Despite the fact that many of religious ASC are described in modern science, there wasn’t any method of their unifi ed classifi cation that could embrace al possible states. It is the author who was the fi rst to have proposed such classifi cation in his article [236]. It is based on representing states of consciousness as a nul point in four-dimensional basis space. Th ere were four basis (independent from each other) scales outlined for modifi cations that happen to individual’s consciousness.
In this case each specifi c ASC can be described as a super-position of corresponding elements:
1) alteration of emotional states;
2) alteration of world perception;
3) alteration of volitional self-control;
4) alteration of personal self-consciousness and identifi cation.
58 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
Let us analyze examples of ASC available in diff erent kinds of religious practice
Alteration of emotional states of psyche includes both quantitative modifi cations related to common emotions intensity change (increase as wel as subdue) and qualitative ones that are linked to achievement of non-traditional emotional states. Th is is how such state was described by Christian ascetic St. Isaac the Syrian:
“What is a charitable heart? It is a heart that is burning with charity for the whole of creation, for men, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons — for all creatures. He who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without his eyes becoming fi lled with tears by reason of the immense compassion that seizes his heart, a heart that is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suff ering, even the smallest pain, being infl icted upon a creature. Th is is why such a man never ceases to pray also for the animals, for the enemies of Truth, and for those who do him evil, that they may be preserved and purifi ed.
He will pray even for the reptiles, moved by the infi nite pity that reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united to God” [290].
For the purpose of comparison we shal draw one more quotation from “Spiritual Inebriation” by John of Ruysbroeck, the apprentice of Meister Eckhart:
“From this rapturous delight springs spiritual inebriation. Spiritual inebriation is this; that a man receives more sensible joy and sweetness than his heart can either contain or desire. Spiritual inebriation brings forth many strange gestures in men. It makes some sing and praise God because of their fulness of joy, and some weep with great tears because of their sweetness of heart. It makes one restless in all his limbs, so that he must run and jump and dance; and so excites another that he must gesticulate and clap his hands. Another cries out with a loud voice, and so shows forth the plenitude he feels within; another must be silent and melt away, because of the rapture which he feels in all his senses. At times he thinks that all the world must feel what he feels: at times he thinks that none can taste what he has attained. <…>. At one time he thinks that God is for him alone, or for none other so much as for him; at another time he asks himself with amazement of what nature these delights can be, and whence they come, and what has happened to him.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 5 9
Th is is the most rapturous life (as regards our bodily feelings) which man may attain upon earth. Sometimes the excess of joy becomes so great that the man thinks that his heart must break. And for all these manifold gifts and miraculous works, he shall, with a humble heart, thank and praise and honour and reverence the Lord <…> In such humility he may grow and rise into higher virtues” [91].
Th ere are four basic emotional states described in various traditional cultures; moreover, one can draw parallel between these descriptions in diff erent cultures. For example, in Indian tradition they fi gure out the following states [166]:
Vira — “heroic” state, the alacrity for action, protecting others and undertaking commitments;
Bhoga — the state of being satisfi ed, relaxed and merciful; Yoga — self-consciousness and self-awareness;
Abhicharika — the state of overwhelming wrath, need for destruction.
Th ese states were considered ideal; according to Hindu concepts only deities and men of outstanding wisdom could achieve them in their pure forms. But the state of religious ecstasy could come close to one of these states.
Th e described system in many aspects correlates with Tibetan tradition of vajrayana in which such states corresponded to the sides of a tetragonal mandala that stood for individual’s psychic life.
Similar alterations of emotional states were observed by S. Grof and his fol owers in course of their research study of this phenomenon [61–
63]. Basing upon analysis of description of patients who were subjected to ASC by means of LSD as well as intensive breathworks (rebirthing, holotropic breathwork etc.) S. Grof found out that they all experienced similar emotional states. Th e scientist cal ed these states the four prenatal matrices. According to the prenatal matrices theory one of the greatest commotions experienced by an individual is the experience of his own birth. And indeed, let us imagine a child dwel ing in warm, caressing waters of mother’s womb, where he receives easily all necessary vital components. He is protected from loud sounds and bright light. His world is simple and comfortable. Yet suddenly the walls of this cozy world start to squeeze him out, the world becomes aggressive 60 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
and agonistic, longing to reject, destroy him, and the child senses this by instinct. Th en comes the next stage of active struggle for surviving — the child is trying to break through a narrow pulsing gateway, while having done this he experiences another — the last one — shock of meeting the Big World with its bright light, loud tones, penetrative scents and temperature changes. Each of four mentioned stages is fi xed by child’s mind as a primary experience of his existing in this world —
either successful or not — that is further projected onto al oncoming life events, and fi rst of al the individual’s attitude to life itself.
