Self-Experiments with Consciousness and Hypnagogia: A scientist's personal exploration of consciousness at the threshold of sleep and beyond

Synopsis This book tells about the author's personal experience with subjective phenomena of the human mind and consciousness, with special emphasis on phenomena perceived at the threshold of sleep and wakefulness, known as hypnopompic and hypnogogic experiences (or in short "hypnagogia"), which she considers quite special, as it will allow a person to maintain awareness, or lucidity, while the physical body falls asleep, therefore having the chance to explore out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams. However, it is not all about out-of-body experiences or lucid dreams, as she tells about her personal experiences from her involvement with esoteric philosophy and the Brazilian spiritism, and discusses several special issues from the development of her knowledge on other subjects, like for example remote viewing, starting with her involvement with the Society for Scientific Exploration where she met with the first explorers and the initiators of remote viewing research. The author also improved her knowledge of the mind through her involvement with neuroscience, as well as psychological theories of cognition, and research on memory and learning. Her personal experiences also lead her to study the literature on the subject of bio-energetic phenomena (the so-called Kundalini phenomena) and other interesting areas that address the subjective phenomena of the mind in many forms. One important subject discussed is that of "sleep paralysis," which can produce problematic hypnagogias. In fact she has published a scientific paper, along with Jean-Christophe Terrillon, on recurrent sleep paralysis, which has been widely referred in the literature on this subject, after its publication by the Journal of Scientific Exploration in 2001. This paper is included in the book as an appendix, due to its importance in helping people suffering from this condition. Finally, this book assesses the present panorama with personal subjective experiences in general, which the author strongly believes may produce important developments in the understanding of the mind and consciousness in general, consequently increasing the possibility of experiencing the worlds beyond the physical, or beyond death. Contents Preface: What is hypnagogia? …And the reasons why I wrote this book Chapter 1: The Making of a Scientist and Self-Explorer of the Mind Chapter 2: Learning about Esoteric Philosophy and Practices Chapter 3: Spiritism and Spiritual Contacts Chapter 4: Learning about Lucid Dreaming and Out-of-body Experiences Chapter 5: Self-Experimenting and Documenting Subjective Experiences Chapter 6: Interacting with Guides and Helpers from the “Otherworld” Chapter 7: Learning about Kundalini Experiences and Energetic-like Phenomena Chapter 8: Troubles with Nightmarish Hypnagogia: Learning about experiences of sleep paralysis and how to avoid them Chapter 9: What’s with Extraterrestrials and Psychic Phenomena? Or… Is there an “Alien agenda” linked to the spiritual? Chapter 10: Praying, Contemplations, and Healings: Odd phenomena of the thought and emotions in spiritual practices Chapter 11: Learning about the Brain and cognition, and “Volutanry Control” of Brain States Chapter 12: Remote Viewing: An example of a modern scientific exploration of extra-sensorial perceptions and subjective experiences Chapter 13: The Legacy of Robert Monroe’s Explorations: A separate view of the universe independent of esoteric philosophies and religious beliefs Chapter 14: The “Unconscious” and Earlier Explorers’ Discoveries about the Human Mind Chapter 15: Hypnagogias, Reveries, and the Development of a Relationship with the “Unconscious” Mind Chapter 16: Beyond Hypnagogia: Subjective experiences in other – perhaps spiritual – worlds Chapter 17: Continuing the Path of Self-Exploration: It’s a new wonder world! Appendix I: A brief review about Andreas Mavromatis’ book on Hypnagogia Appendix II: Does Recurrent Isolated Sleep Paralysis Involve More than Congnitive Neurosciences? Pictures. Bibliography. Acknowledgements.