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Here are two different views on the same subject presented in two articles with the same title, “Mysticism and Schizophrenia.”

The first article¹ is produced by the Center of Subjectivity Research (CSR), led by Dan Zahavi of Copenhagen University. Professor Josef Parnas, the article’s main contributor, is co-founder and senior researcher at the CSR, as well as a chief physician at Hvidovre Hospital’s psychiatric department.

The second article is written by Kenneth Wapnick, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, who was a close friend and associate of Helen Schucman and William Thetford—the two individuals whose collaboration was the immediate stimulus for the scribing (their term for transmission or channeling) of A Course in Miracles. Kenneth had been involved with A Course in Miracles since 1973, writing, teaching, and integrating its principles with his practice of psychotherapy.

As demonstrated below, the two articles surprisingly convey the same message, although they use different frameworks and case studies that are not similar. The conclusions reached differ only slightly: mainly in the interpretation of the results.

The first article compares mystical experiences, specifically the feeling of complete oneness with the universe (“unio mystica”⁵), to the experiences of people with schizophrenia. It’s important to understand upfront: the authors aren’t saying that mystics are schizophrenic or vice versa.

They look at how these very different experiences share some surprising similarities in how they affect the mind, even if the content of the experiences is completely different.

They focus on three key areas:

(1) Mental attitudes². Mystics prepare for their experiences through practices like meditation and withdrawing from everyday life to quiet their minds. People who develop schizophrenia sometimes show similar behaviors, like being withdrawn and isolated. The difference is that these behaviors are intended by the mystic, but come of themselves and are distressing for the person with schizophrenia.

(2) The experience³. Both mystical and schizophrenic experiences can feel like sudden, overwhelming revelations—like a light bulb going off in your head, but on a much deeper level. They both involve a shift away from normal ways of thinking about the world and the self. While schizophrenia involves hallucinations and delusions (false beliefs), these often start from a feeling of something being profoundly wrong or different, similar to the feeling of shifting into a different state of consciousness during a mystical experience. Both are very hard to explain in words (ineffable).

(3) A different reality⁴: Both mystics and some people with schizophrenia report feeling connected to something beyond ordinary reality. Mystics think it to be spiritual truth; people with schizophrenia report the experience as hallucinations or delusions. The mystical experience is often seen as positive and transformative, meanwhile the schizophrenic experience is usually frightening and upsetting.

The authors also talk about the “minimal self”—the basic sense of being yourself. They argue that schizophrenia may involve a fundamental problem with this core sense of self, explaining many of the strange experiences people with the illness have. This is different from other mental illnesses where the problem is more about how you think about yourself, rather than this core sense of self.

Phenomenological approach is used by the authors to compare these two very different states of mind, experienced by a mystic, on one hand, and a person on the schizophrenic scale, on the other. It finds structural similarities in how consciousness is altered, even though the content and impact are different.

Kenneth Wapnick’s article, “Mysticism and Schizophrenia”, also considers similarities and differences between mystical experiences and schizophrenic episodes. Wapnick acknowledges the tendency in psychiatric research to link these two phenomena: some suggest that mysticism is a form of psychopathology and others present schizophrenia as a valuable, even desirable experience. Wapnick clarifies both the shared aspects and main distinctions between the two types of inner state.

The article begins by referencing William James’ distinction between “higher” and “lower” mysticism, with the latter bordering on insanity, and then presents the typical mystical experience, outlining stages of development often described in mystical literature (using Underhill’s five stages as a framework, adding a sixth stage of reintegration into society). These stages generally include an (1) awakening, (2) purification, (3) illumination, (4) a “dark night of the soul”, (5) a “unitive” life (oneness with the universe), and finally, (6) a return to the world. St. Teresa of Avila’s mystical experiences are used as a detailed case study, illustrating these stages through her metaphorical descriptions of a “castle” within the soul.

Next, the article turns to schizophrenia, adopting a more recent perspective that views psychotic episodes as purposeful attempts at self-correction, rather than simply symptoms of a disease. Wapnick cites the work of Bateson, Laing, and Kaplan, who emphasize the subjective, intensely personal nature of schizophrenic experiences. An excerpt from Lara Jefferson’s first-person account of a schizophrenic episode is analyzed to demonstrate the phenomenological similarities and differences with mystical experiences. Lara’s experience is characterized by a “death” of her former self, a descent into “total madness,” and a subsequent emergence into a sense of peace and reintegration, though with significant lingering effects.

