A Ganzfeld is a homogenized visual and auditory perceptual field which can induce altered states of consciousness (ASC; Metzger, 1929; Schmidt & Prein, 2019). Using a balanced intrasubject design, we compared participants' experience during two differently colored (red, green) 25-min Ganzfeld sessions with brown noise as acoustic stimulation. Participants were exposed to the colored visual field through commercially available goggles and to brown noise over headphones. We selected 67 participants with some prior meditation experience to increase the probability that they would engage meaningfully with this specifically restricted stimulus situation. We tested the functional components of the standard cognitive model of time perception (Zakay & Block, 1997) in a path analysis for direct (red vs. green light) and indirect effects (arousal, attention) on subjective duration and perceived passage of time. Subjective arousal and valence states were measured using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). The amount of attention directed to time and the perceived passage of time were rated with standard visual analog scales (VAS). Participants also estimated the duration of each Ganzfeld exposure. The session with the red visual field lasted significantly longer than did the green session (μred = 23.1 min; μgreen = 19.8 min). After the green session, participants rated their arousal level to have significantly decreased; after the red session, individuals on average felt emotionally less positive. Multiple path analyses revealed that the effect of color on estimated duration is completely mediated through higher arousal levels during the red Ganzfeld session. In turn, the higher arousal level generates a longer subjective estimate of duration. For induction of relaxation in studies probing altered states of consciousness employing the Ganzfeld technique, we recommend using the green light.

Introduction: Nature and silence and their interrelationship have been rarely-discussed topics in music therapy research. We therefore compared the experience of silence in an indoor setting (university lecture room) with silence in a natural outdoor setting (city garden). Methods: Following a non-randomized repeated-measure design, we conducted two sessions of experiencing silence (indoors and outdoors) lasting 6:30 minutes and guided by a qualified music therapist. Participants were students (n = 46) who experienced the two conditions in two different groups in reverse order with one week in between each session. After each session, participants filled out questionnaires pertaining to their senses of self, space and time during the period of silence, as well as their states of relaxation and boredom. Results: Silence both indoors and outdoors is effective in significantly fostering relaxation. The outdoor condition led to a stronger present orientation (experiencing the moment) and a reduced past orientation (referring to memories) accompanied by more relaxation and less boredom. Discussion: Silence in a natural setting has the potential to alter states of consciousness in a qualitative way that is comparable to meditation. Silence in nature could prove effective as part of guided music therapy sessions.

This study includes a design that combines Depth Relaxation Music Therapy (DRMT)/Hypnomusictherapy (HMT), silence, and nature. Participants (n = 84) were divided into seven groups and first received 16 min of DRMT/HMT followed by 6:30 min of silence or a 16-min seminar focusing on silence in therapy and counselling succeeded by 6:30 min of silence. In the seminar, the subjects were invited to participate in a moderated group discussion and to communicate their experiences and ideas concerning silence in health-related settings. Each group then experienced the other condition (within-subject design) with one week in between. The overall process was conducted in the natural setting of a city garden. The aim of the study was to compare the effects of a 6:30-min silence following either a group discussion on silence (university seminar) or a session of DRMT in a natural setting. Participants in the DRMT/HMT condition relatively overestimated the duration of silence and felt that time had passed more slowly as compared to silence following the seminar. Relaxation was significantly increased both after silence following DRMT/HMT and silence following the seminar, a probable effect of exposure to nature. Within the DRMT/HMT-study arm, participants who were more relaxed also felt themselves more intensely, experienced space to a lesser extent, and felt that time had passed more quickly. In conclusion, both silent conditions in nature fostered relaxation. These study conditions combining silence, nature, and DRMT/HMT proved to be effective as a group music therapy method and should be further explored.

With this cross-sectional study we investigated how individual differences regarding present- and future-oriented mental processes are related to the experience of time in the seconds and minutes range. A sample of students (N = 100) filled out self-report measures of time perspective (ZTPI), mindfulness (FMI), impulsiveness (BIS), and the daydreaming frequency scale (DDFS). Furthermore they were asked to (a) retrospectively judge the duration of a waiting period of five minutes, and (b) to prospectively perform an visual duration reproduction task with intervals of 3, 6, and 9 seconds. Regression models show that (a) being more present fatalistic (ZTPI) and more impulsive are related to longer duration estimates of the waiting period, and (b) having a stronger propensity to daydream leads to a stronger under-reproduction of temporal intervals. These findings show how personality traits related to present orientation are associated with the state-like perception of duration.