ArticlePDF Available

EXPLORING AWAKENING EXPERIENCES: A STUDY OF AWAKENING EXPERIENCES IN TERMS OF THEIR TRIGGERS, CHARACTERISTICS, DURATION AND AFTER-EFFECTS

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

Awakening experiences are temporary experiences of an intensification and expansion of awareness, with characteristics such as intensified perception, a sense of connection and well-being. Ninety awakening experiences were collected and thematically analysed to identify their triggers and characteristics, and also their duration and after-effects. Four main triggers of awakening experiences were found: psychological turmoil, contact with nature, spiritual practice and engagement with spiritual literature (or audio or video materials). Characteristics were found to be positive affective states, intensified perception, love and compassion, a transcendence of separateness, a sense of revelation and inner quietness. The duration of the majority of experiences was from a few minutes to a few hours. The most prevalent after-effects were a desire to recapture the experience and a shift in perspectives and values. The study confirms the importance of psychological turmoil in generating awakening experiences, and that most awakening experiences occur spontaneously, outside the context of spiritual practices and traditions. Introductory Discussion The term awakening experience refers to a temporary expansion and intensification of awareness, in which our state of being, our vision of the world and our relationship to it are transformed, bringing a sense of clarity, revelation and well-being. We perceive a sense of harmony and meaning, and transcend our normal sense of separateness from the world, experiencing a sense of connection and even unity (Taylor, 2010, 2012b). The term awakening experience is preferred to the similar term spiritual experience partly because it emphasises research findings that such experiences most frequently occur outside the context of spiritual traditions, and without being induced by spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer (Taylor 2012b). In addition, the term awakening experience depicts the expansive nature of these experiences, the sense that one is transcending the limitations of our normal state and gaining a more intense awareness (i.e., an awakening). Another reason why the term is preferred over spiritual experience is the wide range of interpretations of the term ''spiritual.'' As reported in Taylor (2012b), the original study initially requested reports of spiritual experiences, but some individuals offered reports of psychic experiences (for example, visions of recently deceased relatives) or experiences of an overtly religious nature (for example, a vision of 45
Content may be subject to copyright.
EXPLORING AWAKENING EXPERIENCES: A STUDY OF
AWAKENING EXPERIENCES IN TERMS OF THEIR
TRIGGERS, CHARACTERISTICS, DURATION AND AFTER-
EFFECTS
Steve Taylor, Ph.D.
Leeds, United Kingdom
Krisztina Egeto-Szabo
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT: Awakening experiences are temporary experiences of an intensification and
expansion of awareness, with characteristics such as intensified perception, a sense of connection
and well-being. Ninety awakening experiences were collected and thematically analysed to
identify their triggers and characteristics, and also their duration and after-effects. Four main
triggers of awakening experiences were found: psychological turmoil, contact with nature,
spiritual practice and engagement with spiritual literature (or audio or video materials).
Characteristics were found to be positive affective states, intensified perception, love and
compassion, a transcendence of separateness, a sense of revelation and inner quietness. The
duration of the majority of experiences was from a few minutes to a few hours. The most prevalent
after-effects were a desire to recapture the experience and a shift in perspectives and values. The
study confirms the importance of psychological turmoil in generating awakening experiences, and
that most awakening experiences occur spontaneously, outside the context of spiritual practices
and traditions.
Introductory Discussion
The term awakening experience refers to a temporary expansion and intensification
of awareness, in which our state of being, our vision of the world and our
relationship to it are transformed, bringing a sense of clarity, revelation and well-
being. We perceive a sense of harmony and meaning, and transcend our normal
sense of separateness from the world, experiencing a sense of connection and even
unity (Taylor, 2010, 2012b). The term awakening experience is preferred to the
similar term spiritual experience partly because it emphasises research findings that
such experiences most frequently occur outside the context of spiritual traditions,
and without being induced by spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer
(Taylor 2012b). In addition, the term awakening experience depicts the expansive
nature of these experiences, the sense that one is transcending the limitations of our
normal state and gaining a more intense awareness (i.e., an awakening). Another
reason why the term is preferred over spiritual experience is the wide range of
interpretations of the term ‘‘spiritual.’’ As reported in Taylor (2012b), the original
study initially requested reports of spiritual experiences, but some individuals
offered reports of psychic experiences (for example, visions of recently deceased
relatives) or experiences of an overtly religious nature (for example, a vision of
45
The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
essytaylor@yahoo.com.
Copyright Ó2017 Transpersonal Institute
Jesus). These are significant experiences, but not the type the original study
intended to investigate. The term awakening experience has a more specific
meaning. (See Taylor [2012b] for a fuller discussion of why the term awakening
experience is preferred to other terms such as mystical experience and peak
experience.)
This article is partly intended as a follow-up to a previous study (Taylor, 2012b) in
which 161 awakening experiences were analysed. This previous study was
primarily focused on the triggers of awakening experiences. Findings indicated that
the most significant triggers were psychological turmoil (23.6%), nature (18%),
meditation (13%) and watching or listening to an arts performance (13%) (Taylor,
2012b). Less significant triggers were found to be homeostasis disruption (i.e.
physiological changes due to ingesting psychoactive substances, sleep deprivation
or fasting), participating in a creative performance and athletic activity. Around 7%
of the experiences had no discernible trigger. In this way, the research found that
most awakening experiences were accidental or spontaneous, rather than
consciously induced by spiritual practice. In fact, the study found that almost
78% of the awakening experiences occurred outside the context of spiritual
practices, in a spontaneous fashion (Taylor, 2012b).
Previous studies have shown a similar association between such experiences and a
variety of secular triggers or contexts such as sport and exercise (e.g., Murphy &
White, 1995; Parry, Nesti, Robinson, & Watson, 2007), sex (e.g., Wade, 2000,
2004), music (Boyce-Tillman, 2006; Sinnamon, Moran, & O’Connell, 2012),
contact with nature (Sharpley & Jepson, 2011; Terhaar, 2009) and wild animals
(DeMares & Krycka, 1998). Collections of experiences by Hardy (1979), Laski
(1961), Johnson (1960) and Hoffman (1992) provide many examples of awakening
experiences induced or triggered by natural surroundings, art, music and general
relaxation. Maslow (1970) suggested that peak experiences are most often
associated and achieved through sex, music, and nature.
Part of the purpose of the presently reported study was to conduct an analysis of a
further sample of awakening experiences, to see if the findings of the original study
were reliable. A further purpose was to analyse the experiences in a more
systematic and detailed way, from a range of perspectives not covered by the
original study. These included the characteristics of the experiences, their duration
and after-effects.
The Characteristics of Awakening Experiences
In the study of mystical/spiritual experiences, there is agreement amongst scholars
on many of their primary characteristics. James (1902/1985) suggested four main
characteristics: ineffability, a noetic quality (that is, revelation or illumination),
transiency, and passivity (that is, although they may be facilitated by certain
practices or activities, there is a sense in which they are involuntary and cannot be
controlled). Stace (1960) added five other characteristics to these: unity,
transcendence of time, deeply felt positive mood, sense of sacredness,
paradoxicality, and persisting positive changes (that is, although they are transient,
46 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
the experiences generate long lasting effects in attitude and behaviour). Hood’s
mysticism scale identifies similar characteristics in more detail, including
absorption ‘‘in something greater than myself,’’ a feeling ‘‘as if all things were
alive,’’ a revelation of ultimate reality, and an experience in which ‘‘time, place, and
distance were meaningless’’ (Hood, 1975, pp. 31-32). Stringer and McAvoy (1992)
point out that spiritual experiences include both cognitive and affective aspects.
The cognitive aspects include ‘‘active contemplation,’’ while the affective include
tranquillity, joy, love, hope, awe, reverence and inspiration. Previous research has
also suggested that such experiences are usually of short duration, typically lasting
from a few moments to a few hours, although traces may remain for a longer period
(Marshall, 2005). In Greeley’s (1974) research, only 21% of mystical experiences
were reported to last for more than a day, while 37% lasted a few minutes or less,
and 19% lasted between ten minutes to half an hour.
In the original study (Taylor, 2012b) it was suggested that it is possible to think in
terms of different intensities of awakening experiences, with different character-
istics that emerge at different intensities. A low intensity awakening experience
may feature a sense of heightened awareness, that one’s surroundings have become
more real, with qualities of ‘‘is-ness’’ and ‘‘alive-ness.’’ Underhill refers to this as ‘‘a
clarity of vision, a heightening of physical perception’’ (in Deikman, 1980, p. 249).
While James (1902/1985) describes how, in mystical experiences, ‘‘An appearance
of newness beautifies every object’’ (p. 248). James (1902/1985) illustrates this with
a report from an evangelist named Billy Bray, describing his conversion
experience: ‘‘Everything looked new to me, the people, the fields, the cattle, the
trees. I was like a new man in a new world’’ (p. 249).
