I’ve been interested in the concept of consciousness expansion for a while and I have some questions about it?
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What do people refer to as “consciousness expansion”? Does it have any relation with neuroscience?
As I stated above, in what ways can my consciousness be “expanded”? Many people say that psychedelics, hallucinogens and entheogens are used for this purpose, but in what ways do they do that? And what types of substances can induce these states? Personal spiritual experiences would be nice.
Nootropics and cognitive enhancers are also considered for consciousness expansion, is this simply a result of stimulating intellectual abilities via neurogenesis? So couldn’t a sudoku puzzle be called expanding consciousness simply because it induces neurogenesis?
Are altered states of reality a method of consciousness expansion? For example, I myself have Asperger’s syndrome, and has a result, I have a different brain than most of them, could my perceptions as a result of my neurodiversity be called consciousness-expanding? In that case, then perhaps inducing other subjective altered states of perception is actually “beneficial” to my brain and my awareness?
Consciousness expansion? Well a drug is a drug, it alters the level of consciousness but it’s effect is short lived so that can hardly be a successful case of consciousness expansion. Increasing a persons awareness is expanding their consciousness. What can a person confront or not confront?
Increased awareness would mean the ability to confront. Let’s look at that…you tell someone a lie, so you have something in your mind which now needs to create a series of events and hold them there as true whereas they are not. So it’s easier in most cases to avoid the person you lied to, thereby narrowing your ability to confront that person. The more lies you tell, the bigger the need to hide becomes. You make up a story for example saying you were in joes cafe when you weren’t. the person discovers you weren’t by asking joe now you’re avoiding the person you lied to and joe.
So obviously honesty has much to do with consciousness.
Look at a dog, what do you see? Do you simply see the dog or does it bring back memories of a time you were frightened by a dog? Maybe it only brigs these memories on a low conscious level but that level may be enough to alter youy experience of looking at a dog and seeing what is there rather seeing what is perceived to be there. So obviously expanding consciousness would also involve nullyifying sub conscious memories of bad experiences. It’s a long subject but i think the answer lies in honesty and ability to confront rather than drugs.
try reading a book that would do it
zbdblues is right.
Imagine the potential you could reach without drugs through raw meditation or though process.
We only use a very small portion of our brains anyways.
Consciousness is relative to our Ego, or our desire to receive pleasure. It is similar to the Matrix, where we are “plugged in” to a system that controls our perceptions (Egoism), and we have to consciously choose to exit this program. To unplug from this subjective, physical reality, we have to change that internal quality of Egoism into Altruism, to expand our conscious mind outside of the subjective, into the roots of reality. I highly recommend you check these links out in relation to your question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZky9sW59M**
http://www.perceivingreality.com/
http://www.illuzia.net/en/videos/clips/dream
P1: The consciousness expansion you are talking about is being able to pay attention to your surroundings. I’m guessing the main thing that you are wanting to notice is indications as to what people are thinking?
P2: DO NOT DO ANY DRUGS OF ANY KIND. SELF MEDICATION SHOULD NEVER BE DONE. None of the psychedelics, hallucinogens, and entheogens will help you with any of that, nor anything else for that matter. None of these are actually spiritual inhancers. A good thing for spiritual enhancement is meditating. I have been doing it for 5 years, and it has helped me look at things from other’s point of view.
P3: Sudoku would help a bit, but the main thing it does to help with consciousness expansion is by making your mind more alert. The rest involves knowing what to look for.
P4: Yes, altered states of reality are that way, but the effects that you might be reffering to are different from the ones you want. However, meditation does put you in a calmer state, allowing you to think about and notice their emotioms. This will help you in to figuring out how to help other people. I’m not sure if it is the neurons that do it. I haven’t looked into the neurological part of being an Aspy, which is weird, since I am one. Once again, DO NOT DO DRUGS!!!!!
Meditation has a certain healing ability. If practiced often (at least once a day) for a long period of time (time varies from person to person, but it will most likely take at least half a year), then you should be able to heal whatever is wrong with the neurons. I would suggest using a mantra (phrase) to focus your mind on the intent. Instead of picking a mantra focusing on the neurons themselves, pick one that focuses on becoming more aware of things. For example, you could say, “I am observant,” and your mind will start beleieving this, so it will adjust, which in turn makes the body adjust. Pick a phrase that is meaningful to you. Get a mala (necklace with beads on it that you use to tick of how many times you have done it) or a rosary (same thing, except mala is bhuddist and rosary is christian). The mala has 108 beads, while the rosary has only 50, (you might want to look that one up) so if you get a mala, it is best to start by going half-way around it and work your way up.