Mystical Experience, Key #4: Meditation

[Excerpted from, 9 Keys to Mystical Experience: Transpersonal Psychology ?2023 ]

Meditation has long been known for its mystical properties.

A practice emerging from Buddhism to secular settings, meditation is widely utilized today in a myriad of forms. It’s a clear alteration of consciousness with explicit goals of insight and self-transcendence; how much more mystical can we get?

We do well to clarify: meditation has been a part of Hinduism throughout its 4+ millennia, from which Buddhism emerged some 2500 years ago. Those who practice yoga, from the Ayurveda medical tradition based on Hindu principles, are likely to have encountered meditation in that context. Transcendental Meditation [TM], also based in Hinduism, is one of the most well-known forms in the ‘western’ world since the 1950s, while mindfulness meditation was introduced as a secular practice approximately 25 years later. Buddhist meditation has a primary focus of self-transcendence and enlightenment, while Hindu forms of meditation are engaged much like prayer, as a means to access and achieve union with the divine. Both are surely mystical in orientation.

In quieting the mind, and either holding a singular focus or none at all for an ‘empty mind’ instead, we naturally enter an altered state of consciousness. In this liminal state, with a focus of insight (noesis), interconnectedness, nonattachment, ego attenuation or even dissolution, and transcendence to expand ever outward in union with the cosmos, meditation has all the features of mystical experience (Stapleton et al., 2022). In quieting the conscious mind, we access the personal unconscious; in transcending the ego and experiencing interconnectedness, we access the collective unconscious. As such, meditation, supported by parallel practices of chanting and of extended silence as well as various methods of breathwork, provides a powerful pathway to the unconscious.

Experienced meditators tend toward unity and oneness with all, or ego dissolution and self-transcendence (Van Lente & Hogan, 2020). They have a greater tendency toward both peak experiences and lucid dreams, while the intense absorption and focus on nonduality overlap closely with features of mystical experience (Garcia-Campayo et al., 2022). Mindfulness meditation in particular has decentering or nonattachment as its overarching goal, a stepping away from the self in order to gain a broader perspective, and is aligned with ego dissolution or self-transcendence (Hanley et al., 2020).

Participants in a month-long insight-oriented meditation retreat, who were already experienced meditators, reported non-ordinary sensory or perceptive experiences, strong emotional release, and profound insights (Zanesco et al., 2023). Specifically identified aspects of mystical experience included noesis, sacredness, internal unity, and transcendence; results were significant when compared to a group of experienced meditators who were not on retreat and thus less intensely engaged in meditation.

In a survey study of chanting practices conducted by Perry et al. (2022), 436 participants across 32 countries reported phenomena of flow states, mindfulness, mind-wandering, and mystical experience. Intentionality and engagement were predictive for altered states of consciousness, while a call-and-response style of chanting was most associated with mystical experience.

Meditation can be used in various ways beyond the mental quieting and focus that are at its core. We see it in guided imagery, in which, in a meditative altered state, we are guided on a journey – by another person present or on audio recording, or by our own prerecorded voice. We also use it in visualization, an inner journey taken without auditory stimulation but by our own imagination. We can meditate while focusing solely on our breathing; we can engage in contemplative rather than introspective meditation, in which we give ourselves a specific idea or concept, as in Zen Buddhism. The mandala is used in Hindu as well as Buddhist styles of meditation, often personally created beforehand. We can engage in moving forms of meditation, such as yoga, tai chi, or one of our own devising, typically for the purpose of engendering creativity. And much more.

All forms alter the state of consciousness. All can result in mystical experience.

But how do we facilitate this?

.

Exercises:

The basic approach to introspective meditation is one of sitting comfortably, quieting the mind, and minimizing distractions; maintain focus on slow and steady breathing, acknowledging whatever thoughts or feelings arise and then letting them fade away, while you maintain and adjust your focus as needed. Reflect on the experience in some way afterward.

Experienced meditators are known to access mystical experience more easily than others, so a regular practice of meditation will aid you in your mystical quest. In order to specifically facilitate this phenomenon, prepare your meditation; engage first in intensive journaling, brainstorming / mind-mapping, or contemplative exercise, on the sole topic of mystical experience, the mystical realm, or a specific type of mystical experience such as ego dissolution, oceanic boundlessness, universal interconnectedness, or other. Engage in meditation immediately after this priming exercise, keep your focus on your steady breathing and the same topic – and see where it takes you.

Moving meditation is also helpful. Following the same pattern as above, meditate while rocking or swaying your body, or whirling as the Sufis do (but only if you’re practiced at this and not prone to dizziness!). Meditation in the late night hours, or between dawn and sunrise (depending on whether you’re a lark or an owl), is another approach.

You can also meditate using visualization, such as a golden sphere hovering before you, or the spirit-entities you seek in your mystical quest. If you use guided imagery with your meditation, you can find a script you like or write your own but be sure to record it in your own voice which, for accessing your unconscious, is much more powerful than the voice of another.

9 Keys to Mystical Experience: Transpersonal Psychology, by Anne Hilty, ?2023

.

References:

Garcia-Campayo J, Hijar-Aguinaga R, Barceló-Soler A, et al. (2022). Examining the Relation Between Practicing Meditation and Having Peak Experiences and Lucid Dreams: A Cross-Sectional Study.?Frontiers in Psychology?13:858745. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858745

Hanley AW, Dorjee D, and Garland EL (2020). Mindfulness training encourages self-transcendent states via decentering. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000262

Perry G, Polito V, Sankaran N et al. (2022). How Chanting Relates to Cognitive Function, Altered States and Quality of Life. Brain Sciences 12:11:1456. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12111456

Stapleton P, Church D, Baumann O et al. (2022). EcoMeditation Modifies Brain Resting State Network Activity. Innovations in Clinical Neuroscience 19:7-9, 61-70. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36204165/

Van Lente E and Hogan MJ (2020). Understanding the Nature of Oneness Experience in Meditators Using Collective Intelligence Methods. Frontiers in Psychology 11:2092. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02092

Zanesco AP, King BG, Conklin QA et al. (2023). The Occurrence of Psychologically Profound, Meaningful, and Mystical Experiences During a Month-Long Meditation Retreat. Mindfulness 14, 606-621. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02076-w