Consciousness Expansion

One autobiographical germ of the idea of 'expanding horizons' was experiences often described as 'consciousness expansion'. Possibly because of the cultural baggage involved, such experiences have rarely been subjected to serious analytical scrutiny. One unlikely source of a potentially illuminating, to me, explanation of what transpired in those synaesthetic episodes was Kant. According to one aspect of his pioneering theories, the mind naturally imposes structures on incoming sensory information, while according to another, these structures might prove to be inadequate in the presence of what he calls the "Sublime". However, his system is inadequate to accommodate the possibility of a reconstruction at a higher, more inclusive level. of those structures that have been overwhelmed by sensory overload. Indeed, these experimental experiences risk permanent psychological breakdown, and that there have been such casualties is undeniable. But there have been at least equally many who have constructively grown through such adventures. Over the years, what became obvious to me was that such growth was not merely 'mental', as the term 'consciousness' often implies, but that conduct, notably social, drastically metamorphosed as well, to an openness towards others that is to this day still derided in some circles. My own theorizing has led me to conclude that the connotation of 'consciousness' as purely mentalistic is based on a mistaken conception of the 'mind-body' relation. So, in sum, 'expanding horizons' is a maturation of 'consciousness expansion', not to mention that maturation is a type of horizon expansion.