What question did this study set out to answer?

The essay aims to create a comprehensive catalog of reported non-ordinary experiences across cultures and historical contexts.

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February 2, 2026Open Access

Consciousness Across Cultures: A Phenomenological Catalog of Non-Ordinary Human Experience

Key Points

The essay aims to create a comprehensive catalog of reported non-ordinary experiences across cultures and historical contexts.
Cataloged various non-ordinary experiences reported across cultures and time periods.
Included experiences such as near-death events, meditative states, and psychic phenomena.
Focused on documenting rather than evaluating these experiences.
Compiled a phenomenological catalog of diverse non-ordinary experiences.
Documented experiences without making judgments on their validity or belief systems.

Abstract

Abstract: This essay presents a phenomenological catalog of non-ordinary human experiences reported across cultures and historical periods. It documents what has been reported—from near-death experiences to meditative states to apparent psychic phenomena—without adjudicating what should be believed. The goal is descriptive completeness rather than evaluative closure. Part of the Return to Consciousness research program—18 philosophical essays exploring consciousness-first metaphysics. Full project: https://brunoton.github.io/return-to-consciousness/

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