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====1. Total absence of attributed identity==== | ====1. Total absence of attributed identity==== | ||
{{Main|Depersonalization}} | {{Main|Depersonalization}} | ||
The lowest level of identity can be described as the complete absence of it. In the medical literature, this is referred to as ''depersonalization'' (or ''depersonalisation''). It is defined as an anomaly of self-awareness that can occur as a result of prolonged stress or while under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]ic substances, particularly [[dissociative]]s. It consists of a feeling of watching oneself act as they normally would while having no control over a situation due to an absence of a feeling of agency.<ref>American Psychiatric Association (2004). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Text Revision). American Psychiatric Association. ISBN 0-89042-024-6.</ref> | The lowest level of identity can be described as the complete absence of it. In the medical literature, this is referred to as ''depersonalization'' (or ''depersonalisation''). It is defined as an anomaly of self-awareness that can occur as a result of prolonged stress or while under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]ic substances, particularly [[dissociative]]s or [[cannabis]]. It consists of a feeling of watching oneself act as they normally would while having no control over a situation due to an absence of a feeling of agency.<ref>American Psychiatric Association (2004). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Text Revision). American Psychiatric Association. ISBN 0-89042-024-6.</ref> | ||
During this state, one may feel like they are on autopilot and that the world has become vague, dream-like, less real, or lacking in significance. Individuals who experience depersonalization feel divorced from their own personal physicality and identity by sensing their body sensations, feelings, emotions and behaviors as not belonging to them.<ref>http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/basics/definition/con-20033401</ref> Often a person who has experienced depersonalization claims that things seem unreal or hazy during this state. This is because during depersonalisation, one lacks a feeling of identity which results in being incapable of feeling present during a situation. | During this state, one may feel like they are on autopilot and that the world has become vague, dream-like, less real, or lacking in significance. Individuals who experience depersonalization feel divorced from their own personal physicality and identity by sensing their body sensations, feelings, emotions and behaviors as not belonging to them.<ref>http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depersonalization-derealization-disorder/basics/definition/con-20033401</ref> Often a person who has experienced depersonalization claims that things seem unreal or hazy during this state. This is because during depersonalisation, one lacks a feeling of identity which results in being incapable of feeling present during a situation. | ||
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It is at this level that a key component of the unity experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when one is not in this state it feels as though they are a central agent organizing the separate world around themselves while physically interacting with an object. However, whilst undergoing a state of unity with the currently perceivable environment, interacting with an external object consistently feels as if the system as a whole is autonomously organizing itself and that one is no longer a central agent operating the process of interaction. Instead the process suddenly feels as if it has become completely decentralized and mutual across itself as the environment begins to autonomously, mechanically and harmoniously respond to itself to perform the predetermined function of the particular interaction. | It is at this level that a key component of the unity experience becomes an extremely noticeable factor. Once a person's sense of self has become attributed to the entirety of their surroundings, this new perspective completely changes how it feels to physically interact with what was previously felt to be an external environment. For example, when one is not in this state it feels as though they are a central agent organizing the separate world around themselves while physically interacting with an object. However, whilst undergoing a state of unity with the currently perceivable environment, interacting with an external object consistently feels as if the system as a whole is autonomously organizing itself and that one is no longer a central agent operating the process of interaction. Instead the process suddenly feels as if it has become completely decentralized and mutual across itself as the environment begins to autonomously, mechanically and harmoniously respond to itself to perform the predetermined function of the particular interaction. | ||
This state most commonly occurs during intense states of focus, [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s. | |||
====5. Identifying with all known "external" systems==== | ====5. Identifying with all known "external" systems==== | ||
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Many people who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion with its destruction often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.” Depending on the degree to which this supposed illusion has been lifted, it can lead onto five possible levels of differing intensity and degrees of interconnectedness. | Many people who undergo this experience consistently interpret it as the removal of a deeply embedded illusion with its destruction often described as some sort of profound “awakening” or “enlightenment.” Depending on the degree to which this supposed illusion has been lifted, it can lead onto five possible levels of differing intensity and degrees of interconnectedness. | ||
This state most commonly occurs during intense states of focus, [[meditation]] or under the influence of [[hallucinogen]]s such as [[psychedelic]]s. | |||
====='''Similar concepts'''===== | ====='''Similar concepts'''===== | ||
Similar accounts of the experience of unity and the apparent illusory nature of the self can be found across a surprisingly large variety of independent religious, philosophical, and psychological sources. These have been collected and listed as a set of documented examples below: | Similar accounts of the experience of unity and the apparent illusory nature of the self can be found across a surprisingly large variety of independent religious, philosophical, and psychological sources. These have been collected and listed as a set of documented examples below: | ||
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*'''[http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/13/474071268/how-lsd-makes-your-brain-one-with-the-universe How LSD Makes Your Brain One With The Universe (NPR.org)]''' | *'''[http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/13/474071268/how-lsd-makes-your-brain-one-with-the-universe How LSD Makes Your Brain One With The Universe (NPR.org)]''' | ||
*'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fajfkO_X0l0 Sam Harris: The self is an illusion (YouTube)]''' | *'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fajfkO_X0l0 Sam Harris: The self is an illusion (YouTube)]''' | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Responsible use]] | *[[Responsible use]] | ||