New Insights into ESP, Hallucinations & ASC

Abstract

From a unique perspective, this paper attempts to make a new interpretation of altered states of consciousness (ASC) induced by meditation, mind-altering drugs, hypnosis, or physiological lesions. Based on empirical evidence, we summarize four essential phenomena (hallucinations, paranormal phenomena, enhanced awareness and mystical experiences) in ASC after an initial clarification. However, the existence of paranormal phenomena, especially extrasensory perception (ESP), has been disputed for more than one century. Therefore, taking ESP as a breakthrough, we firstly propose a novel hypothesis that ESP happens because there are two pathways through which to affect perception, and the essence of ESP is that 1. false internal stimulations are mistaken as external objective stimulations that enter through various senses and similarly, 2. external objective stimulations appear as perceptions that do not actually result from the senses (when one is in deep hallucinations). To support this hypothesis, which is totally different from “quantum entanglement” and “multidimensional spacetime”, we then develop an original model of hallucinations: when false internal stimulations and external objective stimulations affect perception together, the changes in their relative strengths will result in the consistence, breakdown and re-consistence of the five senses, leading to three states of hallucinations (one can distinguish reality from fantasy, one cannot distinguish reality from fantasy, and reality and fantasy are totally reversed). This model can also explain the generation mechanism of out-of-body experiences, synesthesia and many other marvelous psychedelic phenomena in ASC. After that, a new filtering model is presented to explain enhanced awareness and its potential value is explored. Based on the models, a unified analytical framework will be made to reveal the essence of ASC: the loss of the self results in three mechanisms (enhanced awareness, hallucinations and jhāna samādhi) and the relation of them is figured out. Finally, this paper also reveals the essence of Buddhist deep insight and the mystery of cessation and insight.