Introduction

The CEP 2018 Exceptional Experience conference will address mystical, spiritual, psychic, NDE and other anomalous experiences, whether occurring spontaneously or induced though the use of meditation, psychedelic drugs, shamanic or other practices. Such experiences may involve a sense of interconnectedness, a wider sense of self, peace, joy, bliss, awe and may be intense. In some cases they may appear to offer exceptional knowledge and/or have a positive transformative effect on the experient.

This conference will explore the nature of such exceptional experiences, and psychological, social and neuroscientific approaches to understanding them. This will include phenomenological accounts of such experiences, recent research on what is happening in the brain in various altered states, psychological correlates of such experiences, experimental and other approaches to investigating particular exceptional experiences, and the potential benefits of exceptional experience, seen for example in work on the possible therapeutic value of various psychedelics.

Booking information

General bookings

All prices include VAT.

Please not that all ticket bookings for this event have now closed.

Please note our terms and conditions at the end of this section.

Meals etc

Registration includes programme, abstracts, tea/coffee and biscuits.

Meals may be pre-booked here as a set menu here or selected and purchased on the day at the on-site café/refectory. There are also pubs and restaurants off-site nearby.

You can inform us of any dietary requirements in the order form when purchasing your ticket.

On-site accommodation and bathrooms

On-site accommodation (also booked here) is in standard rooms with a shared bathroom. If staying you will be asked for a £10 deposit refundable on departure on return of room key.

For ensuite accommodation, delegates need to book local hotels (see below).

Accessibility

The main presentation room, the Tuke Common Room, the Refectory and Brasserie (location of conference dinner) are wheelchair accessible and on the ground floor. There are ramps throughout most of the site to help. There is a wheelchair lift behind the campus reception to manage the eight or so steps down to the Quad. Delegates using wheelchairs generally use this when entering and leaving the site and the security staff at reception can assist with it.

Information on disabled parking, dropping off, induction loops, supportive seating, and emergency evacuation is available here.

Please email us at cep@bps.org.uk if you have any additional requirements.

Car parking

There is some parking on-site at Regents University in officially marked areas but this is on a first-come first-served basis. Please keep off all grass. No parking is allowed on any grass areas.

Alternative pre-booked car parking include:

Q-Park, Church St, Penfold St, NW8 8BG. £14 per day.

Bell St Car Park , 5 Bell St Paddington London NW1 5BZ. £25 per day.

Otherwise check: https://en.parkopedia.co.uk.

Hotels

Regents University offers a local map and link to local hotels at www.hotelmap.com/M9UYJ that shows price, availability and approximate walking distance from Regents University. If you prefer to book by phone, you can also call their dedicated London concierge, on 020 7292 2335 (if outside UK +44 20 7292 2335) quoting Special Reference Code M9UYJ. Comparison sites such as booking.com, hotels.com, or Google Maps also provide information on hotel accommodation (prices may go up on return searches as you collect cookies). Airbnb.co.uk may offer cheaper accommodation.

A selection of local hotels follows. Minutes given are approximate walking distance from Regents University. London hotels can book up early and will increase substantially in price above the levels indicated (except our on-site rooms). You are advised to book as soon as possible.

Cheaper rooms with shared bathroom

Regents University Reid Hall (on-site). Single rooms £78 per night (cheaper twin & triple rooms also available). Use registration link above to book.

LSE Carr-Saunders Hall. 18-24 Fitzroy Street W1T 4BN. T: +44 (0)207 955 7676/427 0050. From £50 (single & twin with shared bathroom, ensuite twin). 19 minutes walk away.

YHA London Central Hostel. 104 Bolsover St, Fitzrovia, London W1W 5NU. T: +44 (0)345 371 9154. Dorm beds from £17, private rooms from £65 (also with ensuite). 17 minutes.

Cheaper ensuite rooms

Travel Lodge Marylebone, Harewood Row, NW1 6SE. T: +44(0)871 984 6311. ***, from £79. Near Marylebone train station. 11 minutes.

The Fitzroy Hotel, 41 Fitzroy St, Fitzrovia, London W1T 6DZ. T: +44(0)20 7387 7919. **, from £49. 16 minutes.

Britannia Hampstead, Primrose Hill Rd, London NW3 3NA. T: +44(0)871 222 0043. ***, from £53. 30 minutes walk through several parks.

More expensive ensuite rooms

Americana Hotel, 172-174 Gloucester Pl, Marylebone, London NW1 6DS. T: +44 (0)20 7723 1452. ***, from £104. 6 minutes.

Danubius Hotel Regents Park, 18 Lodge Rd, St. John’s Wood, London NW8 7JT. T: +44 (0)207 722 7722. ****, from £125. By Lords Cricket Ground with a 15 minute walk through the park.

