An introduction to religious and spiritual experience

Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction
 
1
1 What is a Spiritual Experience? 
5
2 Terminology 
11
Religious Experience 
11
Spiritual Experience 
13
Transcendental Experience 
14
Paranormal Experience 
14
Exceptional Human Experience (EHE) 
15
Peak Experience 
15
Limit Experience 
15
Ecstasy 15
Cosmic Consciousness 
16
Mystical Experience 
16
Absolute Unitary Being 
16
Out of the Body Experience (OBE) 
17
Near Death Experience (NDE) 
17
3 Spiritual Experience and Religions 
18
Founders/Messengers 18
Texts 19
Development 22
New Religious Movements 
23
New Age Movements 
23
Interfaith Movements 
23
Quasi-Religions 24
Marxism
 25
Humanism
 25
4
Experiences of the Founders/Messengers of the Major 
Religious Traditions 
27
Hinduism 27
Zoroastrianism 30
vii

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viii
Jainism 30
Buddhism 31
Daoism (Taoism) 
32
Confucianism 33
Judaism 33
Christianity 35
Islam 36
Sikhism 38
5
Experiences of the Founders/Messengers of 
Less Well-Known Religious Traditions
 40
Brahma Kumaris 
40
Brahmo Samaj 
40
Baha’i 41
Quakers 42
Christian Science 
43
Church of Scientology 
43
Mormons 44
Theosophists 44
Anthroposophists 45
Unitarians 46
Gurus 47
Sai Baba (1835–1918)
 47
Satya Sai Baba
 47
Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950)
 48
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1911–2008)
 48
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533)
 48
Prabhupada (1896–1977)
 49
Mother Meera (1960– )
 49
Alternative Paradigms 
50
Neale Donald Walsch
 50
Eckhart Tolle
 50
Fritjof Capra (1939– )
 50
Deepak Chopra (1946– )
 51
6 Religious Triggers of Spiritual Experience 
53
Worship 53
Festivals and Religious Ceremonies 
54
Prayer 56
Contemplation 62
Meditation 63
Contents

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Blessing 66
Silence 67
Darshan 67
Renunciation 68
Sacred places 
69
Pilgrimage 70
Fasting 73
Chanting 74
Yoga 74
Interfaith
75
Search 76
7 Non-Religious Triggers of Spiritual Experience 
78
Place 78
Illness and Prospect of Death 
79
Accident 80
Despair 82
Depression 83
Fear 85
Anger 86
Nature 86
Music 88
Sound 89
8 Types of Spiritual Experience 
93
Spiritual Experience in Childhood 
93
Initiatory Experiences 
99
Conversion 99
Regenerative Experiences 
102
Healing 103
Miracles 107
Guidance 107
Solitary 108
Communal 110
Visions 111
Light 113
Love 118
Voices 119
Tongues 121
Angels 123
Dreams 125
Contents

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Shamanic Journey 
127
Shamanic Healing 
129
Soul Retrieval via the Internet
 129
Drugs and trips 
131
Synchronicity 132
Sense of Presence 
133
The Numinous 
136
The Dark Night of the Soul 
138
The Dark Side – Negative Spiritual Experiences 
139
Dangerous Aspects of Spiritual Movements 
141
The People’s Temple
 142
Branch Davidians
 142
Irreligious Experiences or De-Conversion 
143
9 Dying and Death 
146
Dying 148
End of Life Experiences 
151
Out of the Body Experiences 
154
Near Death Experiences (NDE) 
155
Post-Death Experiences 
164
10 Mystics 
171
Dionysius the Areopagite 
173
Dame Julian of Norwich (1342–Circa 1416) 
174
Rumi (1207–1273) 
177
Swami Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952) 
180
Contemporary Accounts 
182
Mysticism Across Religions 
186
Hinduism and Christianity
186
Buddhism and Christianity
 189
Mystical Experience within All Religions 
191
Mysticism with No Religious Tradition 
193
Direct Path 
194
11 Spiritual and Mystical Experiences of Well-Known People 
196
Plato (427–347 BCE) 
196
St Paul (Circa AD 10–67) 
198
C. G. Jung (1875–1961) 
200
William Wilberforce (1759–1833) 
202
Sir Francis Younghusband (1863–1942) 
204
Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) 
205
Mother Teresa (1910–1997) 
206
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) 
207
Chad Varah (1911–2007) 
208
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926–2004) 
210
Dame Cicely Saunders (1918–2005) 
212
His Holiness the Dalai Lama (1935– ) 
213
Nelson Mandela (1918– ) 
214
Aung San Suu Kyi (1945– ) 
215
Yusuf Islam (1948– ) 
218
Eric Clapton (1945– ) 
218