Transliminality: Its Relation to Dream Life,Religiosity, and Mystical Experience

In a previous article (Thalbourne & Delin, 1994), evidence was presented that there exists a common thread underlying creative personality, mystical experience, psychopathology (both schizotypal and manic-depressive), and belief in the paranor- mal. This common factor was named rransliminality and was tentatively defined as a largely involuntary susceptibility to, and awareness of, large volumes of inwardly generated psychological phenomena of an ideational and affective kind (p. 25). This second article details the results of a follow-up study of this general psychological factor, in which 116 participants from the first study completed further question- naires. Transliminality was found to be related to measures of dream recall and dream interpretation, to Haraldsson's 8-Item Religiosity Scale and several other measures of religiosity, and to 2 additional measures of mystical experience.     

Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns

This study explores the phenomenological structure of mystical experience among 139 Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns. Semi‐structured interviews, thematic coding, and statistical analyses demonstrated that Stace's common facets of mysticism as measured by Hood's Mysticism Scale (M Scale) successfully described Buddhist experience as modified by Buddhist doctrines. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that these facets could be formed into Stace's three‐factor structure. A mystical introvertive unity hypothesized to be separate from an extrovertive unity instead converged in the Chinese Buddhist context. These results lend strong support to the thesis that the phenomenology of mystical experience reveals a common experiential core that can be discerned across religious and spiritual traditions. These data also demonstrated that this common core can and should be explored using mixed methods.     

Factor Analysis of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire: A Study of Experiences Occasioned by the Hallucinogen Psilocybin

A large body of historical evidence describes the use of hallucinogenic compounds, such as psilocybin mushrooms, for religious purposes. But few scientific studies have attempted to measure or characterize hallucinogen‐occasioned spiritual experiences. The present study examined the factor structure of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), a self‐report measure that has been used to assess the effects of hallucinogens in laboratory studies. Participants (N = 1,602) completed the 43‐item MEQ in reference to a mystical or profound experience they had had after ingesting psilocybin. Exploratory factor analysis of the MEQ retained 30 items and revealed a four‐factor structure covering the dimensions of classic mystical experience: unity, noetic quality, sacredness (F1); positive mood (F2); transcendence of time/space (F3); and ineffability (F4). MEQ factor scores showed good internal reliability and correlated with the Hood Mysticism Scale, indicating convergent validity. Participants who endorsed having had a mystical experience on psilocybin, compared to those who did not, had significantly higher factor scores, indicating construct validity. The four‐factor structure was confirmed in a second sample (N = 440) and demonstrated superior fit compared to alternative models. The results provide initial evidence of the validity, reliability, and factor structure of a 30‐item scale for measuring single, hallucinogen‐occasioned mystical experiences, which may be a useful tool in the scientific study of mysticism.     

Meditation has stronger relationships with mindfulness,kundalini, and mystical experiences than yoga or prayer

Contemplative practices can have profound effects on mindfulness and on physical and sensory and mystical experiences. Individuals who self-reported meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, or a combination of practices and their patterns of practice were compared for mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences. The results suggest that the amount of practice but not the pattern and social conditions of practice influences mindfulness and possibly mystical experiences. Meditation, yoga, contemplative prayer, or a combination of practices all were found to be associated with enhancements of mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences, but meditation had particularly strong associations and may be the basis of the associations of yoga and prayer with these outcomes. The results further suggest that the primary association of contemplative practices is with the real time awareness and appreciation of sensory and perceptual experiences which may be the intermediary between disparate practices and mindfulness, kundalini effects, and mystical experiences.     

Congruence Between Near-Death and Mystical Experience

Near-death experiences, altered states during a brush with death, may include mystical features like a sense of sacredness and divine union, timelessness/spacelessness, positive mood, noetic quality, and ineffability. We quantified mystical elements in near-death experience by comparing responses on the Mysticism Scale of 292 near-death experiencers and 34 persons who had come close to death without near-death experiences. Two thirds of near-death experiencers reported mystical experiences during their brush with death, compared to none of the comparison survivors. Near-death experiencers scored higher on the Mysticism Scale than did nonexperiencers; they endorsed noetic quality, positive affect, and unity most often and ego loss, timelessness/spacelessness, and ineffability least often. Depth of near-death experience was correlated highly with scores on the Mysticism Scale, but factor analysis of features during the brush with death yielded two distinct factors representing mystical and near-death elements, suggesting that near-death experiences have commonalities with, but can be differentiated from, mystical experience.     