According to S. Grof, each basic prenatal matrix (BPM) is related to some particular set of mystic states. To compare this, we shal draw some of such described states.
Th e BPM-1 is comes out in form of sensing the Amniotic Universe which basic features are:going beyond the boundary of subject — object dichotomy, extremely intense positivity (peace, tranquility, blissful feeling of joy and serenity), peculiar feeling of confession, sense of pure being etc.
“Th e man who loves God identifi es himself to God. Th is is the utmost point, the limit and culmination of overcoming one’s selfness, triumph over humanity yet simultaneously a self-esteem of the highest degree.
Th e soul is no longer itself — and along with this it preserves its self-identity. Th is process cannot be liken to death and resurrection, resurgation to a new life on the highest level; theoreticians of mystic divinity emphasize its complete continuity: it lies in development of divine element that is inherent in every soul to the extent when it displaces the whole rest of individual, and the individual, though remaining the individual, ceases its being of a human individual, just like the morning light that is gradually blazing up does not cease its being the light yet is no longer the light of morning”.
Meister Eckhart [91]
Th e BMP-2 is related to the state of Cosmic Engulfment, unbearable feeling of no exit and pointless existence, suff ering and impending doom. Within this theory the famous Four Encounters of Buddha and the enlightenments that fol owed result from this very matrix.
“…purifi ed enlightened mind immerses into divine darkness, into silence and inconceivable, inexpressible unity; and in such immersion it PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 6 1
loses all that is similar and diff erent, and in this abyss the mind loses its self and knows neither about God nor itself, neither about similar nor diff erent, nor about the nothing; since for now it has immersed into Divine integrity and has lost any of distinctions”.
Johann Tauler, the apprentice of Eckhart [91]
Th e BMP-3 gives the experience of Titan struggle, including that of global scale. Another metaphor or the states related to this matrix is the “volcanic ecstasy”.
“From this rapturous delight springs spiritual inebriation. Spiritual inebriation is this; that a man receives more sensible joy and sweetness than his heart can either contain or desire. Spiritual inebriation brings forth many strange gestures in men. It makes some sing and praise God because of their fulness of joy, and some weep with great tears because of their sweetness of heart. It makes one restless in all his limbs, so that he must run and jump and dance; and so excites another that he must gesticulate and clap his hands. Another cries out with a loud voice, and so shows forth the plenitude he feels within; another must be silent and melt away, because of the rapture which he feels in all his senses. At times he thinks that all the world must feel what he feels: at times he thinks that none can taste what he has attained. <…>. At one time he thinks that God is for him alone, or for none other so much as for him; at another time he asks himself with amazement of what nature these delights can be, and whence they come, and what has happened to him.
Th is is the most rapturous life (as regards our bodily feelings) which man may attain upon earth. Sometimes the excess of joy becomes so great that the man thinks that his heart must break”.
“Spiritual Inebriation” by John of Ruysbroeck,
the disciple of Meister Eckhart [91]
Th e essence of BPM-4 on symbolic and spiritual level is that of death versus rebirth experience. Th e individual may feel like he sees the world in its genuine form, discover new ways and possibilities etc.
“When the inward and God-seeing man has thus attained to his Eternal Image, and in this clearness, through the Son, has entered into the bosom of the Father: then he is enlightened by Divine truth, and he receives anew, every moment, the Eternal Birth… Now this rapturous meeting is incessantly and actively renewed in us, according to the way 62 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
of God; for the Father gives Himself in the Son, and the Son gives Himself in the Father, in an eternal content and a loving embrace; and this renews itself every moment within the bonds of love <…> And here there is a death in fruition, and a melting and dying into the Essential Nudity, where all the Divine names, and all conditions, and all the living images which are refl ected in the mirror of Divine Truth, lapse in the Onefold and Ineff able, in waylessness and without reason. For in this unfathom-able abyss of the Simplicity, all things are wrapped in fruitive bliss; and the abyss itself may not be comprehended, unless by the Essential Unity.
