CambridgeDeclarationOnConsciousness.pdf (application/pdf Object) Hypnagogia and Hypnopompia | The Dream Studies Portal Hypnagogia is the imagery, sounds and strange bodily feelings that are felt at “sleep onset.” This is a simplification though, as researchers have noted hypnagogic imagery in the lab at periods of quiet wakefulness as well as stage 1 sleep. Others have correlated hypnagogia with pre-sleep alpha waves and also REM intrusion into sleep onset. The truth is that the wake-sleep transition is still not understood. And neither are its trippy visuals. whispy lights, multi-dimentional geometric objects, or a sudden image like a stranger’s face Few people remember hypnagogic imagery. Strange noises, voices and rushing sounds are typical, as well as weird mechanistic sounds like beeps and boops. Some hear music — I personally have had lucid hypnagogic orchestras from time to time, with the ability to listen passively or focus on a particular instrument to induce a solo. Entoptica - by Ryan Hurd, 2005, acrylic: inspired by my hypnagogic imagery Some people are haunted by the hypnagogic imagery.
5 Ways Your Brain Is Messing With Your Head We accept on a regular basis the premise that our minds are being screwed with. Advertisers, politicians, magicians; we accept that they know the tricks to pull the wool over our eyes. But as it turns out, the ways in which your head is being truly and royally messed with the most, are coming from inside. Please be advised that your brain does not want you reading the following list, and may kill you to protect its secrets. #5. What is it? It's your inability to notice changes that happen right in front of you, even if they're hugely obvious... as long as you don't see the actual change take place. Um, What? Consider Alfonso Ribeiro. Now, if suddenly that image of Carlton blinked and changed to a different image, you'd notice it. In fact, if the entire text of this article--and the whole color and layout of this website--changed while you were gone, you probably wouldn't notice. A scientist named George McConkie started working on this in the 70s. Why Does the Brain Lie About it? #4. #3.
Lucid Dreaming Tips - How to Lucid Dream - Tips for Lucid Dreaming / Lucid Dreams The Six Basic Steps There are many techniques and methods that you can use for inducing lucid dreams, but there is an underlying process behind most, if not all of them. I have broken this underlying process down into six basic steps to serve as a foundation for your lucid dream training. Once you absorb these steps and start following them, it is only a matter of time before you have your first lucid dream. In case you are wondering how long it will take for you to have your first one, just follow through with the steps and have faith that you will have one. 1) Doing the Mental Prep-Work 2) Increasing dream recall 3) Keeping a dream journal 4) Becoming familiar with your Dreams 5) Adding Awareness to your Waking Consciousness 6) Linking your Awareness to your Dreams Step One) Doing the Mental Prep-Work This step involves setting up the right mental foundation and building a mental framework that will maximize your success. Here are four key questions that you need to ask yourself. 1.) 2.) 3.)
Instant Expert 31: The human brain Cookies on the New Scientist website close Our website uses cookies, which are small text files that are widely used in order to make websites work more effectively. Find out about our cookies and how to change them Log in Your login is case sensitive I have forgotten my password close My New Scientist Look for Science Jobs Instant Expert 31: The human brain (Image: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging)It took thousands of years, but our understanding of how the brain works has brought us to the brink of enlightenment. Milestones of neuroscience We now have a detailed understanding of the brain's building block – the neuron. More than one way to map a mind Injuries were once the key to learning how the brain worked, but advanced imaging techniques are now giving us detailed maps of where our skills ariseRead more From tiny neurons to expansive minds How does the brain generate a conscious mind? Looking over the neuroscience horizon Download a paper brain to build yourself REVIEW: 19:00 16 April 2014
Making a dream date - Dream Gates "At the Foothills of Mt Helen". B.K.Connelly, 1981 You’re separated from your sweetheart and you’d like to have some good private time together. Can you do that? Absolutely. If you are embarking on shared dreaming as home entertainment, you get to choose your category. I know what I am talking about. Want to try this? But shared dreaming doesn’t require you to start out from the same place, or even on the same continent. To keep this simple, let’s assume you have a friend who is not physically present, with whom you’d like to share a dream adventure. 1. You might simply agree to try to meet in your dreams on (say) Wednesday night. 2. If you’re new to this kind of thing, it’s probably best to start out with a place in the physical world that one or both of you know. 3. The idea of simply hanging out with your partner in a delightful locale – and not having to pay for the plane ticket or the five-star hotel suite – may be juicy enough. 4. 5. 6.
