Mysticism Sacred and Profane

TL;DR: In this paper , the authors offer a descriptive exploration of human phenomenology, focusing on the whole continuum of human subjective experience, not only the peaks in that continuum that we call epiphanies.

TL;DR: In this article, Wainwright's recent book is the first attempt at a systematic and rigorous assessment of mystical experience since the publication of W. T. Stace's influential Mysticism and Philosophy more than twenty years ago.

TL;DR: In both its philosophical and artistic reference, "mysticism" is notoriously an abused term. Used irresponsibly, it has served rationalists as a pejorative synonym for superstition, for vague or irrational thought, for dreaminess, and too often become popularly associated with some of its less edifying side effects: magic, unspeakable sexual practices, and the sensational asceticism of those Hindu gentlemen who make their living by sleeping on nails as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: Some scholars have responded to the apparent differences between monistic and theistic mystical experiences by emphasising the role of socio-religious interpretation of the experiences as mentioned in this paper, pointing out that both theistic and monistic experiences, unlike normal sensory events, are described as spaceless and timeless realizations which, though not strictly ineffable, defy precise and positive description.