Vijñapti Philosophy

In 21st-century modern Western society it is easy to place great emphasis on empirical science and quantitative methods of investigation in our attempts to understand the nature of reality and mind. Since the dawn of the scientific revolution, these methods have proven unequivocally beneficial in the creation of new technologies, as well as providing a fuller and more accurate understanding of the observable universe. Modern technologies have significantly improved the quality and longevity of human life in extraordinary ways that are easy to take for granted. These include advances in modern medicine, engineering, and computer science; all of which directly afford their utility to the inherent theoretical frameworks of the scientific edifice.

With respect to human consciousness, science has provided incredible insights into the biological mechanisms of the human mind through neuroscience and brain-imaging technologies. Yet contemporary science is not without its own limitations. Nor are modern Western science and quantitative research the only way that we can we can come to understand the nature of our minds and the world in which we find ourselves situated.

Our world is vast and its history ancient. So too is our knowledge, as broad and as varied as our cultures and the individuals that collectively form those cultures over generations and across societies. There are many, many systems of knowledge that exist outside of contemporary science and western formal logic. At Vijñapti, our goal is to explore these various systems of knowledge in an effort to create a fuller, more integrative understanding of the nature of human consciousness. By drawing upon a number of traditions ranging from Esoteric Buddhism, Western Mysticism, and Amazonian Shamanism, to disciplines such as Clinical Psychology, Epigenetics and modern Neuroscience, we strive to elucidate the nature of the mind by exploring various theories and practices that may reveal a broader, fuller landscape of of the human mind.

Within this, we emphasize the centrality of direct human experience as a necessary element in any serious discussion of consciousness.

Although our work at Vijñapti is interested in a variety of topics concerning the nature of consciousness, our primary focus – as well as our primary interest in investigating the nature of the mind – is the exploration of altered-states of consciousness.

What are altered states of consciousness? This inquiry is inherently difficult to approach due to the nature of the question posed; in order to define altered-states of consciousness in any meaningful way, we must first establish a ‘baseline’ for ‘normal consciousness’, from which altered-states can be said to deviate from.

These deviations from so-called ‘normal consciousness’ may then be investigated through a variety of methods – including phenomenological approaches, cognitive science, clinical psychological models, and many other methods which will be explored in future discussions.

This initial task of defining ‘baseline consciousness' is difficult for a number of reasons. These include discrepancies between research-based approaches, as well as the intrinsic difficulty of nominating any particular mental state – or types of states – as the ‘normative’ standard by which all other frameworks should be measured. Simply put, what is considered normal for one individual, culture, or society may be considered altogether abnormal or extraordinary for others.

Any meaningful approach to understanding the cognitive states that these substances produce would need to establish a standard definition for a sort of “baseline” consciousness.

At Vijñapti, our understanding of ‘baseline consciousness’ may be generally understood in the following way:

‘Normal’ mental states are those which are assumed most often throughout waking (non-sleep/ comatose) consciousness throughout an individual’s daily life — taken in the aggregate of daily conscious experiences

Of course, this formulation is entirely dependent on cultural-context, and thus “essentially incontestable”, to borrow from moral philosophical tradition.

At the same time, this preliminary definition provides a functional working consciousness, from which to begin investigating further as we strive to explore the vast gaps in knowledge where current modern-Western understanding of cognition/ mind has not yet fully penetrated.

This definition is fairly consistent with modern neuroscience data concerning one empirically recognized brain-network known to as the Default-Mode Network, or DMN. As the name suggests, the Default-Mode Network is defined by what may be regarded as the ‘default’ activity of the brain (which is, once again, entirely cultural-context dependent), analogous to the metaphor of a computer and its ‘default’ software programming.

Broadly speaking, our understanding of ‘normal/ baseline consciousness’ can be thought of in similar terms. At Vijñapti, it is our utmost endeavor to explore, compare, and understand the various types of altered-states of mind that diverge from this baseline of human consciousness.

Of these altered-states, one area which is of considerable interest for our work in exploring the nature of mind is a category of conscious experience known as mystical experience.

Mystical Experiences can may be occasioned by a wide variety of sources, including but not limited to:

* Certain forms of Meditation and Yoga practices


* Psychedelics substances such as DMT, LSD, and Psilocybin


* Intense states of flow experience; as researched and outlined by Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi


* Certain forms of breath-work; e.g. Holotropic Breathing techniques


* Near-death experiences


As it turns out, there is no single factor which can fully account for the precipitation of Mystical Experiences. Indeed, such experiences may be brought on by a wide array of religious ritual forms, physical practices, and psychoactive drugs.

At Vijñapti, it is our mission to provide readers with a wide array of knowledge that draws on all of these domains in an effort to understand the human mind more fully and holistically.

At Vijñapti, we make it our mission investigate a wide array of subjects stemming from religious, philosophical, and scientific traditions, taking a look at what academic research has to say with respect to the nature of human consciousness.

Our mission is to investigate the nature of human consciousness through what we regard as the ‘Three C’s Approach’, which consists of the following:

* An approach which integrates methods of inquiry and investigation from both the Sciences and Humanities in Academic research; i.e. the application of Consilience

* The application of Academic, Philosophical, and Religious traditions drawn from a globally interactive database; i.e. the application of Cosmopolitanism

* The cultivation of meaningful and insightful Conversation between individuals and communities from various backgrounds, disciplines, and traditions

* A primary emphasis on altered-states of consciousness and mystical experiences as they pertain to our understanding of the human mind

For more background on our approach and the scope of our work, please see Our Approach — linked below.