The human default consciousness and its disruption: insights from an EEG study of Buddhist jhāna meditation
bioRxiv Preprint Server May 1, 2019 Paul Dennison 1 citation preprint
The neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) are often studied via task-based experiments, but these recruit one part of the cortical network to investigate another, limiting what they reveal about consciousness itself. The form of consciousness explored in such research is termed the human default consciousness (DCs), everyday waking consciousness. In contrast, states like anaesthesia, coma, deep sleep, or epilepsy show different cortical activity and are involuntary or unconscious. An exception is Buddhist jhāna meditation, which intentionally withdraws from default consciousness to an inward-directed stillness called jhāna consciousness. Default consciousness is sensorily-based, evaluating outer-world information against personal needs, aligning with Buddhist models and active inference theories minimizing free energy.