Rational Mysticism: Spirituality Meets Science in the Search for Enlightenment

by John Horgan

John Horgan, author of the best-selling The End of Science, chronicles the most advanced research into the mechanics — and meaning — of mystical experiences. How do trances, visions, prayer, satori, and other mystical experiences “work”? What induces and defines them? Is there a scientific explanation for religious mysteries and transcendent meditation?

John Horgan investigates a wide range of fields — chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, theology, and more — to narrow the gap between reason and mystical phenomena. As both a seeker and an award-winning journalist, Horgan consulted a wide range of experts, including theologian Huston Smith, spiritual heir to Joseph Campbell; Andrew Newberg, the scientist whose quest for the “God module” was the focus of a Newsweek cover story; Ken Wilber, prominent transpersonal psychologist; Alexander Shulgin, legendary psychedelic drug chemist; and Susan Blackmore, Oxford-educated psychologist, parapsychology debunker, and Zen practitioner.

Horgan explores the striking similarities between “mystical technologies” like sensory deprivation, prayer, fasting, trance, dancing, meditation, and drug trips. He participates in experiments that seek the neurological underpinnings of mystical experiences. And, finally, he recounts his own search for enlightenment — adventurous, poignant, and sometimes surprisingly comic. Horgan’s conclusions resonate with the controversial climax of The End of Science, because, as he argues, the most enlightened mystics and the most enlightened scientists end up in the same place — confronting the imponderable depth of the universe.

Genres: Science, Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Nonfiction, Psychology, Mysticism

292 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

JOHN HORGAN is a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. A former senior writer at Scientific American (1986-1997), he has also written for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Slate, Discover, The London Times, The Times Literary Supplement, New Scientist, and other publications around the world. He blogs for the Center for Science Writings and for Bloggingheads.tv (see links at left).

His latest book is Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in January 2003 and in paperback by Mariner Books in March 2004.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Horgan, erstwhile science writer, invites his reader on a tour of current opinions about mysticism. Taking a journalistic stance - with one foot in a storyteller's motley boot and the other in a gumshoe's sneaker - he is mostly distracted from reflection. As he tells about his experiences writing the book, he displays his reporter's skepticism and disguises his biases as conclusions (to his credit, he also flags those biases with phrases like "to my mind"). He has done his research, down to reading old books and talking with living opinion-makers. He is detached enough not to involve the reader in others' confusions and is frank about his own. He shares his personal journey, and how his views have changed. To my mind, while his insights are hindered by an inadequate grasp of religion (and therefore of mysticism and spirituality), he does paint an informative portrait of American cultural currents around mysticism, and focuses in the end on the right concerns.

Relating mysticism to religion is, to my mind, crucial to understanding it. Bernard McGinn, the leading scholar of Western mysticism, said as much to Horgan in an interview. One old book that might have helped Horgan is Friedrich von Hügel's "The Mystical Element in Religion," cited in McGinn's "The Presence of God." (Dennis Tamburello also uses it in his bite-sized "Ordinary Mysticism" [Paulist Press, 1996].) Von Hügel describes religion as having three elements: experiential (mystical), speculative (theological) and institutional (traditional). Horgan's bias that "a sense of absolute knowledge is the sine qua non of mystical experiences" causes him to conflate these elements. He asks: "What sort of truth would a rational mysticism give us? What sort of consolation?" These questions address the speculative and institutional elements of religion, respectively, not the mystical. Mysticism is about what sort of presence we hold in the world, our awareness of what is present to us (within and beyond ourselves), and how we move in the world. It is about what we do to hold that presence and awareness and way of moving - spiritual practices. Once experience, awareness and ways of being cross the threshold into words, we are out of the mystical and into the speculative element of religion, where truth is sought. Mystical theology - what Horgan pays most attention to - is speculation that strives to stay connected to mystical experience. Consolation, as he discovers on his journey, comes from our compassion for one another. And that is what religious institutions are meant to shelter and nourish, cultivate and encourage and preserve.

