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Across cultures and throughout history, transcendent states achieved through meditative practices have been reported. The practices to attain transcendent states vary from transcendental meditation to yoga to contemplative prayer, to other various forms of sitting meditation. While these transcendent states are ascribed many different terms, those who experience them describe a similar unitive, ineffable state of consciousness. Despite the common description, few studies have systematically examined transcendent states during meditation.Twenty-five studies with a total of 672 combined participants were included in thisi review.Transcendent states were most consistently associated with slowed breathing, respiratory suspension, reduced muscle activity and EEG alpha blocking with external stimuli, and increased EEG alpha power, EEG coherence, and functional neural connectivity. The transcendent state is described as being in a state of relaxed wakefulness in a phenomenologically different space-time. Heterogeneity between studies precluded any formal meta-analysis and thus, conclusions about outcomes are qualitative and preliminary.
Frontiers in Psychology
The biological dimensions of transcendent states: A randomized controlled trial2022 •
Revista Da Associacao Medica Brasileira
Neurophysiological, cognitive-behavioral and neurochemical effects in practitioners of transcendental meditation - A literature review2019 •
2006 •
Computerized spectral analysis and qualitative reports determined distinctions among the EEG records during Transcendental Meditation, the different sleep stages, and waking in meditators and controls. Speculations were formulated concerning the possibility that the changes in consciousness induced during the process of Transcendental Meditation may carry over into waking, dreaming, and sleep states.
2001 •
Previous research has suggested that a unique “fourth state” of awareness, Transcendental Consciousness (TC), distinct from waking, dreaming, and sleeping, occurs during the practice of the Transcendental Meditation technique. Subjectively, this state has been described as free of mental content but with alert, broaden awareness. Objectively, this state has been characterized, in part, by very high levels of shortand long-range EEG (electroencephalographic) coherence along with spontaneous respiratory “suspension” and phasic adjustments of various autonomic variables. Research also suggests that brain rhythms centered on 40 Hz may participate in the mechanics of temporal binding of diverse brain activity underlying the content and unity of cognitive experience. This proposed study is designed to help clarify the unique nature of this state of TC and its relationship to 40 Hz rhythms using a multichannel magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) system. This medit...
P. Etevenon (Hermanville sur Mer, France) — Meditation as a State of Consciousness: A Personal Account Insofar as ”consciousness” is considered to be an axiom, different definitions of ”states of consciousness” can be envisaged. It was in Princeton and later in Paris in Pierre Deniker’s psychiatric clinic that the author first studied ”pathological states of consciousness” and ”natural states of consciousness”, together with quantitative EEG analyses of psychiatric and neurological conditions, as well as the effects of hallucinogenic and psychodysleptic drugs. In his opinion, ”states of meditation” and a wider category that he called in 1972 ”voluntary controlled states of consciousness” are distinct both from these ”altered pathological states” and from the ”natural states of consciousness” typical of wakefulness, sleep and dreams (particularly in paradoxical or REM sleep). In the Sainte-Anne hospital in Paris the first EEG recordings of the Zen master Taisen Deshimaru Roshi and hi...
2015 •
Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)approved treatment for insomnia, depression, and anxiety consisting of pulsed, low-intensity current applied to the earlobes or scalp. Despite empirical evidence of clinical efficacy, its mechanism of action is largely unknown. The goal was to characterize the acute effects of CES on resting state brain activity. Our primary hypothesis was that CES would result in deactivation in cortical and subcortical regions. Eleven healthy controls were administered CES applied to the earlobes at subsensory thresholds while being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging in the resting state. We tested 0.5and 100-Hz stimulation, using blocks of 22 sec “on” alternating with 22 sec of baseline (device was “off”). The primary outcome measure was differences in blood oxygen level dependent data associated with the device being on versus baseline. The secondary outcome measures were the effects of stimulati...
This paper examines the relations between the experience reported by meditators and what the scholarly literature on consciousness can tell us. There appears to be a gap between what regular and intensely engaged meditators say and how current Western theories of consciousness represent the meditation experience. Using in-depth interviews with six practicing meditators, I use Van Manen’s approach to phenomenological analysis, combined with Gadamer’s hermeneutic interpretation strategy to draw comparisons with selected features of the human consciousness research literature. Understanding and transcending this gap has implications for how to bridge collective consciousness raising, individual meditation practices, and new trends in spiritual and global leadership.
Epilepsy & Behavior
Transcendental meditation: A double-edged sword in epilepsy2006 •
Transcendental Meditation (TM®) is derived from ancient yogic teachings. Both short- and long-term physiological correlates of TM® practice have been studied. EEG effects include increased alpha, theta, and gamma frequencies and increased coherence and synchrony. Neuronal hypersynchrony is also a cardinal feature of epilepsy, and subjective psychic symptoms, apnea, and myoclonic jerking are characteristic of both epileptic seizures and meditative states. Clinical vignettes have highlighted the potential risk of human kindling from repetitive meditation in persons practicing TM®, but clinical studies of similar techniques suggest that meditation may also be a potential antiepileptic therapy. Future clinical studies of meditating subjects using video/EEG monitoring are warranted to determine whether behavioral phenomena have an underlying epileptic basis, and prospective clinical trials of TM® in subjects with well-delineated epilepsy syndromes are necessary to establish the safety of this technique and its potential efficacy for seizure reduction and improvement of quality of life.
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Archives of General Psychiatry
Psychophysiological Correlates of the Practice of Tantric Yoga Meditation1978 •
Journal of Behavioral Medicine
A comparison of somatic relaxation and EEG activity in classical progressive relaxation and transcendental meditation1980 •
Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology
Spectral analysis of the EEG in meditation1973 •
Investigating the Depths of Consciousness Through Meditation
Investigating the Depths of Consciousness Through Meditation2010 •
Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health
Effects of Transcendental Meditation on mental health: a before-after study2008 •
Journal of Clinical Psychology
The Effects of the transcendental meditation program on mindfulness2009 •
Medical Hypotheses
From alpha to gamma: Electrophysiological correlates of meditation-related states of consciousness2010 •
Psychological Bulletin
Meditation states and traits: EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies2006 •
Consciousness and Cognition
Duality and nonduality in meditation research2010 •
Cognitive Processing
A self-referential default brain state: patterns of coherence, power, and eLORETA sources during eyes-closed rest and Transcendental Meditation practice2010 •