Now there is a growing scientific interest in studies focused upon altered consciousness that can also bring valuable insights into the nature of these experiences in terms of their biological and cultural dimensions. The emphasis of Volume 2 on biological approach to consciousness makes it clear that neurochemicals are fundamental to consciousness, that dramatically different experiences are produced by changing the neurochemicals the enter our brains. Indeed, the very nature of mystical and transcendent experiences may be understood in terms of how those neurochemicals alter the biological processes that affect consciousness. But these varied dimension to consciousness are not merely neurochemicals, but variant experiences fundamentally shaped by our cultural experiences and expectations. These interactions of biology and culture in the production of consciousness is present across human development, in the manifestations of our emotions, pathologies and healing states. 

This unprecedented set of books will intrigue anyone interested in psychology, biology and neurology, science, history, arts and the humanities, and literature on consciousness, from general readers to scholar and researchers. An impressive collection of international contributors addresses altered states of consciousness from the perspectives of history, evolution, psychology, culture, literature, human biology, contemporary science, and society, seeking to illuminate the