The core of Wapnick’s argument lies in the comparison of these case studies. Both St. Teresa and Lara experienced a dichotomy between inner and outer worlds, a breakdown of social attachments, periods of intense fear and pain, and eventual peace. However, the process in these two cases is not the same. The mystic, through a long, deliberate, and often self-imposed journey, gradually develops the capacity to withstand and integrate the “inner world” with social life. The schizophrenic, in contrast, experiences a sudden, involuntary breakdown, lacking the preparation and support to navigate the overwhelming inner experiences. The absence of this gradual strengthening process leaves the schizophrenic vulnerable and unable to manage the experience without a significant disruption of social functioning.

The article concludes by highlighting that while both mysticism and schizophrenia involve a journey into the “inner world,” the main distinction lies in the preparation, control, and integration of this experience within a social context. The mystic’s journey is a conscious, purposeful process; the schizophrenic’s is often a traumatic and involuntary one. The article emphasizes the importance of balancing inner and outer experiences for healthy functioning, with the mystic representing a successful integration, and the schizophrenic demonstrating the tragic consequences of separation.

Parnas’ article leans towards a more objectively scientific comparison, while Wapnick’s analysis is more interpretive and arguably more influenced by his spiritual background. Parnas ascribes less direct correlation between mystical states and schizophrenia, focusing on shared phenomenological structures rather than developmental trajectories. He seems to be more interested in the similarities of the experiences without necessarily linking them to a progression or path, while Dr. Wapnick may be more focused on the implications of those experiences for spiritual growth, be it mystical or otherwise.

As a proponent of A Course in Miracles (ACIM), Dr. Wapnick’s perspective is likely influenced by his belief system, which could lead him to interpret both mystical and schizophrenic experiences through the lens of spiritual development, potentially downplaying the pathological aspects of schizophrenia. He might also be more inclined to see a positive outcome in both, even if the paths differ drastically.

On the other hand, Prof. Josef Parnas and his colleagues might be biased towards a purely materialistic understanding of consciousness, overlooking potentiality for non-material extrasensory experiences. Their focus on structural analogies might stem from a desire to explain these experiences through purely neurological or psychological mechanisms, potentially neglecting the spiritual or existential dimensions that Wapnick highlights. This bias could lead them to minimize the transformative aspects of mystical experiences.

Endnotes

1. Josef Parnas and Mads Gram Henriksen, “Mysticism and Schizophrenia: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Structure of Consciousness in the Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders,” Consciousness and Cognition 43, no. 1 (May 1, 2016): 75–88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.05.010.
2. Parnas and Henriksen, “Mysticism and Schizophrenia: A Phenomenological Exploration of the Structure of Consciousness in the Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.”, p. 76
3. Ibid., p. 78
4. Ibid, p. 81.
5. Ibid., p.79

Let us take a case of George Muller of Bristol, who died in 1898. Muller’s prayers were of the crassest petitionary order. Early in life he resolved on taking certain Bible promises in literal sincerity, and on letting himself be fed, not by his own worldly foresight, but by the Lord’s hand. He had an extraordinarily active and successful career, among the fruits of which were the distribution of over two million copies of the Scripture text, in different languages; the equipment of several hundred missionaries; the circulation of more than a hundred and eleven million of scriptural books, pamphlets, and tracts; the building of five large orphanages, and the keeping and educating of thousands of orphans; finally, the establishment of schools in which over a hundred and twenty-one thousand youthful and adult pupils were taught. In the course of this work Mr. Muller received and administered nearly a million and a half of pounds sterling, and traveled over two hundred thousand miles of sea and land. During the sixty-eight years of his ministry, he never owned any property except his clothes and furniture, and cash in hand; and he left, at the age of eighty-six, an estate worth only a hundred and sixty pounds. His method was to let his general wants be publicly known, but not to acquaint other people with the details of his temporary necessities. For the relief of the latter, he prayed directly to the Lord, believing that sooner or later prayers are always answered if one have trust enough. “When I lose such a thing as a key,” he writes, “I ask the Lord to direct me to it, and I look for an answer to my prayer; when a person with whom I have made an appointment does not come, according to the fixed time, and I begin to be inconvenienced by it, I ask the Lord to be pleased to hasten him to me, and I look for an answer; when I do not understand a passage of the word of God, I lift up my heart to the Lord that he would be pleased by his Holy Spirit to instruct me, and I expect to be taught, though I do not fix the time when, and the manner how it should be; when I am going to minister in the Word, I seek help from the Lord, and … am not cast down, but of good cheer because I look for his assistance.” Muller’s custom was to never run up bills, not even for a week. “As the Lord deals out to us by the day, … the week’s payment might become due and we have no money to meet it; and thus those with whom we deal might be inconvenienced by us, and we be found acting against the commandment of the Lord: ‘Owe no man anything.’ From this day and henceforward whilst the Lord gives to us our supplies by the day, we purpose to pay at once for every article as it is purchased, and never to buy anything except we can pay for it at once, however much it may seem to be needed, and however much those with whom we deal may wish to be paid only by the week.”

