Altered States Of Consciousness
Altered States of Consciousness (ASC) are states in which the ordinary sense of self, time, space, and the location of awareness itself are radically transformed. A central and recurring feature of the deepest altered states is the direct experiential realization that consciousness does not originate in the brain or body, but exists independently and merely expresses through the body during physical incarnation.
When the neurological filters are bypassed or disabled, consciousness is experienced as non-local, boundless, and capable of existing with perfect clarity outside the physical vehicle. This insight forms the core of virtually all non-materialist interpretations of consciousness today.
Categories of Altered States of Consciousness
The following table presents major categories of altered states relevant to the question of consciousness location and independence.
| Category | Primary Characteristics Reported Location of Consciousness Typical Induction Method | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) | Life review, tunnel of light, panoramic vision, meetings with deceased, veridical perception | Detached from body, often hovering above it or in a limitless light-realm | Clinical death, cardiac arrest, trauma |
| Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs) | Floating, 360° vision, passing through walls, remote viewing | Completely outside and independent of the physical body | Spontaneous, Hemi-Sync, meditation, trauma, sleep paralysis |
| The Gateway Experience | Phased progression through Focus levels up to Focus 27; creation of energy tools, non-physical rescue work | Consciousness fully relocated to stable non-physical energy systems ("There") | Hemi-Sync audio waveforms (Gateway Waveforms) |
| Shamanic Journeying | Travel to upper/lower worlds, power animals, soul retrieval | Consciousness operating from parallel non-physical reality | Monotonous drumming, plant medicines, rattling |
| Deep Meditative Absorption (Jhana/Samadhi) | Cessation, infinite space, neither-perception-nor-non-perception | No centre; consciousness as boundless field | Intensive concentration or vipassana |
| Breakthrough DMT States | Instantaneous hyperspace, self-transforming machine elves, total ego death | Consciousness merged with or native to higher-dimensional domain | Endogenous or exogenous DMT release |
| Phase / Astral Projection (modern schools) | Vibrational stage, separation, exploration of RTZ and beyond | Consciousness active in the "phase" while body remains asleep | Direct techniques, indirect techniques, WILD |
The Brain as Filter – Contemporary Non-Materialist View
The dominant perspective among serious experiencers of NDEs, verified OBEs, Gateway graduates, and breakthrough psychedelic states is that the brain does not produce consciousness but limits and localizes it. Ordinary waking awareness is a drastically reduced subset of a far vaster consciousness that exists outside space-time. When the reducing valve of the brain is loosened—by trauma, binaural beats, meditation, or neurochemistry—the true non-local nature of consciousness is revealed.
Ancient Works and Teachings on Non-Local Consciousness
Every major pre-modern spiritual tradition taught that consciousness is not confined to the body:
- Ancient Egypt – The ba (soul) was depicted as a bird that could leave the body at will and fly freely.
- Tibetan Buddhism – The Bardo Thodol describes consciousness continuing with full perception between death and rebirth.
- Vedānta & Yoga – Ātman is eternal, omnipresent consciousness; the body is only a temporary upādhi (limiting adjunct).
- Hermetic and Neoplatonic traditions – The soul descends from the Nous into matter and ascends again through contemplation.
- Plato (Phaedo) – The soul is immortal, imprisoned in the body, and released at death.
- Indigenous shamanism worldwide – The free-soul routinely leaves the body during trance to acquire knowledge.
Pineal Gland – Physiological Interface
The pineal gland has been revered for millennia as the bridge between the physical and non-physical. In yogic physiology it corresponds to the ajna chakra (third eye); in ancient Greece and Egypt it was considered the seat of the soul; Descartes called it the "principal seat of the soul". Modern researchers note that the pineal is the only unpaired structure in the brain, lies at its exact geometric centre, and is the primary site of endogenous DMT synthesis in mammals. Almost all spontaneous OBE and NDE reports describe intense pressure, bright light, or high-pitched tones in the centre of the head immediately before separation occurs – sensations that correspond precisely to pineal activation. Many experiencers interpret the pineal as the physiological "antenna" or "transducer" that anchors non-local consciousness into the body.
DMT – The Spirit Molecule
N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is the most powerful known entheogen. When vaporized or released endogenously in large quantity, it produces instantaneous translocation of consciousness into self-sustaining, hyper-real domains that feel "more real than real". A majority of users report the overwhelming conviction that they have returned to their true home and that daily embodied consciousness is the dream. The fact that the pineal gland of rodents (and likely humans) can produce DMT in milligram quantities within minutes suggests a biological mechanism for natural breakthrough experiences during birth, death, or extreme stress.
Hemi-Sync and The Gateway Program
Hemi-Sync (hemispheric synchronization) is a patented audio technology that uses precise binaural beats to guide the brain into coherent whole-brain states. The most advanced application is The Gateway Program developed by Robert A. Monroe and later studied by the U.S. Army and CIA (declassified as the "Gateway Process").
The Gateway Experience is a progressive training system consisting of six sequential "Waves" that use increasingly sophisticated Hemi-Sync signals to lead participants from Focus 10 ("mind awake/body asleep") through Focus 12, 15, 21, and ultimately to Focus 27 – a stable, human-created non-physical energy system called "The Park". Tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel have completed the program. Participants routinely achieve conscious separation from the physical body, veridical remote viewing, communication with non-physical intelligences, and direct perception of consciousness as existing independently in structured non-physical environments. The 1983 CIA analysis of the Gateway Process concluded that the technique is capable of reliably producing out-of-body states and that the data support a non-local model of consciousness.
Gateway graduates overwhelmingly report that after repeated experiences in the higher Focus levels, the question is no longer "Does consciousness survive death?" but "How did I ever believe consciousness was inside the brain in the first place?"
The Phase State and Modern Astral Projection Schools
Contemporary researchers such as Michael Raduga (The Phase) have stripped astral projection of metaphysical language and turned it into a repeatable skill. Using direct, indirect, and dream-consciousness techniques, practitioners enter "the phase" – a state physiologically identical to lucid dreaming but experienced as separation into a parallel real-time zone (RTZ) or deeper non-physical locales. Success rates of 50–70 % within days of practice demonstrate that conscious exit from the body is a trainable human ability, not a rare gift.
Conclusion – The Emerging Consensus
Across ancient wisdom, modern spontaneous NDEs, controlled Gateway training, psychedelic exploration, and direct phase techniques, one clear message emerges: consciousness is not a by-product of neural activity. It is a pre-existing, non-local, fundamental phenomenon that only temporarily localizes through the brain-body system. When the filters are removed, consciousness is directly experienced in its native state – boundless, immortal, and independent of matter. The body is not the source of awareness; it is merely the vehicle through which infinite consciousness chooses to have a finite adventure.