Horgan, like many others today, gives undue respect to a more-than-century-old popular error that imagines religion and science in irreconcilable conflict. This error is rooted in two perceptions: that religion depends upon the concepts and forms and stories preserved by religious institutions (and challenged by science), and that abuses of religious institutions invalidate religion (but not spirituality - hence the popular stance, "I'm more spiritual than religious" or "I'm spiritual, not religious"). His categorization of today's religious critics into "perennialists" and "postmodernists" reflects how this error divides us. Yet he sees the way out. He sees that the speculative and institutional criticisms of religion apply equally to science. And he sees that the mystical element in religion can be found in the wonder of science. Far from being in conflict, religion and science are complementary, respectively exploring interior and exterior worlds. To my mind, our main challenge is distinguishing between the psychological and the spiritual, so as to define the threshold between science and religion.

[Nick Stengel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did really want to love this book. Lots of it is fascinating philosophy and I learned a lot about perennialists and such. There is also a fair amount of pharmacology and discussion of the geography of the brain. It is thick with information that sent me scurrying to secondary sources.

That being said, the book fails in it's primary purpose. The science meeting spirituality regularly devolves into discussions of psychotropic drugs and their effects on the brain without ever relating these to the search for higher truth. I was left with the opinion that most prophets were mentally ill and that most people in 1968 were on the same level as the Biblical greats. Disappointing.

Horgan reduces enlightenment or revelation to a specific part of the brain and then backs off any conclusion. That may be the state of the science, but I wanted more, even if it might be conjecture.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this conversation. And full of referenced statements
“All these schemes ask us to believe in some sort of supernatural moral accountant who, like Santa Claus, keeps tabs on our naughtiness and nice-ness in order to determine our fate in the afterlife. As William James commented’ Any God who on the one hand, can care to keep a pedantically minute account of individual shortcomings, and on the other hand can feel such partiality, and load particular creatures with such insipid marks of favour, is too small-minded a God for our favour.’”
Skepticism can help us achieve mystical deautomatization, or so I wanted to believe.”
Jean Houston said 'I haven't seen too much evidence' that psychedelics promote a healthy spirituality. ‘it doesn’t seem to sustain that reality’... any spiritual practice or path -...- can become an end itself, which leads us away from reality rather than toward it..."
‘Prayers and chants, images, temples, gods, sages, definitions, and cosmologies are but ferries to a shore of experience beyond categories of thought, to be abandoned on arrival.’ Joseph Campbell- Masks of God”
Why do we respond to rainbow, sunsets, and stars phenomena from which we extract no tangible, utilitarian benefit?..."
oneness ‘has within it a hidden duality’ that leads to hierarchical social divisions.”

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

places too much emphasis on drugs as a source for mystical inspiration when the opposite is true -- the experience under drugs (joined in with their often lurid and sinister side effects) can not be placed in the same category as true mystical experience as described by the great saints, rishis and sages. The author is giving a good effort but gets side tracked on the drug issue, while ignoring the revelations of enlightened masters who eschewed drug use, Pandit Gopi Krishna of Kashmir being one. The author also fails to investigate the mechanism which the lofty spiritual heritage of India tells us is behind mystic experience -- Kundalini.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

My impetus for reading this book largely came largely from my fondness for the author's superior The End of Science. The title of this book is a bit odd, since it doesn't make any particular case for the rationality of mysticism. The book is an easy read, but some of the gurus it discusses are not even interesting in their oddness. The author seems as fascinated by psychedelics as he does by spirituality, and the reader will likely come away having learned as much about the former as the latter.

[G · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, this book is written by a journalist and it is basically series of interviews with prominent figures of philosophy, neuroscience research and scholars of religious studies, (e.g. Ken Wilbert, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, etc.) intertwined with author's thoughts and impressions.

Horgan tries to explores what mysticism is from all kinds of perspectives, such as perennial philosophy or postmodernism. It then moves on to explore neurotheology with particular emphasis on psychedelics, which I don't mind at all (unlike other reviewers here). He explains it in the beginning of the book why he focuses on psychedelics so much - they are easier to study by the methods of science than most other means of inducing altered state of consciousness.

Anyways, the information in this book is definitely thought-provoking, it dissected and clarified many concepts for me, even though it can be quite dry at times. It is also scattered throughout the book and it doesn't really provide cohesive narrative despite its journalistic style. However, the overall feel of the book can be summarized as: "ultimate reality escapes us and science is limited with its capabilities just as mystical approach to truth is too unreliable, because there is a huge spectrum of mystical experiences with too many contradictions between them. So the more you learn about mysticism, the more confused you are and all we have left is scepticism."

