Abstract for: An Investigation into the Dynamics of Transiting into Alternate States of Consciousness

With increased focus on consciousness, inaccessibility to unusual states fascinates us. Tart has pioneered a means of categorizing different states of consciousness and then used a systemic approach to explore their commonality and also outlines a very general and abstract process of transition from one state to another. We feel that it misses out on the actual steps that facilitate transition, and that happen during transition. Therefore, we critique Tart’s 1976 paper to develop details about what must happen in the sub-systems that comprise consciousness to initiate the transition process – i.e. how disruptive forces accumulate to alter the existing and prevalent set of stabilizing forces in the mind. We then demonstrate the internal consistency of our propositions through the simulation results of a system dynamics model. We conclude by pointing to potential drivers that deliver momentum to disruptive processes and comment upon the simulations’ implications and findings about activating these drivers.