5 Superpowers We All Had as Babies (According to Science) To many of us, kids are just a squishy bundle of preciousness that can't even take a decent punch. If there's anything super about them it's their ability to produce a seemingly infinite amount of poop. But you only think this because, like most super geniuses, babies revel in deception because they answer to no god. Not unlike Clark Kent, babies everywhere managed to fool the world with their mild-mannered public persona, masking the amazing superpowers nearly all of them possess. Slap a pair of tights on any random toddler, and you have a bona fide superhero (or, realistically, supervillain). When deprived of one sense or a skill, a person usually compensates for it in some other way. You blame me for never making it as a professional dancer, mommy. It gets weirder. See, their mind-reading doesn't end with fellow humans. You are... utterly disgusted and... thoroughly depressed. Take a look at this picture of two monkeys and see if you can tell the difference between them:
The 6 Most Mind-Blowing Animal Senses You probably already know that when it comes to everything but intellectual pursuits and wearing cardigans in a knot over one's shoulders, animals have humans beat. All of your senses together can't match what a dog can pick up with its nose, for instance. But every now and then, an animal's sensory superiority goes above and beyond the usual and takes a turn for the bizarre and/or terrifying. #6. Wikipedia Vampire bats are the only mammals that subsist entirely on blood -- otherwise, we'd just call them "bats." Livescience.comBats only appear on film as 1980s school photos. That nose that God forgot actually does more than just invite business cards of bat plastic surgeons -- it can sense the heat of your blood flowing through your veins. Its nose-lip combo contains infrared heat cells that can sense the warmth of the blood at a distance. WikipediaIt's the fact that they refuse to eat or drink unless it's served to them in a sterling silver bowl. #5. Photos.com #4. Wikipedia
Meditation May Protect Your Brain | Miller-McCune Online For thousands of years, Buddhist meditators have claimed that the simple act of sitting down and following their breath while letting go of intrusive thoughts can free one from the entanglements of neurotic suffering. Now, scientists are using cutting-edge scanning technology to watch the meditating mind at work. They are finding that regular meditation has a measurable effect on a variety of brain structures related to attention — an example of what is known as neuroplasticity, where the brain physically changes in response to an intentional exercise. A team of Emory University scientists reported in early September that experienced Zen meditators were much better than control subjects at dropping extraneous thoughts and returning to the breath. The same researchers reported last year that longtime meditators don’t lose gray matter in their brains with age the way most people do, suggesting that meditation may have a neuro-protective effect. Where does all this lead?
5 Mind-Blowing Ways Your Senses Lie to You Every Day We are so completely dependent on our five senses every moment of the day that we totally forget how full of shit they can be. Your reality is cobbled together from a bunch of different parts of your brain working in conjunction, and often it's like a bickering conference room full of uncooperative co-workers. In fact, we're pretty sure the thing your brain does best is convince you that it works. But it doesn't take much to spot the bizarre little flaws in your gray matter. #5. Photos.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images When you hear someone talk, the whole process is pretty straightforward, right? Short answer: your eyes. In the clip, you see (and hear) a guy saying "bah bah bah" over and over. BBCYour brain also gave the "fah" version a tan, for unknown reasons. This illusion is called the McGurk effect, and the creepiest part is that, even knowing know full well what's going on, you can't get your ears to hear the correct sound. But that's not the only time your eyes screw you over ... #4.
Rubber Hand Trick Reveals Brain-Body Link | Wired Science The rubber hand illusion is more than a vaguely creepy parlor trick. It’s a window into relationship between our mental and physical self-conception. During the illusion, a participant’s hand is hidden, and a rubber hand positioned so that it appears as her own. Suddenly the rubber hand literally feels like it belongs to her. Scientists have now shown that the hidden hand’s temperature drops during the illusion: its effects aren’t simply mental, but physical as well, and could even hint at as-yet-unknown processes of disease. "These findings show that the conscious sense of our physical self, and the physiological regulation of our physical self, are linked," write a team of researchers led by Oxford University’s G. At first, this may seem a retelling of mind-body linkage: embarrassment causes blushing, fear a burst of strength. When participants in the study confused a rubber hand for their own, their hidden hands became half a degree colder. Video: New ScientistImage: PNAS See Also: