Altered States of Consciousness: Experiences Out of Time and Self

by Marc Wittmann, Philippa Hurd (Translator)

What altered states of consciousness—the dissolution of feelings of time and self—can tell us about the mystery of consciousness.

During extraordinary moments of consciousness—shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication—our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the neural underpinnings of these altered states of mind. In this book, neuropsychologist Marc Wittmann shows how experiences that disturb or widen our everyday understanding of the self can help solve the mystery of consciousness.
Wittmann explains that the relationship between consciousness of time and consciousness of self is close; in extreme circumstances, the experiences of space and self intensify and weaken together. He considers the emergence of the self in waking life and dreams; how our sense of time is distorted by extreme situations ranging from terror to mystical enlightenment; the experience of the moment; and the loss of time and self in such disorders as depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Dostoyevsky reported godly bliss during epileptic seizures; neurologists are now investigating the phenomenon of the epileptic aura. Wittmann describes new studies of psychedelics that show how the brain builds consciousness of self and time, and discusses pilot programs that use hallucinogens to treat severe depression, anxiety, and addiction.
If we want to understand our consciousness, our subjectivity, Wittmann argues, we must not be afraid to break new ground. Studying altered states of consciousness leads us directly to the heart of the time and self, the foundations of consciousness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Philosophy, Spirituality, Neuroscience, Meditation

190 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2023

About the author

Marc Wittmann is Research Fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg, Germany, and the author of Felt Time: The Psychology of How We Perceive Time (MIT Press).

Reviews

[Eduard Barbu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book puts together the conclusion of scientific papers, some insights from phenomenology (Husserl), and the experience of long-time meditators (Tilmann LB). The book studies the effect of the drugs (mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, caffeine) on the states of the mind (in particular the perception of time, space and the experience of self). Overall it is an OK read. However, the lack of coherence, the nascent nature of the research, and the lack of precision in defining different terms like the self, for example, is frustrating.
In some places, the author hastes to the conclusion without doing his homework. For example, the positivist philosopher A.J. Ayer was not so devastated by his Near Death experience, and for sure, the experience did not change his philosophy. The evidence to the contrary is anecdotal.

[Eugene Pustoshkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Altered states of consciousness, mindfulness meditation, embodiment, and experience of time and timelessness. It is a good introductory book into the topic of extraordinary experiences and the meta-field of consciousness studies.

[Lupita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho el libro. Explora la relación entre la conciencia y la percepción del tiempo a través de un recuento sistemático de los hallazgos neuropsicológicos más recientes. En ocasiones el lenguaje es técnico, pero los conceptos se encuentran explicados de forma sencilla y la idea general es clara.

El libro se divide en tres partes:

1) On time consciousness
Se establece el concepto de conciencia y las distintas formas de alterar ese estado: meditación, experiencias cercanas a la muerte, psicotrópicos, etc.

2) The moment
La percepción del tiempo se evalúa en distintos estados de conciencia. ¿Se puede ralentizar o acelerar el tiempo durante un estado alterado de conciencia? ¿Cómo se consigue?

3) Loss of time and self
¿La disolución de la conciencia implica la disolución del tiempo? Se busca evaluar la hipótesis de que la conciencia y el tiempo son una sola cosa. Algunos de estos estados alterados de conciencia están relacionados con condiciones como la depresión, ansiedad e incluso esquizofrenia. Se está probando el uso de psicotrópicos como psilocibina para tratar estas enfermedades.

🥼Si te interesa el tema de la meditación en investigaciones científicas de frontera en cuestiones del funcionamiento cerebral y la conciencia, te recomiendo totalmente este libro.

🧠¿Te gusta meditar o aprender cómo funciona nuestro cerebro? Esta temática me encanta y si se aborda desde la perspectiva científica y práctica me resulta todavía más atractiva.

[Miles Kenyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure what to expect when I impulsively grabbed it from my local cool-guy bookstore but was pleasantly surprised. Time, self, drugs? Trippy stuff but laid out with scientific rigor and philosophical curiosity.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will post review in August, 1 month before publication.

[stefanddddddd · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting book - although the title is slightly misleading. the author looks at the concept of time - what does it really mean when we talk about an interval of time (roughly a third of the book), what does it mean when we say something about a moment in time (roughly another third) and some experiments with drugs and meditation that alter the notion of time for the participants (for the rest). the book is filled with info from literature supporting this extensive characterisation of the meaning of the words associated with time and underdelivers when it comes to a treaty on altered states of consciousness.

one thing that i realised after reading this book is a simple observation that the 3d universe has no meaning without time. if time would be condensed to an instant, the equivalent to no time dimension, all the processes, all the movement, all the changes would fit in that instant. hence the universe would be frozen like a painting, and no meaningful interactions would be possible. moving from point a to point b would not be defined, as movement is space over time. processes would not exist as a process is an ordered set of operations in time. hence time is linked and might even be the cause of the 3d world. interesting philosophical questions.

[Veronica Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In the dominant, functional orientation toward a goal, the present loses its value. We no longer live intensively in the moment, and so life as a whole is lost. Life, both now and in memory, is made up of consciously lived moments. I am present in the moment, meaning I live consciously and intensively, if I give my attention to lived experience. But in retrospect too, life as a whole expands, since it is then full of memories of lived moments. The full life in each felt moment also expands the time intervals in hindsight.”

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as exciting as I thought it would be. The book is very clinical in nature and can feel like a never ending research paper at times. The content is very interesting and based on solid findings, but the academic approach to the writing leaves very little room for any solid, meaningful conclusions in the actual text. Key takeaways are only available within the reader’s ability to connect the dots between datasets.

[Joao · Rating 5 out of 5]

A factual and inspiring analysis of the meaning of time, and the altered experiences of it which occur during daily life. The book has very little to do with psychedelic drugs, even though the title may remind some readers of Huxley or similar topics. An excellent discussion of a legitimate, niche field of psychology.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short read on the concepts of how we experience time, the moment, and what disorders come from a change in that relationship. Also dives into various mental disorders, meditation and certain uses of psychedelics. Great quick read for those interested in human consciousness.

[Iman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Id rate it 4.5 if it were possible. Easy read. Great introduction into an interesting topic

[Mills College Library]

153.753 W8325 2018

[Nio Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

"eye opening"

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to this topic matter. It was difficult to understand at times but it gives a good overview over studies and their results concerning the perception of time and self.

[Sandy L Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

This is an unusual book that had me enthralled. I was a nurse. I read it slowly to digest it well. I liked it.

[Chinese Spy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy hilarious

[Riley White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read a few weeks before a cheeky trip and fuck me was that a good trip 🫠 taught me all about perception and how much of the world is the way we choose to see it

[Bryan Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

A surprisingly dry book about a truly fascinating topic, the author has managed to turn what should be (and is in other books on the topic) really engaging material into something resembling a doctoral thesis. The footnotes are literally longer than the book itself, and there's nothing said here that hasn't been said better elsewhere.

[Lisa K]

Advance sample not due out until August.