Correlations between attitude toward Christianity, prayer, and church attendance among 9- to 11-yr.-olds

Data provided by 150 9- to 11-yr.-old primary school pupils in England showed scores on the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity more highly correlated with (personal) prayer (r = .57) than with (public) church attendance (r = .23), providing support for the view that attitude scales access a deeper level of religiosity less contaminated by those contextual and social factors which may influence public church attendance more than personal prayer.     

The multiplicity of dreams: cognitive-affective correlates of lucid, archetypal, and nightmare dreaming

This preliminary research is the first to compare lucid, nightmare, and archetypal-mythological dreams on dimensions important in previous research on each. A first study of 100 subjects showed all three forms significantly correlated with each other and with estimates of dream recall. In a second study, 41 subjects were selected from the above on the basis of relative specialization in each dream form, with a control group equally high on dream recall. Here, the lucid and archetypal dreamers tended to separate themselves from nightmare sufferers on the basis of high imaginativeness, proclivity to waking mystical experience, spatial/analytic skills, and physical balance. It appears that the intensification of dreaming is expressed positively or negatively, depending on variations in these cognitive dimensions.     

Need for Uniqueness,Need for Cognition,and Creativity

This study examined two neglected dispositional contributions to creativity, namely needs for uniqueness and cognition. Multiple measures of creativity were used including an inventory of creative accomplishments, preference for complex visual figures (a measure similar to the Barron‐Welsh Art Scale), unconventional rather than popular word associations, and consensually‐assessed creative products. The latter included creative drawing, creative writing (a TAT story), richness of a photo essay about the self and the vividness of a recent dream. The predictors independently made significant contributions to creativity.     

Dimensions of the Mysticism Scale: Confirming the Three-Factor Structure in the United States and Iran

In a mostly Christian American sample (N = 1,379), confirmatory factor analysis of Hood's (1975) Mysticism Scale verified the existence of Stace's (1960) introvertive and extrovertive dimensions of mystical phenomenology along with a separate interpretation factor. A second study confirmed the presence of these three factors in not only another group of Americans (N = 188), but also in a sample of Iranian Muslims (N = 185). Relationships of the introvertive and extrovertive factors with the interpretation factor were essentially identical across these two cultures, but the Americans displayed a stronger association between the two phenomenology factors. In both samples, the interpretation factor correlated positively with an intrinsic and negatively with an extrinsic religious orientation, and the introvertive factor predicted psychological dysfunction. Associations of the interpretation factor with relative mental health appeared only in the Iranians. These data offered general support for Stace's phenomenology of mysticism, although the ineffability he linked with interpretation proved to be as much or even more a feature of the introvertive experience, as hypothesized by Hood.     

Close Ties,Intercessory Prayer,and Optimism Among American Adults: Locating God in the Social Support Network

Prayer is often an interpersonal phenomenon. It represents not only a form of social support shared between or among people, but also a means of embedding an unobservable actor (God) within a conventionally observable social network. This study considers whether the receipt of intercessory prayer from close network ties is associated with future‐oriented well‐being. Analyses use social network module data from the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), a nationally representative study of American adults containing a breadth of information not available in prior studies of networks, prayer, and well‐being. Despite experiencing more instances of recent adversity (mental or physical health problem, financial trouble, and unemployment), prayed‐for PALS respondents report the highest levels of optimism. Furthermore, the association between network prayer and optimism is robust to inclusion of individual‐level indicators of religiosity. Finally, other forms of social support that an individual receives from his or her close ties do not explain the benefits of intercessory prayer.     

