Altered State of Consciousness

908 Words4 Pages
Assignment 2.1: An Altered State of Consciousness What is consciousness? Consciousness is described as the quality or state of awareness, or, of being aware of an external object or something within itself. It has also been described as : sentience, awareness, subjectivity, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind. These are just a few of the many definitions of consciousness. The list could go on and on. Everyone has a different interpretation of what consciousness means to them. Scientists and philosophers have tried to define or explain it for hundreds of years. I view consciousness as simply being awake, aware of your surroundings and having the ability to interact or influence. When a person sleeps they enter a different state of consciousness. The “clock” that regulates when we go to sleep and wake is referred to as the Circadian Rhythm. The Circadian Rhythm is defined as an internal clock that regulates the 24 hour cycle of biological processes. Disruptions of this cycle can be detrimental to the body. There are many factors that can cause disruptions to this cycle. We live in the modern world and have all types of technology at our disposal ,everything from, cell phones, internet, cable TV , video games , stores that stay open 24 hours and airplane travel. I'm sure we all have experienced it at one time in our lives. I experienced it while in the military on various occasions. I was stationed in Ft. Lewis in Washington state for three years and my family was in North Carolina. The military offers free military flights for service members and their families as long as you are flying into a military installation with an airbase. There was an airbase in Ft Lewis so I decided to get a flight to the airbase in North Carolina to be home for Thanksgiving. I got up early that

More about Altered State of Consciousness

Open Document