Hotel La Place, 17 Nottingham Pl, Marylebone, London W1U 5LG. T: +44 (0)20 7486 2323. ****, from £108. 6 minutes.

Nottingham Place Hotel, 37 Nottingham Place W1U 5LT. T: +44 (0)207 487 8100. ****, from £100. 6 minutes.

Further information

See our conference web page at www.bps.org.uk/cep/exceptionalexperiences for further information, including programme, directions, and poster download.

Conference queries to cep@bps.org.uk

Keynote speakers

Professor Etzel Cardeña (Lund University):

Derangement of the senses or alternate epistemological pathways? Research on alterations of consciousness and human potentials

Etzel will discuss positive aspects of altered states and how anomalous experiences and alterations of consciousness relate to enhanced abilities. He will briefly describe some of the constraints of the ordinary state of consciousness. Next, how spontaneous or purposefully induced (e.g., through hypnosis, or meditation) anomalous experiences and alterations of consciousness relate to the enhancement of abilities in perceptual, cognitive, physiological, and emotional areas as well as relationships. The final section will review research evidence for the claim that alternate states of consciousness may give access to information not bound by common sense notions of time, space, and selfhood.

Etzel Cardeña (Lund University, Sweden) holds the Thorsen Chair in Psychology and directs the Center for Research on Consciousness and Anomalous Psychology (CERCAP). His areas of research include alterations of consciousness and anomalous experiences, dissociative processes, the neurophenomenology of hypnosis and meditation, and the stream of consciousness during waking and altered states. He has more than 300 publications and various awards for his empirical, theoretical, and pedagogical contributions.

Dr Milan Scheidegger (University of Zurich):

Neuroepistemology of drug-induced exceptional experiences

Milan will discuss research on biomechanisms underlying the application of psychedelics in therapy. He will give an overview about how drug-induced exceptional experiences can be explained from the perspective of contemporary neuroscience. In particular, how advanced neuroimaging technologies provide novel insights into the brain dynamics underlying pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness. Psychedelic states also raise questions about the nature of subjective experience and the creation of meaning in living systems. Milan will also explore the interface between different epistemological perspectives on these issues.

Milan Scheidegger (Zurich) has an academic background in medicine, neuroscience, philosophy, and psychiatry. His MD-PhD degree was in functional and molecular neuroimaging at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering (University and ETH Zurich). He is currently researching the neurobiology and pharmacology of altered states of consciousness. He investigates the potential of psychedelics such as ketamine, psilocybin, ayahuasca and DMT to facilitate therapeutic transformation. On his ethnobotanical expeditions to Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, he has explored the traditional use of psychoactive plants in indigenous rituals.

Professor Chris Roe (University of Northampton):

Making sense of exceptional experiences

Chris will discuss the variety, incidence and correlates of various paranormal phenomena. He will draw on research conducted over the last 20 years (including case collections, interviews, and experiments) to elucidate the range of 'paranormal' phenomena experienced and to illustrate findings from approaches used in parapsychology to investigate them. These look at how such experiences can be accounted for in conventional psychological terms, associated psychological factors, and whether well-controlled experiments potentially rule out normal explanations.

Chris Roe (Northampton University) is Professor of Psychology, Director of the Centre for the Study of Anomalous Psychological Processes and Perrott-Warrick Senior Researcher (Cambridge). He is Chairman of the BPS Transpersonal Psychology Section. His research interests are around understanding the nature of anomalous and paranormal experience, the psychology of paranormal belief, as well as experimental approaches to testing claims for extrasensory perception and psychokinesis. His recent research has been concerned with the relationship between altered states of consciousness and psychic experience.

Terms and conditions

These Terms together with the booking form constitute the entire agreement between you and us. By booking for this event you agree to be bound by these terms. If there is any inconsistency between these Terms and the booking form, these Terms will prevail. References to “we/our/us" in these Terms means The British Psychological Society of St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7DR, a charity registered in England and Wales with charity number 229642. Our VAT number is 240 3937 76. Our contact address for the purposes of these Terms is cep@bps.org.uk.

1. Our cancellation rights

a) We may have to cancel an event due to an event outside our control; the unavailability of key personnel or key materials; or low booking numbers for an event. We will notify you of such a cancellation as soon as reasonably possible.

b) If we have to cancel an event for any of the reasons set out in clause 2(a) above and you have made any payment in advance for the event, we will, at our sole option, either refund these amounts to you or offer to transfer you to a different event.

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You may cancel any booking (or part of it) by emailing us at cep@bps.org.uk and will receive a full refund of any monies paid in advance, credited within 30 days to a bank account specified by you, if you email us to cancel by 7 August. After this date there will be a cancellation fee of 100% of the price charged for the booking. We will give an initial response to your email within 5 days.

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