o f s p e c i f y i n g , f o r example, s t a t e s
of c o n s c i ~ u s n e s s t h a t c a n ~ o otc c u r because o f t h e b a s i c n a t u r e o f t h e human mind and nervous s y s t e m , b u t , g i v e n v a s t g a p s i.n even o u r d e s c r i p t i v e
knowledge of n o s t d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s , I am n o t elnphasizing p r e d i c t i o n
a t t h i s p o i n t s o much a s d a t a g a t h e r i n g . The prime m e t h o d o l o g i c a l consequence o f t h e sys terns a p p r o a c h for me,
a l t h o u g h i t was n o t my i l i t e n t i o r i w h i l e d e v e l o p i n g i t , i s t h e way i n which
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we take f o r g r a n t e d th.e st,abiiiizi;tl.on of our o r d i n a r y consensus
consciousuesEi, ever: i : h ~ ~ g bit:. i s a 1;ighiy comp~e:r co!!si:ru~ticn, ib,e sbare:d Lj-aset; tljut. t t l c scieiitl.:.I:.' I.c
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This is particu1ar:ly t r u e
when the cultura:l. o r subculcu~:a!. b a c k , ~ r u u n c , ~2 Llrc ~ n d i i l . i d u a l s.vai.i.c;s,
?.
third clajcr 1nettiodologicaL conseqilence or' ~ u ys y s t e m s ap2rc~acilfoLlows
.?coin ::he
.?act c h a t i t r e c o g n i z e s t h a t any d i s c r e t e s t a t e o f c o n s c i ~ ~ s n e s a
.i.s i n u l t i p l y s t a b i l i z e d , b y buch p h y s i o i o g f c a l end psychoLugica1 p r o c e s s e s . Thus when w e l o o k a t t h e way a l - t e r e d s t . a t e s a r e i n d u c e d , t h e i n d u c t i o n pro-
c e d u ~ : e s .rJe ~ come t o real.i.ze r_b.at l . ? h i l e
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w h e t h e r a g i v e n indu.ctiorr p r o c e d u r e h a s been engaged. i n , t h a t does n o t t e l l
you w h e t h e r t h e r e was a c t u a l l y a n y a l t e r a t i o n of c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
Although
b e h a v i o r h a s b e e n t h e f a d i n psychology f o r t b e l a s t f o r t y y e a r s , t h e s t u d y
of a l t e r e d s t a t e s f o r c e s us t o look a t e x p e r i e n t i a l d a t a , s o , f o r example,
t h e o n l y way to s t a t e unequivocaliy t h a t a n i n d i v i d u a l i s i n a p a r t F c u L o r
d i s c r e t e a i t e r e d s t a t e i e t o c o n d u c t some k i n d of e x p e r i e n t i a l mappFng c h a t
shows t h a t h i s e x p e r i e n c e s a c t u a l l y f a l l i n t h a t r e g i o n of e x p e r i e n t i a l
space.
kc :
Taking a ~ s y c h o a c t i . v ed r u g , g o i n g t h r o u g h a c e r t a i n r i t u a l , l i s t e n i n g
hypnotist t a l k ,
i-~fifieof
t h ~ i j sg u a r a n t e e t b a c s n y d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e
will d e w l.(>jj. F i n a l l y , t h e h i g h l i g h t i n g of t h e c u l t u r a l r e l a t i v i t y of o u r o r d i n a r y zsnsene!,is c o n s c i o u s n e s s end ~ h cb i a s e s c h a t l i m i t and c o n d i t i o n i t , p l u s s
r e c o g n i t i o n t h a t , i n v a r i o u s d i s c r e t e a l t e r e d s t a t e s , t h e r e a r e sometimes radical s h i f t s i n the nature of these biases,
l e d me t o p r o p o s e , s e v e r a l .
years ago, t h a t we d e v e l o p s t a t e - s p e c i f i c s c i e n c e s .
Although I can mention
i t o n l y b r i e f l y h e r e , t h e e s s e n c e o f s c i e n t i f i c method ( a s opposed t o t h e
p a r t i c u l a r p r o d u c t s and p h i l o s o p h i e s t h a t have become i d e n t i f i e d w i t h s c i e n c e ) i s a n emphasis on d i s c i p l i n e d o b s e r v a t i o n , t h e o r i z i n g , p r e d i c t i o n , and f u l l
communication w i t h c o l l e a g u e s a b o u t e a c h of t h e s e p r o c e s s e s , a knowledger e f i n i n g p r o c e d u r e a b o u t some segment o f r e a l i t y t h a t makes o u r c o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n s f i t o u r o b s e r v a t i o n s t o a b e t t e r and b e t t e r d e g r e e .
While t r a d i -
in t i o n a l l y the a r e a o f interest: i s s m e t h i n g l t h e e x t e r n a l , physical world,
t h e are;;. may
. i.ll soids kc.. ssoo~e p a r t o f e x p e r i e i z t i a l . spacd, phena;ienn VF;I..~~~L!
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~ : , ya p p l y - i r t g ; r c ~ e n r ilfc kno~a;i.eilge, k h l s t i i g l ~ i .u~s c i u l - ,
knowLadgi;-ref iiliag ~ n e t h c d , i u o n l y one d i s c r e t e s t a t e , our consensus con-
sci.i;,.;snens, c h c s h a r e d and 1.augeiy i l n p l i c i t bLases w i t h i n our
seve!;.;!!.;.
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