Show NotesSeason 2 Episode 4 ‘Being, Time and Altered States’Today’s podcast is the last of a trilogy on consciousness and time. My guest is Marc Wittmann, Ph.D. Marc is a research fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas in Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg, Germany. He studied psychology and philosophy at the Universities of Fribourg, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany. He received his Ph.D. at the Institute of Medical Psychology, University of Munich. From 2000 to 2004 he was head of the Generation Research Program, Bad Tölz, University of Munich. Between 2004 to 2009 he was a research fellow in the department of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego.In today’s interview, we discuss Marc’s book Altered States of Consciousness, from MIT press. We begin with a discussion of the history of psychedelic research. Then we move onto the central issue: the intimate relationship between time, consciousness and the self. We look at the phenomenon of time expansion experiences in meditation. We touch upon a famous controversy on the nature of time between Albert Einstein and the philosopher, Henri Bergson. We discuss the disturbing disintegration of the present moment in conditions like schizophrenia. And we finish by considering the implications of mystical states, which commonly feature a profound sense of unity with the cosmos.ResourcesMarc’s book:Wittmann, M. (2018). Altered States of Consciousness: Experiences Out of Time and Self. MIT Press.First flotation tank study:Hruby, H., Schmidt, S., Feinstein, J.S. et al. Induction of altered states of consciousness during Floatation-REST is associated with the dissolution of body boundaries and the distortion of subjective time. Sci Rep 14, 9316 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59642-yMarc’s website:https://sites.google.com/site/webmarcwittmann/Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health (IGPP):https://www.igpp.de/allg/welcome_EN.htmMarc on the Psi EncyclopaediaThanks for reading WHAT LIES BEYOND! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Topics discussedEssential Foundation’s Time and Mind conference( first talks)Hans Bender’s entry on the Psi encyclopaedia.The life and work of John Lilly, who invented floatation tanks.Roland GriffithsSteve Taylor on time expansionPhysicist Carlo Rovelli on time (YouTube)Bergson versus Einstein:Cancales, J. (2015). The Physicist and the Philosopher: Einstein, Bergson, and the Debate That Changed Our Understanding of Time. Princeton University Press.Wittmann, M. & Montemayer, C. (2022). Reinterpreting the Einstein-Bergson Debate through Contemporary Neuroscience, De Gruyter, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110753707-019Philip K. Dick’s novel involving schizophrenia and time: Dick,P.K. (1964). Martian Time Slip. Ballantine.Iain McGilchrist’s websiteWilliam James’ Varieties of Religious Experience (discusses mystical experiences):https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/621Title Music: ‘Stranger things’ by Music Unlimited on Pixabey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whatliesbeyond.substack.com

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