Processing external stimuli

[augentier]

I just searched Google and Google Scholar for any info on this and my search proved worthless..

I want to know if there is more external stimuli than our brains can process and if so, how much is dismissed compared to how much our brains catch? I'm looking for legit scientific research on this..if there is any. I'm not just talking about selective perception/attention .. I'm curious if there is "information" around us that we, as human beings, cannot perceive because of our sensory limitations..unless altered perception occurs (through drugs, sleep, meditation, etc).

If someone could point me in the right direction, that would be great.