Spiritual awakening and transformation in scientists and academics.

Scientists and academics who have had a spiritually transformative experience (STE) describe it as a mystical event involving feelings of expansion, energy rising up the spine, and a sense of being enveloped in light, love, or a unified energetic field. Triggers include concentrating on spiritual matters, the presence of a spiritually developed person, and intense meditation or prayer. Afterward, participants report increased sensory sensitivity, creativity, and shifts in beliefs, including a desire to serve others and a sense of unity. Career effects range from incorporating new insights into existing work to radically changing careers to explore consciousness. Many hesitate to share their experiences due to fear of ridicule.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document both quantitatively and qualitatively the characteristics of spiritual awakenings and their transformational effects in scientists and academics who reported having experienced this phenomenon; it also aimed to explore barriers these individuals perceived to sharing their experiences with others within society. METHODS: An interview questionnaire was used to collect detailed descriptions of both the physical and metaphysical experiences of 54 scientists and academics having had a spiritually transformative experience (STE) (e.g., spontaneous energetic awakenings, awakenings occurring through near-death experiences (NDEs), and through spiritual practices). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Participants reported the STE as a mystical experience involving feelings of expansion (including conscious awareness leaving the body), energy rising up the spine, a sense of being enveloped in light, love or part of a unified energetic field. Principle triggers for these experiences included concentrating on spiritual matters, the presence of a spiritually developed person, and intense meditation or prayer. Transformational changes in participants included increased sensory sensitivity, creativity, and changes in beliefs, including a desire to serve others, a sense of unity with all, and the immortality of the spirit. Effects on career ranged from incorporating their new worldview and spiritual insights into the way they interacted with others within their current career, to radically changing their career to focus on questions related to the fundamental nature of consciousness or to serve others from this new perspective. Among barriers to sharing experiences, participants noted their concern that they would be misunderstood or ridiculed by others.