A medium intensity awakening experience may include a powerful sense that all
things are pervaded with – or manifestations of – a benevolent and radiant ‘spirit-
force,’ so that they are all essentially one. The individual may feel part of this
oneness, realizing that he or she is not a separate and isolated ego. He or she may
feel a strong sense of compassion and love for others, recognising that other
individuals are part of the same spiritual ground as them (Hardy, 1979; James,
1902/1985/, 2010; Underhill, 1911/1960). Deikman (2000) found that this profound
sense of spiritual connection is often experienced by individuals who provide care
and service for others, such as voluntary workers, community or charity workers,
counsellors or teachers. As one counsellor described his experience of working
with a particular client:
There was a blending of souls. It was a like a third dimension of communication,
on a different plane altogether. We didn’t need to speak to each other because
we knew what each other was thinking. There was an intense vibrancy. It was
electrifying. (Deikman, 2000, p. 88)
In a high intensity awakening experience, the whole material world may dissolve
away into an ocean of blissful radiant spirit-force, which the individual feels is the
essence of both the universe and their own being; he or she may feel that they are
the universe (James, 1902/ 1985; Hardy, 1979; Taylor, 2010). This may be seen as
similar to the state of nirvikalpa samadhi, which Yoga philosophy suggests is the
highest possible form of consciousness. Here consciousness expands beyond the
47Exploring Awakening Experiences
boundaries of the normal self and the awareness of being an ‘I’ completely falls
away. The individual does not merely become one with the absolute reality, but
actually becomes it (Feuerstein, 1990). In the Neo-Platonic tradition, the concept of
henosis has a similar meaning. In the Christian tradition, Meister Eckhart (1996)
spoke of union with what he referred to as ‘the Godhead,’ the unconditioned source
from which the whole world – including God himself – flows out. Similarly, other
Christian mystics refer to the process of deification or theosis, whereby the
individual becomes ‘deified’ and attains a state of oneness with God (Underhill,
1911/1960).
Previous research has suggested a negative correlation between the intensity and
the frequency of such experiences. In other words, while low intensity awakening
experiences appear to be fairly common, high intensity experiences occur
infrequently (Taylor, 2010, 2012). A survey of mystical experiences by Hay &
Heald (1987) found a similar pattern, with 21% of respondents reporting an
experience of ‘‘a sacred presence in nature’’ and only 5% reporting an awareness
that ‘‘all things are one’’ (p.22).
Part of the purpose of the presently reported study was to systematically analyse the
characteristics of the 90 experiences, to see if they correspond to the above
research.
The After-Effects of Awakening Experiences (The Secondary Shift)
As Stace (1960) noted in relation to mystical experiences, although they are
temporary, awakening experiences often have significant after-effects. These can be
described in terms of a secondary shift (Taylor, 2013a). According to this
terminology, a primary shift is a fully-fledged spiritual or personal transformation,
similar to the ‘‘awakening’’,‘‘liberation’’ or ‘‘enlightenment’’ described by various
spiritual traditions. At the same time, this shift often happens outside the context of
spiritual traditions, most frequently to individuals who are in the midst of intense
psychological turmoil (Miller & C’de Baca, 2001; Taylor, 2011, 2012a, 2013b). In
this shift, the individual feels as if she gains a new sense of identity, as if she is re-
born, even to the extent that the only real connection with her previous identity is
that she is associated with the same body and name (Miller & C’de Baca, 2001;
Taylor, 2011, 2012a, 2013b, 2017). This shift is therefore deep-rooted and
fundamental. The secondary shift is less deep-rooted and fundamental – not a fully-
fledged transformation of identity, but a shift in perspective and values. The
transformation may lead to significant cognitive and affective changes, with
different values (e.g., less materialistic, more altruistic), different beliefs (e.g.,
belief in life after death) and a different attitude (e.g., more optimistic, more
trusting). Maslow (1994) highlighted such after-effects in relation to peak
experiences, writing that, ‘‘My feeling is that if it [the peak experience] were
never to happen again, the power of the experience would permanently affect the
attitude toward life. A single glimpse of heaven is enough to confirm its existence’’
(p.75). In turn, such changes in attitude may lead to significant lifestyle changes,
such as new interests, new relationships and a new career. However, the shift is still
secondary in the sense that the individual feels that his previous self-system and
48 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
previous sense of identity remain intact. Since the individual’s ego-boundaries
remain essentially intact, he does not experience the intense connection or oneness
or the intensified perception of the phenomenal world that awakening experiences
frequently feature (Taylor, 2005; 2009; 2010; 2012b). These individuals experience
themselves as the same continuous ego-self as before, although they may possess a
different cognitive map of reality.
Such a secondary shift has been frequently reported following psychedelic
experiences. It has been well attested that psychedelic experiences can cause a
long-lasting shift in perspective, creating new concepts of reality and an openness
to anomalous or spiritual concepts (Conway, 1989; Griffiths, Richards, McCann, &
Jesse, 2006; McKenna, 2004; Strassman, 2001). As Huxley (1954/1971) famously
wrote of psychedelic awakening experiences in The Doors of Perception,‘‘The man
who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the
man who went out’’ (p. 24). (In Taylor [2013a] it is suggested that this is the main
benefit of psychedelics: although they cannot generate a primary shift – since they
simply involve a dissolution of the normal self-system without the emergence of a
new self-system to replace it – they can facilitate a secondary shift.)
Temporary awakening experiences can also be viewed from this perspective, as a
temporary dissolution of our normal self-system, and the temporary ‘installation’ of
a different, higher-functioning self-system, which does not become established.
Although temporarily disabled, it is as if the individual’s normal self-system is still
intact as a structure, and so re-establishes itself. It is tempting to describe the
normal self-system as a kind of psychic ‘mould’ that exists as a potential even when
the system itself temporarily dissolves, so that it is able to re-form. In temporary
awakening experiences, the structure is only in abeyance, with the mould still
intact. But when permanent transformation occurs – in the form of a primary shift
not only the structure, but the psychic mold itself dissolves away. It is replaced by a
new psychological structure, or self-system, so that the individual does experience
a new sense of identity.
However, awakening experiences in general – not just psychedelic awakening
experiences – have been found to frequently cause a secondary shift. Although these
were not systematically studied in previous research on awakening experiences
(Taylor, 2010, 2011, 2012a, 2012b, 2013b), such a shift in values and perspectives
was evident from some of the reports. Some participants reported that their
experiences had brought a new sense of optimism, trust, comfort or confidence
(Taylor, 2012b). In a study of transformational experiences brought on by intense
psychological turmoil, one participant described an awakening experience during
which she ‘‘felt the most intense love and peace and knew that all was well’’ (Taylor,
2011, p. 4). The experience reportedly only lasted for a few minutes, but in its
aftermath the person found that the feeling of dread had disappeared from her
stomach, and felt able to cope again: ‘‘I looked around and thought about all the good
things in my life and the future. I felt more positive and resilient’’ (p. 4).
For some, the memory of the awakening experience – and the knowledge that this
dimension of meaning and harmony existed – had a comforting and reassuring
effect. One person reported that her awakening experience, ‘‘only lasted a few
49Exploring Awakening Experiences
minutes but I remember a sense of calmness and stillness and it soothes me now’’
(Taylor, 2010, p. 10). Others reported a desire to recapture the experience, and
developed an interest in spiritual traditions and practices in an attempt to do this.
One woman described how ‘‘I have spent the last 25 years since exploring what it
meant and how I could perhaps go back there’’ (Taylor, 2011, p. 8). Another person
reported how she had ‘‘spent my life searching for the feeling again because I know
it’s there’’ (Taylor, 2011, p. 7).
The presently reported study aimed to investigate such after-effects more
systematically.
Method
Ninety reports of awakening experiences were collected. Most of these were sent to
the primary author in response to a note on his website, which read:
Have you ever had an awakening experience - that is, a temporary expansion and
intensification of awareness? This could be an experience in which your
surroundings have become brighter and more real, when you’ve felt a sense of
connection to them and a deep sense of well-being inside. Or perhaps you have
felt a sense of harmony and meaning pervade the world, even a kind of ‘spirit-
force’ pervading all things, and a sense that all things are one, and you are part
of this one-ness.
The same question was used as a way of attracting participants through social
media (Facebook and Twitter). Others reports were sent spontaneously to the
author from readers of his previous writings on awakening experiences. In most
cases, one report was provided per individual. However, 13 participants provided
more than one report. In total, 68 participants contributed reports.
Reports varied in length between several sentences and several pages. In a small
number of cases, where the reports were deemed to provide insufficient detail,
participants were asked to provide further information, for example, ‘‘Could you
tell us more about the circumstances in which your experience occurred?’’ or
‘‘Could you tell us more about how the experience affected you, e.g., how it
changed your perception of things, or altered your sense of reality?’’
The 90 experiences were then analysed, initially to identify their triggers, or the
context in which they occurred. This was undertaken by two individuals
independently – the co-authors of this study – to provide greater validation. (Prior
to this, one of the researchers, Krisztina Egeto-Szabo, had very little familiarity
with the field of transpersonal psychology or with the main author’s previous work.
This was seen as a way of reducing possible bias.) Identification of the triggers was
only deemed valid if both individuals agreed. In the great majority of cases, triggers
were easy to identify, and agreement was easily reached. However, in some cases,
further discussion and clarification was required. In 24 cases, it was agreed that the
experiences had two triggers operating simultaneously. In six cases, no agreement
was reached – in which case the experiences were deemed to have ‘‘no discernible
50 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
trigger.’’ Following are three excerpts from the reports, which illustrate how – in
most cases –triggers were clearly evident (‘‘P’’ refers to participant number):
P 3: Many years ago, my daughter was in the process of committing slow suicide
with drugs and alcohol. I had tried everything I knew how to do to change her
behavior. I really felt it was within my power to save her, but I could never find
the right words or actions to be of the slightest effect.
One day I took a walk alone in a wooded area. I was crying and in such despair
walking along a small path. Then, suddenly, I felt a weight lift up from my
shoulders. I felt so light and at peace. The feeling was accompanied with a new
thought. The thought was this: you cannot live someone else’s life for them.
They have to live it themselves, and there is nothing you can do, so let them go.
From then on, I have been so much happier, knowing that I didn’t have to take
on the world’s burden on my own shoulders. Now I just help if I can, but leave
others to live their own lives. I can still picture myself on that quiet path among
the redwoods and the lifting of the heavy weight from my shoulders. I guess you
could call it grace. (Trigger: Psychological turmoil)
P 18: I guess my first and most clearly recalled ’extraordinary consciousness’
experience was around the age of ten. . .I was in the habit of going to some local
woodland and there conceal myself by laying down amongst the thick ferns.
