2.2 The Mystical Experience

Defining the word 'mysticism' is no easy task. The word is tainted with implications of supernatural manifestations, witchcraft, and the occult, especially in this day and age where New Age cults and practices are proliferating across the globe. Mysticism continues to be shrouded in 'mystery', its sister word with which it shares its etymology. For the words 'mysticism' and 'mystery' are rooted in the Greek muo, to shut or close the lips or eyes. Historically, the mustes or 'mystics' were the initiated of the early Greco-Roman sects, who were sworn to secrecy about their esoteric practices (Happold, 1990; Johnston, 1997).

Today mysticism is still metaphorically associated with keeping the 'eyes closed', but to the clutter of sensations, perceptions, desires, wishes and thoughts in our minds. Hollenback (1996) makes such an argument for his definition of mysticism:

The salient point captured from this definition is that mysticism cannot be separated from the mystical experience and that this experience is itself propelled by focused attention. Consequently it is imperative now to focus on the mystical experience.

James (1918) described four salient characteristic of the mystical experience which have sustained the test of time and are still quoted by today's scholars of mysticism (e.g. Stace, 1960; Happold, 1990):

• Ineffability: The experience defies expression; it cannot be described in words.

• Noetic quality: It gives insight and knowledge into deep truths, which are sustained over time.

• Transiency: Mystical states cannot be sustained for long. Usually they last from a few seconds to minutes and their quality cannot be accurately remembered, though the experience is recognised if it recurs.

• Passivity: Although the oncoming of mystical states may be facilitated by preliminary voluntary operations, like meditation, once they set in, the mystic feels out of control as if he or she were grasped and held by a superior power.

Mystical experiences occur more frequently than might be believed. Hay, (1985) quotes results of numerous surveys on religious experience where the consensus is that between 30 and 40 percent of British and American adults claim to have had an experience, at least once in their lifetimes, which fits James' (1918) description. Deikman (1966) believes that these experiences can occur both in individuals who actively practice meditation, or other exercises used to produce a mystical experience, but also in those who have never practised such disciplines. Such experiences seem to occur most frequently in natural settings, during deeply enjoyable moments, or under the influence of drugs.

Maslow (1970) secularised the experience by calling it 'peak experience'. He defined the peak experience as natural and available without the need for an organised religious context and claims that "religion becomes... a state of mind achievable in almost any activity of life, if this activity is raised to a suitable level of perfection" (Maslow, 1970, p.170). During a peak experience, the individual experiences an expansion of self, and a sense of unity and meaningfulness in life. The experience lingers on in one's consciousness giving a sense of purpose, integration, self-determination, creativity and empathy (Maslow, 1970).

Csikszentmihalyi (1975) focused on the holistic sensation experienced when acting with total involvement. He claims that this experience, called 'flow', can occur in activities of deep play, whether these are in forms of sport, or deeply involving work like surgery. Contemporary actors, who will be studied in this dissertation, can experience flow by being totally involved in their physical training. In flow, action and awareness are merged as the person becomes aware of her actions but not of the awareness itself. This is similar to Crook's (1980) description of subjective self-awareness. The main contrasts between flow and normal life are one-pointedness of mind, total involvement, timelessness, integration of mind and body, feeling one with companions and with nature, and contact with ultimate reality (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). These characteristics are similar both to Maslow's (1970) description of the peak experience and to James's (1918) characteristics of the mystical experience.

Therefore both Maslow's (1970) peak experience and Csikszentmihalyi's (1975) flow, tap into the same altered states described as mystical experiences. All theorists have implied that these states can be induced through complete involvement in particular exercises, whether they are quiet and reflexive like meditation, or physical and active like contemporary theatre. A discussion on the methods used since ancient times to induce mystical experiences will now follow.

In traditional literature mysticism is described as having two strands: apophatic and kataphatic (Johnston, 1997). These terms are related to the two main opposing ways in which a mystical experience can be induced. Whilst in apophatic mysticism the emphasis is on reducing sensory stimulation, in kataphatic mysticism the emphasis is on increasing extraneous sensations.

