Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

Crystal Sexton
Ch. 5
Altered States of Consciousness (180)
Altered States of Consciousness (ASC)
An Altered State of Consciousness is different from “normal consciousness “. (qtd. Carroll,1) There is more to an ASC than just the brain state itself(Carroll, 1). “EEG or MRI readings” are not a good way to determine an ASC. (qtd. Carroll,1) If we used an EEG or an MRI to determine an ASC then we would start saying things like sneezing, coughing, sleeping, being in a coma, thinking of the color red, and being dead as ASC’s . Brain wave readings are not a good way of measuring ASC’s. Alpha waves have had some measure of success finding ASC’s, such as “The Zone” or “Flow State”. This often happens to “athletes and video game players who go on autopilot”.(qtd. Carroll,1)
A baseline brain state is when someone identifies there self with their body (Carroll,1) . When someone losses their ability to identify there self with their body they are experiencing an ASC. (Carroll,1) Sometimes these altered states can be done willing, or by instigating it through the use of things like trauma, sleep disturbances, sensory deprivation or sensory overload, neurochemical imbalance, epileptic seizure, or fever(carroll,1). They can also happen because of social behavior such as frenzied dancing or chanting (Carroll,1). They can also happen by electrically stimulating the brain or by taking drugs (Carroll,1).
Some people think that the hypnotic state is an ASC (Carroll, 1). It is like an ASC, but it is not believed to be one (Carroll, 1). A hypnotized person can be primed by being shown certain words (Carroll, 1). The later they can remember the words without acknowledging that they were shown the words (Carroll, 1). Amnesia is also not considered to be an ASC (Carroll, 1).
There is not much evidence that ASC’s can transport you into a higher state of...