States of Mind: E.S.P. and Altered States of Consciousness

In writing this book I am first indebted to those whose research it compiles, and in particular I would like to express my gratitude to Charles Tart of the University of California and Charles Honorton of the Maimonides Medical Center, New York, the two leading authorities in the field to whose work I have made frequent reference. Special indebtedness is also due to John Beloff of the University of Edinburgh for suggesting the venture and for reading and commenting on the manuscript. As well as referring to experimental research, I have found it valuable to illustrate extrasensory perception and altered states ofconsciousness by means ofdescription. For permission to quote in this area I am grateful to the Society for Psychical Research, the American Medical Association, Robert Masters and Jean Housten of the Foundation for Mind Research, and Celia Green and Charles McCreery of the Institute for Psychophysical Research (together with Hamish Hamilton, their publisher) . Thanks are also due to Dr George Glass for his openmindedness in allowing me to quote one of his case histories in criticism of the medical approach to psychedelics, and to Dr Ronald Shor for his permission to include examples from the Personal Experiences Questionnaire. I extend thanks to David Bate and other friends who, through discussion, helped me in the formation of ideas. And, finally, I would like to express appreciation to my parents, and to Bertil and Ulla Wettmark, for providing such a pleasant environment in which to write the book during my tenure of the Perrott-Warwick Studentship in Psychical Research of Trinity College, Cambridge. Acknowledgments 6 Author's Preface 7 Introduction by Dr John Beloff 8 1 ESP and Consciousness 15 2 Hypnosis and ESP 34 3 Trance Mediumship 54 4 Dream States and ESP 75 5 Out-of-the-Body Experiences and Lucid Dreams 99 6 Pathological States 114 7 Psychedelic States 125 8 Meditation, Mysticism and Alpha States 146 9 Is there a Post-Mortem ASC? 159 Glossary 173 Reading List and References 177 Indexes 193