Contents - The Book of Highs: 255 Ways to Alter Your Consciousness

Getting High and Staying There by Andrew Weil xii
Preface xvi
PART ONE: JUST YOUR SELF
AWARENESS 3
1 Concentration 3
2 Self-awareness 4
3 Philosophical awareness 5
4 Sensory awareness 6
5 Biological awareness 8
6 Visceral awareness 9
7 Rhythmic and cyclical awareness 10
8 Planetary awareness 11
9 Short-lived phenomena 14
10 Semantic awareness 14
11 Extraspecies communication 15
12 Cultural awareness 16
13 Awareness of others 17
POSITIVE TECHNIQUES 19
14 Meditation 19
15 Prolonged observation 21
16 Spinning 22
17 Fervent prayer 24
18 Long times at sea, in the desert, in the Arctic 25
19 Self-hypnosis 26
20 Alterations of breathing 28
21 Trance 30
22 Myths, tales, and koans 31
23 Rituals 38
24 Chanting and mantras 39
25 Mudra 41
26 Problem solving 42
27 Extra-sensory perception 44
28 Culturally based visual illusions 45
29 Auditory illusions 46
30 Afterimages 47
31 Repetition 48
32 Psychological exercises 49
33 Mathematics 50
34 Continuous singing 51
35 Manual phosphene stimulation 53
36 Zen power yell 53
37 Poetry 54
38 Voluntary silence 55
39 Loving 56
NEGATIVE TECHNIQUES 59
40 Suffering 59
41 Pain 60
42 Forbidden activities 61
43 Rage 62
44 Paranoia 62
45 Panic 63
46 Psychosis 64
47 Amnesia 66
48 Exhaustion 66
49 Delirium of high fevers 67
50 Epileptic seizures 68
51 Migraines 69
52 Narcotic withdrawal 70
53 Demonic possession 70
54 Brainwashing 71
55 Self-flagellation 71
56 Fire walking 72
57 Fasting 74
58 Sleep deprivation 75
59 Involuntary isolation 76
60 Near-death and out-of-body experiences 76
FANTASY, SLEEP, DREAMING, AND SEX 79
61 Fantasy and daydreaming 79
62 Remembering and reverie 81
63 Lullabies 82
64 Sleep 83
65 Dreaming 83
66 Dream incubation 85
67 Hypnagogic phenomena 86
68 Lucid dreaming 88
69 Dreams applied to waking life 90
70 Hypnopompic phenomena 91
71 Sunbathing 92
72 Floating 93
73 Sex 93
74 Prolonged sexual intercourse 95
75 Orgasm 95
76 Nudity 97
77 Prolonged masturbation 97
78 Orgiastic or corybantic dancing 98
EVERYDAY LIFE 101
79 Zen morning laugh 101
80 Impressions are food 102
81 Sensory reminiscence 102
82 Déjà vu 103
83 Synesthesia 104
84 Seeking 106
85 Forgetting 106
86 Art experience 107
87 Creativity 108
88 Profound esthetic experience 108
89 Flow 110
90 Peak experience 111
91 Movement 112
92 Postures 113
93 Tensing 114
94 Jumping up and down 114
95 Play 115
96 Running 116
97 Gymnastics 118
98 Golf 119
99 Mountaineering and rock climbing 119
100 Mushroom hunting 120
101 Survival tests 122
102 Futures 123
103 Acceleration and future shock 124
104 Voluntary social withdrawal 125
105 Communes 125
106 Everyday experience 126
PART TWO: HELP FROM OTHERS
THERAPIES AND MISCELLANEOUS 131
107 Psychoanalysis 131
108 Analytical psychology 134
109 Character analysis 135
110 Psychodrama and drama therapy 136
111 Logotherapy 137
112 Existential therapy 138
113 Rational psychotherapy 139
114 General semantics 140
115 Final integration 141
116 Thanatological awareness 142
117 Gestalt therapy 145
118 Maslovian psychology 148
119 Transpersonal psychology 149
120 Sensory training 150
121 Bio-energetic analysis 151
122 Grounding and energy 153
123 Psychomotor therapy 154
124 Psychosynthesis 155
125 Client-centered therapy 157
126 Behavior therapy 158
127 Cognitive behavioral therapy 159
128 Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing 160
