Blog Entry One

Blog Entry One

Out of the three chapters read, I found chapter one, “Light in the Darkness”, to be most interesting. I have never considered consciousness outside of earth or how drastically the senses can be affected. An excellent example of such was the instance where the astronauts with to visit Cone Crater. Sight told them that it was too far away, however, they were only seconds from it. Since they were in altered states of consciousness, they missed the opportunity to visit such a site.
Senses are a large factor when considering consciousness. When I’ve experienced altered states, my senses are usually the first to tip me off. In the past I’ve experienced quite a phenomenon in my sight, during an instance. I am nearsighted, but during my altered state of consciousness my sight flipped and became farsighted. I couldn’t see a thing up close, but could see for miles. I remember putting my glasses on to see if that would straighten out the issue. However the glasses didn’t work! It was as if I was trying on a stranger’s pair.
Another personal example deals with the auditory sense. More often than not, I can’t hear anything in my dreams. Sometimes I can hear only myself. During such instances I have come to realize that I am dreaming. I can recognize my altered state.

Alex Dreibelbis