Apophatic mysticism is oriented towards emptying the self from extraneous stimuli and is traditionally induced by temporarily depriving the body of certain resources that are required for well being. These include fasting, sleep deprivation, reduction in environmental stimulation and slowing one's breathing (Wulff, 1997). These practices are common in traditional forms of meditation, which involve restriction of awareness, and focusing of attention on the single object of meditation (Ornstein, 1972). Examples include:

• breathing in Buddhist meditation (Zen);

• gazing at a mandala (a highly coloured symmetrical painting), an icon, cross or any other external object. This practice is found in all major religions including Judaism, Christianity, and the Oriental practices of Yoga.

• repetition of a mantra, a sonorous flowing word like 'Om', used in yoga meditation, and transcendental meditation.

The group of meditators being studied in this dissertation uses a mantra for their meditation. They also abide to a simple lifestyle and fast regularly.

Kataphatic mysticism, involves diverse practices that heighten bodily movement and sensory stimulation (Wulff, 1997). They include, amongst many others:

• the chanting prayers, rhythmic movement and hyperventilation of the Tibetan oracle-priest;

• the ecstatic dance of the shaman or whirling dervishes;

• the Ghost Dance movements of the Indian tribes in North America in the late nineteenth century;

• the rituals of African tribesmen, such as the !Kung Bushmen;

• the handling of snakes in Christian fundamentalists in Southern Appalachia;

• speaking in tongues, commonly observed in Pentecostal meetings around the world.

The presence of other participants is a virtual pre-requisite in these rituals where the borderline between religious and artistic expression becomes blurred. Indeed traditional Eastern performing arts like kathakali and ño have deep spiritual meaning in their cultures (Watson, 1995). Such forms of performances, are today inspiring contemporary actors, who use similar forms of expression in their training.

These descriptions are particularly striking for two reasons:

• how similar practices in both the apophatic and kataphatic strands of mysticism have developed in different cultures, across time and continents;

• how these seemingly opposite practices - reducing sensory stimulation in the apophatic pathway, and increasing sensations in the kataphatic - lead to a similar mystical state of consciousness.

This paradox will now be explored by focusing on the common element pertaining to all human beings, the nervous system, and how it is possible to induce a mystical experience by altering its level of arousal.

Our level of arousal is regulated by the autonomic nervous system: the sympathetic nervous system, which mobilises the body during stress, and the parasympathetic, which controls subsequent relaxation. Increasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system leads to 'hyper-arousal', called ergotropic arousal, whilst increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system induces 'hypo-arousal' or trophotropic arousal (Fischer, 1986). Fischer (1986) suggested that both the apophatic and kataphatic strands of mysticism fall on a circular continuum representing these varying states of arousal. Kataphatic mysticism mobilises increased, or 'ergotropic' arousal, whilst apophatic mysticism induces decreased, or 'trophotropic' arousal. The end point of both pathways is the same experience of 'oneness' described by all mystics (Fischer, 1986) (Figure 1).

Fischer's model was elaborated upon by d'Aquili and Newberg (1998), who suggest that the ergotropic system is actually the extension of the sympathetic nervous system in the left brain hemisphere, whilst the trophotropic system is an extension of the parasympathetic nervous system in the right hemisphere. D'Aquili and Newberg (1998) suggest that at maximal stimulation of either the trophotropic or the ergotropic system, there is a 'spillover' into the complementary system, which if maintained over an extended period of time may achieve nearly maximal stimulation of both systems. This rare state of maximal consciousness, or mystical experience, has been described by the authors as Absolute Unitary Being (AUB) (d'Aquili & Laughlin, 1975; d'Aquili, 1978; d'Aquili, 1983; d'Aquili, 1986; d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a; d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993b; d'Aquili & Newberg, 1998) (Figure 2).

