Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness

Challenges the prevailing view that mystical experience is shaped by language and culture and argues that mystical experience is a direct encounter with consciousness itself.

In an exploration of mystical texts from ancient India and China to medieval Europe and modern day America, Robert K. C. Forman, one of the leading voices in the study of mystical experiences, argues that the various levels of mysticism may not be shaped by culture, language, and background knowledge, but rather are a direct encounter with our very conscious core itself.

Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness focuses on first-hand accounts of two distinct types of mystical experiences. Through examination of texts, recorded interviews, and courageous autobiographical experiences, the author describes not only the well-known "pure consciousness event" but also a new, hitherto uncharted "dualistic mystical state." He provides a thorough and readable depiction of just what mysticism feels like. These accounts, and the experiences to which they give voice, arise from the heart of living practices and have substance and detail far beyond virtually any others in the literature.

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Robert K. C. Forman is Associate Professor of Religion at Hunter College as well as Executive Editor of the Journal of Consciousness Studies and Director of the Forge Institute, Inc.