asgn4f -- ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS: I. Sensory Deprivation, Meditation, and Hypnosis

Consciousness can be altered in many different ways. Drugs and medications can produce hallucinations (perception of things that are not there), change mood, or even wipe out consciousness (anesthetics). High fevers or prolonged starvation and many other forms of stress can have similar effects. Simpler methods also produce altered states of consciousness. This and the following exercises deal with four methods. Three are somewhat unusual: sensory deprivation, meditation, and hypnosis. The fourth is about an altered state we all experience every night: sleep.