Technologies of the Sacred: Tools for Expansion

I’ve always been drawn to the edges of awareness, the places where the ordinary gives way to something deeper and the familiar opens up to something more meaningful. In my own journey, I’ve found that certain practices, whether it’s meditation, breathwork, or even intentional stillness, have opened me in ways I couldn’t have predicted. These moments don’t feel like I’m escaping reality; they feel like I’m expanding into it.

As I’ve studied these states more deeply, I’ve come to see they’re far from new. They’re ancient. Sacred. Across time and culture, humans have always sought ways to shift consciousness, not just to feel differently, but to remember more deeply who and what we truly are.

Whether the goal was healing, transformation, or a deeper connection with the divine, people have developed powerful practices to shift consciousness. These techniques often engage our senses as portals into expanded states of being, such as chanting, drumming, dancing, fasting, music, movement, meditation, breathwork, and yoga. Each of these has been used to transcend ordinary perception and open a doorway into something deeper.

You can find these methods woven throughout spiritual traditions around the world, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Taoism. Each holds practices designed to awaken and expand the mind. But long before organized religion, shamanic traditions around the globe were already using these “technologies of the sacred” to heal, connect, and guide.

Shamanism is often considered the oldest spiritual and healing practice in the world. Despite cultural differences, shamans across continents have shared a remarkable understanding of how to access and navigate non-ordinary realms. In these states, reality is experienced as layered, alive, and deeply interconnected. Shamans have long used these altered states of consciousness as tools for healing – guiding others through emotional, physical, and spiritual transformation.

So why does this matter for us now?

Engaging with these ancient practices can help us break free from habitual patterns of thinking and being. They offer a way to step outside the default mode of consciousness – the everyday loop of thoughts, roles, and reactions – and glimpse something greater. In these expanded states, many people report a profound sense of connection: to themselves, to others, to nature, and often, to all of existence.

Stanislav Grof, a pioneer in the study of non-ordinary states, described these experiences as gateways to “Cosmic Consciousness” – states that dissolve boundaries and reveal unity. He referred to the tools that lead us there as technologies of the sacred, because they allow us to cross from the mundane into the mystical.

And yet, not all altered states are healing. Consciousness can also be disrupted by illness, trauma, or intoxication. The difference lies in the intention and context. When non-ordinary states are approached with care, purpose, and integration, they can become powerful vehicles for growth. Unlike pathological states, which can be disorienting or long-lasting, therapeutic journeys into altered consciousness are often short-lived and gently return us to baseline, though not without leaving something within us changed.

In my own experience, I’ve come to know these states through several of the methods I’ve been studying. Most often, I’ve accessed them through meditation. In these meditative states, I’ve felt reality reveal itself as inherently interconnected. I feel connected to all things around me – even as I breathe, the world around me breathes too. That sense of unity has shifted the way I move through life, helping me step outside the automatic patterns of everyday awareness and glimpse something more true, more whole.

Of course, integration isn’t always easy. Translating those expanded states into everyday life can be challenging. But even when the feeling fades, the memory remains, and it forms the foundation for ongoing transformation. As I continue to return to these states and integrate the insights learned, I can see the subtle ways that transformation is unfolding in my everyday life too.

These states are not about escaping reality. They’re about expanding it. They show us what’s possible when we release our usual patterns of awareness, shifting our perspectives, allowing us to remember what it feels like to be whole.

These ancient tools and expanded states invite us to explore not only the vastness of consciousness but also the sacredness of our own inner world. You don’t need a dramatic experience to begin, but rather a willingness to listen inward, and to notice what shifts when you soften into presence.

So this week, I invite you to reflect: Have I ever experienced a moment that felt like more than ordinary awareness? What brought me there and what did it reveal about myself or the world around me?

Let this be an exploration of experience. You might find that these “technologies of the sacred” have been touching your life in quiet ways all along.

References

Grof, S. (2019). The way of the psychonaut: Encyclopedia for inner journeys (Volume One). MAPS.

Richards, W.A. (2016). Sacred knowledge: Psychedelics and religious experiences. Columbia University Press