Intense personal experiences: subjective effects, interpretations, and after-effects.
Journal of Clinical Psychology September 1, 1990 S R Wilson, R C Spencer
Positive and negative intense experiences share similar subjective effects and lasting impact, differing mainly in emotional tone. Most people's most positive experiences do not reach the level of a true peak experience as Maslow described, whereas members of a yoga ashram reported experiences that more often involved altered consciousness and lasting life change. The findings suggest that therapeutic change or self-actualization is rarely initiated by peak experiences alone.