Lying hidden and silent I would listen to the woodland, to the soft rustle of the
grass, and the creaking of trees in wind as the forest sang its strange song. The
most amazing part of the experience was just simply lying cocooned in all this
wonder and being completely at peace with my surroundings. (Trigger: Contact
with nature)
P 61: I had begun meditating at home. Just for the fun of it, I’d been practising
maintaining my concentration, all day and even when I was falling asleep – every
waking moment – a very contracted narrow focus for several days. Then one
night, just as I was about to get into bed, I thought, ‘‘Oh I’ll just let go of this and
go straight to sleep.’’ When I awoke the next morning I found my mind was
almost completely silent. I got up and thought well this won’t last, but it stayed
and I sat to meditate. My head totally clear and I was so awake. I thought, ’’I’m
really going to meditate today.’’ After about twenty minutes, I found myself
returning my focus to my body more and more powerfully. I drifted off, as you do
in meditation, when [I] awoke to my drifting I came back with such force that
there was a kind of ’flip’ and I found myself in total silence again, a stillness. The
furniture in the room, the walls, carpet, skirting board all seemed to be vibrating
with life. They seemed to share the same quality. Thoughts came occasionally and
just drifted over like clouds. I could look at them and see their quality. I remember
an angry thought appeared and I found it quite humorous. My body was breathing
all of its own, I was completely detached and yet at the same time intimate with
everything that arose. I also felt serene and a feeling of being at home. I could see
clearly that my normal awake state is in actual fact asleep! The difference between
normal consciousness and this clear way of being is that marked. Its exactly like
that. After a few hours the clear awake quality became covered and I longed for it
to ’return.’ (Trigger: Spiritual practice)
51Exploring Awakening Experiences
In addition to the cases where more than one trigger was identified, there were
several cases where a ‘‘predisposing factor’’ was identified, in addition to the overt
trigger(s). In most cases, this was a period of psychological turmoil, which acted as
a predisposing factor to an awakening experience triggered by spiritual practice,
spiritual literature or contact with nature. Here is an example of such an experience
(psychological turmoil as a predisposing factor, with contact with nature as an overt
trigger):
P 20: I was buried under too many of life’s demands and if you asked me how I
was, I might have said, ‘‘I feel like I am treading water, to keep my head above
it!’’ I did actually know I had so much to be grateful for, but I couldn’t break the
hypnotism/cloud of my stressful life story and enjoy the good. . .I walked down
to the beach planning to enjoy the sun and the sea. When I arrived, there was no
one else around, just rocks and white sand. And this amazing, clear, turquoise
water was rolling over black rocks and white sand in beautiful, continuous
waves, back and forth, back and forth. The only sound was the waves. I had
planned to lie down and relax in the sun, but I was awestruck. I couldn’t take my
eyes off of the water. I had never seen anything like this! I just kept saying, ‘‘Oh,
my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’’ I think I was there in this state for at least
an hour. I was filled with joy, then moved to tears, then back to joy... At one
point I was aware of a small shift inside of me, an awareness that I had found
something good and that there could be other experiences in life that could be
like this. I knew that a door had been opened, just a little and that now I could
have more of this in my life.
In three cases, reading spiritual literature was identified as a predisposing factor –
that is, an awakening experience occurred during a period when participants were
reading a good deal of spiritual literature, which appears to create an environment
conducive to an awakening experience.
Results
Table 1 shows the identified triggers of an awakening experience. In cases where it
was decided that there was more than one trigger of an experience, the triggers
were counted twice, so that the total number of occurrences is greater than the total
number of participants.
Table 1
Triggers of Awakening Experiences
Trigger/cause
Number of
occurrences
Psychological turmoil (e.g., stress, depression, loss, bereavement, combat) 37
Nature 23
Spiritual practice (e.g., meditation, prayer, yoga) 21
Spiritual literature 15
Love 5
Watching or listening to arts performance 3
Other (e.g., sex, athletic activity, homeostasis disruption, singing in choir, witnessing
altruism)
10
No discernable trigger 7
52 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
Table 2 classifies the experiences according to whether they occurred in a spiritual
or non-spiritual context – that is, whether they were triggered by spiritual practices
(such as meditation, yoga, prayer or reading spiritual literature) or accidentally by
ordinary activities in the midst of everyday life.
Table 3 shows the characteristics of the awakening experiences identified by
thematic analysis. In almost all cases, participants reported more than one
characteristic, so that – as with Table 1 – the number of reported instances of each
of the characteristics is greater than the total of participants.
Table 4 shows the duration of the experiences. Only 51 of the 90 participants
commented on this aspect of their experience.
Table 2
Awakening Experiences Happening in a Spiritual Versus Non-Spiritual Context
Context
Number of individuals
reporting (n ¼90)
Spiritual context (e.g., meditation, yoga, prayer, spiritual literature) 29 (32%)
Non-spiritual context (e.g., psychological turmoil, nature, relaxation, love) 58 (65%)
Unclear 3 (3%)
Total ¼90
Table 3
Characteristics of Awakening Experiences
Characteristic
Number of
individuals
reporting
Positive affective states (e.g., peace, joy, sense of harmony, lack of fear, appreciation) 41
Intensified perception (e.g., aliveness, brightness, energy, light) 37
Connection/oneness 29
Love/compassion 27
Different time perception / being in the present 21
Deeper general ‘knowing’ / awareness 18
Lack of mental thought chatter / commentary 12
Unusual and unexplained bodily sensations 6
Table 4
Duration of the Experiences
Duration Number of individuals reporting (N ¼51)
Minutes (from a few minutes to an hour) 16
Hours (from more than an hour to a day) 12
Days (from more than a day to a week) 8
Weeks (from more than a week to a month) 6
Months (from more than a week to a year) 7
Years (more than a year) 2
53Exploring Awakening Experiences
Intensity of the Experiences
Based on the description of the characteristics of different intensities of awakening
experiences given in the introductory discussion above, the majority of the
experiences could be roughly classified as low or medium intensity (or low to
medium) experiences. However, 11 experiences appeared to be high intensity
awakening experiences, similar to the states of absolute union described by spiritual
traditions (for example, nirvikalpa samadhi, henosis or theosis). These were
experiences in which time and space dissolved away, and participants described
losing their normal sense of identity and merging or becoming one with the
universe. Here are quotes from these participants illustrating the experience (‘‘P’’
refers to participant):
P 36: I was vast and merged with the universe. No longer could I perceive
myself as separate, I was in and of the universe, with time and space altered. I
knew I could be everywhere all at once. There was no concept of distance or past
and present. . . The sense of peace, blissful and oneness is hard to put into words.
P 4: Everything just melted. I looked at the tarry telegraph pole outside of my
friend’s house four doors up. It was just pulsating with life and energy; the road
surface was the same. I looked to myself, I was made up of the same pulsating
energy. Time just melted as well.
P 24: With casualties mounting, I was in a state of high anxiety and I figured that
there was no way I would live through this seemingly endless battle. At one
point after carrying yet another severely wounded Marine to a waiting chopper
something happened to me. It is actually indescribable but I will make a feeble
attempt to do so. I opened up, literally, from my perspective. I came out of
myself. I expanded infinitely. I disappeared. It didn’t last long but it was the
most powerful experience I’ve ever had.
P 40: The feeling extended to inanimate objects; the path, lampposts, buildings,
cars, sounds of music; everything was made of the same stuff and the only word
I could find to describe it was love. Everything was made of love. I felt
immersed in a sea of love where everyone and everything were made of this
same ’energy’; I was no longer a separate ’ego’ but was consumed by this
energy of love. Everything became One and I was outside of time.
After-Effects
A thematic analysis was also undertaken to examine the after-effects of the
experiences. The results were too varied to present in the form of tables. Instead we
will present these results in qualitative form.
In total, 51 participants (not the same 51 who described the duration of their
experiences) described the after-effects of their awakening experiences. Thirty-one
participants expressed a desire to recover their experience after it faded, although
none were able to do so. However, many participants experienced positive effects
54 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
of the awakening experience years, or even decades, later. Eleven participants
reported some negative effects as well as positive ones.
Here the main themes of our analysis of the reported after-effects of the experiences
(including aspects of the secondary shift) will be highlighted, with examples:
Fading of the Experience and Desire to Recapture It.
P 9: I remember standing there for about five minutes afterwards thinking about
how I could get back, or what to do the next time it happens. I never got back
and haven’t since had such a high intensity experience.
P 10: Gradually, my thoughts and my normal state of consciousness returned.
All in all the experience lasted for about an hour, but rather than feeling
saddened by its departure, I was eternally grateful for the experience. I had had
my first taste of Heaven, and I was desperate to find my way back there.
P 29: Unfortunately, it didn’t stick or have a long term transformational power.
. . . This state of being stayed for a little more than six weeks, then all of a
sudden, like it came it went again. For the next days it went back and forth but
eventually the old psychological structures came back.
P 34: This lasted for about a month and then slowly it all disappeared and I
become sad and perplexed. It never occurred again at that intensity. I am now 69
years old and have been following a spiritual discipline for many years. . . . I
continue with my studies and it has been 40 years since that time.
P 42: One day I could actually feel it slipping away (almost like a dental
anaesthetic wearing off!) but couldn’t hold on to it. I noticed the petty thoughts
which were part of life before, gradually creeping back and life on this ’higher
plane’ disappeared. I read and watch videos daily in the hope I can somehow
find a return to this state.
P 59: It was a fleeting experience which I tried to recapture but the memory at
least stayed with me. Since then I have had other occasional glimpses and
periods of stillness and peace but none stand out as much as these early
awakening moments.
P 61: After a few hours, the clear awake quality became covered and I longed for
it to return.
