Psychedelic substances like ayahuasca, psilocybin, and LSD have been used for thousands of years in spiritual ceremonies, with users often reporting transcendent and life-altering experiences. Chapter 8 traces the arc of psychedelic use from ancient rituals and colonization to the countercultural revolution and modern neuroscience labs. The chapter blends cultural history with...
This paper explores the mystical unconscious as a dimension of psychoanalysis that moves beyond psychoanalysis's emphasis on repression and interpretation. Drawing from psychoanalytic insights, mystical traditions, and personal clinical encounters with states of spirit possession, the author argues for a psychoanalytic stance of witnessing. Through concepts such as the mystical vertex, internal...
Esotericism often refers to exclusive knowledge that only a few people possess. This field can encompass several disciplines, such as astrology, magic, and other forms of knowledge. Some social scientists stress that it is a rejected form of knowledge. The main objective of this research was to describe the esoteric traditions in one Minangkabau village community. It intends to show that there...
Abstract The acute effects of psychedelic medicines include shifts in perception and awareness that can often include mystical or spiritual elements. Research suggests that these experiences can also extend into more persisting changes in spirituality, yet this area is underexplored. This study examined the effects of psychedelic experiences on spiritual beliefs using a survey of N = 151 people...
This project explores the religious philosophy, pedagogical practices and story of Mahmoud Malamatian, an Iranian-American Sufi teacher who practices in present-day Oakland, California. I have known Mahmoud, his wife Rozaneh and their family for eight years. To honour my proximity to the 'subject,' I employed a Lived Religion theoretical framework and gathered data using the qualitative...
A mystical experience typically includes feelings of unity and heightened connection, an enhanced positive mood, the sensation of transcending time and space, and ineffability. They are understood as both common, significantly impactful for individuals who have them and can occur under several circumstances. The rise of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has seen an increased understanding of...
Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree (1964) has long been read as a simple parable of unconditional giving and human desire. This comprehensive analysis proposes a far deeper reading: the tree as an embodiment of the Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of divine immanence in Kabbalistic theology, whose boundless generosity mirrors the mystical dynamics between God and creation. By juxtaposing this...
(1848) - has historically been relegated to the margins as mystical or unscientific. However, a contemporary re-examination reveals that Fechner's arguments were deeply rooted in empirical observation and inductive reasoning, anticipating current discourse on plant intelligence, learning, and communication. Regarding plant awareness, for instance, Fechner posits that their intimate physical...
This article analyzes a mystical-themed painting produced in eighteenth-century Puebla by considering the possibility of characterizing its context of production as an esoteric field. The theoretical framework is grounded in the criteria of Western esotericism proposed by Antoine Faivre, in dialogue with William James’s notion of mystical experience and with Victor Stoichita’s studies on...
This study aims to describe and analyze the construction of holistic health in Sufi dance, which is considered a human effort to preserve the soul. Holistic health, in anthropology, is a social phenomenon associated with the terminology of illness. Anthropology observes various practices related to how society responds to illness and how to overcome it. Sufi dance is known as a model of healing...