Dear Coyote,
Regarding higher states of consciousness, well, there is still no rigorous
scientific model to explain even normal states of consciousness to begin
with, let alone higher ones. We're just barely scratching the surface
with our EEG scans, neurochemistry, and neuroanatomy, let alone the more
daring theories involving quantum gravity and consciousness (e.g. Roger
Penrose).
One thing that comes to mind regarding higher states of consciousness is
how easily it can be induced with chemical substances, the mind-altering
drugs which we are currently at war with. I can't speak from personal
experience, as I've never felt the need or desire to try these drugs, but
the effects are well documented in the literature. Indeed, when cocaine
was first popularized, Sigmund Freud experimented with it extensively on
himself and his patients, at one time declaring it to be the miracle drug
which was the answer to many psychoses and the cure for morphine
addiction. Of course, he quickly became a cocaine addict himself, but
after the health detriments of using cocaine were eventually demonstrated,
he was able to recover from his addiction quickly. Ironically, it was
cocaine which induced in him the wild, vivid dreams that later motivated
him to conduct his monumental work on dreams.
And it's well known that tribal rituals involving spiritual journeys
incorporate hallucinatory agents to induce the seeker into states of
higher consciousness, that is, drug-induced trances.
So there is clearly a physical route to what may be experienced as a
"higher state of consciousness." And I'm sure many a poet, artist,
musician, writer, philosopher, scientist, etc., benefited from such
experiences to inspire their works. I've always found it curious that
many great scientists, such as Feynman and Einstein, were chain smokers,
for instance. And the great mathematician Erdos openly declared that when
he did not take amphetamines, he could not come up with any new
mathematical ideas.
Many other experiences have also been tied in one way or another to higher
states of consciousness: meditation, prayer, near-death-experiences,
extreme mental/physical traumas, nootropics, being "in-the-zone",
enlightenment, hypnosis, back-to-nature type of experiences (such as your
walks in the canyon) come immediately to mind.
Well, I'm not sure whether my rambling addressed your original concern. I
look forward to our continued discussions and wish you many more states
in the higher realm,
HF
