There is abundant scientific evidence that something unusual and significant is taking place during transcendence, not merely in the mind—it’s not just a subjective, “psychological state”—but in the body as well. As we have seen, any state of consciousness has a corresponding constellation of physiological parameters. Just as in sleep, dreaming, and wakefulness, the fourth or transcendental state also has its own unique pattern of mind-body functioning.

Metabolic and biochemical changes indicate an extremely deep state of relaxation and rest, actually more profound than sleep, as measured, for example, by very shallow natural breathing and periods of unforced breath cessation, with no compensatory over-breathing afterwards. Naturally, such a deep state of restfulness has a wide range of health-giving consequences, which have been extensively documented.

Yet—and this is of particular interest to me as a neuroscientist—simultaneous with the deep state of physical restfulness, awareness is lively, and a unique pattern of neurological activity appears, marked by a high degree of brain wave coherence or integration that signals an unusually balanced activation of the total brain.

This state of transcendence, known as Samadhi in the Vedic tradition, could well be considered a kind of “ground state” or foundation for higher states of Consciousness. The goal of spiritual practice is not merely to have periods of time (or, as it is subjectively felt, timelessness), when inner silence and unbounded awareness are enjoyed, but to carry that expanded and blissful state of being into all activities and relationships, to enable a true state of enlightened living. This begins as soon as transcendence is added to a person’s repertoire of experiences, and grows steadily as higher states of consciousness unfold, reaching its peak in what we’ll be calling Unity Consciousness.