New Writing
April 9, 2019
Tehseen Noorani
3 citations
ABSTRACT Science has caught wind of mysticism once again. Operationalising metrics from the writings of perennial philosophers, psychopharmacologists are using psychedelics in a laboratory context to reliably induce ‘mystical experiences’. These experiences are scored along such dimensions as unity, noesis, transcendence of space–time and ineffability. How are we to read this moment? I draw on...
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
April 1, 2019
Alejandro Parra
There are relatively few studies examining the parental style, childhood trauma, and paranormal experiences/beliefs; therefore, the aim of this study is to measure the dominant parental style of those who have experienced paranormal events and their correlation with negative events in childhood and resilience. Four questionnaires were administered to 644 participants. The results showed high...
Global Political Review
March 30, 2019
Muhammad Imran, Adil Khan
This paper aims at juxtaposing the Buddhist notion of enlightenment with the Jungian concept of individuation. It attempts to explore how the dissolving of ego and approaching the subliminal consciousness in the path of self-realization stand parallel to Jung's idea of dismantling one's persona and connecting with the self, respectively. Siddhartha's journey towards enlightenment offers a...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
March 15, 2019
Lisa Jerome, Brad Burge, Richard Doblin et al.
87 citations
Psychedelic plants and fungi have been used in indigenous medicinal traditions for millennia. Modern psychedelic research began when Albert Hofmann first synthesized lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) in 1938. Five years later, became the first person to ingest LSD. Hofmann was unaware of the significance of his actions, and the effects they would set in motion. After a burgeoning period of...
Frontiers in Psychology
February 22, 2019
Caroline di Bernardi Luft, Никита Дрозд, Michael J. Banissy et al.
22 citations
Experienced meditators often report spontaneous visual imagery during deep meditation in the form of lights or other types of visual images. These experiences are usually interpreted as an "encounters with light" and gain mystical meaning. Contrary to the well-studied intentional and controlled visual imagery, spontaneous imagery is poorly understood, yet it plays an important role in...
PLoS One
February 6, 2019
Vince Polito, Richard J. Stevenson
The phenomenon of ‘microdosing’, that is, regular ingestion of very small quantities of psychedelic substances, has seen a rapid explosion of popularity in recent years. Individuals who microdose report minimal acute effects from these substances yet claim a range of long-term general health and wellbeing benefits. There have been no published empirical studies of microdosing and the current...
Religions
January 29, 2019
Guy L. Beck
While music plays a significant role in many of the world’s religions, it is in the Hindu religion that one finds one of the closest bonds between music and religious experience extending for millennia. The recitation of the syllable OM and the chanting of Sanskrit Mantras and hymns from the Vedas formed the core of ancient fire sacrifices. The Upanishads articulated OM as Śabda-Brahman, the...
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis
January 16, 2019
Göran Ogén
The purpose of this essay is to shed some light on the phenomenon of religious ecstasy as met within Islamic mysticism and there particularly during its classical period. In this case, the expression "classical Sufism" refers to the period of Sufi history from about 850 A.D. until circa 1100 A.D. In the Sufi vocabulary there is even a rather differentiated terminology concerning these ecstatic...
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis
January 16, 2019
Tore Ahlbäck
Editorial note of the Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol. 20, based on papers read at the symposium 'Western Esotericism', held at Åbo, Finland, on 15-17 August 2007.
Studia Krytyczne/Critical Studies
January 9, 2019
Bogusław Olszewski
Zaburzenia psychiczne stają się plagą współczesnych społeczeństw postindustrialnych, poddanych oddziaływaniu szybko ewoluującego otoczenia cywilizacyjnego. W połowieubiegłego wieku odkrycie potencjału LSD i psylocybiny znalazło zastosowanie na gruncie psychologii, a wśród prekursorów jego wykorzystania w psychoterapii był pracownik Uniwersytetu Harvarda, twórca interpersonalnej teorii...