Index
absolute reality
18, 35
Abulafia, Abraham
17
after-effects
increased psi
73–74
perceptual
25
permanent perceptual changes
62
afterlife
40, 62
alpha blocking
39
attributions
50
auras
12–13
ayahuasca
43
comparison to NDEs
43
baseline effect
56, 67
Bible
14, 20
Biblical
12
Brahman
35
Bucke, Richard Maurice
23
Buddhism
3, 11, 18–19, 33, 39, 52
jhanas
19
Pure Land
13
Christ consciousness
43
Christianity
2–3
cognitive
24
cognitive neuroscience
25, 27, 38
coloration
23, 61
comparison to natural light
12, 41
concentration in lifeforms
61–62, 81
consciousness
27
construct
4
constructivism
12
challenge to
66, 69, 83
contemplative practices
14, 21, 27, 40
cosmology
16–17
crisis
27
cultural concepts of light
3
cultural influence
21, 50, 65
cultural traditions
33–56
enlightenment
11
dark night of the soul
74, 76
demarcation
5, 46, 50–51, 81
dharmakaya
33
Diamond Luminosity
33
divinity
17
relationship to
12
divinity/ultimacy
50, 57–58, 63, 77
DMT
38
5-MEO
38
Dostoevski, Fyodor
26
dynamic quality
62
early empirical study
53
phases of project
53
phenomenological
56
phenomenological interview format
56
quantitative
54–55
sampling
56
early phenomenological study
exceptions
57
East-West comparison
14
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
14, 16
EEG
41
EEG readings
38
ego removal
70
Eliade
4
emanation
from Holy persons
11
emergent phenomena
38
energy-like somatic experiences
43, 70
enlightenment
18, 20, 41
essential qualities
3
excluded potential qualities
51
exclusion of mystical qualities
36, 39, 41
experiential contexts
3, 7, 56
after death communications
40
ayahuasca
43
contemplative practices
17, 38–39, 41
crisis
31
dreams
31
mystical experience
24, 36, 39
NDE
4, 8–9, 29, 32, 36, 40, 44
NDE and ME overlap
36, 51
NDEs
61
NDEs of the blind
45
prayer
67
psychedelics
27, 38, 43
spontaneous spiritual awakening
28, 31, 62
Vihangam Yogapontaneous spiritual awakeni
40
explanations
pathological
6
explanatory issues
26, 34, 46, 81
facets
.
see essential qualities
27, 42, 50
absence in some descriptions
57
affective
20, 30, 32, 35, 44, 58–59, 64
continuous model
24, 49, 61
described as intrinsic to light
59
full exposition of
46
in qualitative study
56
indirect evidence of
39, 41, 43
introvertive/extrovertive dichotomy
61
knowledge
20, 23, 31
luminous
41
noetic
20, 71
noetic/knowledge
50, 59–60, 63
unitive
28
vital
28, 31
Faggin, Federico
2
fidelity to the phenomena
5, 83
filter theory
27
first-hand reports
2–3
fluidic quality
70
format
conceptual issues with
49
formats
3, 5, 9, 11
extrovertive
9, 24, 27–28, 31
extrovertive/localized overlap
61
full exposition of
48
indirect evidence of
44
introvertive
9, 16, 20, 28–29, 33, 55
localized
6, 9–11, 24, 29–30, 40, 48, 62
localized internal
31
mystical
7, 11
mystical vs. numinous
49, 55
overlap
31, 60
quantitative findings
55
future directions
82
gamma activation
39
glory
20
Glory of God
14
God
3, 9, 13–14, 17, 35, 43, 58
Greyson scale
35
hallucination
5, 22, 25, 46
halos
20
healing/liberating quality
34, 43, 64
Heaven
16
Hesychasm
14, 17
higher self
70–71
Hildegard of Bingen
34
Hinduism
Upanishads
11
Hollenback, Jess
12
Hood
5
illuminationism
13
illusion of mundane world
68, 74
imagery
35
Infinity
17–18, 63–64
inner light
11, 38, 40
intensity
11
facets correspond to
59
gradations of
33, 51
threshold
40, 51
interpretations
50
interpretative phenomenological analysis
40, 44, 56
inverse NDEs
44
Ishwara
35
James, William
7, 22
Jesus Christ
14, 20, 43, 67–68
Joan of Arc
26
Kabbalah
13, 17, 64
Lurianic
17
Makom Panoy
17
Ohr Ein Sof
17
Tzim Tzum
17
Zohar
16
Kapstein, Matthew
13
Kundalini
18, 28, 37, 42, 59, 70
layers of reality/selves/consciousness
69
life impacts
51, 65
attribution to light
67
complexity of
82
intimacy with divinity
77
moral values
72
sense of purpose
72
sense of self
70–71
shifts in values
68
social issues
74–75, 77
social shifts
71
spiritual growth
72
lifeforce
18
light
and darkness
16
of awareness
18
of love
9, 20–21, 26, 28
light of love
43, 62
liquid quality
59
localized
42
emanating from heart
34
love
23
LSD
33
Marshall, Paul
7, 23–24, 33, 49
meaning
52
measurement
35–36, 39, 83
early research
37
excluding light
36
exclusion of light
36
need for
39, 46, 53
problems with
40, 83
mental health
52
relation to beliefs
52
metaphor issue
19–24, 39, 83
in Buddhism 11n,
18
in Tantra
18
metaphysics
52
methodological agnosticism
5, 81
methodology
5
miracles
35
Mircea Eliade
10
mixed methods
53
MLE-11
53–54, 82
Moody, Raymond
9
mystical experience
4, 7
and pathology
25–26
light in
23–24
neurocognitive study of
27
Mystical Light
as essential nature
14
mystical vs. numinous
52
mysticism
Christian
14, 16, 21
exclusion from models of
23
naturalism
assumptions
6
orthodoxy of
6
near-death experiences
16, 23
neurocognitive explanations of
26
research
26
veridical perceptions
26
neglect of the phenomenon
4, 35, 46, 53
noetic demarcation
7, 60
noetic quality
7
non-mystical light
paranormal
27
nondualism
27
nonduality
72
ontological question
5–6, 25, 81
operational definition
46
operationalization
10
orbs of light
62
Pahnke, Walter
24
Paramhansa Yogananda
34
pathological associations
41, 50
anoxia/hypoxia
26
ecstatic aura
26
epilepsy
26
ocular reperfusion
26
phosphenes
26, 41
psychosis and NDE
44
REM intrusion
26
retrospective diagnosis
34
schizophrenia
25
schizophrenia/psychosis
25
pathologization
44
perennialism/syncretism
10, 12
perennialist contextualist debate
13
personal quality
59
phenomenological orientation
5–6
phenomenological qualities
4
phenomenology
4–5, 9, 25–26, 49, 54, 61, 63, 74, 79, 81
concentration in living things
6
grounding
83
method
41, 43, 53
methodology
6
philosophy
6
scientific significance of
6
significance for life impacts
52, 55
significance of
6, 81
significant details of
61
phenomenology, scientific significance of
5
Philosophy
15
post-materialist approaches
26
pragmatism
5, 7
prevalence
40
in mystical experience
36
in NDE
44
in NDEs
36
in the general population
37
psi
associated with MLE
34–35, 44
psychedelic research
38
psychedelics
24–25
psychological construct
40, 46, 80, 83
psychological research
35
pure consciousness events
39
Quakers
20
qualitative research
40
qualities
9
mystical
9
Qurʾan
13
Ramana Maharshi
13
realer than real
57, 60, 69
recontextualization
82
recontextualization of mundane life
68
reductionism
5
relationship to well-being
55
religious affect
37
religious implications
82
religious qualities
67
Santo Daime
43
scale
4
scale development
53
results
54
science
5, 82, 84
and measurement
53
and phenomenology
5, 81, 83
community
74
framework
6
journals
54
scientific framework
5, 12
scientists’ and academics’ experiences
33–56
sensory deprivation
41
Shamanism
35
significance
4
singular light across contexts
83
singularity of light across contexts
evidence of
54, 80
experiential contexts
4
qualitative evidence of
62
social scientists
6
social support
55
attributions
78
deficits
78
Soul
18, 21
luminous nature of
33
spiritual awakenings
30
spiritual community
78
spiritual emergency
74
spirituality
51–52
spiritually transformative experiences
26, 43, 83
St. Augustine
21
St. Gregory Palamas
14
St. John of the Cross
21
St. Symeon
16–17
Stace, Walter
7, 49
strategic communication
77
study limitations
80
Sufi
fana
13
Sufism
13
synesthesia
25
Tantra
14, 17–18
Shakti
18
Shiva
18
thematic analysis
44
theology
14, 16
theoretical construct
3
theoretical model
9
theoretical (working) model
46, 65
support for
80
Tibetan Book of the Dead
18
Tibetan Buddhism
14, 18
Ground Luminosity
18
Rigpa
18
title (mystiacal luminosity experience)
10
transformation
4, 11, 23, 28, 30, 50–52, 56, 65–66, 68, 71, 82
transpersonal
5
ultimacy
10
ultimate reality
17, 33
Uncreated Light
3, 14
Underhill, Evelyn
21
void
17–18, 36
Yoga
14, 35
Zen
38
Zoroastrianism
11, 14