3,5/5 for the effort to investigate such an enormous topic

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title of Horgan’s book, there is really no such thing as rational mysticism. This book is a critical discussion of mystical experiences: how they happen, what they are like, what they mean, and their effects on people who experience them. Each chapter focuses on a particular philosopher, scientist, psychologist or guru who has experience with and strong opinions about mysticism. The author describes their ideas and then discusses them critically, considering their logic or illogic and relevant evidence. It is clear that—contrary to some claims—not all mystical experiences are essentially alike. While most are positive, some are negative. Do mystical experiences reveal profound knowledge? Different mystics have come to different conclusions on fundamental questions such as: What is the nature of God? Why does God allow evil? Why are we here? Why is there anything, instead of nothing? What is enlightenment? What is the significance of the mystical “oneness” experience? Is escaping from the “self” really a good thing? Some chapters are about mystical experiences generated by drugs. Are they legitimate mystical experiences, or are they merely the bizarre consequences of abnormal brain activity? Or does it make any difference? Horgan rightly takes a critical, skeptical view of many of the claims for the benefits of mystical practices and experiences, but he does not deny that for some people they are meaningful and valuable and life-changing.

[Cal Thunder Hawk]

This book was recommended to me regarding my interest in pursuing possible solutions to the problems of defining certain features and aspects of Lakhota ceremonial activities, traditionally relegated by Westerners into a dualistic "spiritual" domain, within a materialistic perspective. I am especially interested in those traditional Lakhota ritual practices that involve individual and collective experiences produced without the use of hallucinogenics and diathesis stress.
In trying to get a sense of how those experiences are practiced in popular culture, I've thus far read Chapter 8: "In The Birthplace of LSD" so far and it was entertaining but disappointing. The author is not a scientist.
Popular Western culture categorizes traditional Lakhota practices as "mystical" and thereby taints them with the moral and ethical contradictions of religions while associating Western mysticism with drug-induced religious experience.
There are 12 chapters in all and I look forward to going through them.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read, 10/2019: This is a fantastic book; I'm not sure what I thought of it the first time around due to no review present, but I thoroughly appreciated Horgan's approach to the topic of mysticism on this read. He is faithful without being dogmatic, skeptical without being entirely negative, and maintains an absolute open mind about every topic covered. This is a great text for anyone seeking something more than the mundane world, be it through drugs, religion or anything in between.

[David Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am disappointed with "Rational Mysticism: Spirituality Meets Science in the Search for Enlightenment " by John Horgan. It was so dry that you will have to drink a gallon of cool aid and force feed yourself every page. I think it was too intellectually written. I for one have never been a great fan of pure philosophy.

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

This good writer and journalist shares his tourist's view of the subject of mysticism.

The book has less than the value of any uninformed tourist guide who does not know the landscape.

Book has close to no value.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect book to read after Michael Pollan's How To Change Your Mind. While Pollan comes away with quite a romantic view of psychoactive drugs Horgan comes to a more conservative conclusion. I loved both books and really think they should be read together.

[Gregg Sapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

The word “mystic” evokes images of psychics and sorcerers. However, the truth of what it describes is anchored in the real world. Mystic practitioners of all faiths engage in disciplined meditation and rigorous cognitive techniques to achieve a transient although blissful state of being commonly described as union with ultimate reality. Alternately, and perhaps paradoxically, this state can be similarly induced by taking hallucinogens, or “entheogens,” as their aficionados prefer to call them. Either way, no magic is involved.

In “Rational Mysticism,” Scientific American contributor John Horgan explores the realm of modern mysticism and its purveyors. This may seem like a peculiar topic for a science writer, since the fundamental ineffability of mystic vision seems beyond the purview of deductive reasoning. Still, Horgan confesses to that “I have always been prone to eschatological obsession,” and these musings filled him with both comfort and dread during a drug-induced experience in his youth. He confesses that: “I never forgot that trip, however, or stopped brooding over its implications.” Ergo, “Rational Mysticism” takes the form of a quest.

