What distinguishes shallow vs deep altered states?
Short Answer
Shallow altered states involve mild changes in awareness with retained cognitive control, while deep states feature profound consciousness shifts with diminished self-awareness and reality testing.
Why This Matters
This distinction reflects the degree of neurological disruption in different brain networks. Shallow states typically affect attention and sensory processing while preserving executive function, because cortical activity remains largely intact. Deep states result from more extensive changes in thalamic-cortical loops and default mode network activity, which leads to fundamental alterations in self-perception and reality processing. Understanding these differences helps map the spectrum of human consciousness and its underlying neural mechanisms.
Where This Changes
The boundary shifts based on individual neurochemistry, prior experience, and the specific induction method used. Some people reach deep states through techniques that produce only shallow changes in others.