A Long-Lasting Change of Perspective and Values.
P 9: To know that it’s there (or here, I should say) is a great liberation.
P 20: I knew that a door had been opened, just a little and that now I could have
more of this in my life.
P 28: I slowly returned to a less awakened state despite great efforts of reading
and meditating, it has however changed my life and opened my eyes to many
new ways.
55Exploring Awakening Experiences
P 44: However, when I started to think about what was happening, the bubble
burst, so to speak, and everything was back to normal. In all about 50-plus years
of playing, I’ve only had this experience twice, but one was stronger. So, as a
result, this changed my perspective on life in that I now believe in a higher
power and spirituality.
P 47: The blissful feeling has faded away again and comes back from time to
time, but somehow it was a leap for my future/ongoing spiritual journey.
P 52: Then, my dear companion, Fear, came back into the room, worried about
how long this amazing clarity and openness would last, instantly creating a gap
for thoughts to slowly come creeping back into the old me. . . . Even though that
whole experience was brief, it left a little piece of knowing and hope. While I
still was and am on a journey of self-reflection, it left me knowing that your
inner Truth is always there for you.
P 55: That moment allowed me a glance into the other side and opened me to the
knowing that I am never separate, alone, nor unheld. That was my first
awakening.
P 60: I wish I could say it lasted but it did not. Once I got to my departure gate
for the boarding before the flight, it had begun to ‘‘wear off.’’ But I haven’t
forgotten it and I never will.
Negative After-Effects.
P 23: I am now back to my daily routine and the thoughts seem to be magnified.
I am constantly thinking and worrying and wonder why this now seems to be so.
P 26: The feeling of frustration was overwhelming.
P 29: Unfortunately, it didn’t stick or have a long term transformational power.
. . . This state of being stayed for a little more than six weeks, then all of a
sudden, like it came it went again. For the next days it went back and forth but
eventually the old psychological structures came back. . . . My current situation
(13 years later) is that I feel completely depressed, dead and absent.
P 45: My ego has seemed to come back and I feel myself being buckled down by
the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I am still at peace, but I feel I am not at
that same level of Nirvana as I was in my first meditation sittings.
P 66: I said to myself, ‘‘I need to get back there! This is not the truth!’’ I saw the
truth for 5 days. . . Now it’s one month later and I’m still in my mind all the
time. . .The truth is that I’m kind of depressed cause I don’t know what to do.
Discussion
These findings broadly confirmed previous studies of awakening experiences or
spiritual/mystical experiences. In terms of the triggers of awakening experiences,
56 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
the results were similar to those of Taylor (2012b). They re-affirmed the importance
of psychological turmoil (e.g., stress, depression, illness, bereavement) as a trigger
of awakening experiences. This was the most frequent trigger of the experiences,
followed by contact with nature and spiritual practice. These second and third most
frequent triggers were the same as those in Taylor (2012b). (A possible variation
here would be for reading spiritual literature to be included in the category of
spiritual practice, in which case the latter would be almost as significant a trigger as
psychological turmoil.)
However, there was some slight variation in other triggers. In Taylor (2012b), the
trigger of witnessing a creative or arts performance was found to be significant,
making up 13% of the total. In this study, this trigger was not significant, with only
two occurrences. Another difference was the significance of reading spiritual
literature in the present study, compared to Taylor (2012b). There were 16 cases of
this in the present study, compared to 4 in the previous one (Taylor, 2012b).
Another slight difference is that in Taylor (2012b), 10.6% of awakening
experiences were triggered by homeostasis-disruption or physiological changes
(e.g., psychoactive substances, sleep deprivation, fasting). However, in this study
only 2 experiences were related to homeostasis-disruption.
These differences can perhaps be explained in terms of the nature of the samples in
the two studies. In the original study, many participants were participants of
Positive Psychology courses - extra-mural adult students at public courses the
primary author taught at the University of Manchester. These participants were
highly socially active individuals, who regularly attended courses, workshops and
other events. As a result, they were perhaps more likely to attend creative arts
events, and so more likely to have awakening experiences in this context. At the
same time, most of these participants were unfamiliar with spiritual practices or
traditions, and therefore unlikely to have awakening experiences in response to
reading spiritual literature. In contrast, a proportion of the participants of the
present study were already familiar with spiritual practices and traditions, being
individuals who logged on to the primary author’s website, or who had read his
books. They were therefore likely to regularly read spiritual literature (or watch
videos or listen to audio recordings on spiritual themes) and so more likely to have
awakening experiences in this context. Perhaps this also explains why the
participants of this study were less likely to report homeostasis-disruption as a
trigger of awakening experiences. The primary source of homeostasis-disruption in
the previous study was ingesting psychoactive substances. It may be that since the
sample of the present study was generally more focused upon spiritual practices
and traditions, they were less likely to report awakening experiences induced by
psychedelics. At the same time, it is striking that both samples – despite their
different nature – featured the same three main triggers, with psychological turmoil
the most significant one in both studies.
The present study confirms the emphasis on non-spiritual contexts in the occurrence
of awakening experiences. In the original study, almost 78% of the experiences
occurred in a non-spiritual context; in this study, the figure was 65%. Again,
perhaps the smaller figure in the present study could be explained by the likelihood
that more participants in this sample had an ongoing engagement with spiritual
57Exploring Awakening Experiences
practices and paths, and so were more likely to report an awakening experience in
the context of spiritual practices. Nevertheless, this study confirms the finding of
the original study (also indicated by the research of others, such as Hardy [1979],
Laski [1961] and Maslow [1970]) that awakening experiences (or spiritual or
religious experiences) often occur spontaneously and accidentally, in the midst of
everyday life. As the original study concluded, this lends support to the suggestion
that the term awakening experience is more appropriate than spiritual experience.
In fact, it is striking that, in a sample where a good number of participants had
familiarity with spiritual practices and traditions, a large proportion of awakening
experiences still occurred in a non-spiritual context.
In a more general sense, the study confirms the remarkable power of states of
trauma and intense psychological turmoil to induce positive and transformational
states. There is a connection here with the concept of post-traumatic growth, which
has highlighted positive long-term effects of undergoing traumatic events such as
increased appreciation, deeper and more authentic relationships, a heightened sense
of meaning and a new awareness of spiritual and philosophical issues (e.g.,
Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Other research has shown that intense psychological
turmoil can be the trigger of a permanent shift into ‘‘wakefulness’’ (Miller & C’de
Baca, 2001, Taylor, 2011, 2012a, 2017).
Characteristics of Awakening Experiences
The main characteristics of this sample of awakening experiences were found to be
(in order of frequency) positive affective states (e.g., peace, joy, appreciation),
intensified perception, love and compassion, a transcendence of separateness (or
sense of connection or unity), a sense of revelation (or ‘‘deeper knowing’’) and
inner quietness. This largely accords with previous research, including the
characteristics of spiritual or mystical experiences suggested by scholars such as
Stace (1960), Greeley (1974) and Hood (1975). The finding that high intensity
awakening experiences were less common also accords with previous research
(Taylor, 2010, 2012; Hay & Heald, 1987). The findings on duration also accord
with previous research, confirming that the majority of such experiences tend to be
of a short duration (Greeley, 1974; Marshall, 2005).
It is striking that a number of the individuals who had high intensity awakening
experiences reported no familiarity with spiritual practices or traditions at the time
their experience occurred. For example, the high intensity awakening experience
described by P 4 (as reported in the results section) occurred when he was small
child (‘‘around four years old’’). The experience described by Participant 24 took
place when he was in his early twenties, as a soldier fighting in Vietnam. He
described the circumstances in which it occurred:
On January 21st, 1968 my unit was sent to Khe Sanh, Vietnam, smack dab in the
middle of hell. On the day I arrived Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) came under
a heavy mortar, artillery and rocket attack, which destroyed the main
ammunition dump. While that is taking place an NVA battalion attacked and
58 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
partially overran Khe Sanh Village, which was about a kilometer south of KSCB
and decimated the Marine Company that was holding the village.
This suggests that experiences of union with all reality – described in traditions as
nirvikalpa samadhi, henosis, theosis or devekut (in the Kabbalah) – are not confined
to spiritual or religious traditions and are a natural potential of a human experience.
In fact, this applies to awakening experiences in general. Although they may
sometimes be related to spiritual practices (such as meditation or prayer) or occur
within the context of spiritual traditions, they can (and most frequently do) occur in
other contexts. Maslow (1994) saw the peak experience as a psychological
phenomenon that could be interpreted in religious or spiritual terms, but need not
be. As he put it, peak experiences can be likened to ‘‘raw materials which can be
used for different styles of structures, as the same bricks and mortar and lumber
would be built into different kinds of houses by a Frenchman, a Japanese, or a
Tahitian’’ (Maslow, 1994, p. 73). The same is true of awakening experiences.
This has some bearing on the debate in religious studies between contextualism and
essentialism (or perennialism) - that is, whether spiritual or mystical experiences
share the same essential features across spiritual traditions (despite some
differences in interpretation), or whether they are intra-traditional experiences that
are generated by the concepts and practices of the traditions, and therefore
essentially independent. Transpersonal psychologists such as Hartelius and Ferrer
(2013) have argued against perennialism, with Ferrer (2002) suggesting that
spiritual traditions are not expressions of the same essential truths or realities, since
there are ‘‘a variety of metaphysical worlds – rather than one metaphysic and
different languages’’ (p. 34). However, the fact that experiences that include the
same essential features of spiritual experiences can take place outside spiritual
traditions, amongst people who have no familiarity with those traditions (or
spirituality in general), strongly suggests that there is some form of underlying
psychological or experiential landscape that precedes spiritual traditions and
informs them. It is important to make a distinction between mystical teachings and
mystical experiences. Whilst the teachings and conceptual frameworks of mystical
traditions may differ significantly, the mystical experiences that are reported across
traditions - and most significantly, outside them - do share essential features. In this
way, the findings of this study confirm the results of various studies using Hood’s
M-Scale which have found common features of mystical experiences occurring
across and outside traditions (Hood, 2006). (See Taylor, 2016, for a fuller
discussion of these issues.)
