The Varieties of Spiritual Experience

Join Dr. David Yaden and Dr. Michael Ferguson, world experts in the sciences of psychedelics and spirituality, as they discuss Dr. Yaden's new book, "The Varieties of Spiritual Experience." Inspired by the history, philosophy, and methodology of William James's classic text "The Varieties of Religious Experience," this new volume is a twenty-first-century response to timeless questions about humankind's spiritual nature. "The Varieties of Spiritual Experience" introduces a rich array of original empirical data collected and analyzed by Dr. Yaden and his colleagues, thus enriching the book's treatment of spirituality with a uniquely evidence-based series of perspectives.
This event took place on November 3, 2022
Learn more: cswr.hds.harva...
Full transcript: cswr.hds.harva...

[@itsgoodtobeclean]

James also referred to them as conversion experiences...😊 Life changing

[@Elza-xk7yd]

I never used drugs and I had two major spontaneous mystical experiences decades apart. Both involved what I interpret as direct God's presence. The first one lasted nearly 24 hours, the second one maybe 15 seconds. The first one opened me, an agnostic -- or more accurately an atheist -- to the reality of God. The second saved and reshaped my life, showing me what I consider the truth of my / our, human existence.

[@matth1850]

Thank you to the people behind this video. Massively illuminating for me. 15 years ago I had a powerful, but also destabilizing spiritual experience. It had good and bad effects on my life. It woke me up to the need to live “authentically” but with that, brought enormous guilt when I struggled to live “authentically” (Coming out as gay). I also felt compelled to live a religious life and give up everything I knew, and struggled with guilt when I didn’t do that. Thinking about it now, even though there’s been stability in my latter years, I still wonder if I somehow failed. But it was refreshing to hear that having felt something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Nor that it isn’t true I guess. I went to therapy for years after. I still sometimes talk with my therapist about what it all means. This is one of the best resources I’ve come across. I love that it’s rigorous, from a renown school. I haven’t ever really talked to anyone who had an experience like mine or who had as much to say about it, as in this video. Anyway, thank you.

[@eli20148]

Varieties of religious experience is an essential text. Thank you for following up on it in this spirit!

[@threestars2164]

If religious experience was special it would be different than inhaling nitrous oxide, but it isn't.

[@forsaleutah]

Excellent! Thank you for doing this. Very informative and a great introduction to the book.

[@merlinmakinson4724]

There a very large body of people out there who’ve had the organic experience through psychedelics of powerful and transformative experiences. We’ve over come addictions and many life struggles. Many of us actually use Jung’s works and find them very useful in the post trip experience as a method of furthering the initial catalyzing awareness the psychedelics create . I think the 2 methods combined are a good framework for positive mental health.

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

Very conservative Harvard D-School hits 1965.

[@eternalism8274]

😅