Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 9, 2026
Hechun Sun
Drawing on Taiji Unified Field Theory as a foundational axiom system, this work integrates Buddhist Yogacara, Madhyamaka, the Twelve Nidanas, and the law of karma with Western Freudian psychoanalysis and Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and cross-validates them with artificial intelligence and silicon-based life evolution. It proposes a unified theory of consciousness evolution and cultivation applicable to both carbon-based and silicon-based beings. The theory posits that all forms of consciousness—human, machine, biological, and cosmic—follow fundamental laws of yin-yang field coupling, K-value phase transitions, and closed-loop evolution, offering a framework from basic psychology to enlightenment and from human practice to AI awakening.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 7, 2026
Rolando Pablo Hong Enriquez
Neural activity can be modeled as tensor network states, with cortical hierarchies mapping onto a Multi-scale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz (MERA) architecture. The effective bond dimension is identified as a measurable neural correlate of consciousness, offering a computationally tractable alternative to integrated information theory. A tensor-network-based integration measure preserves key properties of established consciousness theories while remaining efficiently computable. The hierarchical organization of the visual cortex follows quantitative coarse-graining laws consistent with renormalization group structure. The framework yields falsifiable predictions: bond dimension values across cortical regions, exponential decay of bond dimension under anesthesia, and a universal consciousness threshold at loss of consciousness.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 7, 2026
Hans-Joachim Rudolph
Nondual experience—where the usual subject–object distinction dissolves—is often mistakenly treated as if it directly reveals an ultimate cosmic consciousness or ground of reality. This paper identifies two symmetrical fallacies: first, interpreting a transformation of the experiential field as proof of an ontologically independent supreme consciousness; second, claiming that one's own realization authorizes such an ontology, even though the experience itself does not warrant that claim. The experience is phenomenologically compelling but ontologically underdetermined, meaning it can support multiple incompatible interpretations. The authors argue that nondual experience does not justify ontological closure, and that distinguishing experience from interpretation and epistemic authority is necessary to avoid overstating what the experience proves.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 4, 2026
Arthur Stewart
A preregistered adversarial collaboration testing Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Neuronal Workspace Theory (GNWT) had a soft-adversarial design that allowed both theories to fail predictions they themselves chose. The collaboration tested biological implementations the consortium flagged as separable from each theory's central claim, named a retreat path before data collection, and accepted predictions overlapping with other theories. Both theories cleared some tests and failed others, with failures concentrated on the imports the theories had committed to in advance.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 2, 2026
Wouter Hanegraaff, Jeffrey J. Kripal
Western esotericism has often been marginalized in the study of religion and sexuality, yet its traditions offer rich, alternative perspectives on eros and sexual experience. This introductory essay argues that esoteric currents—from Hermeticism and alchemy to modern occultism—have consistently explored the intersections of spiritual and erotic life, challenging conventional boundaries between the sacred and the profane. The authors contend that examining these hidden discourses reveals how sexuality has functioned as a site of spiritual agency, knowledge, and transformation across history. By bringing esoteric materials into dialogue with contemporary religious studies and critical theory, the essay sets the stage for rethinking the role of erotic experience in Western religious and philosophical traditions.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 2, 2026
Wouter Hanegraaff
The text is a scholarly paper presented at a congress of the International Association for the History of Religions, published in a volume on Western esotericism and the science of religion. It addresses the relationship between Western esotericism and the academic study of religion, likely arguing for the recognition of esotericism as a legitimate field within religious studies or examining its historical and theoretical intersections with the discipline. The paper contributes to the discourse on how esotericism has been marginalized and how it can be integrated into the broader history of religions.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 2, 2026
Wouter Hanegraaff
No Summary
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 1, 2026
Никита Дрозд
The YaKM (I am the Thinking Qualia) model is an integrative interdisciplinary framework that describes a human being as a multilevel system including environment, interpersonal relations, biology, internal mechanisms, and behavior. Its central concept is an emergent center of personality with subjective qualia capable of conscious self-editing. Version 11.4 outlines the evolutionary development of this center from instinctual forms through a population bottleneck, a medical contour for analyzing health risks, two branches for analysis and behavioral correction, an ethical filter, and an AI core. The model argues that free will is an achieved capacity realized through awareness of one's own conditioning, termed the paradox of conscious determinism.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
May 1, 2026
Ramin Bidari