The Psychological Conditions of Awakening Experiences
In Taylor (2012b), it was suggested that a large proportion of awakening
experiences are linked to an ‘‘intensification and stilling of life-energy’’ (Taylor
2005, 2010, 2012b). In certain ‘‘meditative’’ situations and activities, our life-
energy becomes intensified and stilled, due to the fact that we expend less energy
than normal through concentration, perception and cognition. In particular, this
state occurs when the ego-mind becomes quiet, conserving the energy normally
consumed by thought-chatter. In a relaxed state of mind, in quiet surroundings and
59Exploring Awakening Experiences
in a relatively inactive mode, the normal ‘‘outflows’’ of energy may be reduced,
which leads to an inner intensification of energy, and therefore to an awakening
experience (Taylor, 2005; 2010, 2012b). This is partly because the more intense
inner energy means that perception becomes - in Deikman’s (1963) phrase - ‘‘de-
automatized.’’ Since energy is no longer being consumed by the activity of the ego-
mind, there is ‘‘surplus energy’’ available, which is used in perception. Perceptions
therefore become enriched and intensified, and we become aware of aspects that
our normal automatic mode of perception does not reveal. And since our normal
ego-boundaries are largely created and maintained by thought-chatter, when the
mind becomes quiet, our sense of separateness begins to fade away, replaced by a
sense of connection or even unity. (For further details on how a state of intensified
and stilled life-energy – or an ISLE state – gives rise to the different characteristics
of awakening experiences, see Taylor [2005]).
A good proportion of the awakening experiences in the present study could be
explained in these terms. Certainly, awakening experiences induced by meditation
and other spiritual practices can be explained in these terms, because of their mind-
quietening effect. (And of course, when we meditate or pray, we ensure that we
reduce our exposure to external stimuli and concentrative activity, also reducing
our expenditure of energy.) Reading spiritual literature undoubtedly has a similar
effect, with the added factor of the ‘‘transmitting’’ effect of spiritual power and
wisdom from the text itself. Awakening experiences induced by contact with nature
can also be explained in these terms. The beauty and power of nature has a
meditative effect, generating inner quietness. Nature also appears to have qualities
of purity and serenity that transmit to us and generate a peaceful state of being. And
although they did not figure as significant triggers in this study, the association of
awakening experiences with arts performances, sport and sex can be also be
explained in similar terms (Taylor, 2010, 2012b).
But what about the most significant trigger of awakening experiences in this study,
psychological turmoil? This can perhaps also be partly explained in terms of an
intensification and stilling of life-energy. Often, in states of intense turmoil, a
person experiences a dissolution of psychological attachments such as hopes,
beliefs, ambitions, or attachment to possessions, status or achievements. This is
often the reason why a person is in a state of intense turmoil – that is, because these
attachments have been broken down. However, such psychological attachments
consume and expend a great deal of energy as psychological forms that are present
within the psyche. So when the attachments dissolve, there is a sudden release of a
large portion of life-energy. At the same time, with the attachments absent, there is
a new inner clarity and openness.
Another possible factor in awakening experiences triggered by psychological
turmoil is what might be termed ego-dissolution. Psychological attachments can be
seen as the ‘‘building blocks’’ of the ego. They create and maintain our sense of
identity. So when psychological attachments dissolve, the ego itself may dissolve
away, in the same way that a house collapses if enough bricks are taken away. As a
result, the boundaries of the ego disappear, enabling a sense of connection and
unity. There is a sense of connection to a deeper self, an essential being that seems
to underlie the ego. It is perhaps because of this combination of two factors – an
60 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
intensification and stilling of life-energy together with ego-dissolution – that
psychological turmoil is such a powerful and frequent trigger of awakening
experiences. Below are some examples from this study:
P 23: After six months of suffering from the loss of my husband of 20 years and
the loss of my land and cottage in Northern Ontario as well as an illness that
came back, as I crawled into bed that evening I felt a flutter in my heart and
awoke the next morning to the most profound sense of peace and oneness I had
ever experienced. It lasted about two days and still remains slightly in my heart.
P 29: At the time IT happened, I was in severe distress, my mind going crazy,
having suicidal thoughts all day long. . .I was completely hopeless as I lay on my
bed, when all of a sudden an energy shot up from belly into my head. . .With that
in one instance everything changed. All the depression anxiety and fears, all the
chatter and conflict in my mind, all the discomfort were gone and left me in a
state of profound peace, joy, love and a deep aliveness. It felt like being a small
innocent child again.
P 49: Some years ago I have experienced the most wonderful awakening state in
the context of a highly intense suffering. ..I was witnessing the inevitable end of
my 7-year relationship, with a devastating powerlessness. The end of that
profound connection that we’ve shared was something unimaginable for me, in
the sense that I couldn’t imagine my existence without him and literally I was
convinced that I wasn’t going to survive. When it all ended I was facing a
suffering that I didn’t imagine could possibly exist and there I was face to face
with this dark and frightening aloneness that was so scary, it felt unbearable. The
fear was so real and overwhelming that shook my core and everything I was so
deeply that I began to experience a clearness and connection with everything
that existed, with the whole Universe that felt beyond human. I was in a state of
such pure happiness and acceptance, that I was no longer afraid of anything, I
was trusting the Creation and that was enough. Out of that depth arose such a
compassion and connection to everything that surrounded me that I could feel
even the pain of the flowers being picked. Also, a great intuition was born in me
that made me realize my vocation as well, that is becoming a psychotherapist.
P 59: In my 20’s, following the break-up of a relationship, my psychological
world fell apart and I fell into a deep depression. I was off work for some time
and spent a week or 2 with my sister. One day whilst travelling in the back of my
sister’s car with my, then young, niece and nephew and feeling particularly low,
I had a moment of complete clarity. Time seemed to stop and I looked around at
my niece and nephew and at the passing countryside and felt that all was well,
all was serene, nothing was wrong. It was a fleeting experience that I tried to
recapture but the memory at least stayed with me.
The Therapeutic After-Effects of Awakening Experiences
In some cases, the ego can become permanently dissolved following an awakening
experience triggered by intense psychological turmoil. If this happens, a person
61Exploring Awakening Experiences
may experience an ongoing state of wakefulness. An awakening experience may
herald a permanent spiritual transformation, the establishment of a new identity to
replace the self that dissolved away. However, in temporary awakening
experiences, the normal ego-self re-establishes itself, even if the person now has
a new conceptual outlook and new values. In other words, the person may not
experience a primary shift but still experience transformational elements of a
secondary shift.
This was perhaps one of the most significant findings of this study: that, despite
their temporary nature, awakening experiences have powerful ongoing transfor-
mational effects. Fifty-one of the 68 participants reported these positive after-
effects (11 reporting some negative effects too). This suggests that awakening
experiences have a pronounced therapeutic effect, similar to the therapeutic effects
identified by some researchers in relation to psychoactive substances (Loizaga-
Velder & Verres, 2014; McKenna, 2004) and nature (Bragg & Atkins, 2016; Neill,
2003). This suggests that awakening experiences could, in theory, be consciously
cultivated for their therapeutic value, perhaps by attempting to induce an
‘‘intensification and stilling of life energy,’’ as mentioned above. (Indeed, it is
surely the case that awakening experiences contribute to the therapeutic effects of
contact with nature and psychedelics, although this is a connection that could be
verified by more research.) However, it should be noted that, even though we can
create conditions that are conducive to awakening experiences, their appearance is
still unpredictable. This would obviously limit their efficacy as a form of therapy.
Conclusion
This study confirms the importance of psychological turmoil as a source of
awakening experiences. It also confirms that awakening experiences occur most
frequently in non-spiritual contexts, as spontaneous events. In this sense, the term
awakening experience is more appropriate than spiritual experience. Awakening
experiences – and also an ongoing state of wakefulness – are natural psychological
states that are accessible from a wide range of activities, not just from those related
to spiritual traditions. This supports the idea (related to the concept of essentialism)
that awakening experiences are more fundamental than spiritual traditions, and
share common characteristics that are interpreted in different ways by different
traditions, rather than being intra-traditionally specific. At the same time, the
underlying psychological conditions that give rise to the experiences can be
identified, perhaps relating to an intensification and stilling of life-energy, or ego-
dissolution. The powerful positive after-effects of awakening experiences suggest a
strong therapeutic element.
References
Boyce-Tillman, J. (2006). Music as spiritual experience. Modern Believing, 47(3), 20-31.
Bragg, R., & Atkins, G. (2016). A review of nature-based interventions for mental health
care. Natural England Commissioned Reports, Number 204. Available at http://www.
hphpcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/NECR204_edition_1.pdf
62 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
Conway, R. (1989). Lysergic acid and transpersonal experience. In G. K. Zollschan & J. F.
Schumaker (Eds.), Exploring the paranormal: Perspectives on belief and experience
(pp. 97-104). New York, NY: Prism Press.
Deikman, A. J. (1963). Experimental meditation. The Journal of Nervous and Mental
Disease, 6(4), 329-343.
Deikman, A. (1980) Deautomatization and the mystic experience. In R. Woods (Ed.),
Understanding mysticism (pp. 240-60). London, England: The Athlone Press.
Deikman, A. (2000). A functional approach to mysticism. Journal of Consciousness
Studies, 7(11/12), 75-92.
Demares, R., & Krycka, K. (1998). Wild animal triggered peak experiences: Transpersonal
aspects. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 30(2), 161–177.
