CONSCIOUS CHANGE AND CHANGING CONSCIOUSNESS: SOME THOUGHTS ON THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MEDITATION.

This paper investigates some aspects of consciousness by drawing on the psychology of meditation. Three states of mind are described: semiconsciousness, consciousness and, following the mystics, the possibility of a consciousness which transcends ordinary ego awareness. Some experiences of three authorities on Christian spirituality - Augustine of Hippo, Evagrius of Pontus and Teresa of Avila - are explored in the light of psychoanalytic reflections provided by Erikson, Jung, and Winnicott. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]