As a continental country full of mysterious traditions, extremely inclusive and with periodic regime changes, China has experienced various phenomena of coexistence of “theism” and “atheism” after long-standing debates. Under the belief that “God exists” with his mystical experiences, Hong Xiuquan studied Eastern and Western religions and finally set off “the practice of Islam and Manichaeism...
Research suggests positive changes in both well-being and psychiatric symptoms following a psychedelic experience. One explanation may be the ability of psychedelic compounds to occasion mystical-type experiences. The Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) is designed to assess the intensity and quality of such experiences. We examined the validity, reliability, and factor structure...
Hochstein try to put an end to the “mysticism wars,” by which they mean the battle between psychedelic researchers who hold that mystical concepts ought to be employed in attempts to describe and understand psychedelic experiences and those who do not hold this. Letheby, Mattu, and Hochstein side with the former and do so on the grounds that (as they put it), “there are no good reasons to...
Abstract My goal here is to make use of Deleuzian philosophy as a springboard for cultivating “being a child of the moment,” which is a phrase stemming from Sufism. Being fully present and aware in each moment is associated with surrendering oneself to the divine will and accepting whatever comes in the present moment without resistance. Unlike approaches that translate Deleuzian insights into...
Predictive Texts: Modern Mysticism and Algorithmic Divination contributes to critical literature on secularism, literary, and digital studies by theorizing algorithmic divination, which is the process of interpreting algorithmic technologies in order to gain insight into one’s life and identity. I argue that new media users “read” the algorithms they are subjected to and create a folk mythology...
The author notes that rationality stemmed out of external logic devoid of value meanings and human dimensions. In medieval philosophy the concept of reason was considered as consisting of sensory, discursive, and moral components. The principles of rationalization in alGhazali’s (1058–1111) are considered in the article as philosophical ‘theology’ that underlie the understanding and cognition...
Hermes of Pico della Mirandola has nothing in common with the hero of the treatise Asclepius and the texts of the Hermetic Corpus. Pico's gaze is directed deep into the medieval Jewish and, eventually, Arabic tradition. More precisely, through the cabbalistic works, for the first time available to the bright representative of the Italian Renaissance, there came to life the fruits of another...
The ability to observe "olami akbar" (great world) or the macrocosm, through the eyes of the soul and to comprehend the inner essence of a Sufi through self-knowledge are two of the mysteries of Ibn Sina's teachings on Sufism that the author focuses on in particular. The article examines the secret knowledge of "botin"(inner) and its manifestation in the Sufi views of Ibn Sina. The author's...
Mystical experiences are a form of direct awareness of the presence of God or the transcendent truth, which the mystic attains through methods such as meditation, seclusion, remembrance (dhikr), asceticism, and divine love. These experiences emerge through detachment from worldly dependencies and deep internal focus, leading to a state in which the mystic perceives a sense of unity with the...