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.
The paper argues that typical studies of the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) are limited because they examine one part of the cortical network using another, focusing on what is termed 'default consciousness' (DCs)—everyday waking awareness. In contrast, Buddhist jhāna meditation intentionally withdraws from DCs to an inward-directed, still state called jhāna consciousness. This preliminary EEG study of jhāna meditation reports findings unlike those in other meditation research: highly alert subjects displayed spindle activity similar to sleep spindles, more experienced subjects showed high-voltage slow-waves reminiscent of deep sleep or coma, and some exhibited spike-wave bursts similar to absence epilepsy. Some subjects could consciously evoke clonic seizure-like activity. The authors suggest these observations reflect a profound disruption of DCs when personal elements are withdrawn.
Default sensory consciousness, as examined across philosophy, psychoanalysis, Buddhist thought, and neuroscience, is contrasted with the consciousness arising in jhāna meditation. The discussion extends to neuroscience models of nested hierarchies within self-organizing systems and their associated Markov blankets, exploring implications for consciousness in those systems. A brief discussion addresses the outermost hierarchical system—planet Earth interacting with worldwide societies—and the likely information geometries linking outer with inner, in light of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.