Spontaneous Cosmic Consciousness Experience: A Phenomenological Approach
Journal of Consciousness Studies February 1, 2025 A. Hilton
The term 'cosmic consciousness' is used in two distinct ways: as a metaphysical fundamental or to name a mystical event, but it was originally popularized as a psychological state following such an event. Drawing on six people's reports of spontaneous cosmic consciousness, including the author's own, this article presents first-person accounts of both the mystical event and the subsequent state. It reviews the historical conflation of event and state, examines the phenomenology and conceptual structure of the experience, and suggests a paradigm form while considering 'enlightenment' and the role of psi.