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Kenneth Wilber II is an American author who has written about adult development, developmental psychology, philosophy, worldcentrism, ecology, and stages of faith. His work formulates what he calls Integral Theory. In 1998, he founded the Integral Institute, for teaching and applications of Integral theory.
At the heart of every religion lies the ineffable experience of a lone
individual. These mystical experiences have then become the cornerstone
upon which the rest of the religion is built. But modern day religion
has replaced these direct, unmediated, experiences in favor of
abstractions and empty rituals. Mystical experiences, stigmatized by
many as nothing more than a peculiar form of pathology, are often
dismissed by academics and lay persons alike as being trivial,
irrelevant, or spurious. I hope to show that mystical experiences, in
fact, hold much relevance in our lives by directly impacting our
philosophical and psychological rectitude. Mystical experiences
represent the highest states of consciousness possibly achievable,
analogous to the way an Olympic runner represents the highest
fulfillment of the potential that lies within each ordinary runner.
These higher states of consciousness bring into question traditional
views on epistemology and consciousness. Integrating the philosophy of
William James, the psychology of Abraham Maslow and Andrew Weil, the
anthropological research of John J. McGraw, the myriad of scientific
studies by institutions such as Harvard, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, etc., and
the insights of various others, I hope to convince you of the
interdisciplinary importance of mystical experiences. (By: Michael
Dieciuc, Chicago IL) |
