Page 247 - Demo

245One sign of developing Cosmic Consciousness (CC) is the experience of Transcendental Consciousness (TC) during deep sleep %u2014 settled inner awareness, %u201cwitnessing.%u201d In the chart above, the bars indicate physiological differences between the Long-Term Transcendental Meditation (TM) group, who were witnessing, and the Short-Term TM group, who were not yet experiencing witnessing.The fi rst bar shows that the Long-Term TM group had more theta2-alpha1 (6-10 Hz), the EEG associated with the experience of Transcendental Consciousness. This indicates that witnessing is based on brain function and is not just subjective. The second bar shows that during sleep the Long-Term TM group had a greater reduction of electromyography (EMG, muscle activity) during sleep, indicating more relaxed sleep. The third bar shows that the Long-Term TM group had a normal amount of restorative deep %u201cdelta%u201d sleep. Their deep sleep was not signifi cantly different from the Short-Term TM group. This indicates that witnessing sleep is not insomnia, because people with insomnia have fast EEG (associated with thinking), instead of the slower EEGs associated with both normal deep sleep and with Transcendental Consciousness. Insomniacs have restless sleep, not more profound, relaxing sleep.The unique pattern of brain physiology observed in this experiment corresponds to reports of Cosmic Consciousness in the classical literature on higher states of consciousness throughout the world. It is a developmentally %u201chigher%u201d state of consciousness because research has shown that witnessing is associated with higher levels of moral reasoning, better physical health, and more peak experiences of self-actualization.2.01.51.00.50-0.5-1.0-1.5-2.0Witnessing SleepTheta2-Alpha1 EEG(6-10 Hz)Muscle ActivityEMGDeep SleepDelta EEG(0-4 Hz)p = .001p = .002p = not significantEfiect Size (standard deviations)Distinctive Physiological Patternof Sleep During Cosmic Consciousnesstm-056DEEPER, MORE RESTFUL SLEEPReference: Mason, L. I., Alexander, C. N., Travis, F. T., Marsh, G., Orme-Johnson, D. W., Gackenbach, J., et al. (1997). Electrophysiological correlates of higher states of consciousness during sleep in long-term practitioners of the Transcendental Meditation program. Sleep, 20(2), 102%u2013110.