Ferrer, J. (2002). Revisioning transpersonal theory. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Feuerstein, G. (1990). Yoga: The technology of ecstasy. Wellingborough, England: The
Aquarian Press.
Greeley, A. (1974). Ecstasy: A way of knowing.EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.
Grifths,R.R.,Richards,W.A.,McCann,U.,&Jesse,R.(2006).Psilocybincanoccasion
mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and
spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology, 187(3), 268-283.
Hardy, A. (1979). The spiritual nature of man. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Hartelius, G., & Ferrer, J. N. (2013). Transpersonal philosophy: The participatory turn. In
H. Friedman & G. Hartelius (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of transpersonal
psychology (pp. 187–202). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hay, D., & Heald, G. 1987. Religion is good for you. New Society, 80, 20-22.
Hoffman, E. (1992). Visions of innocence. Boston, MA: Shambhala.
Hood, R. (1975). The construction and preliminary validation of a measure of reported
mystical experience. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14(1), 29–41.
Hood, R. W. (2006). The common core thesis in the study of mysticism. In P. McNamara
(Ed.), Where God and science meet, Volume 3 (pp. 119–138). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Huxley, A. (1971). The doors of perception & heaven and hell. Middlesex, England:
Penguin Books. (Original work published 1954)
James, W. (1985). The varieties of religious experience. London, England: Penguin.
(Original work published 1902)
Johnson, R. C. (1960). Watcher on the hills. New York, NY: Harper.
Laski, M. (1961). Ecstasy. London, England: The Cresset Press.
Loizaga-Velder, A., & Verres, R. (2014). Therapeutic effects of ritual ayahuasca use in the
treatment of substance dependence—qualitative results. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs,
46(1), 63-72.
Marshall, P. (2005). Mystical encounters with the natural world. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
Maslow, A. (1970). Motivation and personality (2
nd
ed.). New York, NY: Harper and Row.
Maslow,A.H.(1994).Religions, values, and peak-experiences. London, England: Penguin
Books. (Original work published 1964)
McKenna, D. J. (2004). Clinical investigations of the therapeutic potential of ayahuasca:
Rationale and regulatory challenges. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 102(2), 111-129.
Meister Eckhart. (1996). Meister Eckhart: From whom God hid nothing. (D. O’Neal, Ed.).
Boston, MA: Shambhala.
Miller, W., & C’de Baca. J. (2001). Quantum change. New York, NY: Guilford
Publications.
Murphy,M.,&White,R.A.(1995).In the zone: Transcendent experience in sports.
London, England: Arkana.
Neill, J. T. (2003). Reviewing and benchmarking adventure therapy outcomes:
Applications of meta-analysis. Journal of Experiential Education, 25(3), 316-321.
63Exploring Awakening Experiences
Parry, J., Nesti, M., Robinson, S., & Watson, N. (2007). Sport and spirituality: An
introduction. London, England: Routledge.
Sharpley, R., & Jepson, D. (2011). Rural tourism: A spiritual experience? Annals of
Tourism Research, 38(1), 52-71.
Sinnamon, S., Moran, A., & O’Connell, M. (2012). Flow among musicians: Measuring
peak experiences of student performers. Journal of Research in Music Education, 60(1),
6-25.
Stace, W. T. (1960). Mysticism and philosophy. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.
Strassman, R. J. (2001). DMT: The spirit molecule. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press.
Stringer, L. A., & McAvoy, L. H. (1992). The need for something different: Spirituality
and wilderness adventure. Journal of Experiential Education, 15(1), 13-20.
Taylor, S. (2005). The sources of higher states of consciousness. The International Journal
of Transpersonal Studies, 23, 48–60.
Taylor, S. (2009). Beyond the pre/trans fallacy: The validity of pre-egoic spiritual
experience. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 41(1), 22–43.
Taylor, S. (2010). Waking from sleep: The sources of higher states of consciousness and
the way to permanent awakening. London, England: Hay House.
Taylor, S. (2011). Out of the darkness: From turmoil to transformation. London, England:
Hay House.
Taylor, S. (2012a). Transformation through suffering: A study of individuals who have
experienced positive psychological transformation following periods of intense turmoil
and trauma. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 52, 30–52.
Taylor, S. (2012b). Spontaneous awakening experiences: Exploring the phenomenon
beyond religion and spirituality. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 44(1), 73-
91.
Taylor, S (2013a) Temporary and permanent awakening: The primary and secondary shift.
The Journal of Transpersonal Research, 5(2), 41-48.
Taylor, S. (2013b). The peak at the nadir: Psychological turmoil as the trigger for
awakening experiences. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 32(2), 1-
12.
Taylor, S. (2016). From philosophy to phenomenology: The argument for a ‘‘soft’’
perennialism. The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35(2), 17-41.
Taylor, S. (2017). The leap: The psychology of spiritual awakening. Navato, CA: New
World Library.
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations
and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18.
Terhaar, T. L. (2009). Evolutionary advantages of intense spiritual experience in nature.
Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature & Culture, 3(3), 303-339.
Underhill, E. (1960). Mysticism. London, England: Methuen. (Original work published
1911)
Wade, J. (2000). Mapping the course of heavenly bodies: The varieties of transcendent
sexual experiences. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 32(2), 103–22.
Wade, J. (2004). Transcendent sex. New York, NY: Paraview.
Steve Taylor, PhD, is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University,
UK. He also teaches on the MSc in Consciousness, Spirituality and Transpersonal
Psychology distance-learning course, through the University of Middlesex. His
previous papers have been published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, the
Journal of Consciousness Studies, the International Journal of Transpersonal
Studies, and the Transpersonal Psychology Review. He is author of 10 books,
including The Fall, Waking From Sleep, Out of the Darkness and his new book The
Leap: The Psychology of Spiritual Awakening (published as an Eckhart Tolle
64 The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2017, Vol. 49, No. 1
Edition). He has written two books of poetic meditations, including The Calm
Center. Website: www.stevenmtaylor. com
Krisztina Egeto-Szabo is originally from Hungary, and held the post of research
assistant with Steve Taylor at Leeds Beckett University for the academic year 2016/
17, working closely with Steve in preparing this article. She is presently based at
the University of Cardiff, Wales. Her interests include social psychology, global
development and education.
65Exploring Awakening Experiences
... One might conceivably argue that even if a person has no involvement in a particular tradition, there may still be some cultural influences (for example, a religion education, or the experiences of relatives and peers) that dictate the content of the experience. However, there are many reports of mystical experiences from modern secular societies with a prevailing attitude of scepticism toward spirituality, some of which will be examined presently (e.g., Corneille & Luke, 2021;Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). This is not the type of cultural environment that would foster the construction of mystical experiences. ...
... As they have been described by individuals and studied by scholars, mystical experiences share certain fundamental characteristics, both inside and outside traditions. The characteristics that are most often attributed to mystical experiences include the following: intense wellbeing (e.g., serenity, bliss, or ecstasy), intensified perception (or heightened awareness, often including a sense of luminosity or radiance), a transcendence of separation (a sense of connection or union, incorporating other human beings, the natural world or to a more obscure transcendent source of being), a sense of the interconnection or unity of phenomena; compassion and love; a transformed (and often expanded) sense of identity; a sense of noetic revelation (e.g., Hardy, 1979;Wainwright, 1981;Happold, 1986;Marshall, 2005;Hood, 2006;Wulff, 2014;Jones, 2016, Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017. ...
... A study by Taylor & Egeto-Szabo (2017) focused on extra-traditional mystical experiences. Using the term 'awakening experience,' 91 reports of experiences were collected and analyzed, in which a person's awareness of reality intensified and expanded, with characteristics such as an enhanced sense of reality, beauty, connection, meaning, and harmony. ...
Article
Full-text available
This paper argues for a ‘perennial phenomenology’ (or ‘soft’ perennialism) varying from the traditionalist notion of a ‘perennial philosophy.’ Perennial phenomenology offers a more nuanced form of perennialism that focuses on spiritual/mystical experiences rather than the teachings and beliefs of different religions. While teachings and beliefs vary greatly, the mystical experiences associated with different mystical traditions have striking commonalities. I suggest four experiential aspects that support a perennial phenomenology. These aspects also necessitate a reconsideration of the debate between perennialism and constructivism. Significantly, these experiential elements are present when mystical experiences occur outside the context of spiritual traditions, to people who know little or nothing about spirituality and consider themselves non-religious. Treating mystical experiences exclusively in the context or religion and spiritual traditions has been a major failing in debates between constructivists (or contextualists) and perennialists. There is a common landscape of mystical experience that precedes interpretation and conceptualization by spiritual traditions. This paper contributes to a reopening of discussion about perennialism that has been underway in recent years.
... An integral phenomenon associated with the process of fulfilling our spiritual needs is spiritual awakening (SA). Although different traditions and practices have their own frameworks and descriptions of SA, in general, SA refers to a shift in one's perception, cognition and behaviours (Taylor, 2012a(Taylor, , 2017Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). This shift in perception, cognition and behaviours includes inner stillness, openness and a sense of interconnectedness, along with increased sensitivity, altruism, authenticity and present-moment awareness (Taylor, 2017). ...
... SA is generally considered a very rare mental state of being and is often associated with people who are part of religious or spiritual traditions (Taylor, 2017). However, new studies in transpersonal psychology have shown that SA is a phenomenon associated not only with people following religious or spiritual traditions, but also those who are not associated with any religious or spiritual practice (Taylor, 2012a(Taylor, , 2017(Taylor, , 2018Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). ...
... anyone, regardless of their affiliation with a particular religion or spiritual system, may experience SA over time (Taylor, 2012a(Taylor, , 2017Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). (ASERVIC, 2022). ...
