Psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology (PNEI) provides a framework for understanding the integration of psychological, neural, endocrine, and immune processes, yet it has rarely engaged non-Western models of mind–body regulation. This study examines Zhanzhuang (aka Chan-chuang), a Daoist standing meditation centered on the cultivation of qi, as a potential PNEI intervention. We present the protocol...
Abstract This chapter examines the debate surrounding the common core thesis of mystical experience by situating contemporary empirical psychology within the longer intellectual history of psychology, philosophy, and theology. It traces how William James and Walter Stace defend the distinction between experience and interpretation, establishing a foundation for a cross-cultural,...
Early in the founding of psychology of religion, a debated issue was the methodological exclusion of the transcendent (MET). While cautiously endorsed by Theodore Flournoy, others, notable William James and Frederic Myers, refused to be limited by this principle. This paper discusses (a) what is MET as proposed by Flournoy and the reasons he provided to adopt it, (b) problems with MET,...
To evaluate the relationship between spiritual experience and hysterical experiences in Buddhist participants in ethnic groups in China, this cross-sectional study recruited 39 participants aged 16-57 years old, and self-administered surveys were administered in two villages, one city and one town by four research assistants in the Inner Mongolia and Qinhai areas. Binary logistic regression...
CharlesTaylor's Gifford lectures published as A Secular Age has stimulated much discussion.In preparing for his lectures Charles re-read the Gifford lectures of William James.He wrote Varieties of Religion Today as an appreciative criticism of James's Varieties of Religious Experience.In this commentary I address Taylor's criticisms of James in terms of relationships between institutional and...
Various forms of self-loss have been described as aspects of mental illness (e.g., depersonalization disorder), but might self-loss also be related to mental health? In this integrative review and proposed organizational framework, we focus on self-transcendent experiences (STEs)—transient mental states marked by decreased self-salience and increased feelings of connectedness. We first identify...
Experiences of profound existential or spiritual significance can be triggered reliably through psychopharmacological means using psychedelic substances. However, little is known about the benefits of religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences (RSMEs) prompted by psychedelic substances, as compared with those that occur through other means. In this study, 739 self-selected participants...
The shift from negative evaluations of hypo-egoicism to more positive considerations is a shared interest of both the positive psychologist and the psychologist of religion. This chapter suggests that the possible positive benefits of hypo-egoicism associated with experiences of transcendence may be interpreted as vertical (more common in psychology of religion) or horizontal (more common in...
Mystical experiences are often described as “ineffable,” or beyond language. However, people readily speak about their mystical experiences if asked about them. How do people describe what is supposedly indescribable? In this study, we used quantitative linguistic analyses to interpret the writings of 777 participants (45.5% female, 51.0% male) who recounted their most significant spiritual or...
Positive psychology and the psychology of religion share an interest in understanding positive emotions and their contribution to human flourishing. The focus of this chapter is upon ecstatic and mystical states framed within Fisher’s model of ergotropic and trophotropic arousal allowing for a neurophysiological correlate of two states of consciousness widely recognized in the psychology of...
This study explores the phenomenological structure of mystical experience among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns. Semi-structured interviews, thematic coding, and statistical analyses demonstrated that Stace's common facets of mysticism as measured by Hood's Mysticism Scale (M Scale) successfully described Buddhist experience as modified by Buddhist doctrines. Confirmatory...
The relationship between reported mystical experience and present and anticipated patterns of church participation was investigated in an initial sample of 324 persons. A scale to measure reported mystical experience that allowed for a distinction between the report of mystical experience (Factor I) and its religious interpretation (Factor II) was utilized. Each factor differentially related to...
A measure of intense religious experience was related to measures of psychological strength in two studies. In the first study a significant negative correlation was found between intense religious experience and Barron's (1953) measure of ego-strength. However, this correlation was reduced to insignificance when the religion subscale was removed from Barron's total EgoStrength Scale. In the...