Non-ordinary perception refers to ways of perceiving that fall outside everyday, consensus sensory experience — yet are recognized across psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and consciousness studies.
What “Non-Ordinary Perception” Means
It describes perceptual experiences that arise when the nervous system operates outside its default predictive mode.
These experiences may involve:
Altered sensory integration
Expanded internal imagery
Reduced filtering of subtle signals
Changes in time, space, or self-boundaries
They are state-dependent, not inherently pathological.
Common Forms
1. Imaginal / Symbolic Perception
Vivid inner imagery
Archetypal or symbolic content
Hypnagogic or hypnopompic visions
Active imagination states (Jung)
➡ Often mediated by right-hemisphere and default mode network shifts
2. Somatic-Perceptual Knowing
“Knowing” through the body
Sensations preceding conscious thought
Felt sense, vibrations, pressure, or movement
➡ Linked to interoception and subcortical processing
3. Intuitive or Non-Linear Cognition
Sudden insights without step-by-step reasoning
Pattern recognition beyond conscious awareness
Time-independent knowing
➡ Seen in expert intuition, trauma adaptations, and contemplative states
4. Altered Sensory Thresholds
Heightened sound, light, or energy sensitivity
Synesthetic overlap
Blurred internal/external boundaries
➡ Often emerges during stress, meditation, psychedelics, or liminal states
5. Transpersonal or Anomalous Perception
Perception beyond the individual self
Experiences of guidance, presence, or contact
Remote or nonlocal impressions
➡ Studied in parapsychology, CRV, and transpersonal psychology
Clinical Distinction (Important)
Non-ordinary perception is not psychosis when:
✔ Insight is preserved
✔ Meaning is flexible, not rigid
✔ Functioning is intact
✔ Experience is state-dependent
✔ There is no compulsory belief enforcement
Pathology begins when threat-based interpretations dominate perception.
Trauma & Survival Context
From a trauma lens:
Non-ordinary perception can be a survival intelligence
The system learns to detect subtle cues when overt cues were unsafe
Heightened pattern detection ≠ delusion
This aligns with protective dissociation and adaptive hypervigilance.
CRV & Structured Access
In Controlled Remote Viewing:
Non-ordinary perception is trained, bracketed, and disciplined
Emphasis is on signal vs. analytic overlay
The nervous system learns regulated access rather than flooding
This is a key distinction between skillful access and destabilization.
Integrative View
Non-ordinary perception is best understood as:
A spectrum of human perceptual capacity, shaped by state, training, trauma, and culture — requiring regulation, context, and meaning-making.
Shervan K Shahhian
LIBERTY PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION 