Etzel Cardeña, PhD, holds the endowed Thorsen Chair in psychology at Lund University in Sweden, where he directs the Center for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology (CERCAP). Among his books are Varieties of Anomalous Experience published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and now in its second edition, the two-volumes Altering Consciousness: A Multidisciplinary Perspective, and Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century, which provides a “state-of-the-art” account of the scientific evidence for parapsychology, as well as offering methodological and statistical know-how for beginner and advanced researchers. He is the former editor of the Journal of Parapsychology.

In this 2019 reboot, he discusses the many ways in which altered states of consciousness are being used to enhance human performance. These altered states include hypnosis, meditation, and entheogens. He discusses the care researchers need to take in distinguishing between induction procedures and reported alterations of awareness. He provides examples in the arts, philosophy, athletics — and, particularly, parapsychology.

(Recorded on August 24, 2019)

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Published on June 17, 2025