Nothingness is all there is: an exploration of objectless awareness during sleep

Alcaraz-Sanchez, A., Demšar, E., Campillo-Ferrer, T. and Torres-Platas, S. G. (2022) Nothingness is all there is: an exploration of objectless awareness during sleep. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 901031. (doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.901031) (PMID:35756253) (PMCID:PMC9226678)

[img] Text
270387.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

1MB

Abstract

Recent years have seen a heightened focus on the study of minimal forms of awareness during sleep to advance the study of consciousness and understand what makes a state conscious. This focus draws on an increased interest in anecdotical descriptions made by classic Indian philosophical traditions about unusual forms of awareness during sleep. For instance, in the so-called state of witnessing-sleep or luminosity sleep, one is said to reach a state that goes beyond ordinary dreaming and abide in a state of just awareness, a state in which one is not aware of anything else other than one’s own awareness. Moreover, for these traditions, this state is taken to be the essence or background of consciousness. Reports on such a state opens the door to exciting new lines of research in the study of consciousness, such as inquiry into the so-called “objectless” awareness during sleep—states of awareness that lack an ordinary object of awareness. In this two-staged research, we attempted to find the phenomenological blueprints of such forms of awareness during sleep in 18 participants by conducting phenomenological interviews, informed by a novel tool in qualitative research, the micro-phenomenological interview (MPI) method. Following a phenomenological analysis, we isolated a similar phase across 12 reported experiences labelled as ‘nothingness phase’ since it described what participants took to be an experience of ‘nothingness’. his common phase was characterised by minimal sense of self—a bodiless self, yet experienced as being ‘somewhere’—, the presence of non-modal sensations, relatively pleasant emotions, an absence of visual experience, wide and unfocused attention, and an awareness of the state as it unfolded.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:AA-S was supported by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities (SGSAH) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP; grant number AH/R012717/1) and a grant by the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD) and the Dream Science Foundation (DSF).
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Alcaraz Sanchez, Adriana and Demsar, Miss Ema
Authors: Alcaraz-Sanchez, A., Demšar, E., Campillo-Ferrer, T., and Torres-Platas, S. G.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
Journal Name:Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher:Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN:1664-1078
ISSN (Online):1664-1078
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 Alcaraz-Sánchez, Demšar, Campillo-Ferrer and Torres-Platas
First Published:First published in Frontiers in Psychology 13: 901031
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
302136AHRC DTP 2Monica CallaghanArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)AH/R012717/1Arts - Scottish Graduate School Arts & Humanities