RESEARCH BASE

Search 3,721 documents across 34 fields — every claim tier-rated by evidence

3,721 Documents 34 Sections 43,625 Citations 34,852 Keywords Indexed 4 Evidence Tiers

3,633 are the core, quality-scored corpus (34 lettered sections — see How We Work); the remaining 88 are cross-corpus synthesis documents (68 InterDocs, 12 Connections, 8 Theories) also indexed here.

33 results for "mystical visions" — page 1 of 2

T_5_14 Credible Psychology & Social

T_5_14 — Peak Experiences and Ecstasy: Maslow, Mystical States, and Transformative Moments

Peak experiences — moments of ecstatic joy, profound meaning, ego-dissolution, and felt unity with the world — were identified by Abraham Maslow (1964) as among the most important experiences in human life: rare, spontan

peak experience Maslow ecstasy mystical experience flow awe
Y_3_13 Credible Altered States

Y_3_13 — Visionary Art: Depicting Altered States from Hildegard to Grey

Visionary art — artistic creation inspired by, depicting, or emerging from altered states of consciousness — spans the entire history of human image-making, from Paleolithic cave paintings (whose geometric patterns David

visionary art Alex Grey Hildegard of Bingen psychedelic art Huichol entoptic phenomena
Y_3_20 Credible Altered States

Y_3_20 — Enlightenment Neuroscience: Satori, Samadhi & Mystical States

Enlightenment — known as satori or kensho in Zen Buddhism, samadhi in Hindu yogic traditions, fana in Sufism, theosis in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and unio mystica in the Western mystical tradition — refers to state

enlightenment satori samadhi mystical experience nondual awareness default mode network
Y_3_04 Verified Altered States

Y_3_04 — Mystical Experience — Neuroscience of the Numinous

Mystical experiences — characterized by unity consciousness, noetic quality, ineffability, transcendence of time and space, and deep positive affect — have been reported across every known culture and religious tradition

mystical experience numinous William James Rudolf Otto peak experience neurotheology
N_3_15 Credible Secret Societies

N_3_15 — Hasidic Mystical Lineages and Transmission Chains

Hasidic Judaism — founded by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (the Baal Shem Tov, c. 1700–1760) in Podolia (modern Ukraine) — represents one of the most well-documented mystical transmission systems in world religion. Unlike man

hasidic-lineages kabbalistic-transmission tzaddik baal-shem-tov mystical-chain rebbes
Y_5_12 Speculative Altered States

Y_5_12 — Dark Retreat: Extended Light Deprivation and Endogenous Visionary States

The dark retreat (yangti nagpo or mun mtshams in Tibetan) is an advanced contemplative practice — primarily within the Dzogchen (Great Perfection) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the closely related Bön tradition — in

dark retreat yangti Tibetan Buddhism melatonin DMT hypothesis light deprivation
N_1_15 Verified Secret Societies

N_1_15 — Islamic Esoteric Networks

Islamic esoteric traditions encompass a vast network of mystical orders, philosophical schools, and initiatory lineages spanning from the 8th century CE to the present. The Sufi tariqas (orders), Ismaili Nizari networks,

islamic-esoteric-networks sufism ismaili tariqa esoteric-islam batiniyya
N_1_12 Verified Secret Societies

N_1_12 — Neoplatonic Schools: Plotinus, Iamblichus, and the Academies

Neoplatonism — the philosophical tradition founded by Plotinus (204-270 CE) and developed by his successors through the 6th century — was the dominant intellectual movement of late antiquity and the last great flowering

Neoplatonism Plotinus Iamblichus Proclus Porphyry Academy
A_2_20 Verified Foundations

A_2_20 — Odes of Solomon: Early Christian Mystical Hymns

The Odes of Solomon are a collection of 42 hymns dating to the late 1st or early 2nd century CE, composed originally in Syriac (or possibly Greek), making them the earliest surviving Christian hymnal. Rediscovered in 190

Odes of Solomon Syriac hymns early Christian mysticism pseudepigrapha baptismal liturgy bridal mysticism
X_5_26 Verified Medicine & Healing