What happens in the brain during a mystical experience? Or, is it even meaningful to ask? A neurologist like Andrew Newberg cites his brain scanning studies as proof that mystical experiences are nothing more than brain states. By contrast, actual practitioners view the mystic vision as a perception of deeper reality unfiltered by the senses and random cognition, and the neurological fireworks that result are effect, not cause. Furthermore, there is debate as to whether mystic experiences are “perennial,” that is fundamentally the same, regardless of the faith or philosophy of the practitioner, or, as postmodernists suggest vis a vis just about everything, prescribed by cultural expectations.

And what about the ancient practice of seeking altered states of consciousness, not through rigorous mental discipline, but taking a shortcut by using entheogenic drugs? Is that a valid way of achieving a true vision?

Horgan interviews a representative sample of people espousing various interpretations of what, exactly, constitutes a legitimate mystic experience. The leading characters in this book are a strange bunch, including renegade academics, new age gurus, religious zealots, and purveyors of hallucinogens. Among those whose opinions he sought were: Newberg and his coauthor Eugene D’Aquili; Ken Wilbur, a founder of transpersonal philosophy; Susan Blackmore, an Oxford scholar and Buddhist; Stanislav Groff, a researcher on the use of therapeutic LSD; and Terence McKenna, whom Timothy Leary dubbed the heir to his intellectual tradition.

Horgan is no wallflower when it comes to sampling the multifarious expressions of mysticism. He volunteers to step into a soundproof chamber and don the “Octopus,” a helmet wired to stimulate parts of the brain that replicate mystical events. Spoiler alter—he was not impressed. However, in the time-honored tradition of rationalizing failure, the machine’s developer explained that skeptics are often unreceptive to the stimulus.

Undaunted, Horgan joined a cohort of seekers on a group head trip. In the forests of coastal California, Horgan and his intrepid fellows ingested the Amazonian psychedelic, ayahuasca. After a strange night of prodigious vomiting and iridescent hallucinations, Horgan endeavored to write about the experience: “I stared at the words, wracking my brain for an epiphany, but none came.”

In the end, the mystery remains intact. “Instead of seeing the Answer to the riddle of existence, you see just how impenetrable the riddle is.” At this date in human history, that remains as true to mystics as it is to scientists.

[Anya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callbacks to earlier chapters were great (especially when brief) -- it made the different chapters more relevant to each other. They felt more like puzzle pieces Horgan keeps turning over and adjusting until they fit; and so it felt like a journey.
I highly appreciate the descriptions and investigations of his inner world (thinking, experiences, fears, beliefs) peppered throughout too! I find it super curious and helpful to reveal what's behind the curtain, and to compare those experiences. Like a lot of the rationalist community (proxy through ACX). So many people look like they have it together, but it's (almost) never that way underneath.

Anyways, an enjoyable overview to go through with my background. I wonder what this book would look like today -- a chapter or two on instagram spirituality for sure (though it's across all social media); maybe a subsection on LoA, #witchtok, etc.

Chapter 1 was the perfect hook. (Strongest & most engaging chapter with its focus on history and philosophy). I've been under the sway of perennialists this whole time, and I didn't even know it!
Chapters 2-3 (on post-modernists & Ken Wilber) are still 'heavier' philosophy (for what is essentially pop-sci & meant as cursory material ofc), and enjoyable.
Chapters 4-5 (on neurotheology) has some good cursory discussion on neurosci experiments, but also felt pretty meh. Starts to lose spirit a bit. The neurotheology/ evo-psych take is too reductional materialistic. Straight biohacking (if it ever works out) our way to enlightenment is so convoluted. It's not an oxymoron because the irony has wider scope than that. And it's not a paradox, because a paradox is opposites that come together through synthesis, and this is not synthesizable, and not the point.
Chapter 6 (on psi) just seems off-topic to spirituality (Horgan concludes the same, though it takes 20 pages). I wonder if psi is closer to the Overton window than magick/ occult, because I doubt he's going to talk about anything more than brief mentions of gnosticism here.
Chapter 7 (zen) was pretty good, back on track.

