In this paper for ISCAST’s journal CPOSAT, Hans Van Eyghen explores how contemplation, fasting, and sleep deprivation can move believers from basic faith to profound mystical experiences, backed by insights from Christian mystics and neuroscience.
Every major religion has a (small) group of religious experts. Some of these are ritual experts with more knowledge of proper ritual behaviour. Others are theological experts with advanced knowledge of doctrines and the nature of divine beings. Some have a different expertise. They are more prone to profound mystical experiences and appear to have a vastly different outlook on the world from the rest of their fellow believers. Christianity has a long and venerable tradition of mystics who fit this picture remarkably well.
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