Am I dreaming? : the new science of consciousness and how altered states reboot the brain

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Introduction; 1. Magical Thinking; 2. Dream On; 3. Holidays from Reality; 4. Puppets on a String; 5. Wonder Child; 6. Mother Ayahuasca; 7. Death of the Ego; 8. The Wonderful Lightness of Being; 9. The Void Between Dreams; Epilogue; Sources; Acknowledgements; Index A scientific travel guide to altered states of consciousness - and what we can learn from them. When a computer goes wrong, we are told to turn it off and on again. In Am I Dreaming?, science journalist James Kingsland reveals how the human brain is remarkably similar. By rebooting our hard-wired patterns of thinking - through so-called 'altered states of consciousness' - we can gain new perspectives into ourselves and the world around us. From shamans in Peru to tech workers in Silicon Valley, Kingsland provides a fascinating tour through lucid dreams, mindfulness, hypnotic trances, virtual reality and drug-induced hallucinations. An eye-opening insight into perception and consciousness, this is also a provocative argument for how altered states can significantly boost our mental health