The Sufi term “tasting” (dhawq) and its semantic cognates “drinking” (shirb / shurb) and “quenching of thirst” (riyy) appear frequently in the Sufi writings of the ninth — eleventh centuries AD to denote a mystical experience of the true reality of God and the divine creation. Originally referring primarily to the mystic's psychological or somatic state (hal), in later Sufi literature and oral...
Classical psychedelics are a group of drugs characterized by their activation of the serotonin-2A (5-hydroxytryptamine-2A; 5-HT2A) receptor and the unique hallucinogenic and mystical-type experiences that result. After a substantial period of restrictions limiting investigations into the therapeutic potential of psychedelics, a relatively recent recommencement of interest has sparked the...
As initially presented in the context philosophical theology, the title indicates a two-fold perspective. On one hand: That which is usually described as conversion is at heart an insight (with or around some religious content) - the outcome for the person having undergone such an experience puts the world in context while also putting concerns that affect the wellbeing of the world and of...
The recent renaissance in research on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is showing great promise for the treatment of many psychiatric conditions. Interestingly, therapeutic outcomes for patients undergoing these treatments are predicted by the occurrence of a mystical experience—an experience characterised in part by a sense of profound meaning. This has led to hypotheses that...
The main aim of the present study is to investigate when “loss of self” results in scaredness or anxiety during or after an out-of body-experience (OBE). An OBE is an intense form of (bodily) self loss in which people have the impression that their self is located outside their body. In a sample of respondents reporting to have had an OBE (n = 171), anxiety and different conceptualizations of...
This contribution identifies and exemplifies the specific resources of inspiration and motivation that educators who live the spirituality of unity can exploit for their commitments in the field of education; that is, to create pedagogical relational spaces in particular.
Mystical literature and spirituality from 16th-century Spain engage religious images from the three most prominent religions of al-Andalus—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism: among others, the dark night, the seven concentric castles, the gazelle, the bird, the sefirot‘s encircled iggulim or towering yosher, the sacred fountain, ruins, and gardens. Until the 20th-century, however, scholarship...
ABSTRACT In religious individuals, spontaneous mystical experiences (SMEs) tend to reinforce pre-existing beliefs and are associated with enhanced wellbeing, mediated by adaptive interpretive frameworks and accepting social environments. The meaning-making and outcomes of SMEs among atheists have not been investigated to date. Using a grounded theory approach, the present study found that the...
Background: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) were used in psychotherapy in the 1960s–1980s, and are currently being re-investigated as treatments for several psychiatric disorders. In Switzerland, limited medical use of these substances is possible in patients not responding to other treatments (compassionate use). Methods: This study aimed to...
Background: Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic with psychoactive effects mediated by serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) activation. It produces an acute psychedelic altered state of consciousness with a unique phenomenology that can be temporally characterized by three intensity phases: onset of psychoactive effect, a peak plateau and return to normal consciousness. Aims: We evaluated...