D'Aquili and Newberg (1993a, 1993b, 1998), present a neuropsychological model to explain how these AUB experiences can be driven and explained, either from the autonomic nervous system (bottom-up), or from the cerebral cortex (top-down). This model is highly relevant to this dissertation, as it:

• highlights the role of attention in inducing the mystical experience,

• shows how diverse exercises could still be tapping into structures in the brain, like the prefrontal lobe, which are central to higher cognitive functions, including working memory and consciousness itself.

• It gives the opportunity to explore further the implications of Baars (1988) Global Workspace theory of consciousness in the mystical state, which is the core issue of this dissertation.

Consequently a discussion of d'Aquili and Newberg's (1993a; 1993b) top-down and bottom-up models to induce the mystical experience will follow.

The bottom-up model is focused on the balance between ergotropic and trophotropic arousal relative to any stimulus. During normal baseline arousal, called 'tuning', there is ergotropic-trophotropic equilibrium. (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993b). In 'secondary tuning' the arousal level shifts to either end of the ergotropic-trophotropic poles. D'Aquili and Newberg (1993b) discuss four such states of altered arousal. 'Tertiary tuning,' on the other hand, represents the end of the circular continuum, the mystical experience or AUB.

• Hyper-trophotropic tuning

Trophotropic activity is tuned exceptionally high resulting in an extraordinary state of relaxation. This type of activity happens during normal sleep, but may occur during deep meditation accompanied by keen alertness and vigilance.

• Hyper-ergotropic tuning

Ergotropic activity is tuned exceptionally high, resulting in an extraordinary state of excitation. This state is associated with keen alertness and concentration in the absence of superfluous thought and fantasy. This stage may occur under various circumstances where output of motor activity is continuous and rhythmical, as in frenzied ritual behaviour, dancing, long-distance running, and contemporary acting. It also occurs where continuous processing of information becomes so voluminous that interjection of thought and objective self-awareness would prove disadvantageous, for example, in motor-racing or piloting a jet fighter.

• Hyper-trophotropic tuning with ergotropic eruption

Trophotropic activity is so extreme that spillover occurs and the ergotropic system becomes activated. In this case meditators enter a state of oceanic bliss, and by intensifying their concentration upon an object of mediation, they experience absorption into that object, an experience accompanied by the sense of tremendous release of energy.

• Hyper-ergotropic tuning with trophotropic eruption

Reversal phenomena to those described in (3) above may be attained via the opposite route. The trophotropic discharge in the midst of hyper-ergotropic tuning is experienced as an orgasmic, rapturous, or ecstatic rush, similar to the 'flow' experience described by Czikszentmihalyi (1975). Practices such as Sufi dancing, marathon running and contemporary theatre can induce this experience.

• Third-stage tuning

This represents the maximal discharge of both ergotropic and trophotropic systems resulting in AUB. D'Aquili and Newberg (1993b) maintain, however, that this state is more commonly reached through meditation practices (trophotropic pathway) rather than through ritual behaviour (ergotropic route). Consequently their top-down model for inducing a mystical experience will be explored from the analysis of controlled meditation.

D'Aquili and Newberg (1993a) focus on the posterior superior parietal lobule (PSPL) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC), together with their respective relationship with the limbic system, as the main tertiary association areas which seem to be involved in inducing mystical states. These cortical structures and the limbic system will be explored, before d'Aquili and Newberg's (1993a) top-down model will be discussed.

• The Limbic System

The limbic structures control the sensation, modulation, and expression of emotion, and are therefore central to a description of the mystical experience. The medial structures of the hypothalamus, seem to represent an extension of the parasympathetic nervous system into the brain stem and are involved with vegetative functions, homeostasis and a subjective sense of quiescence (Joseph, 1990). In contrast, the lateral hypothalamic structures seem to be an extension of the sympathetic nervous system into the brain stem and are involved with fight or flight responses, and with emotional sensations from fear, to pleasure and bliss (Joseph, 1990).

