Online Reference For Body, Mind & Spirit

Term: Altered State of Consciousness

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DEFINITIONs:
1.  Also known as an ASC, a state of mind that is different from normal, waking consciousness. Examples of an ASC range from dreaming and daydreaming to trance, out-of-body experiences, and drug-induced states. Besides pointing out that “normal, waking consciousness” is simply something people agree upon (“consensus reality”) and implying that there is a greater reality than what we normally accept, certain magickal, mystical, and paranormal phenomena may occur during an ASC.

2.  Wakefulness and sleep are the two most familiar states of consciousness. Others include dreaming, meditation, trance, hypnosis and self-hypnosis, hallucination, astral projection, etc. ASCs can be induced by sleep deprivation, chanting, fasting, ecstatic dancing, drumming, sex, psychedelic drugs, and conscious self-programming. Once you’ve been "there," it is easier to get there again.

AUTHOR:  Carl Llewellyn Weschcke
Link to this term: http://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/term/Altered+State+of+Consciousness