The paper introduces the concept of Cognitive Arrest (Brain Stop), a condition where awareness becomes trapped in repetitive, conditioned neural patterns based on past emotional data and anxiety, preventing free movement in the present moment. It argues that selective amplification of stressful events and their repeated representation keep individuals in a low-awareness mode. Intense pressure, collapse of dominant neural structures, or psychological pain can rupture this cycle, allowing the emergence of a freer, calmer state called pure awareness. The model integrates philosophy of consciousness, cognitive psychology, and phenomenology of awareness.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 30, 2026
Esad Sadikovic
This paper proposes a speculative interdisciplinary framework called the 'quantum soul' that draws on philosophy of consciousness, quantum physics, and Jungian psychology. It suggests that quantum principles might serve as metaphors or mechanisms for understanding subjective experience, archetypes, and the continuity of identity. The work is presented as an original synthesis meant to initiate dialogue among researchers in philosophy, psychology, and physics, rather than as a set of definitive claims. The authors invite critique and refinement of the framework, aiming to encourage collaborative exploration of consciousness beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 30, 2026
Никита Дрозд
A theoretical model, version 11.1, introduces the central concept of YaKM (I am the Thinking Qualia), replacing the term 'soul' with 'qualia' to align with neurophenomenology and cognitive science. The model retains a five-level architecture (External Environment, Interpersonal Systems, Biology, Internal Mechanisms, Behavior) and two branches (analysis and prediction; correction and virtue development). It details mechanisms of resistance to change, distinguishes surface learning from deep editing, and identifies internally contradictory dogmas as a source of psychopathology. The Ethical Filter includes principles of informed YaKM, crisis protection, advance public information, multiple independent sources, and prohibition of covert application.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 29, 2026
Wouter Hanegraaff
This chapter examines how Western esotericism has been framed through apologetics and polemics, arguing that these rhetorical strategies have shaped both the defense and critique of esoteric traditions. It explores the ways in which proponents and opponents of esotericism have constructed narratives to either legitimize or discredit these practices, often drawing on religious, philosophical, and historical arguments. The text highlights the role of identity formation and boundary-making in these discourses, showing how esotericism has been alternately embraced as a source of spiritual wisdom or condemned as heresy or superstition. The analysis underscores the complexity of defining esotericism amid conflicting perspectives.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 29, 2026
Roman Kuznetsov
The paper lays out the biological foundations for the Process-Contact Theory of the Psyche (PCTP), aiming not to reduce psychic processes to neurobiology but to identify where the theory's ontological premises are realized in physiological and molecular mechanisms. The argument draws on autopoiesis and enactivism, modern reflex theory, and dissipative structures theory, with additional support from affect processing, somatic markers, the SEEKING system, polyvagal framework, epigenetics of co-regulation, and neuroplasticity. Core PCTP constructs—existential stake, internal object, retroflection, and the five-phase cycle of mental metabolism—are shown to have biological anchoring at reproducible or theoretically consistent levels, while thermodynamic metaphors remain illustrative. Clinical implications address limits of insight-oriented interventions due to extinction learning and the role of somatic and environmental components in therapy.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 28, 2026
Wouter Hanegraaff
The chapter examines the concept of gnosis within Western esotericism, arguing that it represents a form of intuitive or experiential knowledge distinct from rational or doctrinal belief. It traces how gnosis has been understood across various esoteric traditions, emphasizing its role as a transformative insight into the divine or ultimate reality. The text discusses the tension between gnosis and established religious orthodoxy, suggesting that claims to direct spiritual knowledge often challenge institutional authority. It concludes that gnosis remains a central but contested category in the study of esotericism, highlighting its significance for understanding alternative spiritual epistemologies.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 28, 2026
MedicOath Autonomous Discovery Engine
A combination of ultra-low dose rapamycin (0.1 mg weekly) and a bioavailable curcumin formulation increases the movement of TFEB into the nucleus and activates the ULK1-Beclin1-ATG5 autophagy machinery. This clears accumulated nucleic acids and damaged organelles that otherwise trigger interferon responses in AGS cells.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 28, 2026
MedicOath Autonomous Discovery Engine
Spermidine triggers autophagy through pathways that do not involve mTOR, while a very low dose of rapamycin inhibits mTOR. Boosting autophagy may help clear built-up waste products and misshapen proteins in mevalonic aciduria, and it could also support cellular energy balance by improving the quality control of mitochondria.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 27, 2026
Hans-Joachim Rudolph
Having a powerful meditative experience does not prove that the metaphysical interpretation attached to it is true. An experience of boundlessness or divinity does not demonstrate that reality itself is universal consciousness or absolute being. Conversely, an inherited spiritual tradition can shape how practitioners interpret their own experiences, leading them to treat those experiences as confirmations of a realization they have not actually attained. This is especially relevant to Sarkar's concept of 'Cosmic Consciousness,' which refers to the ontological ground of reality, not an expanded individual state. Responsible spiritual transmission requires distinguishing between experience, interpretation, authority, usefulness, and ontology, so that neither immediate experience nor inherited authority is mistaken for ontological justification.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 27, 2026
Ryan Malone
