In the 16^th century, the Carmelite nun Teresa of Ávila started experiencing intense religious visions in the form of religious ecstasy. She described moments of a complete loss of self consciousness and uniting with God. In one vision, Teresa was firmly convinced that Jesus Christ had presented himself to her in an invisible, bodily form. In another, an angel repeatedly drove a golden spear at her, causing immense pain and awe of God. 

           Mystical experiences are widely reported but little understood. In a survey done by the Pew Research Center in 2009, ‘About half of the U.S. public (49%) says they have had a religious or mystical experience, defined as a “moment of sudden religious insight or awakening”.’ Mystical experiences play an integral part of many religions, but even those not involved in any particular religion may experience them. 

What is a mystical experience?

           Mystical experiences are a type of religious experience, yet they are unique among other rituals such as prayer as mystical experiences tend to involve a sense of particular unity with the divine. Mystical experiences usually involve people feeling that they transcend beyond natural boundaries such as time and space. It can also be defined by its noetic quality. In other words, people who experience mystical experiences feel a deep insight into the truth, whether divine or otherwise. Perhaps most interestingly, people who experience mystical experiences often feel ‘more certain than certain’ that the event did happen.

           Many different faiths incorporate mystical experiences as a method of worship or self understanding. These cultures share similarities in neural signatures of participants and a common noetic quality and certainty. However, the specific nature of the mystical experience varies across different traditions. For example, the Christian Pentecostalist tradition encourages speaking in tongues as a method to unite with the Holy Spirit. Christian mystical experiences also often involve personal encounters with God or another sacred figure. For Sufi Muslims, mystical experiences result in a ‘purer’ devotion of God. On the other hand, in the Zen Buddhist tradition, there are no divine figures involved at all. Instead, participants aim to feel a sense of unity within their self.

           The scientific study of mystical experiences formally began in the late 19^th to early 20^th centuries. Philosopher and psychologist William James’ book “The Varieties of Religious Experience” is often considered as the first scholarly text on the subject. Nowadays, neuroimaging techniques such as fMRI, PET and EEG are used to explore neural correlates of religious experiences. Questionnaires are also often incorporated into the research process as for some people, mystical experiences occur spontaneously rather than being summoned at will. There has also been a multitude of studies on psychedelic drugs triggering mystical experiences, although these experiences are not necessarily religious in nature. 

           Although scientific studies of religious experiences are limited in that researchers will only ever be able to identify neural correlates rather than determine the causes or meaning of such experiences, the field still provides valuable insights into what happens.

Psychology of Religion

           A common feature of mystical experiences is ego dissolution, which is a disruption of the normal boundary between the self and the world. In Sufi Islam, this practice is described as Fana, which is an annihilation of self. Anatta in Buddhism similarly refers to a realisation that there is no permanent self and can be attained through meditation. Compared to pathological ego boundary disruptions such as dissociative disorders and psychosis, mystical experiences serve a functional impact of a deeper understanding of the divine or the self.

           Noetic quality, i.e. the absolute conviction that the experience was true, establishes mystical experiences as a form of undeniable knowledge for individuals. It also helps support personal religious belief.  

Neuroimaging 

           Contrary to what some people think, mystical experiences are associated with several brain regions and systems rather than a singular ‘God spot’. In a study done on Carmelite nuns, when they underwent mystical experiences there was activation in the temporal cortex, insula, right caudate among other regions. In general, there is decreased activity in the default mode network, an area that is responsible for self-processing and awareness. A particular region identified in the default mode network is the posterior superior parietal cortex, which constructs the sense of the body as a bounded object in space. This region becoming less active could explain the loss of natural boundaries in mystical experiences.

           Researchers also often observe activity in the temporal lobe. The temporal lobe processes sensory input and emotional memory, so increased activity could result in visions and intense emotions that occur during mystical experiences. There is compelling evidence for the relationship between mystical experiences and the temporal lobe from studies done on patients with temporal epilepsy, which sometimes results in hyperreligiosity and mystical experiences.

What does this mean?

           Religious mystical experiences could be used as a therapeutic method for depression and post-traumatic growth. Studies have found that those who experience mystical experiences score higher on average on measures of psychological well-being and sense of meaning in life. Research has also been done on using psychedelic drugs to trigger mystical experiences for its potential therapeutic applications, but these remain limited due to the unpredictable nature of responses and side effects.

           Although modern day brain scans are able to find out some of what goes on in the brain during mystical experiences, there are still limitations to what could be understood. These brain scans are only able to find out the regions that are activated during the experience, which does not explain the causes. 

References

Beauregard, M., & Paquette, V. (2006). Neural correlates of a mystical experience in Carmelite nuns. Neuroscience Letters, 405(3), 186–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2006.06.060

Bradford, D. T. (2013). Emotion in mystical experience. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 3(2), 103–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599x.2012.703004

Carvour, H. M., Radke, A. K., & French, N. S. (2025). A review of the neuroscience of religion: an overview of the field, its limitations, and future interventions. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 19. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2025.1587794

Cristofori, I., Bulbulia, J., Shaver, J. H., Wilson, M., Krueger, F., & Grafman, J. (2016). Neural correlates of mystical experience. Neuropsychologia, 80, 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.11.021

Pew Research Center (2009) Many Americans Mix Multiple Faiths. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/12/09/many-americans-mix-multiple-faiths/#6

Millière, R., Carhart-Harris, R. L., Roseman, L., Trautwein, F.-M., & Berkovich-Ohana, A. (2018). Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01475

van Elk, M., & Aleman, A. (2017). Brain mechanisms in religion and spirituality: An integrative predictive processing framework. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 73, 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.031