Unitive/mystical experiences and life changes
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Psychology
Susan F. Schneeberger
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ABSTRACT
Schneeberger, Susan F. Unitive/Mystical Experiences and Life Changes. Published
Doctor of Psychology dissertation,
University of Northern Colorado, 2010.
The purpose of this study was to explore life changes in beliefs, philosophy, and
behavior in individuals who reported having a unitive/mystical experience (U/ME).
A unitive mystical experience is a generally spontaneously occurring state of
consciousness characterized by a sense of unity or “oneness” that transcends sensory or
cognitive apprehension (Stace, 1960).
There is often an ineffable certainty that an
ultimate truth has been perceived and can be applied to one’s life. The experience may be
accompanied or followed by feelings of joy and bliss.
One hundred sixty adults from a
broad range of demographic characteristics participated in a one-time web-based survey.
The concept of a unitive mystical experience was based on the mysticism theory of Stace.
Hood’s Scale-Research Form D (1975, 2005) was used to assess the intensity and degree
of reported unitive mystical experiences since it is an operationalization of Stace’s
theory. Life changes were assessed using Greyson’s Life Changes Inventory-Revised
(Greyson & Ring, 2004). Participants also answered 10 demographic questions.
Four
research questions were addressed using correlational methodology. These questions
explored the type of changes reported after a unitive mystical experience, the relationship
of the intensity of the U/ME to the changes, perceptions of the overall quality of
respondents’ lives after the U/ME, and the relationship of the changes to selected
demographic variables.
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Results of the study indicated that there were significant increases in participants’
concern with social and planetary values, self-acceptance, spirituality, quest for meaning
and sense of purpose, concern for others, and appreciation for life.
Respondents reported
a significant decrease in concern with worldly achievement. The area of religiousness
showed no change. Results also indicated that a more intense unitive/mystical experience
was associated with a greater degree of change overall and with a significant increase in
appreciation for life specifically.
Participants indicated that their overall quality of life
had changed significantly after their unitive/mystical experience in a direction perceived
as beneficial. There was no significant relationship between reported changes and
demographic variables. Limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and
implications of the findings were discussed
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................... 1
Rationale for the Study.......................................................................... 5
Purpose of the Study ............................................................................ 9
Research Questions.......................................................................... 9
Delimitations of the Study............................................................... 9
Definition of Terms.................................................................. 10
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.................................. 12
Definitions of Unitive/Mystical Experience..................................... 12
Examples of Unitive/Mystical Experiences ........................................ 14
Theoretical Conceptualizations and Characteristics of Unitive/Mystical
Experiences...... 18
Shamanism, Paleolithic Cave Art, and the Earliest Unitive/Mystical
Experiences... 22
Prevalence and Predisposing Factors of Unitive/Mystical Experiences......... 27
The Good Friday Experiment .................................... 28
Grof’s Holotropic Breathwork.......................................... 29
Rhea White: Exceptional Human Experiences.......................... 30
Understanding Unitive/Mystical Experiences............................................... 36
Transpersonal Psychology.............................................................. 38
Neurophysiological Aspects of Unitive/Mystical Experiences...................... 39
Psychopathology and Unitive/Mystical Experiences..................................... 44
Research on the Effects of Unitive/Mystical Experiences............................. 45
Conclusion................................................................................ 51
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