Re-interpreting Mystical Experience

[rug]

Editor’s Note: If you’ve ever thought of trading your current set of beliefs (or non-beliefs) for mysticism, this discussion will give you pause. It’s written by an expert – a former long-term yogi who is now an atheist.

May 18, 2017
by Linda LaScola

By “Scott”
What creates feelings of ecstasy and a sense of contact with universal oneness? What’s the link between these feelings and spiritual disciplines, meditation practices, and religious frameworks?

There is no question that mystical experience is a powerful and can be a valuable experience. But society tends to explain mystical experience as something mysterious, religious, or supernatural. Most people have neither sufficient knowledge nor the confidence in their own minds or bodies to question or understand mystical experiences. Nor are most people aware of the role of psychology and physiology in mystical experience.

In this post, I try to answer generally what is mystical experience. Then I describe two feelings common of mystical experience. Next, I describe the reported physiological (bodily) and psychological (emotional/mental) effects. And lastly, I list eight bodily and mental processes that can drastically alter our perceptions and that can produce mystical experience.

What is mystical experience?

Two feelings–ecstasy and a contact with universal sense of oneness–are common denominators of mystical experience.1 The reports of mystical experience often include effects that are both physiological and psychological.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rationaldoubt/2017/05/re-interpreting-mystical-experience/

[JoeOtterbein]

1. The awesomeness of existence is enough for me, it takes lots of energy trying to understand it

but the search for truth about what we are and what our place in the vast universe is worth every bit. The truth is inside/out there!

[rug]

2. Those are the big questions, aren't they?

I don't know why so many people don't ask them.

[JoeOtterbein]

3. Now that is a really tough question. Some of the people I love the most never seem to get it.

I remember when I was in my teens and feeling overwhelmed by how my Catholic upbringing left me begging for so much more. And my buddies were like "huh? Let's go look for girls". I then I read "The Way of All Flesh" and it all made sense. We are all still very much tied down by our own "flesh".

[MineralMan]

5. We are mammals, and our place is to survive, reproduce and make more of us.

Reduced to its simplest expression, those are the answers to your questions.

[rug]

6. Is "place" a synonym for "purpose".

What determines one's "place"?

[MineralMan]

8. No, it is not a synonym.

I do not believe that we have a "purpose." That implies that there is actually a purpose for anything, a belief I also don't have.

I am here through a great number of coincidental things that happened before I existed. How I came to be, as an individual human being, I understand fairly well, although I couldn't really explain the microscopic chemical reactions that occurred. I even understand fairly well the process of evolution and the interactions of all of the lifeforms in my vicinity. So, I am here. That, in itself, is meaningless. But, here I am. My purpose? I don't see that there is one. My place in the ecology, however, is to survive and, perhaps reproduce. I also create abundant amounts of carbon dioxide, consume oxygen, and process various other lifeforms to continue to survive. When I am no longer alive, the elements and some of the compounds that make up my physical being will be recycled in one way or another.

I don't accept a "purpose" for my existence. I have personal purposes of my own creation that I hope to accomplish, but that's it. I am here. What I do with that fact is more or less up to me, barring unforeseen circumstances. I suppose that my plans could be called my "purpose," but they are insignificant to most other humans. In the meantime, I exist and am part of the life on this planet.

[rug]

11. Well, then, what is your "placee".

[MineralMan]

12. I don't recognize that word, rug.

I have a place in the ecosystem of this planet. That is my place. I could describe my location in that place, along with some of the interactions I have, but I don't think you're really interested in any of that.

But, I don't know the word "placee."

[rug]

13. Since you're using a typo to evade, explain your own words: "our place is to survive".

[MineralMan]

15. Survival is a requirement for living things.

Their place or function is to survive. if they do not, they cease to be. They also fail to reproduce if they do not survive. If enough of the same type of living thing fails to reproduce, that type becomes extinct and has no place any longer.

What is my place in society? I am a writer and, as such, a teacher of things. That is my place or function. What is yours? Place has a number of meanings.

[AtheistCrusader]

4. Serotonin mostly.

"What creates feelings of ecstasy and a sense of contact with universal oneness?"

[rug]

7. What triggers the secretion of serotonin?

[MineralMan]

9. Does knowing that information affect that secretion, rug?

While I understand the basic endocrinology of it, it doesn't really matter. The serotonin will continue to be secreted. However, if you are curious, you can look up that information, and learn more about it at what ever level you wish. Still, the secretion will continue.

[rug]

10. It's the logical question that follows the statement.

An antidote for the incurious.

I expect you're glad Fleming asked what caused the bacteria in the Petri dish.

To answer your question, it could. Knowing the causes of things can create the ability to affect them.

[MineralMan]

14. Indeed. In fact, there are entire classes of medications that

affect serotonin. They were created by people who have studied the thing you asked about. I am not among those people, nor do I take any of those medications. I do know people who do, however.

Finally, Fleming actually could not answer the question of what causes bacteria. I don't think he ever tried to answer that question. He was more interested in what made them die in certain circumstances. They are living things. He could answer the question of why they grew in the Petri dish, perhaps, and what might destroy them, but not what caused them to exist. Nor can I answer that question. It's not a question that interests me, frankly, because I believe it cannot actually be answered completely. Others could provide additional information about that, no doubt, but it's not information I'm seeking.

[rug]

16. I suspect you and Fleming are not on the same page.

[MineralMan]

17. That is no doubt true.

In fact, Fleming no longer has a place on this planet, while I still do. We no longer inhabit the same space.

[rug]

18. rthen you sholdn;t speak for him.

[MineralMan]

19. I didn't, rug.

I speak only for myself.

[rug]

20. But you did.

"inally, Fleming actually could not answer the question of what causes bacteria. I don't think he ever tried to answer that question. He was more interested in what made them die in certain circumstances."

[AtheistCrusader]

21. A variety of emotional states; such as fear or anxiety.

(Assuming what we regard as a 'properly functioning' endocrine system, but the judgment of 'proper' may be subjective)

[rug]

22. Such as ecstasy.

Cart, horse, et cetera.

[Jim__]

23. Barbara Ehrenreich talks about her mystical experience.

Her book, Living with a Wild God, is about a series of episodes that she had as a teenager that culminate in one rather overwhelming mystical experience. Ehrenreich was raised an atheist, is an atheist today, and has a doctorate in biology.

First is a 16 minute video from the 2014 Miami Book Festival:

There is also a video at CSPAN2 BookTV that is an interview of Ehrenreich about this book. The interview starts at about 2:00 minutes in, runs to about 38 minutes and then is followed by a short Q&A. The link to that interview: http://www.c-span.org/video/?319708-7/book-discussion-living-wild-god

[rug]

24. Bookmarked.