To this the Persons, and all that lives in God, must give place; for here there is nought else but an eternal rest in the fruitive embrace of an outpouring Love. And this is that w ayless being which all interior spirits have chosen above all other things. Th is is the dark silence in which all lovers lose themselves.
John of Ruysbroeck, the disciple of Meister Eckhart [91].
In psychology of religion there are also other samples of emotional states’ classifi cation available. For example, the Indian tradition draws out 18 basic emotional states (rasa), 10 of them considered as earthly, human, while the rest 8 are treated as superior, divine. Th e human rasa were: love, laugh, compassion, wrath, courage, fear, disgust, astonish-ment, tranquility, kindred closeness. Divine rasa are achieved through meditations and are the forms of ecstasy.
Alteration of world perception or comprehension mode can be of both global and local character. Visual and acoustic hallucinations and pseudo-hallucinations that modify completely features of environment are related to the fi rst type. Among classic samples of this phenomenon one can mention the St. Paul’s visions, the cross seen by Constantine, the visions of saints etc. Th e description of altered mode of world perception can be also found in occult sources. As an example we shall draw the visions of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon Church:
… just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
17It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 6 3
Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—Th is is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!
(J.S. H 1:16–17)
Local alterations of comprehension are those eff ects of visual, auditive and kinesthetic agnosias emerging, for instance, by extrasensory perception adepts. Th ese phenomena have been investigated by E.
Karagodina [13]. In her work that is based upon analysis of a hundred healing extrasensory adepts (average age 41,9 ± 9,9 years old) it was shown that the sensopathies of kinesthetic modality arising in connection with acquisition of healing skills and mastering the methods of tactile diagnostics was observed by 98 respondents. Amomng them 63 healers, 22 of them (34.9 %) being male, had sensopathies of visual modality (SVM), while 37 observed healers, 10 of them being male (27.0%),showed sensopathies of auditive modality (SAM).
Th e kinesthetic sensopathies emerging in relation to diagnostic and treatment manipulations came in form of one’s sensing warmth, cold-ness, pricking, pain or vibration in fi ngertips and palms, feeling “the fl ow of energy” coming through body and hands.
Th e sensopathies of visual modality were represented by one’s seeing aura or inner organs of their patients, and for majority of observed individuals they were accompanied by feeling of their consciousness’
narrowing.
Th e visual modality sensopathies came in form of addressing to some superior powers (the Absolute, energy and information fi eld) and receiving their auditive answers.
It is worth noting that the descriptions logged by E. Karagodina
[101] with fi ne precision correspond to depictions drawn in numerous religious sources, while people with skills of healing rather often become leaders of charismatic communities. Let us also draw attention to the obverse that is true as wel : practical y al founders of new religions possessed some healing skil s.
Alteration ofvolition element ofi ndividual’s psyche manifests itself in so-called automatisms — the states of mind when individual performs actions that are beyond control of his wil or mind or that are completely non-conscious.
64 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
Th e mildest form of automatism is performance of an action after the order “from above”. In this case an individual has a chance to stay away from order fulfi l ment in case it does not comply with his moral or some other norms. As an example one can take the Bible prophet Jonah who was forced to prophesy after God’s order, even against his own will.
In more intensive cases of automatisms the individual can become aware that the actions performed by his body are managed by “somebody else”.
“I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing infl uence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Th ick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
We speak about the utmost display of automatisms in case there are absolutely no memories left of actions performed by the individual. In fact, some fragment of time completely falls out of person’s life”.
“Th e Book of Mormon” (J.S. H 1:15)
As an example we shal draw the description of such state made by the Orthodox mystic St. Isaac the Syrian:
“One day I wanted to have my food after four days when I hadn’t taken any. And when I stood for the evening service so that to partake after it and was standing there in my cell, and the sun was high up, so when I started the service it was only the fi rst gloria that I performed in my conscious mind, while after this I stayed there unaware of where I am, and there I remained in this way until the sun rose up the next day and warmed up my face. And it was when the sun started discomfort me seriously and sun-burn my face that my consciousness returned to me and that I saw that a new day has come, and I praised the Lord in consideration of how much of his grace is poured out on man” [270].