Article
The present study used a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach to explore, examine and develop a grounded theory (GT) of spiritual awakening conceptualisation and process. The authors used the interview data of 34 eminent spiritual teachers who have written books on spirituality, led spiritual retreats and conducted lectures and trainings on spiritual quest. These participants come from diverse backgrounds (e.g., American, Asian, European and Mexican), trainings (e.g., Buddhism, Yoga, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity and other mindfulness traditions) and professional experiences. The data analysis of the interviews led to the development of the spiritual awakening evolution (SAE) model, explaining the process and evolution of spiritual awakening. According to this model, spiritual awakening evolves through four phases: an initial transient shift in perception, further practice to support spiritual development, surrendering and a continuous journey of spiritual development. As spiritual awakening experiences are transcultural, the SAE model can inform counsellors' understanding of clients' spiritual needs and the meanings of those experiences. Implications for counsellor practitioners, counsellor preparation programmes and research are discussed.
... We focused specifically on meditators from Ananda Marga, a school of Tantric Yoga (Corby et al., 1978), because meditators of this school receive precise meditation instructions that are largely similar across individuals. We expected that this would provide a clearer impression of kundalini-related expression over prior studies which have examined experiences arising from eclectic sources with no common practices or philosophy (Taylor and Egete-Szabo, 2017;Lockley, 2019;Corneille and Luke, 2021;Woollacott et al., 2021). We predicted our sample would have a comparatively low incidence of adverse experiences resulting from the comprehensive practices and systematic training. ...
... Subjective experiences resulting from Yogic meditation have often been found to have a positive valence (Menezes et al., 2015;Patel et al., 2018;Katyal et al., 2020;Park et al., 2020). We found a high incidence of positive mood shift (69% of participants), similar to 75% for reports of positive affect among Buddhist meditators , and 70% for reports collected from the Religious Experiences Research Center archives at the University of Wales (Lockley, 2019), and higher than 32% for "mood and energy swing" in a group with "kundalini awakening" (Woollacott et al., 2021) and 46% for "positive affective states" from people reporting "awakening experiences" (Taylor and Egete-Szabo, 2017). This indicates our participants had a comparatively strong positive response to their meditation practices. ...
... Our results concerning the STEs of scientists and academics are thus perhaps unexpected, considering that a report by the National Academy of the Sciences states that only 7% of their scientific members have stated that they have a belief in the transcendent (Larson and Witham 1998). However, it is of interest that the STEs of the scientists and academics in our study are very similar to those previously described in the general population (Wahbeh et al. 2018;Kason 2019;Woollacott, Kason, and Park 2021;Taylor and Egeto-Szabo 2017). For example, Taylor and Egeto-Szabo (2017) describe the STE as involving a primary transformative effect involving experiencing a new sense of identity and a shift in worldview, as well as a secondary effect including changing perspectives, values and beliefs. ...
... However, it is of interest that the STEs of the scientists and academics in our study are very similar to those previously described in the general population (Wahbeh et al. 2018;Kason 2019;Woollacott, Kason, and Park 2021;Taylor and Egeto-Szabo 2017). For example, Taylor and Egeto-Szabo (2017) describe the STE as involving a primary transformative effect involving experiencing a new sense of identity and a shift in worldview, as well as a secondary effect including changing perspectives, values and beliefs. Similarly, Woollacott, Kason and Park 2021, in a study on energetic awakenings in the general population, stated that participants reported that the entire experience was mystical, involving feelings of expansion (including their conscious awareness leaving the body), and a sense of being enveloped in light or love. ...
Article
To analyze the first-person phenomenological Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs) of a sample of scientists and academics, the first-person phenomenological accounts of 40 scientists’ and/or academics’ Spiritually Transformative Experiences were analyzed with respect to their perceived changes in the nature of the personal self and the nature of reality. Eighty-five percent of experiencers described a dissolution of the boundaries of their personal self; this was experienced by 62.5% as a sense of boundless oneness, with the characteristics of pure unconditional love (45%). As to the nature of reality, 60% also experienced reality as unitive, and 47.5% of the experiencers described its essence as unconditional love, bliss, and luminosity (27.5%), with some describing it as filled with energy, intelligence and beyond time. For all individuals, the experiences were considered truly real. For those who have not had similar experiences, their ontological status remains an empirical question.
... Temporary expansive experiences have been qualitatively analyzed in popular literature (e.g., Johnson, 1959;Laski, 1961) and in psychological studies (e.g., Corneille & Luke, 2021;Hoffman, 1992;Maslow, 1970;Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017;Wade, 2004). Several quantitative studies have been conducted using Hood's (1975) Mysticism Scale, designed to measure temporary mystical experiences (e.g., Chen, Qi, et al., 2011;Streib & Hood, 2013). ...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: This study aimed to develop and validate a questionnaire assessing an ongoing state of wakefulness, a psychological state occurring in secular and spiritual contexts. Wakefulness is an expansive, self-transcendent, relatively stable state of being in which a person's perception of and relationship to the world are transformed. No such questionnaire with this specific aim and scope exists. Methods: Characteristics of wakefulness from prior research were transformed into statements and of Humanistic PsychologyKilrea et al. research-article2023 2 Journal of Humanistic Psychology 00(0) refined based on expert feedback and two pilot studies. In a first study, exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were conducted with n = 278 English-speaking participants. Matched participants of this sample were compared with a group of awakened participants (n = 24). In a second study, EFAs on the German-translated questionnaire were computed and correlated with other established measures (n = 366 participants). Results: A unidimensional structure was found for the 19-item English Wakefulness Inventory, WAKE-19 and for the 16-item German WAKE-16. The scale is reliable with a significant difference between the general population and the group of awakened participants. Correlations with other measures indicate construct validity. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence for the existence of wakefulness as a state of being, distinct from the usual or ordinary state of adult waking consciousness and a valid and reliable instrument for future research.
... For those who experienced integration as challenging, this was often (but not always) seen as necessary for transformation and growth. The tendency for participants to frame challenges in this way aligns with the concept of post-traumatic growth and has been previously reported in both the psychedelic literature [4,26] and in non-psychedelic transformative experiences [27][28][29]. Interestingly, however, prior ayahuasca studies have found that facing a greater number of psychological or emotional integration difficulties after drinking ayahuasca is associated with less favourable mental health and well-being outcomes in the longer-term [19,20]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychoactive plant medicine being explored for its potential therapeutic uses in Western contexts. Preliminary studies link ayahuasca use with improvements across a range of mental health indicators, but studies have not yet explored qualitative aspects of the post-treatment process known in the psychedelic literature as "integration". This includes how participants make sense of their ayahuasca experiences and minimise harm/maximise benefits after ayahuasca use. A global online survey, conducted between 2017 and 2019, collected responses from 1630 ayahuasca drinkers (50.4% male, mean age = 43 years) to an open-ended question about their integration experiences after consuming ayahuasca. Inductive codebook thematic analysis was used to identify themes in participants' integration experiences. Participants described integration experiences in three main ways. First, was an overall appraisal of the integration experience (e.g., as easy, challenging, or long-term/ongoing). Second, was describing beneficial tools which facilitated integration (e.g., connecting with a like-minded community and ongoing practice of yoga, meditation, journaling, etc.). Third, was describing integration challenges (e.g., feeling disconnected, going back to "old life" with new understandings, etc.). These findings suggest that integrating ayahuasca experiences can be challenging and take considerable time, though working through integration challenges may facilitate positive growth. Findings also challenge the role of individual psychotherapy as the primary integration tool in Western psychedelic therapy, suggesting that communal and somatic elements may also be useful. An expanded definition of psychedelic integration is proposed which includes working with integration challenges and adjusting to life changes.
... The term Exceptional Human Experiences (EHEs) was coined by Rhea White (1993) to describe spontaneously emerging unusual experiences, which researchers and practitioners deal with in different disciplines separately, and to conceptualize them as religious (James, 2008), mystical (Stace, 1961), anomalous (Cardeña et al., 2017, peak experiences (Maslow, 1994) and awakening experiences (Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is an extraordinary endeavour that tends to trigger exceptional human experiences. Following our previous investigation of this topic, we conducted an online survey of 501 pilgrims in order to assess the frequency of different exceptional experiences (EEs) on the pilgrimage and their transformative aftereffects (TAs) in everyday life afterwards. More than 70% of the respondents reported improvement in terms of self-confidence, personal relationships and letting go of emotional “baggage”. The results show strong correlations between the observed EEs and the (consequent) TAs. We contend that walking the Camino de Santiago often produces exceptional experiences that lead to positive long-term psychosocial effects.
... Awakening often has more to do with the absence of things than with the presence of things. Kilrea, 2018, p. 69 Within this special topic section, Taylor (2018) draws on his earlier publications (Taylor, 2012a(Taylor, , 2012b(Taylor, , 2016(Taylor, , 2017Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017) to illuminate a phenomenological investigation into the psychological transformation interpreted as spiritual awakening by 25 participants who responded to the call for in-depth interview of 'people who have undergone the transformational experience of "spiritual awakening" or "enlightenment"' (p. 132). ...
Article
For some church members the pandemic may have been a challenge to faith, while for others the pandemic may have been an opportunity to re-kindle faith and to trigger spiritual awakening. A sample of 3,673 churchgoers (Anglican and Catholic) completed an online survey during the early months of the lockdown including the Lewis Index of Spiritual Awakening ( LISA ). The data demonstrated that more participants experienced a sense of spiritual awakening than a spiritual decline. Spiritual awakening was associated with personal factors (being female and older), with psychological factors (feeling types, intuitive types, and emotional stability), with religious identity (being Catholic), with theological tradition (being charismatic and conservative), and with active engagement in online services (lighting candles or typing in prayer requests). Experiencing spiritual awakening during the early months of the lockdown is, thus, associated with religious, theological, and spiritual practices, as well as with personal and psychological factors.
