The concept of transliminality (''a hypothesized tendency for psychological material to cross thresholds into or out of consciousness'') was anticipated by William James (1902/1982), but it was only recently given an empirical definition by Thalbourne in terms of a 29-item Transliminality Scale. This article presents the 17-item Revised Transliminality Scale (or RTS) that corrects age and gender biases, is unidimensional by a Rasch criterion, and has a reliability of .82. The scale defines a probabilistic hierarchy of items that address magical (...) ideation, mystical experience, absorption, hyperaesthesia, manic experience, dream interpretation, and fantasy proneness. These findings validate the suggestions by James and Thalbourne that some mental phenomena share a common underlying dimension with selected sensory experiences (such being overwhelmed by smells, bright lights, sights, and sounds). Low scores on transliminality remain correlated with ''tough mindedness'' in on Cattell 16PF test, as well as ''self-control'' and ''rule consciousness,'' whereas high scores are associated with ''abstractedness'' and an ''openness to change'' on that test. An independent validation study confirmed the predictions implied by our definition of transliminality. Implications for test construction are discussed. (shrink)

Ayahuasca, a hallucinogen with profound consciousness- altering properties, has been increasingly utilized in recent studies (e.g., Strassman, 2001; Shanon, 2002a,b). However, other than Shanon's recent work, there has been little attempt to examine the effects of ayahuasca on perceptual, affective and cognitive experience, its relation to fringe consciousness or to pertinent personality variables. Twenty-one volunteers attending a seminar on ayahuasca were administered personality measures and a semi-structured interview about phenomenal qualities of their experience. Ayahuasca ingestion was associated with profound alterations (...) of temporal- spatial experiences including expansive space and slowed time. Ayahuasca use was also associated with positive emotional states, higher levels of fantasy proneness and psychological absorption and a greater openness to mystical experiences. Conversely, quickened time was associated with negative emotionality. The results are discussed within a multi-faceted model of fringe consciousness with a particular emphasis on Hunt's (1995) models of cross-modal translation as the basis for higher-order symbolic cognition and support James' (1890/1950) contention that fringe consciousness is essential to human cognition. (shrink)

After an overview of the phenomenology of numinous experience in mysticism, conversion, and related states in psychosis, the intersection and distinction between contemporary transpersonal psychologies of spiritual development and psychodynamic/clinical perspectives on pathological states is addressed from cognitive&endash;developmental, psycho-physiological, personality, and socio-cultural perspectives. Debates about the nature of mystical and conversion experiences have a long history in the psychology of religious experience and raise fundamental methodological issues concerning the potential inclusiveness or narrowness of the human sciences. A genuine psychology of (...) numinous experience and its impact on life histories must find its way between the twin dangers of "over-belief" and false reductionism. (shrink)

This accessible and comprehensive overview of the work of Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, was specifically written to acquaint...

The target article, in stressing the balance between neurobiological and psychological factors, makes a compelling argument in support of a continuum of perceptual and hallucinatory experience. Nevertheless, two points need to be addressed. First, the authors are probably underestimating the incidence of hallucinations in the normal population. Second, one should consider the role of absorption as a predisposing factor for hallucinations.

The authors of Golf in the Kingdom draw striking parallels between the remarkable and mystical events that sometimes occur during sports activites and the traditions of mystics and yogis, exploring how the religious heritages of both East and West provide a basis for understanding spiritual experiences arrived at through physical activity.

A defining aspect of Spiritual Emergency (SE) is ‘psychic opening’ which may predict psi performance. This study tested paranormal (psi) performance of individuals who have or have had experiences of spiritual emergency (i.e., ‘SE-Experients’), and compared their performance against controls. The study also assessed psychological aspects of SE to differentiate it from psychosis and other proposed psi-inhibitive symptoms—namely, alogia (i.e., poverty of speech), depression, anxiety, and stress. Two groups of participants were formed: controls (mainly Psychology students) and SE-Experients. Participants either (...) completed the study on computer in the laboratory or online. Questionnaires on spiritual emergency (which includes a subscale on psychic opening), positive symptoms of psychosis, alogia, spiritual identity, paranormal belief, mysticism, depression, anxiety, and stress, were administered to participants, who then completed the Imagery Cultivation (IC) picture-identification psi task, which uses a shamanic-like journeying protocol (Storm & Rock, 2009). The differences between controls and SE-experients on the psi measures, direct hitting (as a percent hit-rate) and mean rank scores, were not significant, but the sum-of-ranks difference was highly significant. Also, SE-experients had a marginally significant mean rank score. Direct hitting did not correlate significantly with any variable, except rank scores, which correlated significantly with psychic opening, spiritual identity, and paranormal belief, and marginally significantly with spiritual emergency. Direct hitting, rank scores, and SE did not correlate significantly with alogia, depression, anxiety, or stress, but the psychosis measure did correlate significantly with alogia, depression, anxiety, stress, and SE. The statistical evidence suggests some proportion of SE-experients experience psychic opening. While SE and psychosis overlap, only SE was predicted by spiritual identity, extrovertive mysticism, and paranormal belief (but not alogia), whereas psychosis was predicted by alogia only. (shrink)

Many traditions have utilized silent environments to induce altered states of consciousness and spiritual experiences. Neurocognitive explorations of spiritual experience can aid in understanding the underlying mechanism, but these are surprisingly rare. We present the verbal report and the electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha profile of a female participant scoring a maximal 34 on the Absorption Scale, recorded before and while she was immersed in a whole-body perceptual deprivation (WBPD) tank. We analyze her trancelike experience in terms of the imagery reported: a (...) spaceship, corridors, doors, a man dressed in white, speaking to God, the sun, supernova, concentric images, and an out-of-body experience. Her report is indicative of a spiritual experience, given that she felt that she was “meeting God” in the laboratory. She exhibited both frontal and parietal left > right alpha power asymmetry at baseline, whereas in the WBPD condition, there was a global increase in alpha power and especially a sharp increase in right-frontal alpha power. Her verbal report and EEG alpha profile were compared to those of another female participant, also scoring high on absorption, whose verbal report was also indicative of a trancelike experience. For further comparison, we present the data for two participants scoring low on absorption. Spiritual experience that can be verbalized might be associated with a marked increase in right-frontal alpha power, as reported here. In contrast, a mystical experience characterized by ineffability would be indicated by a marked increase in left-frontal alpha power. (shrink)