PART I: THE SCIENCE OF ALTERED STATES
Chapter 1: Introduction: Toward a Science of Spiritual Experience
for the 21st Century
Chapter 2: William James: A Study in Human Nature
Chapter 3: The Varieties: The Classic Text and its Impact
Chapter 4: The Psychology of Spiritual Experiences
Chapter 5: The Brain on Spiritual Experiences
Chapter 6: Origins: Triggers of Spiritual Experience
Chapter 7: The Pragmatic Principle: Positive and Pathological
Experiences
PART II: THE VARIETIES
Chapter 8: Types of Spiritual Experience
Chapter 9: Numinous Experiences: Encountering Divinity
Chapter 10: Revelatory Experiences: Voices, Visions, and
Epiphanies
Chapter 11: Synchronicity Experiences:
David B. Yaden, PhD is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences. His research focus is on how brief inner
experiences, or 'altered states of consciousness,' can have
long-term positive impacts. He currently studies the subjective
effects and treatment potential of psychedelics. His work has been
featured in outlets such as The Washington Post, The Wall
Street
Journal, The Atlantic, CNN, NPR, BBC, and The New York Times.
Andrew B. Newberg, MD is a Professor in the Department of
Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences and the Research
Director at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas
Jefferson University. He has published 12 books which have been
translated into 17 different languages, including the best-selling
books: How God Changes Your Brain and Why God Won't Go Away. He has
appeared on Good Morning America, Nightline, CNN, and others.
His
work has also been featured in outlets such as Newsweek, Time,
National Geographic, Discover, and The New York Times.
Their [Yaden and Newberg] sensible and sensitive work should sit
comfortably on the shelf next to James's.
*Daniel Burke, The Washington Post*
The most important book on the science of religion in my
lifetime.
*Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University
of Pennsylvania, Author of Learned Optimism and Authentic
Happiness*
If you have the slightest curiosity about the spiritual dimensions
of life and death, and if you value an approach that explores the
outer reaches of mystical experience, yet never pretends to know
what we don't yet know, this is the book for you.
*Susan Cain, NY Times Bestselling Author of Quiet and
Bittersweet*
This comprehensive and much needed book covers the latest science
of psychedelics, spirituality, and altered states of consciousness
in general. You will learn about the most cutting-edge psychology
and neuroscience on these mental states while reading personal
stories from people who have been fundamentally transformed by
their visits to some of the most fascinating depths of human
experience. I highly recommend this groundbreaking book!
*Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., Author of Transcend and Host of The
Psychology Podcast*
What David Yaden and Andrew Newberg have done through their
painstaking research is to provide the world with a 21st Century
James. Like James, they are respectful of their subjects'
experiences and careful not to pronounce judgments on the
psychological and numinous worlds they inhabit. This book will
become a classic.
*Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia, Author of The
Avoidable War?*
In the scientific project of demystifying mysticism, Yaden and
Newberg are the undisputed heirs to the legendary research of
William James. The authors deftly plumb the caverns of
neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology, philosophy, and religious
studies to usher the nebulous world of spiritual experience into
the spotlight of 21st-century academic discourse. An encyclopedic
feat that transcends disciplinary boundaries, and sets the stage
for a bold new era of inquiry.
*Brian C. Muraresku, Author of The Immortality Key: The Secret
History of the Religion with No Name*
This scholarly update of William James' seminal book, Varieties of
Religious Experience, will be of great value to those interested in
investigating the causes and enduring effects of sacred and secular
spiritual experiences through a scientific lens.
*Roland R. Griffiths, Ph.D., The Oliver Lee McCabe, III Professor
in the Neuropsychopharmacology of Consciousness, Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine*
David Yaden and Andrew Newberg have produced a book that will bring
you wonder, inspiration, and awe. It is for our 21st century what
William James's Varieties book was for the 20th century: a
comprehensive, open minded, rigorous exploration of human spiritual
life
*Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology UC Berkeley, Author
of The Power Paradox*
In this interdisciplinary study written for a general audience, the
authors' declared aim is "to carry forward James's insights and
fill in some of the empirical gaps of his speculations with decades
of scientific work on spiritual experiences".
*Arthur Holder, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA,
Theological Studies 84(2)*
David Bryce Yaden and Andrew B. Newberg bring the field squarely
into the modern day with The Varieties of Spiritual Experience:
21st Century Research and Perspectives...this book will offer you a
deep well of thought and research to further your study and future
questions that will hopefully lead to another book like this before
the next century.
*John W. Hall, PhD*
The authors present a rich variety of perspectives from psychology
and religious studies, and they draw from multiple culture... They
enlighten our understanding of James at the same time as they
update it, placing his work in the context of current psychological
and neuroscientific research. In doing this with a highly
accessible book, they have done us all a great favor.
*Michael E. Nielsen, The International Journal for the Psychology
of Religion*
David B. Yaden and Andrew B. Newberg's The Varieties of Spiritual
Experience: 21st Century Research and Perspectives engages
thoughtfully with this science-and-spirituality nexus, considering
the processes and psychological outcomes associated with an array
of inner phenomena grouped under the umbrella of the "spiritual."
The book reflects on the decades-long project of neurotheology in
which Newberg was a founding figure, and takes up James's
speculations about a science of religion with simultaneous modesty
and ambition.
*Alicia Puglionesi, H-Sci-Med-Tech*
The title summarizes the ambitious goal of the book: establishing a
foundational work for the twenty-first-century study of spiritual
experiences...the book would be a perfect read for scholars from
psychology and neuroscience and for scholars and graduate students
from medicine, religious studies, philosophy, pharmacology,
anthropology, and psychiatry.
*Zsuzsanna Szugyiczki, Religious Studies Review *
David B Yaden and Andrew B Newberg have written a seminal book that
will be of high interest to mental health clinicians and
researchers, pastoral counselors and caregivers, clergy,
theologians, and philosophers.
*Charles D.Mayer, Anglican Theological Review 103*
The Varieties of Spiritual Experience is a broad entree into
contemporary research on spiritual experience and is a good
go-to,...It would fit well in an undergraduate/graduate religious
studies course as well as in a theory and methods class.
*Benjamin Crace, Nova Religio vol 27.2*
The book is a fascinating tribute to one of the founding figures of
the psychology of religion and an appeal to link it to contemporary
scientific research.
*Theology 127*
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