Kreativnost i viša stanja svijesti

Dream reality and artist-created virtual reality, combined with the reality we perceive as physical, form three realities of human experience. Taking this into account, primary senses seem incomplete without extrasensory senses, which allow access to higher states of consciousness. Artists sometimes use those states as the source of creativity, inspiration, and ideas. The real-time neurofeedback shows brainwave activity in the theta frequency range in a creativity-related Hypnagogic state. Alpha and delta frequencies are also creativity-related. Alpha is observed during the inspiration stage of creative thinking, while theta occurs during transcendental meditation and deep sleep. Neurofeedback is also used to create works of art. Higher states of consciousness-inducing techniques include dream machines, mind machines, binaural beats, hallucinogenic drugs, and most advantageous – float tanks. Holistic methods like meditation, hypnotherapy, and energy healing are also helpful. Meditation seems to be the most effective, with the ability to control lucid dreaming and out-of-body experiences to an extent. The generation of creative ideas is a phenomenon that defies scientific explanation. The author’s experiences in higher states of consciousness in art, meditation, and energy healing, make him confident that higher states of consciousness are legitimate sources of creativity and essential to the overall health of body, mind, and soul.Stvarnost snova i umjetnošću stvorena virtualna stvarnost, u kombinaciji sa stvarnošću koju doživljavamo fizičkom, tvore tri stvarnosti ljudskog iskustva. Uzimajući to u obzir, osnovna osjetila djeluju nepotpuna bez ekstrasenzornih osjetila koja omogućuju pristup višim stanjima svijesti. Umjetnici nekada koriste ta stanja kao izvor kreativnosti, inspiracije i ideja. U hipnagogičkom stanju, koje je povezano s kreativnošću, neurofeedback pokazuje aktivnost moždanih valova u rasponu theta frekvencija. Alfa i delta frekvencije također su povezane s kreativnošću. Alfa se javlja kod inspirativne faze kreativnog razmišljanja, dok se theta javlja tijekom transcendentalne meditacije i dubokog sna. Neurofeedback se također koristi i u kreaciji umjetničkih djela. Tehnike koje potiču viša stanja svijesti uključuju strojeve za snove, strojeve za um, binauralne ritmove, halucinogene droge, te najučinkovitije – tankove za plutanje. Holističke metode poput meditacije, hipnoterapije i energetskog iscjeljivanja također su korisne. Meditacija djeluje najučinkovitije, s obzirom da donekle omogućuje kontrolu lucidnih snova i izvantjelesnih iskustava. Nastajanje kreativnih ideja fenomen je koji odolijeva znanstvenim objašnjenjima. Autor je na temelju vlastitih iskustava u višim stanjima svijesti u umjetnosti, meditaciji i energetskom iscjeljivanju, uvjeren da su ona legitimni izvori kreativnosti, te bitna za održavanje zdravlja tijela, uma i duše

Underwater virtual reality system for neutral buoyancy training: Development and evaluation

During terrestrial activities, sensation of pressure on the skin and tension in muscles and joints provides information about how the body is oriented relative to gravity and how the body is moving relative to the surrounding environment. In contrast, in aquatic environments when suspended in a state of neutral buoyancy, the weight of the body and limbs is offloaded, rendering these cues uninformative. It is not yet known how this altered sensory environment impacts virtual reality experiences. To investigate this question, we converted a full-face SCUBA mask into an underwater head-mounted display and developed software to simulate jetpack locomotion outside the International Space Station. Our goal was to emulate conditions experienced by astronauts during training at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab. A user study was conducted to evaluate both sickness and presence when using virtual reality in this altered sensory environment. We observed an increase in nausea related symptoms underwater, but we cannot conclude that this is due to VR use. Other measures of sickness and presence underwater were comparable to measures taken above water. We conclude with suggestions for improved underwater VR systems and improved methods for evaluation of these systems based on our experience

MMORPG avatars: Representations of escapism in Chinese society based on semiotics of culture

The development of Internet technology and globalization have boosted the game industry, and among which Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs) provide a space where players could create their own avatar at will, and generate their physical and psychological involvement to participate in the virtual experience of the game context. Through cases with semiotics analysis and cultural phenomenon, the correlation between in-game avatar and escapism in Chinese context would be examined on how do in-game avatars connect with escapism in China. This highly resilient virtual social space provides a malleable field far from reality, for the transition from culture to nature, from reality to illusion, and from self to digital self. By analyzing the correlation and rooted reasons between in-game avatar in MMORPGs and escapism in Chinese social context, this project will contribute to the re-understanding of the symbolic meaning of in-game avatars and realistic meaning in Chinese society

Computer Mediated Religious Life of Technoshamans and Cybershamans.

