Meditation and perception: some notes on the psychology of religious mysticism
Hjalmar Sundén
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis August 1, 1970 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67616 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Mysticism |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that mystical experiences can be understood as results of meditative techniques rather than requiring an "hysterical predisposition" in the subject, and proposes that physiological findings from the "mindcurers'" organismic approach could supplement phenomenological descriptions of mystic conscious states. |
Abstract
The study of mysticism must be carried on with more attention paid to the meditative techniques used by mystics and to the problems of perception. In this paper the author presents some remarks on the difference between Saint Teresa and Saint John of the Cross, and then mentions some recent studies of meditation and some problems of perception. If meditative techniques have become of great importance in psychotheraphy, the organismic approach of the "mindcurers" and their results will permit us to complete phenomenological descriptions of mystic conscious states with more exact information of their physiological conditions. In this way "mystical experiences" in general can be seen as results of meditative techniques and we need not regard "an hysterical predisposition" of the subject as their necessary condition.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |