Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2013
Jonathan Nash, Andrew B. Newberg
182 citations
Scholarly discourse on meditation suffers from inconsistent terminology and a lack of agreed-upon definitions and categories. Past attempts to create new lexicons have been useful but remain debated and misinterpreted. This paper proposes two new models to improve scientific reliability. First, it suggests a taxonomic system based on the established third-person paradigm of Affect and Cognition, borrowed from psychology and cognitive science, rather than inventing new first-person terminology. Second, it offers a definitional model that distinguishes meditation method from meditative state, conceptualizing meditation as a dynamic process with six related stages. The goal is to provide researchers with a reliable nomenclature for categorizing meditation methods and a conceptual framework to guide research and theory.
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
October 24, 2016
David B. Yaden, Khoa D. Le Nguyen, Margaret L. Kern et al.
125 citations
Religious, spiritual, or mystical experiences triggered by psychedelic substances are rated as more intensely mystical and produce a reduced fear of death, a greater sense of purpose, and increased spirituality compared to similar experiences arising through other means. These findings held even after controlling for gender, education, socioeconomic status, and religious affiliation. The results support the view that psychedelic-induced experiences are genuinely mystical and generally positive in outcome.
August 18, 2022
David B. Yaden, Andrew B. Newberg
80 citations
Spiritual experiences have been reported worldwide throughout history, including the present day. Founders of major religions, philosophers since ancient Greeks, and about 30% of people in the United States and United Kingdom report them. William James analyzed these experiences a century ago, raising questions about triggers, brain and body effects, and lasting impacts. This book explores modern scientific breakthroughs from psychology and neuroscience, inviting readers into laboratories to learn research methods. It includes survey questions for classifying experiences and diverse personal accounts. Building on James's foundation, it provides a scientifically informed contemporary understanding of these profound, often life-meaningful events.
Frontiers in Psychology
March 18, 2014
Andrew B. Newberg
77 citations
This paper offers a perspective on the current research evaluating the neurobiological correlates of spiritual practices, reviewing methodological issues that confront the field. Spiritual practices studied include prayer, meditation, mediumistic trance states, speaking in tongues, and drug-induced experiences. Neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, single photon emission computed tomography, and positron emission tomography have helped elucidate neurobiological mechanisms. Unique challenges include determining appropriate objective measures and correlating them with subjective measures that capture states of spiritual significance. A neuroscientific study of spiritual practices has the potential to further understanding of the relationship between the brain and such phenomena.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality
July 27, 2015
David B. Yaden, Johannes C. Eichstaedt, H. Andrew Schwartz et al.
68 citations
People who report having had mystical experiences use language that is more socially and spatially inclusive—words like 'close,' 'we,' and 'with'—and fewer overtly religious terms such as 'prayed,' 'Christ,' or 'church' compared to those who have not had such experiences. This pattern emerged from quantitative linguistic analysis of 777 participants' written accounts of their most significant spiritual or religious experience. The findings suggest that mystical experiences, though often described as ineffable, can be meaningfully communicated, and that language analysis offers a way to study them.
Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice
June 12, 2025
Etzel Cardeña, Aviva Berkovich‐ohana, Katja Valli et al.
11 citations
A multidisciplinary, international group used taxonomic principles and a modified Delphi method to create a taxonomy of altered states of consciousness based on central phenomenological features. They identified eight distinct states, some with subcategories: proto and transitional, delirium, minimal to no awareness, experiential detachment, enhanced physicality, altered identity, imaginary/fantasy/visionary, and unity/mystical. The authors hope this taxonomy will foster conceptual clarity and stimulate research across specializations, helping reveal what is common and different across triggers and antecedents of altered states, and encouraging phenomenological, psychological, cultural, and neuroscientific understanding.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
November 30, 2022
Calixto Machado, Andrew B. Newberg, Yanín Machado et al.
1 citation
Remembering near-death experiences and mystical experiences produces significant functional changes in the autonomic nervous system, as measured by heart rate variability. Using continuous electroencephalography with electrocardiogram monitoring, researchers compared the memories of two groups of participants. The method allowed continuous assessment of heart rate and heart rate variability during recall. The findings demonstrate that both types of experiences are associated with measurable autonomic shifts, confirming earlier reports of such changes.
Zygon®
February 1, 2026
Michael James Winkelman, Andrew B. Newberg
The self is necessary for consciousness and central to spirituality. Downregulation of the right parietal lobe (rPL) is linked to spiritual experiences and meditative practices. The rPL supports the embodied self; its disturbance is associated with selflessness and spiritual experience. While many forms of self are incompatible with mystical experiences, the affective core self—the most ancient form—directly corresponds to many characteristics of such experiences. The affective core self and right-hemisphere processes in core spiritual features suggest a reversion to earlier self-representation, explaining the neurophenomenology of some spiritual experiences.