The effects of brief prayer on the experience of forgiveness: An American and Indian comparison

The present study offers a cross‐cultural examination of the effect of prayer on forgiveness. American (n = 51) and Indian (n = 100) participants either prayed for their romantic partner (prayer condition) or described their romantic partner's physical attributes (control condition). Prayers were self‐guided and lasted 3 minutes. Pre‐test and post‐test measures of retaliation were completed. Results showed that participants in the prayer group showed statistically significant decreases in retaliation motives from pre‐test to post‐test and the magnitude of this change was not different across cultures. Control groups in both cultures showed no change. Because of the religious diversity present in the Indian sample, the robustness of the effect of prayer on forgiveness was tested across Christian, Hindu and Muslim Indians. Religious affiliation did not moderate the effect of prayer on forgiveness in this sample. Results suggest that a brief prayer is capable of producing real change in forgiveness and this change is consistent across American and Indian cultures and across three different religious groups in India. Brief prayer for others that enhances forgiveness may be useful for individuals in close relationships, in certain counselling settings and for people in many different walks of life.     

Divine Therapy: Teaching Reflective and Meditative Practices

Abstract. Reflective and meditative practices, whether Eastern or Western, are being taught in multiple places – retreat houses, hospitals, Zen centers – but are rarely included in the theology classroom. What would be the rationale for inclusion of reflective/meditative practices in a theology curriculum that does not include such a theory/praxis course? What might a mystical tradition/reflective practice course look like? The author first explores the implications of a three‐semester pilot program – using guided imagery, spiritual journaling, iconography, and centering prayer – that was conducted with volunteers outside the classroom. Then, based on the experimental project, the author describes a course that blends global traditions with the best of the practices. The author concludes with an evaluation of the reflective/meditative practices and the praxis‐inclusive course in terms of possible long‐term effects on the personal development of the participants and the ministry of teaching and learning itself.     

A Reexamination of the Structure of the Inward Outward Upward Prayer Scale

The dimensional structure of the Inward Outward Upward Prayer Scale was examined using exploratory factor analytic and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) methods. A total of 703 adult Jewish pray-ers participated in the study. CFA indicated a satisfactory fit for the first-order eight-factor structure after excluding two cross-loaded items. The eight prayer subscales demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability, and the correlations between the subscales were similar to those reported in past research. CFA on second-order models indicated that a two-dimensional modality model (cognitive prayer/emotional prayer) had the best fit and was clearly superior to the directionality and intentionality models presented in past research. The implications of these findings for future research on the psychology of prayer are discussed.     

Therapeutic Effects of Islamic Intercessory Prayer on Warts

The present study aimed to examine the therapeutic effects of Islamic intercessory prayer on warts. Forty-five participants who are mostly Muslims and infected with warts were randomized into three groups: Group-1 (uncertain, with intercessory prayer), Group-2 (uncertain, no intercessory prayer), and control group (informed, no intervention). Stress symptoms were also measured before and after prayer sessions for these three groups. The results revealed that there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of healing. Although participants believed in the therapeutic effects of prayer, when participants did not trust the intercessor, prayer had no effect on warts.     

The contribution of anxiety and depression to fatigue among a sample of Australian university students: suggestions for university counsellors

Responses to the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS: Zung, W. (1971). A rating instrument for anxiety disorders. Psychosomatics, 12, 371–379), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS: Zung, W. (1973). From art to science: The diagnosis and treatment of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 29, 328–337) and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) developed by Krupp and colleagues (Krupp, L.B., LaRocca, N.G., Muir-Nash, J., & Steinberg, A.D. (1989). The fatigue severity scale: Application to patients with multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Archives of Neurology, 46, 1121–1123) were collected from 200 Australian university students to explore the links between these three disorders. Reliability data were satisfactory for all three scales and there were no significant gender or age-related differences between total scale scores. Factor analyses revealed a 5-factor solution for the SAS, a 6-factor solution for the SDS and a single factor for the FSS. There were 8 major and meaningful correlations found and these were entered into a regression of the SAS and SDS factor scores upon the single factor of the FSS. Fatigue factor scores were most powerfully predicted by psychomotor agitation, pain and resultant fatigue and cognitive and emotional arousal factor scores from the SAS and SDS. These data argue for an arousal/anxiety-fatigue-depression progression in disease that may be developmental or accumulative, with extreme levels of psychomotor arousal, resultant muscle fatigue and pain, plus concurrent elevated emotional state and cognitive arousal contributing to an eventual depletion of physical resources, leaving the individual in extreme fatigue. Implications for diagnosis and treatment by counsellors are discussed.     

