broader and more specific definitions over time . My research focus is on what Gellman defines as the narrow definition of mystical experience :
A ( purportedly ) super sense-perceptual or sub sense-perceptual unitive experience granting acquaintance of realities or states of affairs that are of a kind not accessible by way of sense-perception , somatosensory modalities , or standard introspection […] Examples are experiences of the oneness of all of nature , “ union ” with God , as in Christian mysticism , the Hindu experience that Atman is Brahman ( that the self / soul is identical with the eternal , absolute being ), the Buddhist unconstructed experience , devoid of all multiplicity . 6
Stace expresses a similar understanding of mystical experience as an experience of the ‘ absolute undifferentiated and distinctionless unity in which all multiplicity has been obliterated ’. 7 There is , within mystical traditions , a strong tendency toward monism , even within traditions with a dualist framework . Mystical experiences may have religious elements but not all religious experiences are mystical in this precise sense . It is also worth noting that individuals with no religious belief sometimes have experiences with the characteristics of mystical experience . Although mystical experiences are often associated with contemplative practices or spiritual pathways , they also occur spontaneously and unexpectedly . These latter examples are significant as part of the counter claims to hard constructivism .
The Idea of a Common or Universal Core
The observable parallels between different mystical traditions such as emphasis on union between ( or identity with ) the individual self and the Absolute , the claim of access to a particular type of direct knowledge , and the absence of thoughts or sensory imaging , have led some scholars to propose a framework of commonly occurring features of mystical experience .
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