Mystical experiences (MEs) are often profound and transformative encounters with a transcendent reality. Reported across many cultures and religions, these experiences are commonly characterized by a sense of unity, transcendence of time and space, positive mood, ineffability, and a noetic quality. Theoretical models have emphasized psychological, neurological, and sociocultural explanations to...
This paper explores the phenomenology of mystical experiences and its philosophical implications. The focus will be on defending Alston’s view that there are perceptual kinds of mystical experiences, a view that has been historically prominent. In Christian mystical tradition the most influential discussions on spiritual senses were led by Origen and respected theologians like Karl Rahner and...
Background: Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) is a promising treatment for various psychiatric disorders. However, the exact biological and psychological mechanisms of action of PAP remain to be determined. Examining predictors of PAP outcomes may help identify necessary processes for positive treatment outcomes. Mystical experiences are considered a key aspect of the subjective effects...
On the basis of the comparative method the differences in the religious experiences of F.M. Dostoevsky and K.N. Leontiev are explored. The author defends the thesis that it was this difference that first of all caused ideological contradictions between these thinkers, in particular, a sharp disagreement on the problem of the attainability of “universal harmony” in the world. It is shown that...
PsyArXivJune 3, 2025Jan Marius Keppel Hesselink
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The rainbow body (Jalü in Tibetan Buddhism) represents a profound spiritual attainment, and it is said that the physical form dissolves into light at the time of death. This paper proposes a novel hypothesis: the visual component of the rainbow body experience, as vividly perceived in personal meditative encounters, can be understood as a complex, dynamic phosphene-movie, a vivid internal...
Insight - a sudden change in understanding or perspective that feels true or reliable - is a common occurrence during psychedelic experiences, and often considered by clinicians and patients to be central to their therapeutic value. However, their occurrence and role has not been systematically assessed. We reviewed all peer-reviewed studies that published data on insight catalysed by a classic...
Mystical religious experiences typically purport to engage with the transcendent and often claim to involve encounters with spiritual entities or a detachment from the material world. Daoism diverges from this paradigm. This paper examines Daoist mystical experiences of bodily transformations and explores their epistemological implications. Specifically, we defend the justificatory power of...
This article argues that Latour’s concepts of actor-networks and modes of existence make room for a different participatory approach to mystical experiences (MEs), as well as religious experience more broadly, that interprets them as participatory events rather than as the inner experiences of an isolated subject. This alternative Latourian approach to MEs neither assumes the a priori presence...
The purpose of the present study is to determine feasibility and acceptability of a standardized hypnosis intervention for a mystical experience based on a conceptual framework including cognitive expectancy, demand characteristics, the induced hypnotic state, and the role of hypnotizability. Ten college student participants provided informed consent and received a hypnotic induction and...
Research on the positive psychological effects of psychedelics has surged since the early 2000s, particularly regarding increased well-being. Studies have demonstrated how psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences play a key role in their positive effects, which has prompted an interest in the emotion of awe in the psychedelic context due to its similar phenomenology and associated benefits....
1. Why does a mystic need an artist?The role of visual representations in the mystical experience [] with regard to all these imaginary visions and apprehensions and to all other forms and species whatsoever, which present themselves beneath some particular kind of knowledge or image or form, whether they be false and come from the devil or are recognized as true and coming from God, the...
Peak and mystical experiences can be seen as states of consciousness that exist on a spectrum of varying intensity and duration. They are often described as moments of profound joy, ecstasy, and awe that involve feelings of noetic quality, decreased self-salience, and heightened interconnectedness. The renewed interest in psychedelics as a potential tool for therapeutic intervention has been...
Abstract Purpose Despite the presence of mystical-type experiences in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), an understanding of the cognitive processes involved is still lacking. Guided by theory and empirical research, we hypothesized a cognitive-grounded perspective based on current metacognition models to promote the understanding of the psychological processes involved in mystical-type...
The intensity of the psychedelic experience has been hypothesized as the main predictor of response to a psychedelic treatment. This study aimed to investigate factors that may be associated with the intensity of mystical experiences during naturalistic psychedelic use. The data of this comprehensive sample were aggregated from four previous retrospective surveys, where mystical experience...
This study examines how the Japanese writer Furui Yoshikichi engages with Western mystical experiences, particularly through his reading of Martin Buber’s Ecstatic Confessions and his broader engagement with Meister Eckhart and medieval German mysticism. Furui’s literary inquiry revolves around the inherent tension between the ineffability of mystical experiences and their articulation through...
«Mística» y «experiencia mística» son términos tan ambiguos que exigen no solo la precisión, sino aun la construcción de toda una teoría que explicaría su significativa multidimensionalidad. El presente artículo ofrece ciertas indicaciones metodológicas para crear una teoría de la mística y, al mismo tiempo, centra su atención en los aspectos a tener en cuenta a la hora de hablar adecuadamente...
Valuing Peak Experience in Everyday Lives takes Abraham Maslow’s concept of peak experience and compares how people have encountered transcendent peak experiences and related phenomena, such as flow and peak performance, in their everyday lives. By examining existing research and sharing people’s actual encounters in different contexts, such as music, education, sport, creative arts, and...
ReligionsFebruary 26, 2025Rossano Cesare Zas Friz de Col
The study of decision making is currently significant in various areas of knowledge, particularly in an interdisciplinary approach involving psychologists, economists, sociologists, cognitive scientists, and political scientists. This article explores the decision-making process in a new field: the mystical lived experience; i.e., approaches the perception of something present as unknown, the...
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy (PAT) is gaining traction as a novel approach to addressing the psychological and existential distress experienced by patients. This systematic review aimed to investigate the impact of PAT on spirituality, mystical experiences, and spiritual well-being (SpWB) in patients with life-threatening, incurable, or terminal illnesses. A comprehensive search was conducted...