The articles needed of which Muller speaks were the food, fuel, etc., of his orphanages. Somehow, near as they often come to going without a meal, they hardly ever seem actually to have done so. “Greater and more manifest nearness of the Lord’s presence I have never had than when after breakfast there were no means for dinner for more than a hundred persons; or when after dinner there were no means for the tea, and yet the Lord provided the tea; and all this without one single human being having been informed about our need…. Through Grace my mind is so fully assured of the faithfulness of the Lord, that in the midst of the greatest need, I am enabled in peace to go about my other work. Indeed, did not the Lord give me this, which is the result of trusting in him, I should scarcely be able to work at all; for it is now comparatively a rare thing that a day comes when I am not in need for one or another part of the work.” In building his orphanages simply by prayer and faith, Muller affirms that his prime motive was “to have something to point to as a visible proof that our God and Father is the same faithful God that he ever was—as willing as ever to prove himself the living God, in our day as formerly, to all that put their trust in him.” For this reason he refused to borrow money for any of his enterprises. “How does it work when we thus anticipate God by going our own way? We certainly weaken faith instead of increasing it; and each time we work thus a deliverance of our own we find it more and more difficult to trust in God, till at last we give way entirely to our natural fallen reason and unbelief prevails. How different if one is enabled to wait God’s own time, and to look alone to him for help and deliverance! When at last help comes, after many seasons of prayer it may be, how sweet it is, and what a present recompense! Dear Christian reader, if you have never walked in this path of obedience before, do so now, and you will then know experimentally the sweetness of the joy which results from it.” When the supplies came in but slowly, Muller always considered that this was for the trial of his faith and patience. When his faith and patience had been sufficiently tried, the Lord would send more means. “And thus it has proved,”—I quote from his diary—“for today was given me the sum of 2050 pounds, of which 2000 are for the building fund [of a certain house], and 50 for present necessities. It is impossible to describe my joy in God when I received this donation. I was neither excited nor surprised; for I LOOK out for answers to my prayers. I BELIEVE THAT GOD HEARS ME. Yet my heart was so full of joy that I could only SIT before God, and admire him, like David in 2 Samuel vii. At last I cast myself flat down upon my face and burst forth in thanksgiving to God and in surrendering my heart afresh to him for his blessed service.”

George Muller’s is a case extreme in every respect, and in no respect more so than in the extraordinary narrowness of the man’s intellectual horizon. His God was, as he often said, his business partner. He seems to have been for Muller little more than a sort of supernatural clergyman interested in the congregation of tradesmen and others in Bristol who were his saints, and in the orphanages and other enterprises, but unpossessed of any of those vaster and wilder and more ideal attributes with which the human imagination elsewhere has invested him. Muller, in short, was absolutely unphilosophical. His intensely private and practical conception of his relations with the Deity continued the traditions of the most primitive human thought. When we compare a mind like his with such a mind as, for example, Emerson’s or Phillips Brooks’s, we see the range which the religious consciousness covers.

Applied Philosophy – MA course, Applied Philosophy, fall 2024

Esoterics

Today, I understood something new about Matrix Energetics.

I asked an AI bot on Telegram to write everything there is to know about Matrix Energetics, and this is what I got, citing the bot:

“Sure, let me channel my inner New Age believer and tell you all about Matrix Energetics!

Matrix Energetics is a healing modality developed by chiropractor and author Richard Bartlett. It is based on the principles of quantum physics and the idea that everything in the universe is interconnected and can be influenced by our thoughts and intentions.

