Consciousness: spiritual approaches

• Consciousness: spiritual approaches (Wikipedia)
  "Spiritual approaches to consciousness involve the idea of altered states of consciousness or religious experience. Changes in the state of consciousness or a religious experience can occur spontaneously or as a result of religious observance. It is also maintained by some religions, religious factions and some scientists that the universe itself is consciousness (panpsychism).
  
  In shamanic practices, changes in states of consciousness are induced by activities that create trance states, such as drumming, dancing, fasting, sensory deprivation, exposure to extremes of temperature or the use of psychoactive drugs. The experience that occurs is interpreted as entering a real, but parallel, world. In many polytheistic religions a change in emotional state is often attributed to the action of a god; for instance love was ruled by Aphrodite and Eros in Ancient Greek polytheism. In Hinduism the change in state is induced by the practice of yoga. Yoga means "union" and is intended to produce a state of oneness between the practitioner and the divine. In Islamic Mysticism and Christianity, the change of state can occur as a result of prayer or as a religious experience. The change in state of consciousness in Hinduism, Buddhism, New Thought, Christianity and Islam is reported to be quite similar. The pursuit of yoga and the Buddhist Jhanas involve feelings of oneness with the world that give rise to a state of rapture. This is also reported by those undergoing some forms of Christian (or Islamic) religious experience.
  
  Meditation is used in some forms of yoga such as Raja Yoga, Hatha yoga, Transcendental Meditation (TM), the Buddhist Jhanas, in the practices of Christian monks and Islamic mystics (Sufis). Meditation can have a calming influence on practitioners, as well as changing the state of consciousness. Theravada Buddhism views the Jhanas - the cultivation of which is similar to practices in Hindu Yoga - as a preliminary, in which it is demonstrated that states such as rapture are not ultimately satisfactory (see The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation by Mahathera Henepola: "With the fading away of rapture, he dwells in equanimity, mindful and discerning"). In most types of Buddhism, serenity meditation is followed by insight meditation in which one uses the sharpened mind to penetrate the true nature of all mental phenomena.
  
  In a secular context, higher consciousness is usually associated with exceptional control over one's mind and will, intellectual and moral enlightenment, and profound personal growth....
  
  In a spiritual context, it may also be associated with transcendence, spiritual enlightenment, and union with the divine."
• Panpsychism
• Cosmic Consciousness

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