Holy Spirit or Holy Psyche? Energy-Like Somatic Experiences in Contemporary Abrahamic Meditative Traditions
Nathan E. Fisher, Elisabeth Irvine, Michael Z. Yonkovig, D. James Cooper, Michael Lifshitz
Religions November 10, 2025 DOI: 10.3390/rel16111436 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 60 |
| Population | Practitioners and teachers from Abrahamic contemplative traditions |
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Keywords | Phenomenology philosophy Contemplation Context archaeology Islam Lived experience Variety cybernetics Spiritual practice Aesthetics Epistemology Religious experience Spirituality Explanatory model Empirical research Lifeworld |
| Key findings | Energy-like somatic experiences are common among practitioners and teachers in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic contemplative traditions, with interpretations blending spiritual and psychological models. |
Abstract
Meditation practitioners, historically and today, sometimes report experiencing energy-like sensations in their body. While recent empirical studies have explored such experiences in the context of Buddhist and Yogic practice, no comparable research has yet examined energy-like sensations in Jewish, Christian, or Islamic traditions. We interviewed 30 practitioners and 30 teachers from Abrahamic contemplative traditions and found that energy-like somatic experiences were common within our sample. Twelve practitioners (40%) spontaneously reported having experienced at least one, and thirteen teachers (43%) described them occurring either personally or to their students and colleagues. These experiences occurred along a continuum of intensities and valences, with interpretations ranging from anticipated signs of progress to striking unexpected events. Participants drew on a variety of metaphors and frameworks to make sense of these experiences. They often blended ideas from multiple traditions and mixed concepts from spiritual and psychological explanatory models. When comparing these descriptions from our sample to those reported by Western Buddhists in earlier research, we observe notable commonalities as well as differences in the patterns of energy-like experiences across these traditions. Our findings suggest that energy-like somatic experiences emerge through a complex interaction of cultural and bodily processes, where interpretive frameworks interact with attentional and biological processes to determine the specific phenomenology and outcomes of these energetic sensations.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... | 2017 | Qualitative study with mixed-methods | |
| A phenomenology of meditation-induced light experiences: traditional buddhist and neurobiological perspectives American Buddhist practitioners | 2014 | Qualitative study | |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Anger regulation in traumatized Cambodian refugees: the perspectives of Buddhist monks. Buddhist Cambodian monks in Massachusetts | 2011 | Qualitative study | n = 6 |
| The Lived Experiences of Experienced Vipassana Mahasi Meditators: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Experienced Vipassana Mahasi meditators | 2018 | Qualitative study |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 8, 2004
- Intensive meditation training improves perceptual discrimination and sustained attention. Psychological Science June 1, 2010
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- A Framework for the Empirical Investigation of Mindfulness Meditative Development Mindfulness April 13, 2023
- Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Explore 2021
and 5 more in the library