This paper proposes to study mystical experience by contrasting it with “ordinary” experience, i.e., standard consciousness. It emphasises the construed nature of consciousness and role that mutual connectedness mental contents plays in its construction. then shows removal factors are responsible for “making” accounts principal features experience; these are, therefore, mainly negative. Underst...

Mystical experiences relate to a fundamental dimension of human existence. These experiences, which are characterized by a sense of union with God, are commonly reported across all cultures. To date, no electroencephalography (EEG) study has been conducted to identify the neuroelectrical correlates of such experiences. The main objective of this study was to measure EEG spectral power and coher...

A large body of historical evidence describes the use of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psilocybin mushrooms, for religious purposes. But few scientific studies have attempted to measure or characterize hallucinogen-occasioned spiritual experiences. The present study examined the factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), a self-report measure that has been used to asse...

A book called the Zohar emerged during the Middle Ages, giving rise to a Jewish form of mystical speculation known as the "Cabala" and creating strong interest in the system's mystical teachings in both Jewish and Christian circles. During the Renaissance, Pico, Reuchlin, and Ricci led in applying the Zohar's mystical teachings to the OT in defense of Christian doctrines such at that of the Tri...

JCB • VOLUME 214 • NUMBER 2 • 2016 122 Growing up in the Boston area, Cliff Brangwynne was a kid with distinct interests. He recalls performing one of his fi rst experiments after watching a TV program on quantum mechanics: spending an afternoon bouncing a tennis ball off a wall in an attempt to observe quantum tunneling. Through high school, he read pop-science books about the weirdness of the...

abu al-thana' shihab al-din mahmoud alusi baghdadiwas one of the quranic commentators of the 13th century, a follower of naghshbandiyyahsufi order, and the author of the quranic commentary, ruh al-ma'ani.  one of the importantaspects of his commentary is the approach of the author to the tradition of themystical commentary. alusi had the mystical tendencies, and in some placesreflecte...

Tabloid journalists and writers of mystical self-help works will be happy to know there is an area of physics that holds a vague resemblance to voodoo. It involves one of the weirdest of quantum-mechanical paradoxes, in which two particles can be created simultaneously with their internal quantum states--their spin, for instance, or polarization--irrevocably "entangled." Quantum mechanics dicta...