## Highlights - The findings of my research and contemporary consciousness research in general essentially confirm and support the position of these ancient teachings. They are thus in radical conflict with the most fundamental assumptions of materialistic science concerning consciousness, human nature, and the nature of reality. They clearly indicate that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but a primary principle of existence, and that it plays a critical role in the creation of the phenomenal world. ([Location 168](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=168)) - This research also radically changes our conception of the human psyche. It shows that, in its farthest reaches, the psyche of each of us is essentially commensurate with all of existence and ultimately identical with the cosmic creative principle itself. This conclusion, while seriously challenging the worldview of modern technological societies, is in far-reaching agreement with the image of reality found in the great spiritual and mystical traditions of the world, which the Anglo-American writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley referred to as the “perennial philosophy” (Huxley 1945). ([Location 172](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=172)) - Many of the great spiritual systems are products of centuries of in-depth exploration of the human psyche and consciousness that in many ways resembles scientific research. ([Location 181](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=181)) ## New highlights added July 16, 2023 at 12:50 PM - They clearly indicate that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but a primary principle of existence, and that it plays a critical role in the creation of the phenomenal world. ([Location 170](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=170)) - holotropic (Grof 1992). This composite word literally means “oriented toward wholeness” or “moving in the direction of wholeness” (from the Greek holos = whole, and trepein = moving toward or in the direction of something). The full meaning of this term and the justification for its use will become clear later in this book. It suggests that in our everyday state of consciousness we are not really whole; we are fragmented and identify with only a small fraction of who we really are. ([Location 207](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=207)) - Holotropic states are characterized by a specific transformation of consciousness associated with perceptual changes in all sensory areas, intense and often unusual emotions, and profound alterations in the thought processes. ([Location 211](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=211)) ## New highlights added July 28, 2023 at 1:45 AM - They experienced these deities to be creations of a higher power that transcended them. This insight echoes Joseph Campbell’s idea that the deities should be “transparent to the transcendent.” They should function as a bridge to the divine source, but not be confused with it. ([Location 495](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=495)) ## New highlights added September 4, 2023 at 3:47 PM - In the light of these insights, the material world of our everyday life, including our own body, is an intricate tissue of misperceptions and misreadings. It is a playful and somewhat arbitrary product of the cosmic creative principle, an infinitely sophisticated “virtual reality,” a divine play created by Absolute Consciousness and the Cosmic Void. Our universe that appears to contain countless myriads of separate entities and elements, is in its deepest nature just one being of immense proportions and unimaginable complexity. ([Location 726](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=726))  ## Highlights - The findings of my research and contemporary consciousness research in general essentially confirm and support the position of these ancient teachings. They are thus in radical conflict with the most fundamental assumptions of materialistic science concerning consciousness, human nature, and the nature of reality. They clearly indicate that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but a primary principle of existence, and that it plays a critical role in the creation of the phenomenal world. ([Location 168](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=168)) - They clearly indicate that consciousness is not a product of the brain, but a primary principle of existence, and that it plays a critical role in the creation of the phenomenal world. ([Location 170](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=170)) - This research also radically changes our conception of the human psyche. It shows that, in its farthest reaches, the psyche of each of us is essentially commensurate with all of existence and ultimately identical with the cosmic creative principle itself. This conclusion, while seriously challenging the worldview of modern technological societies, is in far-reaching agreement with the image of reality found in the great spiritual and mystical traditions of the world, which the Anglo-American writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley referred to as the “perennial philosophy” (Huxley 1945). ([Location 172](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=172)) - Many of the great spiritual systems are products of centuries of in-depth exploration of the human psyche and consciousness that in many ways resembles scientific research. ([Location 181](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=181)) - holotropic (Grof 1992). This composite word literally means “oriented toward wholeness” or “moving in the direction of wholeness” (from the Greek holos = whole, and trepein = moving toward or in the direction of something). The full meaning of this term and the justification for its use will become clear later in this book. It suggests that in our everyday state of consciousness we are not really whole; we are fragmented and identify with only a small fraction of who we really are. ([Location 207](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=207)) - Holotropic states are characterized by a specific transformation of consciousness associated with perceptual changes in all sensory areas, intense and often unusual emotions, and profound alterations in the thought processes. ([Location 211](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=211)) - They experienced these deities to be creations of a higher power that transcended them. This insight echoes Joseph Campbell’s idea that the deities should be “transparent to the transcendent.” They should function as a bridge to the divine source, but not be confused with it. When we are involved in systematic self-exploration or spiritual practice, it is important to avoid the pitfall of making a particular deity opaque and seeing it as the ultimate cosmic force rather than a window into the Absolute. ([Location 495](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=495)) - Those who reported such an ultimate revelation showed quite remarkable agreement in describing the experiential characteristics of this state. They reported that the experience of the Supreme involved transcendence of all the limitations of the analytical mind, all rational categories, and all the constraints of ordinary logic. This experience was not bound by the usual categories of three-dimensional space and linear time as we know them from everyday life. It also contained all conceivable polarities in an inseparable amalgam and thus transcended dualities of any kind. ([Location 518](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=518)) - The supreme cosmic principle can be experienced in tow different ways. Sometimes, all personal boundaries dissolve or are drastically obliterated and we completely merge with the divine source, becoming one with it and indistinguishable from it. Other times, we maintain the sense of separate identity, assuming the role of an astonished observer who is witnessing as if from the outside the mysterium tremendum of existence. Or, like some mystics, we might feel the ecstasy of an enraptured lover experiencing the encounter with the Beloved. Spiritual literature of all ages abounds in descriptions of both types of experiences of the Divine. ([Location 526](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=526)) - In the light of these insights, the material world of our everyday life, including our own body, is an intricate tissue of misperceptions and misreadings. It is a playful and somewhat arbitrary product of the cosmic creative principle, an infinitely sophisticated “virtual reality,” a divine play created by Absolute Consciousness and the Cosmic Void. Our universe that appears to contain countless myriads of separate entities and elements, is in its deepest nature just one being of immense proportions and unimaginable complexity. ([Location 726](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B010MQALGO&location=726))