X_5_26 — Psychedelic Medicine: The Johns Hopkins Center and the Therapeutic Renaissance

The psychedelic therapy renaissance — centered at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research (established 2019, originally launched as a research program in 2000) — represents one of the most sig

psychedelic medicine psilocybin johns hopkins MDMA therapeutic clinical trials
K_3_17 Verified Consciousness

K_3_17 — Psychedelic Consciousness — DMT, Psilocybin Neural Effects

The psychedelic renaissance in neuroscience — a period of renewed scientific investigation beginning circa 2006 after decades of regulatory restriction — has produced an unprecedented body of neuroimaging, pharmacologica

psychedelic psilocybin DMT dimethyltryptamine LSD 5-HT2A receptor
Credible

INTERDOC_21 — Meditation, Mysticism, and the Neuroscience Bridge

[KEY FINDING] Richard Davidson's lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, beginning in 2004, demonstrated that long-term meditators (>10,000 hours) — particularly Tibetan Buddhist monks — generate gamma wave oscillati

meditation mindfulness contemplative neuroscience gamma oscillations default mode network neuroplasticity
Credible

INTERDOC_22 — Near-Death Experience, Afterlife Belief, and Cross-Cultural Evidence

[KEY FINDING] The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study — a four-year prospective study across 15 hospitals in the UK, US, and Austria, led by Sam Parnia (published 2014, Resuscitation) — found that 39% of 140 car

near-death experience NDE afterlife out-of-body experience cardiac arrest AWARE study
Credible

INTERDOC_20 — Psychedelic Neuroscience and Ancient Ritual Practice

[KEY FINDING] The Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research, the Imperial College Centre for Psychedelic Research (est. 2019, directed by Robin Carhart-Harris), and the MAPS (Multidisciplinary Assoc

psychedelics psilocybin DMT ayahuasca Eleusinian Mysteries kykeon
T_5_04 Verified Psychology & Social

T_5_04 — Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

The psychology of religion investigates why humans believe in supernatural agents, how religious practices affect cognition and well-being, and what psychological functions religion serves. The field was inaugurated by W

psychology of religion spirituality belief God prayer ritual
Y_4_21 Credible Altered States

Y_4_21 — Fasting-Induced Altered States

Fasting-induced altered states of consciousness — visionary experiences, euphoria, time distortion, dissociation, and mystical-type experiences produced by prolonged food deprivation — represent one of humanity's oldest

fasting altered states ketosis beta-hydroxybutyrate vision quest asceticism
Y_2_14 Credible Altered States

Y_2_14 — Dying Process Phenomenology: Shared Death Experiences and After-Death Communication

The phenomenology of death and the experiences reported by those who witness the dying process include several distinct categories of altered-state phenomena that extend beyond the well-known near-death experience (NDE).

shared death experience after-death communication deathbed visions grief hallucinations terminal lucidity Moody
Y_2_07 Verified Altered States

Y_2_07 — Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Religious Experience

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) — seizures originating in the temporal lobes, which contain structures critical for memory (hippocampus), emotion (amygdala), and sensory-experiential processing — produces some of the most d

temporal lobe epilepsy TLE Geschwind syndrome ecstatic seizure Dostoevsky religious experience
Y_2_13 Verified Altered States

Y_2_13 — Ecstatic Seizures: Dostoevsky, Elation, and Temporal Lobe Pre-Ictal States

Ecstatic seizures — epileptic seizures preceded or accompanied by intense feelings of bliss, transcendence, clarity, and profound meaning rather than the typical dread, confusion, or dysphoria — represent one of the most

ecstatic seizure Dostoevsky temporal lobe epilepsy ecstatic aura neurotheology seizure
Y_2_04 Verified Altered States

Y_2_04 — Neuroscience of Death — Terminal Lucidity and Dying Brain

The neuroscience of death has emerged as a legitimate research frontier, revealing that dying is not a simple cessation but a complex neurobiological process with surprising features. Michael Nahm and Bruce Greyson's doc

terminal lucidity dying brain gamma wave surge cortical spreading depolarization near-death experience DMT hypothesis