The work aims to provide an overview of the field of contemporary hallucinations research. It will consist of 28 chapters, the writing of which will be put out to international experts specialized in the specific fields at hand. The work aims to be unique, in that it intends to cover many different types of hallucination, and to approach the subject matter from four different perspectives, i.e., conceptual, phenomenological, neuroscientific, and therapeutic.

Meditation is a complex field of research and presents many intricate problems which are being tackled by various disciplines of both life sciences and liberal arts. There is a high amount of scientific information gathered so far, however data are rather divergent, sometimes even contradictory and there are also numerous questions without any available data to answer. There are also many inadequacies of study design and methodology. This book introduces the reader to what scientific research can tell us about meditation today. The text is dedicated to life-science aspects of meditation including prompt neuropsychological and psychophysiological changes, long-run psychological and physiological effects and also preventive and clinical use of meditation.

Barry Dainton presents a fascinating new account of the self, the key to which is experiential or phenomenal continuity.
Provided our mental life continues we can easily imagine ourselves surviving the most dramatic physical alterations, or even moving from one body to another. It was this fact that led John Locke to conclude that a credible account of our persistence conditions - an account which reflects how we actually conceive of ourselves - should be framed in terms of mental rather than material continuity. But mental continuity comes in different forms. Most of Locke's contemporary followers agree that our continued existence is secured by psychological continuity, which they take to be made up of memories, beliefs, intentions, personality traits, and the like. Dainton argues that a better and more believable account can be framed in terms of the sort of continuity we find in our streams of consciousness from moment to moment. Why? Simply because provided this continuity is not lost - provided our streams of consciousness flow on - we can easily imagine ourselves surviving the most dramatic psychological alterations. Phenomenal continuity seems to provide a more reliable guide to our persistence than any form of continuity. The Phenomenal Self is a full-scale defence and elaboration of this premise.
The first task is arriving at an adequate understanding of phenomenal unity and continuity. This achieved, Dainton turns to the most pressing problem facing any experience-based approach: losses of consciousness. How can we survive them? He shows how the problem can be solved in a satisfactory manner by construing ourselves as systems of experiential capacities. He then moves on to explore a range of further issues. How simple can a self be? How are we related to our bodies? Is our persistence an all-or-nothing affair? Do our minds consist of parts which could enjoy an independent existence? Is it metaphysically intelligible to construe ourselves as systems of capacities? The book concludes with a novel treatment of fission and fusion.

In this accessible overview of current knowledge, an expert team of editors and authors describe experimental approaches to consciousness. These approaches are shedding light on some of the hitherto unknown aspects of the distinct states of human consciousness, including the waking state, different states of sleep and dreaming, meditation and more. The book presents the latest research studies by the contributing authors, whose specialities span neuroscience, neurology, biomedical engineering, clinical psychology and psychophysiology, psychosocial medicine and anthropology. Overall this anthology provides the reader with a clear picture of how different states of consciousness can be defined, experimentally measured and analysed. A future byproduct of this knowledge may be anticipated in the development of systematic corrective treatments for many disorders and pathological problems of consciousness.

2010 Reprint of 1947 First Edition. Written for Magicians, this book is a complete explanation of the inner secrets of Stage Hypnotism. The information is presented in a very logical manner by first showing what hypnotism is, and what it can do through actual instruction in how to hypnotize, and then proceeding directly on, into the modus operandi of Stage Hypnotism itself. The little subtleties, insights and techniques that come only from careful research and practical presentation are also given, making this book of the most valuable of its kind for Magicians. Profusely illustrated.

Based on the idea that past and future life memories may be creations of the imagination and yet still be useful in healing, "A Practical Guide to Healing by Remembering Your Past and Future Lives" discuses a number of popular theories of memory creation and gives you practical tools to help you remember your other lives-past and future-to make the most of your life today.

Author Matt Gomes has researched the information to help you understand the theories of memory creation, storage, and retrieval; discover how the past affects the present and the present influences the future; and identify how your current physical and emotional issues are rooted in your past lives.

Even if you have doubt in the actual existence of reincarnation or of other lifetimes, "A Practical Guide to Healing by Remembering Your Past and Future Lives" can help you let go of fears and phobias, deal with death, understand, and forgive others. You "can" heal your present

Based on the idea that past and future life memories may be creations of the imagination and yet still be useful in healing, "A Practical Guide to Healing by Remembering Your Past and Future Lives" discuses a number of popular theories of memory creation and gives you practical tools to help you remember your other lives-past and future-to make the most of your life today.

Author Matt Gomes has researched the information to help you understand the theories of memory creation, storage, and retrieval; discover how the past affects the present and the present influences the future; and identify how your current physical and emotional issues are rooted in your past lives.

Even if you have doubt in the actual existence of reincarnation or of other lifetimes, "A Practical Guide to Healing by Remembering Your Past and Future Lives" can help you let go of fears and phobias, deal with death, understand, and forgive others. You "can" heal your present!

Followers of the New Thought movement of the early 20th century vehemently believed in the concept of "mind over matter," and one of the most influential thinkers of this early "New Age" philosophy introduces us in this 1907 book to the basics of hypnotism... and to using its power to influence those around you. Here, in this "side light" to Atkinson's popular book The Secret of Mental Magic, discover: . mental fascination among animals . the rationale of fascination . experimental fascination . the phenomena of induced imagination . the dangers of psychism . Oriental fascination . and much more. American writer WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON (1862-1932) was editor of the popular magazine New Thought from 1901 to 1905, and editor of the journal Advanced Thought from 1916 to 1919. He authored dozens of New Thought books under numerous pseudonyms, some of which are likely still unknown today, including "Yogi Ramacharaka" and "Theron Q. Dumont."

