This is the audio of a talk given by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Mack at the International Conference on Altered States of Consciousness in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was recorded October 25, 2002.
The synopsis of the lecture reads: "UFO encounters, near death experiences, shamanic journeys, and spontaneous religious epiphanies all have the power to bring about a significant transformation of consciousness. By this is meant that the experiencers’ worldview, as internalized in the course of their upbringing and inculcation in this culture, is shattered. This, in turn, results in the potential opening of heart and spirit to a wider appreciation of reality and a (re)connection to realms of the sacred and divine. In this lecture I will discuss how this process occurs in specific cases, and its implications for social and cultural change."