The emotions generated by the hypothalamus tend to be stimulus bound, and die off very quickly when the stimulus is removed (Joseph, 1990). However, the emotional tone generated through the amygdala is not stimulus bound, and tends to persist over time with a slow extinction curve (Joseph, 1990). The hippocampus, on the other hand, prevents emotional extremes via its extensive interconnections with both the hypothalamus and the amygdala (Joseph, 1990).

• The Posterior Superior Parietal Lobule (PSPL) - Brodmann's Area 7

The PSPL is heavily involved in the analysis and integration of higher-order visual, auditory, and somaesthetic information, which enable it to create a three-dimensional image of the body in space (Lynch, 1980). The right parietal lobe plays an important role in noticing spatial co-ordinates and generalised location per se, whilst the left PSPL focuses on which objects may be directly grasped and manipulated (Joseph, 1990). Since some neurones in the left PSPL respond most to stimuli within grasping distance, and others to stimuli just beyond arm's reach, Joseph (1990) postulated that the distinction between self and world could arise from the left PSPL's function of dividing space into that which can be grasped and that which cannot. This point is important since the distinction between self and world dissolves completely during AUB.

• The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

The PFC is the only area that receives afferent fibres from all sensory modes, as well as from the tertiary association areas (Stuss & Benson, 1986). The PFC is essential to the ability to attend, to plan and orient oneself to future behaviours, and has been described as the seat of will and intentionality (Fuster, 1989). Patients with prefrontal disorders exhibit flatness of affect and apathy, and have difficulty controlling emotion (Stuss & Benson, 1986). Thus the PFC seems to be implicated in higher cognitive functions, including attention mechanisms, which are central to inducing a mystical experience.

A final aspect, which is essential to the neuropsychology of mystical states, is the concept of deafferentation (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a). Deafferentation occurs when neural input into a structure within the nervous system is cut off, either partially or totally. Deafferentation can be caused by physical interruption, such as by a destructive tumour or surgical cutting, or by 'functional' deafferentation, which can occur through inhibitory fibres from other nervous system structures.

Functional deafferentation in the PFC is the process which starts off d'Aquili and Newberg's (1993a) model of the mystical experience originating top-down. This deafferentation corresponds to the initial instruction given to meditators to remove all thoughts from their minds and concentrate only on a single object, for example their breathing. This trophotropic process is called Via Negativa or 'process of elimination' (Figure 3).

The process starts in the right PFC with the will to clear the mind of thoughts and words and the attempt not to pay attention to direct sensory input. This leads to the partial deafferentation of the right PSPL, and through further dis-attention, to the stimulation of the right hippocampus (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993b).

If, in addition, there is simultaneous direct stimulation of the right hippocampus from the right PFC, the powerful recruitment of stimulation in the right hippocampus, stimulates the right amygdala's trophotropic centres. If this reaches a certain threshold, the stimulation progresses to the ventromedial portion of the hypothalamus, with a resultant stimulation of the peripheral parasympathetic system. This results in the subjective sensation of relaxation, and eventually of a more profound quiescence (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993b).

Thus, a 'reverberating circuit' is formed as impulses originating in the PFC, go to the right PSPL; to the right hippocampus; to the right amygdala; to the ventromedial structures of the hypothalamus; then back to the right amygdala; to the right hippocampus; and directly back to the right PFC. The system is accelerated by more impulses originating in the right PFC by continued meditation (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a).

This results in a progressive increase in the intensity of neural discharge until a maximum level is reached in the trophotropic-parasympathetic system. Reaching the maximal level results in spillover and almost instantaneous maximal stimulation of the ergotropic-sympathetic system, via fibres passing through the corpus callosum. The maximal stimulation of both PFCs should almost instantly result in total deafferentation of both the left and right PSPLs, yielding to ecstatic and blissful feelings via intense stimulation in the lateral hypothalamus and the median forebrain bundle (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1998).