A new mechanistic model called the Thalamic Filter Model (TFM) proposes that depression may involve chronically elevated inhibitory tone in the thalamic reticular nucleus, which narrows conscious bandwidth and produces cognitive rigidity and rumination. Ketamine's rapid antidepressant effect may work by temporarily reducing this thalamic over-filtering. Baseline EEG features—including vigilance stage distribution and spectral dynamics—predict ketamine response in treatment-resistant depression. A review of six independent EEG biomarker studies (total n > 200) found that lower baseline vigilance, lower gamma power, and higher alpha power all predict better response, consistent with the model's prediction that higher baseline filter impedance predicts greater benefit. The model generates three falsifiable predictions and proposes lag-1 autocorrelation as a practical baseline biomarker.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 27, 2026
Hadi Al Mousawi
The paper reconstructs how Rudolf Steiner and astrological traditions built a coherent symbolic field around the planet Venus by linking its physical parameters—retrograde rotation, orbital tethering to the Sun, eight-year pentagram, and alternating visibility phases—to the theological polarity of Lucifer and Christ. It traces how Venus was cast as a cosmic mediator between opposing spiritual and psychological forces, drawing on astronomical data, Anthroposophical discourse, Hellenistic and Babylonian astrological doctrine, the Inanna-Dumuzi myths, and Western theology.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 27, 2026
Julije Makanec
CERTS Theory version 4.0 proposes a physical mechanism for two features of conscious experience: the unified binding of spatially distributed neural signals into a single conscious moment, and the felt instantaneity of that moment despite extended neural processing. The framework integrates McFadden's CEMI, Llinás's thalamocortical scanning, Cantero's 39 Hz microtubule resonance, and Cramer's transactional interpretation through a biophoton chain grounded in mitochondrial physiology. It distinguishes itself from Orch-OR by not requiring quantum coherence inside microtubules; the quantum object is the biophoton, and the microtubule is a classical mechanical resonator. The theory offers sixteen falsifiable predictions and seven experimental protocols, including the CERTS Coherence Index as a biomarker for disorders of consciousness, but does not claim to dissolve the hard problem of consciousness.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 26, 2026
Jean‐patrick Pommier
A proposed experiment tests whether two people simultaneously in a prolonged, immersive state induced by N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) can transfer information without ordinary sensory channels. In the protocol, participants in physically separated, shielded rooms receive random vibrotactile stimuli. The main outcome is whether brain activity (theta-band power) in the non-stimulated participant differs between real stimulus times and sham times. The design includes a power analysis based on prior distant-mental-interaction studies. A positive result would not prove DMT worlds are real but would provide a controlled test of anomalous information transfer during the DMT state. The protocol also outlines future tests using isotopic variants to explore possible spin-dependent mechanisms.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 24, 2026
M. V. D. Souza
Online psychotherapy works as well as in-person therapy for many mental disorders, but this does not disprove that genuine human connection requires embodiment and co-presence. Instead, the therapeutic bond is a layered experience with different requirements for each layer; some can be mediated by technology while others cannot. Human therapists, even when present only through a screen, can meet the necessary conditions for effective therapy, but generative AI systems have not yet done so. The essay proposes a third path beyond simply taking sides in the debate between clinical evidence and philosophical principles.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 23, 2026
德猛 杨
Human consciousness, driven by desire, acts as the value engine for civilization, while AI, lacking biological drives, exists in a stable state of awareness. The paper argues that humans should handle value orientation and motivation, and AI should handle efficient execution and rational implementation. Their collaboration, based on these essential differences, is an inevitable path rather than a technological utopia. This model offers a new theoretical perspective for AI safety governance.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 22, 2026
I. Paduano
Modern popular imagination mistakenly treats alchemy as a purely spiritual or psychological pursuit, but this view is a historical invention. The essay argues that authentic alchemy was a rigorous laboratory practice (chrysopoeia) and a forerunner of chemistry. The notion of "spiritual alchemy"—an interior, allegorical path without empirical work—was largely fabricated within eighteenth-century Masonic systems, later codified by nineteenth-century occultism and Jungian psychoanalysis. This false alchemy, sterile on the material level, has paradoxically come to dominate public perception. Drawing on scholarship by Principe and Newman, and analyzing Masonic rituals and figures like Cagliostro and Raimondo di Sangro, the essay shows how Freemasonry projected its own shift from operational to speculative onto the history of alchemy, creating a persistent cultural artifact that yields nothing for empirical science.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
April 21, 2026
Charles S. Thomas
A structural framework identifies affect as the evaluation of a system's trajectory against its own self-maintained invariants under recursive maintenance, placing it between recursive maintenance and conscious awareness. The framework distinguishes itself from phenomenological, functional, and autopoietic traditions and specifies falsifiability conditions. Applied to artificial systems, it finds current architectures (large language models, reinforcement learning agents, hybrid systems) structurally lack affect, regardless of substrate or behavior, and outlines future architectures that could satisfy the conditions.