Mystical Experience Among Tibetan Buddhists: The Common Core Thesis Revisited

In the study of mysticism the debate has centered on whether a universal experiential core exists regardless of religious interpretation. The current investigation combines Jamesian empiricist and social constructivist perspectives to argue that stable experiential facets load variously on factors to construct local interpretations. Local interpretations reflect a family resemblance—a mystical common core experienced across cultures. Results of confirmatory factor analyses, based on data from 240 Tibetan Buddhist adults, suggest statistical model fit and superiority for the three‐factor model compared to the unidimensional model. Pure experience can be distinguished explicitly from its context‐specific hermeneutical construal.     

The revised transliminality scale: reliability and validity data from a Rasch top-down purification procedure

The concept of transliminality ("a hypothesized tendency for psychological material to cross thresholds into or out of consciousness") was anticipated by William James (1902/1982), but it was only recently given an empirical definition by Thalbourne in terms of a 29-item Transliminality Scale. This article presents the 17-item Revised Transliminality Scale (or RTS) that corrects age and gender biases, is unidimensional by a Rasch criterion, and has a reliability of.82. The scale defines a probabilistic hierarchy of items that address magical ideation, mystical experience, absorption, hyperaesthesia, manic experience, dream interpretation, and fantasy proneness. These findings validate the suggestions by James and Thalbourne that some mental phenomena share a common underlying dimension with selected sensory experiences (such being overwhelmed by smells, bright lights, sights, and sounds). Low scores on transliminality remain correlated with "tough mindedness" in on Cattell 16PF test, as well as "self-control" and "rule consciousness," whereas high scores are associated with "abstractedness" and an "openness to change" on that test. An independent validation study confirmed the predictions implied by our definition of transliminality. Implications for test construction are discussed.     

Approaches to learning,need for cognition,and strategic flexibility among university students

Background: Considerable research has described students' deep and surface approaches to learning. Other research has described individuals' self‐regulated learning and need for cognition. There is a need for research examining the relationships among these constructs. Aims: This study explored relationships among approaches to learning (deep, surface), need for cognition, and three types of control of learning (adaptive, inflexible, irresolute). Theory suggested similarities among the deep approach, need for cognition, and adaptive control (aspects of self‐regulated learning); and among surface, inflexible, and irresolute control (aspects of an ineffective approach to learning). One‐factor and two‐factor models were proposed. Sample: Participants were 226 Canadian military college students. Method: Participants completed the following questionnaires: the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1978), the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982), and the Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire (Cantwell & Moore, 1996). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the identification of the six scale factors. Second order confirmatory factor analysis indicated three factors representing constructs underlying these factors. Conclusions: Neither the one‐ nor two‐factor models accounted adequately for the data. Self‐regulated learning was defined by measures of the deep approach to learning, need for cognition, and adaptive control of learning. The second factor divided into one factor consisting of irresolute control, the surface approach, and negative need for cognition; and another consisting of inflexible and negative adaptive control. Substantial relationships among scales support the need for further theory development.     

Dream content of schizophrenic, nonschizophrenic mentally ill, and community control adolescents

This study compared the manifest dream content of 20 schizophrenic adolescent inpatients whose medications were stable for at least four weeks, 21 adolescent inpatients with other mental disorders (nonschizophrenic group) matched for age and gender, and 31 matched community controls. All participants were administered the standardized Formal Dream Content Rating Scale (FDCRS), which evaluates dream-related anxiety, cognitive disturbance, implausibility, involvement, primitivity, and recall, as well as two additional scales measuring emotional expression and duration of dream report. The Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) was administered to the two inpatient groups. The community controls demonstrated more involvement and emotional expression than the schizophrenic patients; furthermore, they demonstrated more implausibility and had a greater duration of dream report compared with the nonschizophrenic group. In the schizophrenic patients only, elevated scores on the negative subscale of the PANSS were significantly correlated with lower scores on involvement, emotional expression, and dream recall. No relationship was found between the positive subscale of the PANSS and any of the FDCRS subscales. These results suggest that psychopathology per se, rather than the specific psychiatric disturbance, may be associated with impoverishment of dream content, and that negative, rather than positive, schizophrenic symptomatology may be influential in the dream content of schizophrenic youngsters.