This study aims to describe the presentation form and analyze the correlation between the elements that form the Kuda Lumping dance in Manunggal Karya Village, Randangan District, Pohuwato Regency. This research is motivated by the existence of traditional Javanese art that is still preserved and purely maintained by the transmigrant community since 1981, and functions as a cultural identity...
Background Breathwork that increases ventilatory rate or depth represents an accessible non-pharmacological modality for potentially inducing altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Despite gaining traction as a potential therapeutic tool, empirical controlled research on breathwork and ASCs remains limited. Methods We examined the effects of a single session of high ventilation breathwork,...
This chapter focuses on two “unruly friends of God”: the Hanbali Sufi, Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1088), and the French Dominican friar, Serge de Beaurecueil (1917–2005). The comparison derives analytical insight from the classic Sufi distinction between “drunk” and “sober” mysticism. Both men in their historical and religious contexts embraced an expression of sanctity found on the edge,...
UPDATED 2026-06-09 Corrected dataset attribution from Timmermann et al. (2019) to Pallavicini et al. (2021) UPDATED 2026-01-21 Background: Psychedelic substances produce profound alterations in conscious experience, yet the neural mechanisms underlying phenomenal richness remain poorly understood. Static measures of neural integration and complexity have shown limited success in predicting...
BackgroundPsychiatry has long maintained an ambivalent relationship with religion and spirituality, often acknowledging their relevance while remaining cautious about clinical engagement.ObjectivesThis article examines the historical, conceptual, and clinical tensions surrounding spirituality in psychiatry and explores how contemporary psychedelic research has renewed attention to meaning and...
Abstract The Zohar, and the mystical tradition that it helped to establish, are integral parts of the Oral Torah, and yet they seem to be rife with supremacism and racism. This chapter documents this troubling phenomenon and then responds with three considerations: (1) just because we recognize that the mystical tradition is an integral part of the Oral Torah doesn’t mean that we have to accept...
The Pentamerone (1634–1636) by Giambattista Basile is one of the first, and most important literary collection in the European fairy-tale tradition. Basile’s work is considered a precursor to later fairy-tale writers like Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers. His stories also preserve a much older mythic traditions shaped by ritual transformation, sacred kingship, and cosmic justice. This...
Of all of the major figures in the Western philosophical tradition, none was more influential on Simone Weil or more ubiquitous in her writings than Plato. Weil uses Plato's thought to frame her considerations of matters ranging from science and mathematics to divine creation and the relationship of human beings to what is greater than us. Yet Weil makes no attempt to read Plato objectively or...
In this article we examine the intertwining of Zen Buddhism, Christian Mysticism and Archetypes through traditional Zen contemplative practice and tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. Ana María Schlüter Rodés (1935-1925), philosopher, theologian and Zen master, disciple of Yamada Kōun Roshi (1907-1989), writes and teaches Zen through contemplation, kōans —Zen paradoxes used to awaken...
Existing scholarship on Javanese Islamic mysticism tends to portray the Javanese saints (wali) as firm proponents of Sharia who systematically opposed mystical practice. The article challenges that characterization by examining the present and development of mystical tendencies in Javanese Islamic texts from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Drawing on hermeneutic and historical...
This article offers a clinical-theological response to Bland and Hoard’s Lacanian account of Christian perfectionism. I engage with Earl’s clinical work with patient Lucas for exploring the limits of the Christian filter embedded in his Evangelical Christianity. Drawing on Christian mysticism and Bion’s concept of “O,” I suggest that Evangelical Christianity may be enriched by a greater...
This article describes St. Paul’s powerful experience on the road to Damascus using thephilosophy of mysticism by Maurice Blondel. While the experience is often simplifiedas a conversion, the study posits that it is more accurately described as a revelation anda prophetic calling. Using Blondel’s non-reductionist approach, which focuses on livedexperience as well as action, this article...
Abstract In navigating the complexities of the modern era, a profound understanding of religious teachings is increasingly vital to provide moral and existential guidance in human life. A central aspect of Islam is understanding the Qur’an, which serves as a foundational source of spiritual and moral guidance. Sufistic epistemology offers a distinctive framework for interpreting the Qur’an,...
Abstract Rumi’s Masnavi is one of the most profound works of Persian mystical literature, rich in metaphors and allegories, and it conveys spiritual concepts and religious meaning. The metaphor of the way plays a central role in illustrating the spiritual journey toward unity with the divine. This article explores the concept of the way in the Masnavi by analysing conceptual metaphors that...
Dreams are not hidden telegrams from the unconscious. They are pressure maps.This paper argues that dreams should be read as temporary simulations of how the psyche routes avoidance, desire, threat, shame, memory, relation, symbol, and possible repair. A dream matters when it shows the structure of a truth waking life has not yet found a way to carry.The paper places Structural Intelligence in...
This chapter is an excerpt from a larger book project on the phenomenon traditionally described as the “Dark Night of the Soul” in the writings of John of the Cross. It combines historical, phenomenological, psychological, and contemplative perspectives in order to reinterpret this classical mystical concept for a contemporary audience. While remaining grounded in the Catholic and monastic...
This article explores ideological and worldview divisions within the esoteric milieu of Wisła in the 1930s, centred around Józef Chobot, Agnieszka Pilchowa, and Jan Hadyna. As a starting point, it takes the 1934 conflict sparked by divergent understandings of spirituality and interpretations of the Rosicrucian tradition, symbolised by a polemic in esoteric journals. The analysis highlights...
This chapter explores the evolution of psychedelics from ancient rituals to modern neuroscience. It begins with a historical overview of their use in spiritual and communal healing, then traces the scientific discoveries that followed—from early psychiatric research to current clinical trials. The chapter then introduces how psychedelics affect the brain, especially through their impact on the...
Recent studies show that psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD can reliably occasion spiritual or “mystical-like” experiences under supportive conditions, and the spiritual dimension of these experiences may contribute to their reported mental health benefits. Scholars have begun exploring how such experiences might relate to spiritual growth within Christian frameworks, but most theological...
Abstract: Like the body, the drum, with its immense somatic power, is colonized in Western culture, the complex cause of which is directly tied to colonialist and missionary efforts to save African slaves from the perils of their so-called demonic religious practices, which involved cultivating possession states through drum and dance rituals. Yet, there is a much better view of drummers, one...