ABSTRACT

The stream of our subjective experiences flows steadily on, following the course of its river-bed, with the sensations, perceptions, emotions and thoughts merging with each other as they gradually flow by in ever-changing patterns and tapestries. Although the patterns of subjective experience are enormously variable, they still seem to remain within certain bounds, at least most of the time. Sometimes the stream of experience seems to take altogether unusual forms, creating patterns not normally enabled. The stream of consciousness sometimes runs through rapids, ravines or waterfalls, sometimes it enters perfectly still and calm waters, sometimes the waters are muddy and at other times crystal clear. The unusual varieties of experience are called “altered states of consciousness”.