... Moreover, given the fact that mystical experiences occur under a variety of circumstances, it is advisable not to be too preoccupied with just one particular trigger, such as psychedelics, when formulating explanations. It is equally important to try to fathom why concern for someone in need should lead to the experience, or deep love for another, or admiration of a plant or a beautiful work of art, or thoughts about the extent of the universe, or a prayer for help during psychological distress, or extreme neurological shutdown during a near-death crisis, to mention just a few real-life circumstances (Laski 1961;Hardy 1979;Marshall 2005;Taylor and Egeto-Szabo 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
Mystical experiences can bring an overwhelming sense that deeper realities have been contacted or that the everyday world has been apprehended as it truly is. Philosophical study of the experiences has not given much attention to their metaphysical significance, especially to the insights they may offer on fundamental issues such as the nature of reality, self, consciousness, and time. There are reasons for the neglect, and in the present article I consider two major theoretical obstacles to finding metaphysical significance in the experiences: a radical form of contextualism and a reductionist approach to neuroscience. With these obstacles addressed, there is room to consider how mystical experience and metaphysics can be brought into dialogue, a task facilitated by the contemporary resurgence of interest in alternatives to materialist metaphysics and a renewed interest in mystical experience encouraged by psychedelic research.
... The term Exceptional Human Experiences (EHEs) was coined by Rhea White (1993) to describe spontaneously emerging unusual experiences, which researchers and practitioners deal with in different disciplines separately, and to conceptualize them as religious (James, 2008), mystical (Stace, 1961), anomalous (Cardeña et al., 2017, peak experiences (Maslow, 1994) and awakening experiences (Taylor & Egeto-Szabo, 2017). ...
Article
Full-text available
The Camino de Santiago pilgrimage is an extraordinary endeavour that tends to trigger exceptional human experiences. Following our previous investigation of this topic, we conducted an online survey of 501 pilgrims in order to assess the frequency of different exceptional experiences (EEs) on the pilgrimage and their transformative aftereffects (TAs) in everyday life afterwards. More than 70% of the respondents reported improvement in terms of self-confidence, personal relationships and letting go of emotional “baggage”. The results show strong correlations between the observed EEs and the (consequent) TAs. We contend that walking the Camino de Santiago often produces exceptional experiences that lead to positive long-term psychosocial effects.
Article
Full-text available
The validity of the pre/trans fallacy in relation to childhood spirituality is questioned, suggesting that 'pre-egoic' spirituality is as valid as 'trans-egoic,' and stems from the same source, although different in some important respects. Sources of spiritual experiences and states in general are examined, and childhood is proposed as a state with ready access to these, although mainly to lower intensity spiritual states. The childhood state is innately more 'spiritual' than the adult in two senses: firstly, children have fundamentally 'spiritual' characteristics as a stable structure of being (albeit of a lower intensity), and secondly, they appear to have easier access to higher intensity spiritual experiences (that is, higher than their normal stable structure of being). A framework of spiritual experiences and spiritual development is offered that includes the consideration of childhood spirituality. Mature spirituality means integrating the natural spirituality of childhood with the great intellectual and practical benefits conferred by the adult ego.
Article
Full-text available
Awakening experiences' have been misunderstood to some degree by their long association with religious and spiritual traditions and practices. The research reported here-161 reports of awakening experiences-suggests that most of them occurred outside the context of spiritual or religious traditions. Neither were they induced by spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer. Most occurred 'spontaneously.' As a result, they are termed here 'spontaneous awakening experiences.' Many activities and situations can be seen as having a certain degree of 'awakening potential,' capable of inducing-or at least being the context for-awakening experiences. Many are psychological in origin, although they may be interpreted in religious terms. Perhaps the term 'spiritual experience' should be applied only to awakening experiences related to-or triggered by-spiritual practices. I suggest a more neutral term ('awakening experiences') to describe them. A psychological/energetic view of awakening experiences is presented which provides a framework for understanding spontaneous awakening experiences.
Article
Full-text available
This paper argues for a soft perennialism, distinct from the hard perennialism which suggests that spiritual and religious traditions are expressions of the same underlying spiritual realities. There are two reasons why it is necessary to think in terms of a soft perennial model: firstly, because of a number of important common themes or trends across spiritual traditions; and secondly (and most importantly) because when the process of expansion of being or awakening occurs outside the context of spiritual traditions, broadly the same themes and tendencies appear, suggesting that there is a common landscape of experience which precedes interpretation and conceptualization by spiritual traditions. This applies to the perception of an all-pervading spiritual energy or force which may-in some traditions-become conceptualized as an allegedly ultimate reality but is not necessarily seen in those terms. It is suggested that transpersonal psychology would benefit from loosening its association with spiritual traditions and focusing more on studying expansive states of being in a nontraditional, secular context.
Article
Full-text available
A study of 161 temporary awakening experiences showed that over 23% were triggered by, or associated with, intense turmoil and distress (Taylor, 2012b). Examples of some of these turmoil-induced awakening experiences are given, illustrating the wide variety of traumatic experiences involved. (The type of trauma was found to be less important than its intensity.) These temporary awakening experiences are contrasted with permanent suffering-induced transformational experiences (SITEs). A distinction is made between a primary shift, involving the establishment of a new self-system (which occurs in SITEs), and the secondary shift which may occur after temporary awakening experiences, when the individual's self-system remains fundamentally intact, but she or he experiences a shift in perspective and values. Possible reasons for the connection between psychological turmoil and awakening experiences are discussed, arguing that the experiences cannot simply be explained away as self-delusion or a psychological defense mechanism. It is suggested that there is a connection between turmoil-induced awakening experiences and the dissolution of psychological attachments, together with an intensification of energy.
Article
The present study is devoted to mystical experiences of the natural world and the disparate ways in which they have been explained. Typically, these so-called 'extrovertive mystical experiences' are characterized by some combination of unity, deepened knowledge, sense of contact with reality, self-transcendence, altered time-experience, light, bliss, and love. The experiences are well represented in modern collections of spiritual testimonies, but unlike some other extraordinary experiences, they have received little sustained investigation in recent years. In Part I of the book, the experiences themselves take centre stage, with attention given to definition, phenomenology, present-day incidence, historical occurrence, circumstances, and after-effects. The classic characterizations of extrovertive experience are found wanting, and a more nuanced survey of characteristics is attempted. In Part II, attention turns to the explanation of extrovertive experience, with a survey and critique of a hundred years of explanations that range from the spiritual and metaphysical to the psychoanalytic, contextual, deconstructive, and neuropsychological. Theorists covered include R. M. Bucke and Edward Carpenter on the evolutionary path to cosmic consciousness, liberal Christian thinkers on the divine presence in nature, W. T. Stace and Robert Forman on pure consciousness, Bruce Garside and Steven Katz on the contextual construction of mystical experience, H. N. Wieman and Arthur Deikman on deconstructed, nondual awareness, R. C. Zaehner and Erich Neumann on regression to the Jungian unconscious, Sigmund Freud on the oceanic feeling, neuropsychologists on the biological basis of mystical experience, Aldous Huxley on filtration of Mind at Large, and idealist thinkers on contact with universal consciousness. A recurrent theme is the lack of attention given by theorists to extrovertive phenomenology: many explanations fall down because they fail to address the full range of experiential characteristics. Although no firm conclusion can at present be reached on the essential nature of extrovertive mystical experience, the author favours a transpersonal form of explanation that is rooted in idealist metaphysics, but which is also attentive to the contributions of neuropsychological, collective, and contextual factors.
Article
This article describes the concept of posttraumatic growth, its conceptual foundations, and supporting empirical evidence. Posttraumatic growth is the experience of positive change that occurs as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life crises. It is manifested in a variety of ways, including an increased appreciation for life in general, more meaningful interpersonal relationships, an increased sense of personal strength, changed priorities, and a richer existential and spiritual life. Although the term is new, the idea that great good can come from great suffering is ancient. We propose a model for understanding the process of posttraumatic growth in which individual characteristics, support and disclosure, and more centrally, significant cognitive processing involving cognitive structures threatened or nullified by the traumatic events, play an important role. It is also suggested that posttraumatic growth mutually interacts with life wisdom and the development of the life narrative, and that it is an on-going process, not a static outcome.
Article
This paper examines a phenomenography of spirituality in the music experience examining the internal relationship between the experiencer and the experienced and its diverse awarenesses.1 It will examine these questions:• Is all music a sacred experience?• Is there a secular music?• Is the aesthetic a contemporary version of spirituality?• Can spirituality be freed from a particular religious tradition?The model proposed is based on five domains that can be identified in accounts of the musicking experience, the way the phenomenon is reviewed in research traditions, how it appears in the literature, treatises and textbooks and how it has been handled in different cultures. It approaches music through the experiencer rather than the music itself. It seeks to re-establish a notion of spirituality as relationality within the musical experience based on Buber's notion of the I/Thou experience,2 drawing on theorists such as Dewey,3 Maslow,4 Turner,5 Csikszentmihalyi,6 Jackson,7 Hay and Nye8 and practitioners s...
Article
A measure of reported mystical experience is presented. This "Mysticism Scale, Research Form D (M scale)," has 32 items, four for each of 8 categories of mysticism initially conceptualized by Stace (1960). Items on this scale are both positively and negatively expressed to avoid problems of response set. A factor analysis of the M Scale indicated two major factors, a general mystical experience factor (20 items) and a religious interpretation factor (12 items). Preliminary evidence indicates that those high on the M Scale have more intrinsic religious motivation as defined by Hoge's (1972) scale, are more open to experience as defined by Taft's (1970) ego permissiveness scale, have more intense religious experience as defined by Hood's (1970) scale, and have moderately higher scores on the L, Hs, and Hy scales of the MMPI.