The Bardo Thodol (bar do thos grol), commonly known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, has traditionally served as a spiritual manual guiding consciousness through the postmortem bardo (bar do) states toward liberation or rebirth. While prior interpretations have framed the text in ritualistic, psychological, or mystical terms, this essay proposes an original and interdisciplinary...
The educational philosophy of the Nuns’ Buddhist Academy at Pushou Monastery, Mount Wutai, is based on the principles of “Hua Yan as the foundation, precepts as the practice, and Pure Land as the destination.” This philosophy draws upon Buddhist scriptures, integrating descriptions of the Pure Land practice found in the Avatamsaka Sūtra and the Amitābha Sūtra. This approach translates the...
This research explored whether anomalous ‘dimensional-slip’ experiences—reported by an allegedly haunted woman named “Nell”—would systematically map to distinctive features of various transcendental spaces discussed in spiritual and psychological traditions. A two-part content analysis using ChatGPT-4o compared the phenomenology of Nell’s written accounts (n = 4) to an inventory of 32 classic...
Self-realization, the process of understanding oneself, has been a popular subject in philosophy, psychology, and spiritual traditions. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho (1998), is the literary embodiment of this very idea as the book follows the personal odyssey of its hero and his pursuit of self-realisation and happiness. This paper explores how the novel embodies the philosophy of self or...
This study provides a comprehensive critical analysis of Brother Gilbert (Athol) Bloomer's 2013 theological corpus, examining his ambitious attempt to synthesize Jewish mystical traditions with Catholic sacramental theology through what he terms "heretical kabbalah."Drawing on contemporary scholarship in Jewish mysticism, religious studies methodology, postcolonial criticism, and interfaith...
Abstract: McGinn’s Modern Mystics serves as a coda to his multivolume history, The Presence of God , but also stands as an introduction of sorts. It situates that historical project among the mystical authors of the twentieth century, but more importantly it begins to address the deeper connection between history and theology manifested in McGinn’s scholarship. To see this, one can attend to...
Along with the cultural interest in spirituality and mysticism in their various dimensions and meanings, which has been growing unabated for decades, there is a need for in-depth philosophical and theological reflection on the commonly referred to as mystical experience – an experiential dimension of religious life. In search of a theoretical elaboration of the phenomenon of human mystical...
<p><strong>Psilocybin, the psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms, has gained increasing attention for its potential therapeutic applications in mental health treatment. While clinical research highlights its efficacy in alleviating mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorders, much remains to be known about the role of acute doses of psilocybin...
ABSTRACT The interplay between psychedelic use, mental health, and spiritual, religious, or ‘mystical’ experiences continues to be investigated through clinical research. While many studies focus on general mechanisms underlying these compounds, analysis of real‐life accounts from individuals is underrepresented. To fill that gap, this ethnographic study explores the question of how members of...
How can you reach the sky? For Salvador Dalí, just turn on your TV. That is, the Liquid and Gaseous Television: one of his inventions (1975) turning TV into a vehicle for cosmic voyages that allow man to communicate with the universe. Perhaps even with God. This device needs no wires. In it, communicative and transcendental horizons converge, updating the surrealist techniques of activating the...