Automatisms can be of diff erent origin. Rather often automatisms come as manifestation of abnormal psychic states that acquire religious forms, for instance, the religious delirium. Automatisms can be also induced by means of infusion, or emerge as a result of psychological infection. Th e latter especially often happens in charismatic systems.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 6 5
Some religious systems lay much emphasis upon automatisms and use special methods for their achievement. Th ese are, fi rst of all, some shamanic practices aimed at “spirits in-settlement” that are known in primeval cultures as wel as in more contemporary religious systems like vajrayana, Sufi sm, voodoo. Th is “spirit in-settlement” is the state of trance in which one of the individual’s secondary sub-personalities that in common life is repressed to the sub-conscious mind stratum comes as dominating psychic element that manages individual’s behaviour.
Th e main methods used for the purpose of such states achievement were psychological ones, them being specifi c movements, vibrations, singing of repeated sounds combinations, spot- whirling and other methods that wear down and black out one’s consciousness. As an example of such methods we shal mention the japa-meditation of Krishnaism or Sufi whirling.
Th e ideas of integration with deities isinherent in many cultures: in he Indian one, in the Tibetan, in the techniques of integration with yidam, in the shamanism with its temporary fusion of shaman with his spirit-guide during the shaman trance, and even in Christianity [358].
Th e essence of the integration process is that the adept’s consciousness temporary or perpetual y merges with one sub-personality of individual or collective unconscious mind (more often the super-conscious one) thus acquiring knowledge, experience and skil s of this sub-personality.
In case of elimination of individual “ego” the adept achieves the fi nal goal of deliverance, i.e. exiting al ethic and spiritual peripetias related to struggle between the sub-conscious and super-conscious mind. Depending upon whether the consciousness mergers with sub-conscious or super-conscious archetypes one can speak about integration with God, with genus, or “increase of Natural element”, return to Nature, merger with it.
Th e most il ustrious description of the integrity method is given in
“Bhagavad Gita” when prior to the battle Arjuna becomes subjected to a signifi cant spiritual and moral crisis stipulated by controversy of two mindsets: the unwil ingness to kil people (in particular, those of his kin) and his dharma duty that comes a manifestation of Indian society public interests. Th is spiritual confl ict is settled by Krishna who advises Arjuna to merger his consciousness with Indian archetype of the Kshatriya:
66 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
Nought better can betide a martial soul
Th an lawful war; happy the warrior
To whom comes joy of battle comes, as now,
Glorious and fair, unsought; opening for him
A gateway unto Heav’n. But, if thou shunn’st
Th is honourable fi eld a Kshattriya
If, knowing thy duty and thy task, thou bidd’st
Duty and task go by that shall be sin!
And then, summarizing this idea, he off ers to consider the battle and the whole life as an inevitable stream of universe in which individual mind is of no importance, and the only purpose of an individual is to devote his deeds for the benefi t of Superior principles:
…concerning the “three qualities;”
But thou, be free of the “three qualities,”
Free of the “pairs of opposites,” and free
From that sad righteousness which calculates;
Self-ruled, Arjuna! simple, satisfi ed!!!
Abandoning desires which shake the mind
Finds in his soul full comfort for his soul,
He hath attained the Yog that man is such!
Th e description of such states can be also found in Christian tradition. Here is what Plotinus wrote:
“When we see God it is not the mind that we see him with, but something that is over it. Th e one who sees in this way cannot be actually treated as the one seeing since he makes no diff erence and doesn’t distinct between two notions. He changes completely and ceases to be himself, preserves nothing of his “me”. Engaged in God, he becomes a single unity with Him, just like a centre of a circle that has matched the centre of other circle” [317].
Th e states related to alteration of individual’s self-consciousness are mostly found in Indian and Tibetan religions, as wel as in various magic systems.
