In 2014 the Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness conducted a landmark research experiment based on 8 years of previous research. We’ve spent much of the last decade researching the psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience of Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience (PNSE).Please join me this Sunday, January 4th, at 8:30 p.m. EST for a free webinar where I’ll be discussing the full results of this year’s findings. To register, click here.
The term PNSE refers to the core components that are common across individuals who experience ongoing religious and spiritual states such as: nonduality, enlightenment, persistent mystical experience, transcendental consciousness, and so forth. It’s important to note that these aren’t only found among religious individuals – many atheist and agnostics experience similar psychological states. More information on our descriptive research can be found in a recent interview on this site, as well as on the center’s website.
Last year, we applied what we’d learned in a series of experiments that were structured as an online course. We called the experiments the “Finders Course” because they were designed to help participants find the best meditation and positive psychology methods that worked for them, based on what we’d observed in our research.
During the pilot experiment, something remarkable happened. Everyone experienced non-symbolic experience, and the five people who completed it successfully experienced ongoing Non-Symbolic Experience (O.N.E.) either during or within a few weeks of finishing the program.
The term PNSE is used for individuals who have experienced non-symbolic experience for more than a year. O.N.E. refers to people who are experiencing a persistent and ongoing form of non-symbolic experience, but who have not reached the one year mark.
We followed up the pilot experiment with a second, larger 60 person experiment. A snapshot of the results from this second experiment follow:
NON-SYMBOLIC EXPERIENCE
Approximately 70% of participants who successfully completed the experiment reached O.N.E. by the end of Finders Course 2 (FC2). This compares to 80% of participants in the pilot experiment (FC1), so the outcomes were similar.
100% HAPPIER
All participants rated themselves as happier compared to where they began the course. All ended on the ‘happy’ side of our measurements, even those who rated themselves as ‘very unhappy’ at the start of the course.
‘GOLD-STANDARD’ ACADEMIC PSYCHOLOGY MEASURES
Statistically significant improvements were found on a range of scientific measures for: happiness and wellbeing, satisfaction with life, anxiety, depression, stress, positive and negative thoughts and emotions, loneliness, and several other important factors.
OTHER MEASURED IMPROVEMENTS
Participants were asked if ________ increased, remained the same, or decreased over the course. When the responses were tallied, participants reported:
- Increased Inner Peace and Positive Emotions (98%)
- Increased Emotional Balance and decreased Reactivity (95%)
- Increased Mindfulness (95%)
- Increased Contentedness and Gratitude (93%)
- Increased Ability to Handle Stress (88%)
- Decreased Anxiety (95%)
- Decreased Negative Thoughts and Emotions (93%)
- Decreased Mental/Internal Chatter (88%)
- And many more including increased: Love (88%), Positive thoughts (86%), Harmony (86%), Sense of Security/Safety (86%), Forgiveness (79%), Feeling Whole and Complete (77%), Wonder (77%), Sense of an all Pervading Consciousness (77%), Effectiveness (67%), Confidence (67%), Focus (65%), etc.
THE PROGRAM/EXPERIMENT ITSELF
- 100% of participants responded that they were grateful they decided to take the course.
- 93% rated it has having a significant positive impact on their overall well-being.
- 88% rated it as a significant positive transformational event or among the most important and positive life changing experiences of their lives.
The next experiment, Finders Course 4, begins January 10th. We’re offering Reality Sandwich readers a 15% discount. You can learn more about it, and receive the discount, by clicking here.
Image by Kiah Ankoor, courtesy of Creative Commons licensing.