STM Layer Theory: A Six-Layer Generative Model of Consciousness Transitions

A minimal generative framework models when destabilization leads to durable structural change rather than transient experience. Cognitive state is formalized as a dynamical system with transformation defined via measurable structural divergence and explicit bifurcation conditions. The model distinguishes three outcomes: reversion, collapse, and stable rewrite, identifying grounding as a control variable governing transition stability. It provides empirical estimation protocols and engineering criteria applicable to human cognition and artificial systems. The framework reframes consciousness as a predictive and partially implementable system of generative transformation, applicable across contemplative practice, psychedelic research, and artificial systems.

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Abstract

STM Layer Theory v4 introduces a minimal generative framework for modeling when destabilization produces durable structural change rather than transient experience. Cognitive state is formalized as a dynamical system S(\tau) = (\pi, H, d, G^*), with transformation defined via measurable structural divergence \Delta and explicit bifurcation conditions. The model distinguishes three outcomes — reversion, collapse, and stable rewrite — and identifies grounding (G*) as a control variable governing transition stability. It further provides empirical estimation protocols and engineering criteria applicable to both human cognition and artificial systems. STM v4 reframes consciousness not as a taxonomy of states, but as a predictive and partially implementable system of generative transformation. This framework can be applied across domains, including contemplative practice, psychedelic research, and artificial systems.