October 26, 2017
Henning Nörenberg
Abstract In this paper, I investigate the non-rational, affective dimension of religious experience that Rudolf Otto attempted to address with his notion of the numinous. I argue that this notion is best understood in terms of an atmospheric quality impacting on the subject’s feeling body. Therefore, I draw on discussions in phenomenology and pragmatism, despite the fact that Otto’s own...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
October 11, 2017
Roland R. Griffiths, Matthew W. Johnson, William A. Richards et al.
528 citations
Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences with participant-attributed increases in well-being. However, little research has examined enduring changes in traits. This study administered psilocybin to participants who undertook a program of meditation/spiritual practices. Healthy participants were randomized to three groups (25 each): (1) very low-dose (1 mg/70 kg on sessions 1 and 2)...
American Journal of Islam and Society
October 1, 2017
Jawad Anwar Qureshi
The Mystics of al-Andalus by Yousef Casewit, assistant professor of Qur’anicstudies at the University of Chicago Divinity School, tells the story of an overlookedmystical school of Andalusia, the Muʿtabirun (lit. “the contemplators”or “the practicers of iʿtibār”). The Muʿtabirun, as Casewit demonstrates, formulateda mystical teaching centered on contemplating God’s signs in creationand the...
Frontiers in Neuroscience
September 28, 2017
Michael Winkelman
105 citations
Neuropharmacological effects of psychedelics have profound cognitive, emotional, and social effects that inspired the development of cultures and religions worldwide. Findings that psychedelics objectively and reliably produce mystical experiences press the question of the neuropharmacological mechanisms by which these highly significant experiences are produced by exogenous neurotransmitter...
September 25, 2017
P. Sicard
The authors trace the history of the abbey, but focuses on the canons’ life and ministry, theology, biblical exegesis during the twelfth century, concluding with an examination of reception of Victorine scholarship in the later Middle Ages.
Psychopharmacology
September 16, 2017
Yasmin Schmid, Matthias E. Liechti
234 citations
RATIONALE: Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other serotonergic hallucinogens can induce profound alterations of consciousness and mystical-type experiences, with reportedly long-lasting effects on subjective well-being and personality. METHODS: We investigated the lasting effects of a single dose of LSD (200 μg) that was administered in a laboratory setting in 16 healthy participants. The...
Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction
September 14, 2017
Susan Blackmore
18 citations
‘Altered states of consciousness’ discusses the states of consciousness during sleep, dreaming, hallucinations, out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, meditation, and after taking psychoactive drugs. Psychologist Charles Tart defines an altered state of consciousness (ASC) as ‘a qualitative alteration in the overall pattern of mental functioning, such that the experiencer feels his...
Military Medical Science Letters
September 8, 2017
J. Patočka, Barbora Kočandrlová
14 citations
Amanita muscaria, the red fly agaric, is the most famous of all Amanita. The initial history of this fascinating mushroom dates back to at least the 13th century. The use of mushrooms began in antiquity and is associated with mysticism. The collection and consumption of mushrooms and other plants containing psychoactive substances is now very popular, especially among young people who are...
September 7, 2017
Veronica M. F. Adamson
1 citation
This chapter focuses on three themes: a life limited by illness, aesthetic experience and the return enhanced. The tension of Jane&s;s dying has been resolved as the rhythmic patterns of the lifeworld have been understood through the process of reflecting on the experience. A more recent sociological interpretation of Kant suggests that the aesthetic experience of cultural objects is...
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies
September 1, 2017
Christina Grof, Stanislav Grof
65 citations
The Concept of Spiritual Emergency T here exists increasing evidence that many individuals experiencing episodes of nonordinary states of consciousness accompanied by various emotional, perceptual, and psychosomatic manifestations are undergoing an evolutionary crisis rather than suffering from a mental disease (Grof, 1985).The recognition of this fact has important practical and theoretical...