consciousness slides
DESCRIPTION
Covers basic topics covered during the Consciousness section of my General Psychology course.TRANSCRIPT
ConsciousnessAwareness of the external world and internal states
Mueller-Lyer Illusion
Going Up or Down?
Is this possible?
Consciousness & Reality
• Is it possible to expand our consciousness?
• What gets in the way of greater awareness?
• What would it mean if we could experience “Unity Consciousness?”
UnityConsciousness
• Open, receptive consciousness• Here and now focus• Eternity = Now• Acknowledges the
interconnectedness of all things
“Words Will Never Hurt Me”
• Boundaries in consciousness define our reality
• These boundaries are learned• Words and their definitions create
boundaries
Ken Wilber
Psych 30A:Consciousness Studies
Examine the Spectrum of Consciousness
How Consciousness Works
Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle- Many realities exist simultaneously until the act of observation “selects” the reality then experienced- Our focus selects the reality we perceive, and other “realities” fade
Double-slit Experiment - waves versus particles
http://www.whatthebleep.com/download/
10
How the Past Affects the Present
• How we define our past, or our definitions of our experiences– Leads to continued reactions to
experience – Can lead to missing new ways of
responding – Strengthens the neural nets– Keeps us locked into habitual ways of
behaving
How Consciousness Works
• Emotions as addictions– Neural Nets
• Neurons that fire together, wire together• Hormones, neurotransmitters released in a
specific chemical cocktail
- Becoming the observer of our emotionsBreaks the neural connections
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping on acupuncture points to break disconnect the
emotions from the stimuli12
Constructed RealityBoeree
• “The perceiver does not construct reality itself; rather the perceiver constructs an understanding of reality.”
• Social reality is constructed by our culture– Common cultural traditions
• We use words to construct our interpretation of reality– The constructs can take on a life of their own
Memes
• Meme (as opposed to gene) that is “inherited” in a society (Boeree).
• Cultural beliefs that are passed onto the next generation– “Celibacy is to be valued”– “Obey your elders”– “This is how you do it”
Constructing Our RealityWords as symbols
– Language creates “boundaries” to our consciousness
– Definitions of our words create the reality we construct
– We use words to describe which create boundaries through dichotomous thinking
• Up/down; in/out; me/not me (you)• Creates preferences• Creates separation that is an illusion
“The map is not the territory”
What The Bleep Do We Know?!?!?!?
What is Reality?Do we create our own
reality?
Hope
O Holy Night (song)
Transpersonal
• Instruments of measurement not yet discovered can impede our knowledge
• Designing appropriate research design protocols to measure the effectiveness of subtle energy changes need to be reconsidered (acupuncture effectiveness)
• Kirlian photography measures energy signature or corona discharge– High voltage field interacting with an object
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Near Death ExperiencesNear Death Experiences• An altered state of
consciousness reported by 30% of those who have been pronounced clinically dead and have been resuscitated
• Experience an OBE, tunnel, bells, white light, peace, greeted by dead loved ones
Lucid Dreaming StephenLaBerge Stanford University
Click on his image
Am I awake?
Charles Tart
UC DavisProfessor Emeritus
Leading ESP Researcher
Institute of Transpersonal
PsychologyPalo Alto, California
Zener ESP cardsUsed aboard Apollo 13 by Edgar Mitchell
Star Gate, the project that for nearly a quarter of a century trained soldiers and civilian spies in extra-sensory perception (ESP). Their objective: To search out the secrets of America's cold war enemies using a skill called "remote viewing." Paul H. Smith, a U.S. Army Major, was one of these viewers. Assigned to the remote viewing unit in 1983 at a pivotal time in its history, Smith served for the rest of the decade, witnessing and taking part in many of the seminal national-security crises of the twentieth century.
Paul Smith, retired Army IntelligenceOfficer and Desert Storm veteran. Spent 7 years in the Dept. of Defense’s Remote Viewing program, serving asoperational remote viewer, theory instructor And trainer, security officer and unit historian.
Remote Viewing
Body
Mind
Spirit
LSD-25
Stan Grof1931 –
California Institute ofIntegral Psychology or
Workshops
2006
2008
Co-founder of Transpersonal Psychology
Michael Talbot
Psych 30C: Advanced Consciousness Studies
Holographic “negative”
Alex Grey Artist
Alex Grey - Artist
The Universe Within Our Cells
Sleep and Dreams ResearchSleep and Dreams Research
EOG electrooculogram
Electromyogram
Electroencephalogram
Sleep Stages (brain waves)Sleep Stages (brain waves)
K-Complex
3%
50%
10%
15%
22%Sawtooth pattern
Percent ofTime while asleep
Stages of SleepStages of Sleep
• Beta Waves – alert• Alpha Waves – relaxed, awake• Stage 1: amplitude drops, frequency slows• Stage 2: sleep spindles & K-Complex• Stage 3: beginning of delta wave activity• Stage 4: delta waves predominate; deep sleep• REM: Rapid eye movement (paradoxical sleep)
5-35
EEG Recordings During Sleep
REM or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
• 90 minute cycles until REM begins• Increased heart rate, rising blood pressure• Faster irregular breathing• Twitches in face/fingerss• Penile engorgement• Vaginal lubrication• 20% REM adults• 50% REM newborns
Typical Nightly Sleep Typical Nightly Sleep StagesStages
Hours of sleep
Minutesof Stage 4 and REM
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80
10
15
20
25
5
Decreasing Stage 4
Increasing REM
Sleep and DreamsSleep and Dreams
• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep – recurring sleep stage – vivid dreams commonly occur– also known as paradoxical sleep
• muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active
• REM Rebound– tendency for REM sleep increases following
REM sleep deprivation
Sleep DisordersSleep Disorders
• Insomnia– recurring problems in falling or staying
asleep• Narcolepsy
– uncontrollable sleep attacks– sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep,
often at inopportune times– Triggered by emotional events, excitement
Sleep DisordersSleep Disorders
• Sleep Apnea– characterized by temporary cessations of
breathing during sleep and consequent momentary reawakenings
• Night Terrors– high arousal-appearance of being terrified– usually in Stage 4, within 2-3 hours of falling
asleep