Th e most profound research study of such states has been done by S. Grof. Using the sessions of LSD-therapy and other artifi cial y induced states of trance, for example, the breathworks [61-63; 279; 389]
he fi gured out the fol owing types of such experiences.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 6 7
1. Experiences of embryo and fetus.
2. Archetypical experiences and complicated mythological episodes. Some of the most universal archetypes that an individual may identify himself with are the images of the Mother, theFather, the Child, the Woman, the Man, the Loveful. Many generalized roles are treated for the sacral, for personifi ed archetypes of the Great Mother, Terrifying Mother, Mother-Earth, Mother-Nature, the Great Hermaphrodite or the Cosmic Man. One can often meet archetypes that represent some specifi c aspects of personality: the Shadow, the Animus or the Anima, and the Person.
Rather often people who are not familiar with corresponding cultures tel stories that very much resemble ancient mythological sto-rylines of Mesopotamia, India, Egypt, Greece, Central America and other countries. Th ese stories can be compared to Jung description of unfamiliar but clearly archetypical themes of dreams of children or naïve patients, as well as symptomatic of some people suff ering from schizophrenia. Some people were observed to penetrate within various systems of esoteric knowledge as a result of LSD-sessions. Th us people who haven’t got any idea of Kabbalah experiencedthe states that are described in the book of Zohar and Sefer Yetzirah and demonstrated surprising knowledge of Kabbalah symbolic. Th e similar phenomenon of suddenly generated comprehension could be also found in such ancient forms of foretel ing as the “I Ching” (“Th e Book of Changes”) or Tarot cards.
3. Somatic eff ects, like activation of chakras in Indian tradition —
the sense of instant and very intense release of energy, its moving through the whole body accompanied by profound and dramatic experiences.
4. Comprehension of Universal Mind in which individual experiences an overwhelming integrity of existence.
5. Super-cosmic and meta-cosmic emptiness that may correlate to the mahaśūnyatā experience in Buddhism.
It seems like the afore-drawn classifi cation might not describe the whole range of states related to alteration of self-consciousness since it covers only the states related to “broadening”, the transcendence of consciousness. Yet there are practices of opposite character available: 68 Andrey G. Safronov. PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS
they are related to disengagement, narrowing of one’s consciousness, when an adept intercepts al new elements away from his “self” and limits his self-consciousness within more strict framework. Th is assumption once again emphasizes the incompleteness of the defi nition proposed by E. Torchinov regarding transpersonal origin of religion.
Stil , the psychopractices of such kind are more characteristic of esoteric systems.
Altered states of consciousness that are linked to modifi cation of self-identity play a key role in establishment of charismatic religious leaders. And indeed, according to Jung, the development of a person, his individualization is performed by means of realization of images that make up the unconscious mind through manifestation of archetypes and their comprehension [373; 366]. Th e attainment of selfness happens via cycles of partial merger with such archetypes.
Th e personality formed in this way comes as a natural part of collective mythology, by this preserving its own ego, and it makes such person a genuine political and religious leader. Analyzing the role of political mythology, A. Kolev writes: “Th e diff erence between the chieftain and pseudo-chieftain lies in the integrity rate of conscious and unconscious mind. For a pseudo-hero this rate is achieved by means of consciousness regression to a deferred form of collective mind (either to lower forms of collectivity or even to substitution of collective unconscious mind by personal unconscious complexes). Th e prophet and the hero have the process of their spiritual establishment and thus rise above primitive forms of collectivity. Th e emergence of false prophet (“the prophet from nowhere”) is mostly connected to mental disease, a regressive reply to one’s own confl ict of worldview that is always available behind the facts of personal biography in case one is really willing to see it” [118]. All said can be easily referred to religious leaders as well.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PRACTICES IN MYSTIC TRADITIONS: FROM ARCHAIC TO OUR DAYS. Andrey G. Safronov 6 9
2.4. RELIGIOUS PSYCHOPRACTICES AIMED
AT GETTING INTO ALTERED STATES
OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Taking into consideration the importance of ASC within the system of religious experience, in majority of cultures there were methods elaborated for the purpose of artifi cial induction of such states. It is worth noting that despite interpretation variations a bigger part of such methods can be found in all cultural traditions, i.e. they come out as cultural universals. One can distinguish between four groups of such methods:
1) meditative practices;
2) psycho-somatic methods;