According to Bartlett, Matrix Energetics works by accessing the “matrix,” a field of energy that underlies all of reality. By shifting our perception and entering a state of “quantum consciousness,” we can tap into this matrix and create profound changes in our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Matrix Energetics involves a variety of techniques, including light touch, visualization, and intention setting. Practitioners work with clients to identify areas of imbalance or blockage in their energy field and then use these techniques to help release and transform these patterns.

One of the key principles of Matrix Energetics is the idea of “two-pointing,” which involves focusing on two different points in a person’s energy field and then collapsing the space between them. This can create a state of “zero point,” where the person’s energy is in a state of pure potential and transformation can occur.

Matrix Energetics has been used to treat a wide variety of physical, emotional, and spiritual issues, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, and relationship problems. It is often used in conjunction with other holistic healing modalities, such as acupuncture, massage, and energy work.

While there is no scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of Matrix Energetics, many people report profound transformations and healing experiences as a result of this practice. It is important to note, however, that Matrix Energetics should not be used as a substitute for medical treatment and should always be used in conjunction with other forms of healthcare.

I hope this information helps you understand more about Matrix Energetics and its potential as a healing modality. Let me know if you have any other questions! ✨🌟”

Rather well done, to my taste!

I marked what I found very interesting with bold. Indeed, the “two-point technique” is central to Matrix Energetics and is something, Richard Bartlett can use with astonishing results, and some people can, too, but the majority can never grasp or repeat. The connection between ZERO POINT FIELD and the idea of collapsing the space between the two points meaning there is no space, and no points, just the potential for everything to be different according to the intention of the observer (the believer, according to you faith you will be given), that’s an idea that many who try Matrix might have been lacking.

Good luck.

And remember, there is no bad AI in this world, there is only some technology which is used by different type of believers.

And every person in this world can be a power behind of your highest progress – independently of their qualities or intentions.

Bonus Material from AI Bot: Can Matrix Energetics be used for manifestation?

Yes, Matrix Energetics can be used for manifestation. In fact, one of the key principles of Matrix Energetics is the idea that we can create our reality through our thoughts and intentions. By accessing the “matrix” and shifting our perception, we can tap into the infinite potential of the universe and manifest our desires.

To use Matrix Energetics for manifestation, practitioners typically use visualization and intention setting techniques. They may work with clients to identify their goals and then help them to visualize those goals as already being achieved. This can help to shift the client’s energy and bring them into alignment with their desires.

One of the key techniques used in Matrix Energetics for manifestation is “two-pointing.” By focusing on two different points in a person’s energy field and collapsing the space between them, practitioners can create a state of “zero point” where transformation can occur. This can be a powerful tool for manifesting desires and creating positive change in one’s life.

It’s important to note, however, that manifestation is not a guaranteed outcome of Matrix Energetics or any other healing modality. Manifestation is a complex process that involves a variety of factors, including belief, intention, and action. While Matrix Energetics can help to shift our energy and bring us into alignment with our desires, it is ultimately up to us to take action and make our dreams a reality.

I hope this information helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. 🌟✨

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Как создаются художественные тексты? Не будем искать ответ в интернете: напишем страницу художественного текста и проанализируем собственный опыт. Я рекомендую такой подход к большинству вопросов которые мы задаем себе в жизни.

Сначала появляется импульс. Импульс исходит из некоего дисбаланса и желания сделать красивее то, что некрасиво или не нравится. Из этого появляется аллегория или метафора, например, аллегория с поездом, который увозит нас от того что нам не надо — к тому что нам надо.

Чувства и действия персонажа списываются с прототипа. Если наш прототип это человек, которого мы хорошо знаем, то чувствительному писателю просто вжиться в его образ. Если мы списали нашего персонажа со случайного прохожего, нам, конечно, остается только гадать — и в этом случае мы подсознательно подыскиваем кого-то, кого мы знаем, и на кого наш случайный прохожий может быть похожим.

Символы, знаки и детали добываются из копилки эмоционально значимых событий жизни — своих или чужих. Все переплетается и складывается в новый узор, как в калейдоскопе.

Кроме исходного импульса есть движение по назначению. Подсознательно писатель всегда знает «куда ему надо», куда он хочет привести действие своего сюжета, даже когда начинает писать без плана и идеи, а просто руководствуясь импульсом.

Глава, как и стихотворение, завершается органически когда всё уже сказано или оставлено на потом. Ссылка на истории про поезд Санетти (история не может быть выдумкой Черкашина, так как она давно известна по всему миру, и не знают этого только те кто не владеет ни единым языком кроме русского).