Mystical Experiences

• Who are the two scholars for mysticism?

  • William James
  • Walter Stace
• Who was William James?

  • originally trained in medicine, moved into psychology and philosophy.
  • 100 years ago published one of the most important works about religious experiences - “The Varieties of Religious Experience.”
  • regarding religious experiences he said: “feeling is the deeper source of religion“ -> experiences where you feel God is the basis of religion itself.
  • -> if there weren‘t any religious experiences, religion wouldn’t exist.
• What are the first 4 of the seven main points that William James makes regarding the varieties of religious experiences?

  1. Religious experience is primary and comes from a God which exists.
  2. Religious experiences do not prove a particular God
  3. The religious life involves these three beliefs: visible world draws its significance from a more spiritual universe (the realm of God), the end of humanity is union with the higher universe, prayer or inner communication with God is efficacious.
  4. There are psychological benefits of experiences. e.g. peace, joy.
• What are the next 3 of the main seven points that William James makes regarding the varieties of religious experiences?

  1. A personal religious experience has its roots in mystical states of consciousness: PINT
  2. There is a wide range of mystical experience. E.g. culturally could range.
  3. God meets the individual on ‘the basis of his own concerns‘. ->personal, meets you in your own unique ways
• What was a key element of James‘ belief about religion?

  For James, religious experiences are at the heart of faith, the heart of knowing and understanding God, and at the heart of people‘s lives who follow God.
• What is an important aspect of William James’ philosophy (anagram)?

  PINT
• What does PINT stand for?

  Passivity

  Ineffability

  Noetic quality

  Transiency
• What is meant by passivity?

  • happening to you
  • you are not in control
  • God is in control
  • may feel overwhelmed
• What is meant by ineffability?

  • not expressive in language
  • can’t be described
• What is meant by noetic quality?

  • conveying illumination, truth, knowledge
  • knowledge and truth are gained through mystical experiences that would otherwise not be available to the recipient through ordinary means.
  • insight, conviction, intuition
• What is meant by transiency?

  • not localisable in space and time, lies beyond the everyday realm of physical senses.
  • temporary, not forever lasting
• What are the most important features from PINT?


  I & N - James felt were most important as it makes the experience more mystical.
• Who is Walter Stace?

  • British philosopher who focused on mysticism.
  • Wrote his famous works in the 1960s.
  • Influenced by his time in Sri Lanka and his experiences of Hinduism and Buddhism.
• What did Walter Stace agree with William James on?

  He agreed with James that the goal of religious experience was mystical union of God.
• What is meant by the term ’divine’?

  Godly
• what is meant by the term paradox?

  Feel small and insignificant but feel part of something big and significant.
• What are key terms to include when talking about Walter Stace‘s philosophy?

  non-sensuous

  non-intellectual
• What does non-sensuous mean?

  Not involving the physical senses.
• What does non-intellectual mean?


  The ‘I’ of the rational intellect is replaced by ‘pure consciousness’.
• Why doesn’t Walter Stace not see visions and voices as mystical experiences?

  Visions and voices involve senses and Stace believed that mystical experiences were non-sensuous, having no form, colour, shape, smell, or sound.
• What is an extrovertive mystical experience?

  An extrovertive mystical experience is a type of mystical experience where the individual feels a deep connection with the external world, such as nature or other people. One is aware of their surroundings but these surroundings/objects are transfigured so that the non-sensuous unity shines through
• What is an intovertive mystical experience?

  Introvertive mystic, by contrast, achieves the total supression of sense-experience in which awareness of the world is completely obliterated. Ordinary consciousness is replaced with a new kind of consciousness - mystical consciousness.
• Why is an introvertive mystical experience seen as better than an extrovertive mystical experience?

  It is seen as more pure as it is a deeper and more authentic experience.
• What are the seven key elements of an introvertive experience?

  
  

  • the Unitary Consciousness; the One; the Void; pure consciousness
  • non-spatial, non-temporal
  • sense of objectivity or reality
  • blessednss, peace, etc
  • feeling of the holy, sacred, or divine
  • paradoxicality (seeming to be self-contradictory)
  • alleged by mystics to be ineffable