What can psychedelic experiences, meditation and neuroscience tell us about the nature of consciousness? This visually ambitious documentary explores one of science's most fascinating unanswered questions.
Scientists can observe the brain in extraordinary detail, mapping its networks, measuring electrical activity and identifying changes associated with different states of awareness. Yet one fundamental question remains unresolved. How does the physical activity of the brain give rise to the subjective experience of being alive?
This mystery is at the heart of Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness, a 2021 documentary directed by Frauke Sandig and Eric Black. Rather than attempting to provide a definitive explanation, the film invites viewers into a conversation that stretches from the laboratory to the natural world and the inner landscapes of human experience.
Inside the Documentary
Aware begins with neuroscientist Christof Koch, who introduces the extraordinary complexity of the human brain and the enduring mystery of how its intricate networks of neurons give rise to conscious experience.
From this scientific starting point, the documentary broadens its enquiry, introducing researchers, philosophers and spiritual practitioners whose different approaches offer fascinating perspectives on the nature of awareness.
Scientist-turned-Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard takes us into the world of contemplative practice, while plant researcher Monica Gagliano explores the remarkable capacities of plants through experiments investigating learning and responsiveness. Mayan healer Josefa Kirvin Kulix brings an Indigenous perspective, describing a relationship with the natural world shaped by spiritual knowledge and traditions.
The film also ventures into altered states of consciousness through the pioneering psilocybin research of the late Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins University. Philosopher Richard Boothby offers a personal dimension, sharing his experience of participating in a psilocybin study during a period of grief.
As the documentary progresses, the individual perspectives begin to intersect, revealing both differences and unexpected connections between scientific investigation, spiritual traditions and personal experience. What emerges is a wide-ranging exploration of consciousness that extends beyond the human brain to consider our relationship with other living beings and the world around us.
What Stood Out to Us: Consciousness Through Different Lenses
One of the most fascinating ideas explored in Aware is the tension between studying consciousness from the outside and experiencing it from within. Neuroscience can investigate the physical processes associated with awareness, but observing the brain from the outside is very different from understanding what it feels like to be conscious.
This distinction becomes particularly compelling through the contrast between scientific and Buddhist perspectives. While Matthieu Ricard approaches consciousness through direct observation and meditation, Christof Koch considers the possibility that awareness may be a fundamental feature of the universe, rather than something that can be explained entirely through the physical mechanisms of the brain.
Their different approaches raise a profound question about the limits of scientific observation and what subjective experience might contribute to our understanding.
The relationship between meditation and psychedelics offers another fascinating connection. Roland Griffiths draws parallels between the changes in consciousness that can arise through psilocybin and contemplative traditions. Both can involve a temporary dissolution of the familiar sense of self, accompanied by feelings of unity, connection and a different relationship with ordinary experience.
Roland also considers how psychedelic experiences may interrupt habitual patterns of thinking and responding, creating opportunities for greater openness. For us at Beautiful Space, this is particularly relevant to psychedelic-assisted therapy, where recognising deeply established patterns can become a meaningful starting point for psychological change.
Richard Boothby's account brings a deeply human dimension to these ideas. Reflecting on a psilocybin experience undertaken during a period of grief, he describes its significance many years later, illustrating how an experience lasting only hours can continue to shape someone's understanding of life.
Perhaps the most thought-provoking theme, however, is the documentary’s exploration of the interconnectedness of all living things. Monica Gagliano's investigations into plant learning sit alongside Josefa Kulix's Indigenous understanding of plants as beings with which humans can develop relationships. Although these perspectives draw on different forms of knowledge, together they challenge the boundaries we ordinarily draw between ourselves and other forms of life.
The documentary ultimately leaves us reflecting on the familiar experience of being a separate individual, and contemplating how much of the living world exists beyond the limits of our ordinary perception.
What We'd Consider
The breadth of Aware is part of its appeal, although it also invites some important distinctions.
Neuroscience, psychedelic research, plant cognition and Indigenous and contemplative traditions approach consciousness through different methods and understandings of evidence. While their perspectives can illuminate one another, they do not necessarily support the same conclusions.
For example, research into plant learning and responsiveness raises fascinating questions about biological intelligence, but does not establish that plants possess subjective consciousness. Similarly, the profound sense of unity reported during psychedelic experiences is an important subject of scientific study, although the experience itself cannot establish metaphysical claims about reality.
The documentary gives considerable space to these perspectives, inviting viewers to consider their connections rather than providing a definitive scientific assessment of each.
Those seeking a rigorous examination of individual theories or detailed explanations of the research may therefore find themselves wanting greater depth.
Who Is Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness For?
Aware is particularly suited to viewers who are curious about consciousness and enjoy exploring questions that may not have definitive answers. It will appeal to those interested in neuroscience, psychedelic experiences, meditation, philosophy and the relationship between humans and the natural world.
For people familiar with psychedelic research, the documentary offers an opportunity to consider altered states of consciousness within a wider conversation about awareness, spirituality and subjective experience. It may also resonate with those who practise meditation or are interested in how different traditions investigate the nature of the mind.
Viewers seeking practical guidance on psychedelic-assisted therapy, detailed scientific explanations or clear conclusions may prefer something more specialised.
Our Verdict
Aware: Glimpses of Consciousness is a beautiful, deeply contemplative documentary that brings together an unusually rich collection of perspectives on one of life's most enduring mysteries.
What makes it particularly appealing is how the different thinkers reveal connections between scientific enquiry, personal experience, and our relationship with the natural world, inviting us to consider the profound interconnectedness of all living things.
The film brings into focus just how much remains unknown about consciousness, how much there is still to discover and the possibility that some questions about the nature of our experience may never be fully answered.
It also invites us to slow down, step beyond our own immediate experience and pay closer attention to the world around us. So much of life unfolds beyond what we ordinarily see, understand or take the time to notice, from the intricate relationships between living organisms to the wider natural world of which we are all a part.
For us, this is where much of the documentary's value lies. It leaves you with a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder about the experience of being alive, and perhaps a greater willingness to stop, listen and truly notice. For those drawn to the mysteries of consciousness, psychedelics and the nature of being human, we think it is well worth watching.
Aware at a Glance
What: Documentary exploring the nature of consciousness
Directors: Frauke Sandig and Eric Black
Release: 2021
Runtime: 102 minutes
Best for: Curious minds interested in consciousness, psychedelic science, meditation, philosophy and the interconnectedness of life
What stood out: The connections between scientific, contemplative and Indigenous perspectives, particularly their exploration of altered states, subjective experience and interconnectedness
What to consider: Its broad, contemplative approach invites reflection rather than providing detailed scientific explanations or definitive conclusions
Beautiful Space verdict: A beautiful and thought-provoking documentary that leaves you with a renewed curiosity about consciousness and the experience of being alive.