Awareness in the void: a micro-phenomenological exploration of conscious dreamless sleep
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences August 3, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1007/s11097-021-09743-0 via OpenAlex
Summary
A pilot study explored objectless awareness during sleep, where participants reported conscious experiences that lacked any specific content or scenery. Five participants were interviewed using the Micro-phenomenological Interview technique and described a state called 'No Scenery/Void', which occurred after lucid dreams or other conscious thoughts. The study identified four dimensions of experience in this state: absence perception, self-perception, emotional perception, and awareness perception. These findings suggest avenues for further research into this phenomenon.
Study at a glance
| Design | qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 5 |
| Population | participants experiencing objectless consciousness during sleep |
| Key finding | All participants reported experiencing a state of consciousness during sleep with no scenery or dreams. |
Abstract
Abstract This paper presents a pilot study that explores instances of objectless awareness during sleep: conscious experiences had during sleep that prima facie lack an object of awareness. This state of objectless awareness during sleep has been widely described by Indian contemplative traditions and has been characterised as a state of consciousness-as-such; while in it, there is nothing to be aware of, one is merely conscious (cf. Evans-Wentz, 1960; Fremantle, 2001; Ponlop, 2006). While this phenomenon has received different names in the literature, such as ‘witnessing-sleep’ and ‘clear light sleep’ among others, the specific phenomenological profile of this state has not yet been rigorously studied. This paper aims at presenting a preliminary investigation of objectless consciousness during sleep using a novel tool in qualitative research that can guide future research. Five participants experiencing objectless consciousness during sleep were interviewed following the Micro-phenomenological Interview technique (MPI; Petitmengin, 2005, 2006). All participants reported an experience they had during sleep in which there was no scenery and no dream. This period labelled as ‘No Scenery/Void’ was either preceded by the dissolution of a lucid dream or by other forms of conscious mentation. The analysis of the results advances four experiential dimensions during this state of void, namely (1) Perception of absence, (2) Self-perception, (3) Perception of emotions, and (4) Perception of awareness. While the results are primarily explorative, they refer to themes found in the literature to describe objectless sleep and point at potential avenues of research. The results from this study are taken as indications to guide future operationalisations of this phenomenon.