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Originally posted by Etherfish


So although people here have probably experienced what the words probably refer to, to ask what they lead to is going way out on a limb.

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Originally posted by mikkiji

The problem with your question is the phrase "higher/altered/transcendental states of consciousness", which 1) lumps a bunch of semi- or unrelated things together, and 2) doesn't really describe or name anything specific to speak about. The study of Consciousness is a pretty well-documented science, from Vedic sources such as the Upanishads all the way down to recent and present writings, such as Aldous Huxley's "Doors of Perception". So, let us pick it apart and then try to put it back together in a more scientific manner.

First, let's ignore "altered" altogether--altered could pertain to psychedelic drugs, illness, any condition which might alter the mind's operation. "Higher" in terms of consciousness would pertain to anything beyond the three "normal" states of Waking, Dreaming and Sleeping. There are very specific, well-documented and variously described descriptions about these 4 "higher" states. The first state beyond waking, dreaming and sleeping is called "Turiya", which in Sanskrit, means "fourth". It is the state we first experience during deep meditation, in which we have no mantra and no thought, but remain alert and aware--awareness with no object of awareness, awareness by itself--"Pure Awareness", or "Transcendental Consciousness". So, there are not transcendental states of consciousness, but the term actually describes a very specific experience. The content of this state has been variously described as Inner Silence, Peacefulness, Pure Potentiality, etc., but I like the Sanskrit name, which gives three attributes to this state without attribute: Sat Chit Ananda. Sat=Unbounded or Absolute, Chit=Awareness or Consciousness and Ananda=Bliss. Put it all together and we get, "Unbounded Bliss Consciousness", which pretty much describes that peaceful experience of Inner Silence we may momentarily glimpse during deep meditation. Good so far?

"Savikalpa Samadhi" is the fifth state of consciousness, meaning literally, "Samadhi with imagination". This is a state of duality, in which the silence within, which previously was experienced as one's true inner nature only during meditation, is now continuously experienced as the seat of the Self, even during waking, dreaming and sleeping--hence the silent inner Self becomes a "witness" to all the outer dimension of life--a state of duality. My guru called this "Cosmic Consciousness", which some have called "Self-Realization". My guru also spoke of a Sixth State of Consciousness which he called "God Consciousness", also called "Divine Consciousness" which is the realization that the true SELF, which we realize in 5th state is NOT the outer changing world but our inner silent awareness, is one and the same with the entire Divine nature of Reality--that "god" or the creator is no different from me, the creation. "Nirvikalpa Samadhi" is the highest state of consciousness, in which there is no longer any duality or subject-object differences. Upon entering nirvikalpa samadhi, the differences we saw before in the Fifth State have faded and we see everything as one. In this condition nothing but pure awareness remains and nothing detracts from wholeness and perfection. This we can also call "Unity Consciousness".

Now, I know this is not what you asked for--not textbook definitions, but personal experiences. However, without these definitions, it's impossible to understand any descriptions or personal anecdotes. Thus, we begin with a yardstick with which to measure, and a vocabulary with with to name.

I've been practicing meditation regularly for 42 years, since I was 18. I began to have clear experiences of the 4th state, Transcendental Consciousness, at about the age of 20. I would feel warm, light, blissful and joyous, peaceful and at one with everything. At first, these experiences were fleeting, vague and difficult to recognize or pin down because of their very vagueness and newness. As the years went on, they would last longer and become much clearer, and so I became accustomed to that feeling of silence and came to recognize it as my true self. After 10 or 15 years I began to have brief flashes of this silence existing not only during meditation, but also during waking, dreaming or sleeping. The co-existence of 4th state while in either of the three other states is different for each of them. In sleep, although still asleep, I felt like I was awake because my awareness was the same--silent and THERE, aware that I was sleeping. For a time I thought I'd become an insomniac, but I was never tired! The experience of 4th state during dreaming is like watching a movie--the dream is the movie, the silent awareness is the viewer. During waking, it's very different--the silent awareness of 4th state becomes a witness to everything you see, feel, think, do. This is Cosmic Consciousness, 5th state, which by now has become stabilized as a very natural way of Being. I don't think it's so very special--it just seems to me to be the natural way life IS and should be. However, even now this often breaks down into something larger, less "In-Here-is-unchanging-true-self and Out-there-is-ever-changing-not-myself" and more that it's all indistinguishable parts of the same whole, or maybe not even parts--maybe, it seems more and more, that it's ALL, everything, every small part IS the entire whole... words always fail to reflect this very well, the experiences are not easy to put into words, and, as Lao-tze warned, "The way that can be spoken of is not the true way."

So, what does it mean, where am I now, how do I operate in this world? I have my emotions, even sometimes negative ones. I can be impatient, frustrated, disappointed, even angry or upset at times. But, even then, the silent witness of Self is there within (and without...) and knows, understands that this passes like the clouds, the sun is still shining even if, at times, its light is not so clear. This is not a mood I must make or a theory I must convince myself of, but reality as I cognize it, as life unfolds moment by moment. So, yes--I go through life, and still, as Zen Buddhists say, "chop wood, carry water." Some water may sometimes spill. Oops! A bird sings, my awareness sings with the bird, and I cut my finger with the axe as I chop wood! Ouch! I smile and laugh a lot, I frown and cry hardly at all. Did I say I laugh a lot? I think perhaps that's the best description I can give of "higher states of consciousness." Laughter permeates, joy overflows.
Namaste,
Michael

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Originally posted by lukemosse

Hi

I was at a meditation group today and I asked a question during the question time and I don't think it was really answered. So I am asking it here. If there are any experienced meditators who can answer this I would be very grateful.

My question is

When you experience of higher/altered/transcendental states of consciousness, do you feel that the experiences you have
1) relate to reality as a whole - truths that exist in the altered state are true for reality in general

or

2) relate to the experience of being human - they are part of the human experience, but there is no way of knowing whether these attributes or truths are true of the world or cosmos at large

I would be very interested to hear people's experiences of this.

As an aside: Please note that I'm interested in personal experience - the answer I got today was related to the upanishads, which is fine but quoting what is written in a book is different to relating what is within somebody's experiential knowledge so I'm not asking for references to scripture. The answer doesn't need qualification but just to say which of 1 or 2 would be more accurate. Thanks

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