Since the right PSPL is concerned with generating a sense of space and spatial co-ordinates, its total deafferentation results in an absolute subjective sensation of pure space. But space has no conventional meaning except as a matrix on which to relate objects. Therefore the total deafferentation of the right PSPL is subjectively experienced as wholeness (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a). The left PSPL on the other hand, is intimately involved with the maintenance of the self-other dichotomy. Thus d'Aquili & Newberg (1993a) propose that the total deafferentation of the left PSPL results in the obliteration of the self-other dichotomy generating a sense of absolute transcendent wholeness. This is the state of Absolute Unitary Being, or the mystical state.

D'Aquili and Newberg (1993a) note however that to obliterate thoughts from the mind and reach the moment of spillover in the hypothalamus may take days, weeks, months or even years of regular disciplined meditation, depending on the aptitude of the subject.

Although the top down model of the 'Via Negativa' was formulated with a trophotropic pathway to AUB, d'Aquili and Newberg (1993b) hypothesise that the same model can be used to explain the ergotropic pathway. Interestingly, Grotowski (1981), who has revolutionised contemporary theatre, also describes the process of attending fully to the physical training, which leads to ergotropic arousal, as a 'Via Negativa', a 'process of elimination'.

In the ergotropic pathway, intense involvement with an activity or movement, leads to the flow experience of hyper-ergotropic tuning. This creates a reciprocal de-synchronisation of the hippocampus and reduces hippocampal inhibition on ergotropic centres. In turn, it results in an increased ergotropic drive through the reticular activating system and amygdala, which reaches the cortex (the PSPL and PFC), and in return continues to decrease hippocampal inhibition in a reverberating circuit (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a).

This process continues until maximal ergotropic discharge occurs, leading to spillover and trophotropic breakthrough. Initial trophotropic breakthrough results in the appearance of low amplitude theta waves in the hippocampus, which are highly correlated with a trance or dreamlike state (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a). In this state there is a profound sense of internal harmony and union with other participants, as the hippocampus and PSPL generate a powerful unitary experience. This is similar to the process described above which starts with trophotropic arousal. This system starting with ergotropic arousal is particularly unstable, and often deflates back to baseline conditions, since it is more difficult to maintain maximal stimulation of the trophotropic system in hyper-ergotropic states, than vice-versa (d'Aquili & Newberg, 1993a).

Newberg et al. (1997a; 1997b) have explored the top-down model empirically through imaging studies with SPECT. Their initial data with experienced meditators whilst practising their discipline, has showed increases in brain activity in the region comprising the PFC. This point is especially important since it is strongly consistent with the idea that the process of attending, is evolving in the PFC, and is essential to meditation and to inducing the mystical experience.

Newberg et al.'s (1997a; 1997b) also observed that there were significant decreases of activity in the area of the PSPL, possibly consistent with the idea of deafferentation of the PSPL. Interestingly there was also a strong inverse correlation between activity in the PFC and in the PSPL, which might indicate that the more active the PFC, the more the PSPL is deafferented. This is consistent with the idea that mystical states cause the subjective experience of unity, and that these states arise due to persistent focusing of attention. These results are also consistent with the model of mystical experiences, presented by d'Aquili and Newberg (1993a; 1993b).

From the literature and theoretical constructs presented in this section, it becomes clear that attention is indeed the 'spotlight' in mystical consciousness just as it is in Baars' (1988) Global Workspace theory, which describes baseline consciousness. The role of the prefrontal cortex, as the cortical area, which supports the process of attention, has also been highlighted.

Consequently in the next section the focus will shift on the 'stage' over which the spotlight of attention roams in Baars' (1988) theatre model. By reviewing literature pertinent to working memory, the research question underlying this dissertation, mainly whether there could be any measurable differences in WM by engaging in exercises which induce a mystical experience, will be explored. Particular importance will once again be given to the role of attention and the prefrontal cortex, this time, in working memory.