129 Encounter 161
130 Marathon 162
131 Potentials 162
132 Art therapy 163
133 Family therapy 165
134 A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT) 166
135 Dance therapy 167
136 Imago relationship therapy 169
137 Theater games 170
138 Primal therapy 171
139 Rolfing 172
140 Alexander technique 173
141 Autogenic training 174
142 Flagellation 176
143 Hypnosis 176
144 Massage 177
145 Kinesics 178
146 Laban movement 180
147 Bates method 181
148 Compressed time 182
RELIGIONS, MYSTICISM, AND MOVEMENTS 185
149 Yoga 185
150 Transcendental Meditation 188
151 Agni yoga 189
152 Tibetan Buddhism 190
153 Tantric sex 192
154 Body chanting 194
155 Taoism 195
156 Confucianism 196
157 Buddhism 197
158 Tea ceremony 200
159 Haiku 202
160 Kendo and kyudo 203
161 T’ai chi ch’uan 203
162 Martial arts 204
163 Calligraphy and Sumie 205
164 Flower arrangement 207
165 Sufism 207
166 Subud 208
167 Jewish mysticism 209
168 Astrology 210
169 Magick 212
170 Alchemy 213
171 Anthroposophy 214
172 Arica 214
173 Religious pilgrimage 215
174 Revival meetings 217
175 Religious conversion 217
176 Séances 218
177 Faith healing 219
178 Charismatic speakers 219
179 Crowds 220
180 Spontaneous gatherings, flash mobs, and happenings 221
PART THREE: DEVICES AND MACHINES
NONELECTRIC 225
181 I Ching 225
182 Tarot 226
183 The ten ox herding pictures 228
184 Finnegans Wake 229
185 Incense 232
186 Sensory orgy 232
187 Intensive instrument playing 232
188 Sound meditation 233
189 Metronome watching 234
190 Stained glass 235
191 Hot and cold baths 235
192 Environmental control 236
193 Sensory deprivation 237
194 Witches’ cradle and ASCID 238
195 Body confinement 240
196 Hermann’s grid 241
197 Peripheral drift 243
198 Autostereograms 243
199 Ames perceptual demonstrations 243
200 Mandalas 244
201 Gymnastic equipment 246
202 Scuba and skin diving 246
203 Bells 247
204 Masks 247
205 Rock throwing 248
206 Automobile destruction 248
207 Kayak disease 249
208 Engine rough 249
209 Skydiving 250
210 Breakoff 252
211 Gliding 252
212 Land diving 253
213 Skiing and snowboarding 253
214 Space travel 254
215 Trepanning 255
ELECTRIC 257
216 Sensory overload 257
217 Electronic dance music 259
218 Natural sound amplification 260
219 Prolonged radar-screen observation 261
220 Movies 261
221 Stroboscopes 262
222 Continuous light and sound 263
223 Dream machine 264
224 Riley room 266
225 Binaural beats 267
226 Missing frequencies 268
227 Infinity room 268
228 Magnets 270
229 Transcranial magnetic stimulation 270
230 Negative ionization 271
231 Psychedelic bathtub 273
232 Moiré patterns 273
233 Seeing your eye 274
234 Electrical stimulation of the mastoid 274
235 Electric clothing 275
236 Ganzfeld effect 277
237 Electrosleep 278
238 Sound and motion sensors 278
239 Electronically generated visual illusions 279
240 OKPLD 279
241 Repetition tapes 280
BIOFEEDBACK 281
242 Brain-wave biofeedback 283
243 Electrodermal activity 284
244 Muscle biofeedback 285
245 Heartbeat and respiration biofeedback 285
246 Virtual reality 287
247 Augmented reality 289
248 Mutual wave machine 289
249 Holophonic sound 290
250 Simulated body illusion 291
251 Autonomous sensory meridian response 292
252 Video games 293
253 Brain music 294
254 Electrical stimulation of the brain 295
255 Living 295
Index 296
About the Author 302

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