A Phenomenology of Mystical Experiences

Even today, mystical experiences continue to baffle those who attempt to accurately communicate them through the use of language. This is mainly due the fact that such experiences tend to exhibit phenomenal qualities that are highly distanced from normal everyday occurrences. This book constitutes a four-part preliminary attempt at surmounting this problem, and at rendering mystical experiences effable. The first part lays down the variety of mystical experiences that one can come to encounter, as these have been reported across a wide variety of peoples, religions, and cultures. The second part explains the impetus for developing a common vocabulary for uttering such experiences. The third part lays down the basics of such a vocabulary, borrowing much from Husserlian phenomenology. The fourth part shows how this vocabulary can render effable even the most puzzling and ambiguous mystical experiences. Anyone who has had such experiences, who researches them, or who simply wishes to get acquainted with their richness and variety, will greatly benefit from reading this book.