Libuse Martinkova discusses in her article “Computer Mediated Religious Life of Technoshamans and Cybershamans” the artificial dichotomy of 'Virtuality' and 'Reality' and online and offline borders. In the case study she presents two different groups and thus two different reasons for applying new technology to ritualistic settings: Computer technology is in one setting mainly used as a tool for specific shamanistic rituals whereas in the other setting computer technology serves as a space for conducting shamanic rituals

Virtual Touch: Embodied Experiences of (dis)Embodied Intimacy in Mediatized Performance

In this dissertation, I explore a phenomenon I call virtual touch, in which embodied sensations of touch are felt through non-tactile senses. In the digital age, online interactivity has expanded the ways in which individuals experience connection, intimacy, and touch. Digital media, which have traditionally been thought of as disembodied, nevertheless have the ability to elicit intense feelings of touch. Through analysis of digital and virtual installation art, I examine the ways that non-tactile touch remains rooted in the embodied experience. The works I include in this study create a feeling of virtual touch through a co-functioning of the senses, and through what Brian Massumi terms “the superiority of the analog,” in which all experience is inherently rooted in the body. Grounded in Merleau-Ponty’s theory of the embodied subject, I focus on three broad categories of installation art, each of which creates an affective response of virtual touch through senses of sight and proprioception: telematic performance using video-conferencing technology, digitally reactive animations, and immersive sculptures of light designed to decenter the perceptual and visual senses. Along with works by artists Paul Sermon, Adrien M & Claire B, teamLab, and James Turrell, I include analyses of two research performances I created, Being Present (2016) and (dis)embodied in space (2019), both of which entangled live and mediatized bodies through telematic video technology. Each of the artworks that I include place an emphasis on the embodied experience, engaging bodies in interactions of virtual touch with other bodies, with digitally reactive artworks, and with light and space. Throughout this dissertation, I argue for a rethinking of concepts of touch, intimacy, and connection in the digital age

Space—A Virtual Frontier: How to Design and Evaluate a Virtual Reality Experience of the Overview Effect

A select small group of people have an amazing opportunity to see the Earth from a unique perspective—from space. The effect this experience has on an individual has been described as extraordinary and profound, consisting of a cognitive shift in worldview that leads to a deeper understanding of the fragility and vulnerability of our planet, and an increased feeling of connectedness. This experience, termed the “Overview Effect,” has been reported by many space-travelers. Its key outcome—an enhanced feeling of interconnectedness—contributes to both one’s well-being and the sense of responsibility for the Earth. If this profoundly positive experience could be made accessible to more people than just space-travelers, this might ultimately contribute to a healthier and more caring society, where more individuals deeply feel the interconnection of all living beings and responsibility for our collective future. Given virtual reality (VR) technology’s potential to induce experiences affecting an immersant in a similar way as a real experience, we see an opportunity to leverage this technology to attempt to elicit the Overview Effect as a virtual experience. Through a virtual installation, the experience could be made accessible to people around the world, and for researchers to study this otherwise rare phenomenon. This article builds the case for VR as a tool for inducing and studying the Overview Effect. It reviews the psychological research on the Overview Effect and awe, and proposes guidelines for: (1) the design of VR experiences to elicit an Overview Effect and (2) evaluation methods for assessing if, or to what degree, the experience was achieved. Finally, we discuss existing implementations of the Overview Effect in VR. Thus, we are making an applied contribution in the form of design guidelines, and contributions to knowledge in the form of a review of research related to the Overview Effect. We invite researchers and VR creators to utilize and expand on the guidelines proposed in this paper to design transformative VR experiences that induce positive change, and promote a feeling of connectedness and care for each other, and our Spaceship Earth

Applying User-Centered Design in the Development of a Software Application For the Treatment of a Mental Health Disorder

The research that follows will provide a process for applying a user-centered design methodology to the development of a virtual environment software application for the treatment of a mental health disorder, specifically post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal is to create a screen-based virtual environment product that focuses on the end user rather than the technological aspects of the system. Moreover, past and present treatments in the mental health and healthcare fields and their effectiveness will be analyzed through an extensive literature review

Representing altered states of consciousness in computer arts

It has been proposed that among the earliest known artworks produced by humans may have been representations of altered states of consciousness (ASCs). With the advent of modern computer technology that enables the creation of almost any sound or image imaginable, the possibility of representing the subjective visual and aural components of hallucinatory experiences with increased realism emerges. In order to consider how these representations could be created, this paper provides a discussion of existing work that represents ASCs. I commence by providing an overview of ASCs and a brief history of their use in culture. This provides the necessary background through which we may then consider the variety of art and music that represents ASCs, including: shamanic art and music, modern visual art, popular music, film and video games. Through discussion of the ways in which these examples represent ASC, a concept of ‘ASC Simulation’ is proposed, which emphasises realistic representations of ASCs. The paper concludes with a brief summary of several creative projects in computer ,usic and arts that explore this area

Representing Altered States of Consciousness in Computer Arts

It has been proposed that among the earliest known artworks produced by humans may have been representations of altered states of consciousness (ASCs). With the advent of modern computer technology that enables the creation of almost any sound or image imaginable, the possibility of representing the subjective visual and aural components of hallucinatory experiences with increased realism emerges. In order to consider how these representations could be created, this paper provides a discussion of existing work that represents ASCs. I commence by providing an overview of ASCs and a brief history of their use in culture. This provides the necessary background through which we may then consider the variety of art and music that represents ASCs, including: shamanic art and music, modern visual art, popular music, film and video games. Through discussion of the ways in which these examples represent ASC, a concept of ‘ASC Simulation’ is proposed, which emphasises realistic representations of ASCs. The paper concludes with a brief summary of several creative projects in computer music and arts that explore this area