Followers of the New Thought movement of the early 20th century vehemently believed in the concept of "mind over matter," and one of the most influential thinkers of this early "New Age" philosophy introduces us in this 1907 book to the basics of hypnotism... and to using its power to influence those around you. Here, in this "side light" to Atkinson's popular book The Secret of Mental Magic, discover: . mental fascination among animals . the rationale of fascination . experimental fascination . the phenomena of induced imagination . the dangers of psychism . Oriental fascination . and much more. American writer WILLIAM WALKER ATKINSON (1862-1932) was editor of the popular magazine New Thought from 1901 to 1905, and editor of the journal Advanced Thought from 1916 to 1919. He authored dozens of New Thought books under numerous pseudonyms, some of which are likely still unknown today, including "Yogi Ramacharaka" and "Theron Q. Dumont."

Are there Buddhist conceptions of the unconscious? If so, are they more Freudian, Jungian, or something else? If not, can Buddhist conceptions be reconciled with the Freudian, Jungian, or other models? These are some of the questions that have motivated modern scholarship to approach alayavijnana, the storehouse consciousness, formulated in Yogacara Buddhism as a subliminal reservoir of tendencies, habits, and future possibilities. Tao Jiang argues convincingly that such questions are inherently problematic because they frame their interpretations of the Buddhist notion largely in terms of responses to modern psychology. He proposes that, if we are to understand alayavijnana properly and compare it with the unconscious responsibly, we need to change the way the questions are posed so that alayavijnana and the unconscious can first be understood within their own contexts and then recontextualized within a dialogical setting. In so doing, certain paradigmatic assumptions embedded in the original frameworks of Buddhist and modern psychological theories are exposed. Jiang brings together Xuan Zang's alayavijnana and Freud's and Jung's unconscious to focus on what the differences are in the thematic concerns of the three theories, why such differences exist in terms of their objectives, and how their methods of theorization contribute to these differences. ""Contexts and Dialogue"" puts forth a fascinating, erudite, and carefully argued presentation of the subliminal mind. It proposes a new paradigm in comparative philosophy that examines the what, why, and how in navigating the similarities and differences of philosophical systems through contextualization and recontextualization.

Dr. William Wesley Cook's Practical Lessons in Hypnotism was originally published in 1901, but this scholarly study is as relevant as it ever was. In spite of the skeptics, hypnotism has long been a psychological science that has earned the respect of many in the medical profession (notably, Sigmund Freud) and hypnotherapy is widely used in many treatment programs. Here, Cook approaches the subject in a constructive way, covering the history and philosophy of the science, as well as practical techniques and considerations. Most compelling are the studies of hypnotism's many applications, such as in self-healing, anesthesia, behavioral therapy, and even persuasion in the field of business. Cook's work also includes intellectual discussions on tangential-and fascinating-subjects such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and magnetic healing. Comprehensive and erudite, it promises satisfaction for the curious as well as the studious.

2004 Gradiva Award Winner. Joseph Newirth contends that locating subjectivity in the unconscious frees us from the nineteenth-century bias that privileged consciousness and rational thought, and suggests that the analytic enterprise is not to make the unconscious conscious, but rather to make the conscious unconscious.

In "Higher Wisdom," 14 eminent thinkers offer their fascinating anecdotes, invaluable knowledge, and hard-won wisdom--the culmination of 50 years of research and reflection--on the subject of psychedelics, one of the most intriguing and challenging topics of our time. "A reminder of the remarkable promise and peril of what are broadly called psychedelics."--Ken Wilber, author of "A Brief History of Everything."

One of the greatest classics on hypnotism, first published in 1846. The author lists at the outset 73 painless surgical operations (including the removal of an 80-pound scrotal tumor) performed in the previous eight months while patients were in mesmeric trances, and cites eighteen cases of cures brought about by animal magnetic passes. He describes many of his surgical procedures, the null mortality rate he effected, and the modes in which Mesmeric fluid may be transmitted. Although this work, along with Elliotson's Numerous Cases of Surgical Operations Without Pain was briefly influential, experimentation of the kind Esdaile carried out was cut short by the discovery of an effective chemical anaesthesia the very year Mesmerism in India was published James Esdaile (1808-1859), a Scottish surgeon who was appointed Surgeon to Government of India, performed at least 291 painless operations in India using hypnotism. Aroused by his success, the Indian government soon established a mesmeric hospital for him. Esdaile performed a variety of surgical operations on Hindus, upon many of whom he appears successfully to have induced hypnotic anaesthesia. However, his similar attempts with Europeans were not so successful.

CONTENTSThe Significance of SleepChanges Occurring in the Body during SleepCriticism of Various Theories of SleepPavlov on SleepPavlov on HypnosisDreams, Their Causes and NatureDifferent States of Sleep and Conditions Conducive to SleepTherapy by Prolonged SleepDisorders of Sleep. Morbid SleepHygiene of Sleep

First published in 1974, this book established itself as a seminal text of the magical revival--a thinking person's guide to the unthinkable.