Transpersonal Psychology Review
2008
Janice Hartley, Michael Daniels
This study explores negative paranormal and spiritual experiences in the light of William James’s concept of ‘diabolical mysticism ‘. The aim was to investigate the characteristics of these experiences, how they are interpreted by those who experience them, the rea.ciions of others, and their overall influence on people’s lives. The methodology used semi-structured interviews to develop a...
Empirical Studies of the Arts
2008
Ken Stange, Shelley E. Taylor
Subjective experiences of profound religious-mystical and aesthetic experiences share common characteristics, suggesting that apparent differences between them may reflect a person's individual cognitive schema. Six characteristics common to descriptions of religious-mystical and aesthetic experiences were distinguished. A questionnaire was designed to determine the following: 1) the extent to...
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis
2008
Peter J Adams
People attempting to communicate religious and mystical experiences tend to use the same language strategies employed in inducing hypnotic trance. Both incorporate vague language that provides receptive listeners the opportunity to insert their own content. This study examines whether people who have had mystical or religious experiences are also more likely to respond to the language of...
Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A
2008
Michael Witthöft, Fred Rist, Josef Bailer
Absorption as a personality trait refers to the predisposition to get deeply immersed in sensory (e.g., smells, sounds, pictures) or mystical experiences, that is, to experience altered states of consciousness. Absorption is markedly related to constructs openness to experiences, hypnotic suggestibility, imagination, and dissociation. Although absorption was hypothesized to be a risk factor for...
Psychopathology
2008
Barnaby Nelson, Louis Sass
24 citations
While considerable research attention has been devoted to the causal relationship between substance use and psychosis, the phenomenology of the association between the two has largely been ignored. This is a significant shortcoming, because it blinds researchers to the possibility that there may be elements of the subjective experience of substance use and psychosis that contribute to their...
Continuum eBooks
2008
24 citations
This comprehensive new introduction looks at spiritual experiences from past to present, from the experiences of the founders of the major world religious traditions to events in the lives of ordinary people today. Mystical and Near Death Experiences are included. Examples are drawn from a variety of sources, including original accounts from the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research...
Archive for the Psychology of Religion
2008
William A. Richards
19 citations
Accompanying the resumption of human research with the entheogen (psychedelic drug), psilocybin, the range of states of consciousness reported during its action, including both nonmystical and mystical forms of experience, is surveyed and defined. The science and art of facilitating mystical experiences is discussed on the basis of research experience. The potential religious import of these...
TheScientificWorldJournal
December 10, 2007
Tyge Dahl Hermansen, Søren Ventegodt, Isack Kandel
The structure of human consciousness is thought to be closely connected to the structure of cerebral cortex. One of the most appreciated concepts in this regard is the Szanthagothei model of a modular building of neo-cortex. The modules are believed to organize brain activity pretty much like a computer. We looked at examples in the literature and argue that there is no significant evidence...
International Workshop on Applied Reconfigurable Computing
December 1, 2007
Elliot R. Wolfson
Scholarly depictions of mysticism, as varied as they have been, frequently include visions and dreams on the list of common characteristics. Literary and other material artifacts attest that communion with what is considered in a particular milieu to be the fount of inspiration can provoke revelatory experiences, and the history of Judaism is no exception to this rule. Dreams, in particular,...
Neural Networks
November 1, 2007
Axel Cleeremans, Bert Timmermans, Antoine Pasquali
When one is conscious of something, one is also conscious that one is conscious. Higher-Order Thought Theory [Rosenthal, D. (1997). A theory of consciousness. In N. Block, O. Flanagan, & G. Güzeldere (Eds.), The nature of consciousness: Philosophical debates. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press] takes it that it is in virtue of the fact that one is conscious of being conscious, that one is conscious....