4 chapters on psychedelics at the end lol! Very amusing; however, disproportional in the context of exploring spirituality. I slowed down in the McKenna section to imagine his patterned speech and imagine his owlish presence at the cafe -- that was a happy chapter.

[Suhrob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This year a delved into a lot of esoterical & psychoanalytical topics. Horgan's book was a nice bookend for this exploration.

Horgan is an ex-science writer and fortunately shows a decent understanding of how science works.
The selection of interviewees and their sequencing is also excellent.

The danger for me is that I generally agree with his stances and therefore tend to rate the book high just due to confirmation bias.

So a few negatives:
- the writing is great but somewhat formulaic - every chapter (=interview) follows the same arc
- not Horgan's fault - but the scientist chapters are the weakest. The books simply came out too early (these are pre fMRI times), the first studies were extremely crude... The current situation is still in very early stages, but we did learn a bit. I'd be interested in an update...
- I generally very much symphatize with Horgan, but feel he ended up selling both naturalism and mindfulness bit short. The naturalism part I understand - as mentioned the scientific literature was very weak and contradictory. But still the philosophical grounds are more solid than he makes it.
- I also felt that on the mindfulness side most people (bar Wilber) did not know much about the topic. And Wilber is... specific...

Technically this doesn't have much to do with "Rationality": but it is a well written collection of interviews with mostly interesting people on a fascinating topic moderated by a sympathetic, level-headed journalist.

So: I've totally enjoyed this, learned a little bit and wish, we'd get an update with new science and actual experts on the meditation/mindfulness side.

[Jessaka · Rating 5 out of 5]

30 stars.3rd reading of this book. Somehow through all of John horgan's skepticism I find that he is really spiritual. He tried the god machine which is meant to give you a mystical experience, but it did nothing for him He tried the different plants, hallucinogens nothing. After all of his experiments he does not believe in ESP , telepathy.
1st of all, and I could be wrong, most people cannot perform on demand. If you were to ask me to read your thoughts, and I knew that you were trying to study this, I could not do it. Whenever I have picked up telepathic messages , they were more like a jolt, something unexpected. Some of the hits that I have made Did not happen until months or years later. But I did spend a year back in the 1,980s Learning how to give psychic readings. They were not tricks of the trade, as I wouldn't know what tricks other psychics use. They were more of going into a trance and while there Thinking about the person and saying the 1st things that come to your mind. I was almost always correct. But I gave it up after 1 year. And I do not believe that you can tell a person to go into a higher state of consciousness, and I mean a higher state of consciousness not just a trance. Mystical experiences Just happen. Maybe you're out in nature and you begin to feel at 1 with everything or maybe you're meditating and you experience god. There are many other ways.
But for some reason I just found this book to be very spiritual. I also liked how he interviewed many mystics , mystics whose books I may not understand.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a though-provoking sober-minded look at how different experts try to make sense of mystical experiences. Horgan presents/critiques the work of several mystical experts as well as interviewing them to get a better understanding of how they viewed the matter. These experts range from neuroscientists studying the way meditation shows up in the brain, to philosophers seeking commonalities in the mystical experiences recorded in different cultures, to psychedelic proponents of drug-induced mystical experiences, as well as those neuroscientist criticizing the studies that purport to explain the meditative mind, the philosophers criticizing the ham-fisted pursuit of “oneness” at the cost of each culture’s tradition and the psychiatrists highlighting the problem of having the drug-experience become the goal instead of the medium towards something greater. This variety of thought, paired with Horgan’s even-handed approach allows the reader to approach the subject from all angles and understand the difficulty of trying to pinpoint something so ineffable. Although Horgan’s take-no-sides/criticize-all-sides might not suit everyone, it is a great way to explore the subject without tilting the scales from the beginning.

[PerennialMystery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent survey.

An excellent survey of an unwieldy topic. Well written and relatable. I think he got the point in the end, but somehow seems to have missed that what he thought was a rejection of mysticism was actually an embrace of mysticism. He ends by embracing the here and now of life lived, and rejecting the notion of some ethereal transcendent unity. But they are not opposed. In Zen, they sometimes say "samsara is nirvana." That is, enlightenment is not different than the mundane of daily life. In fact, the mundane of daily life is the essence of enlightenment. "Savor the unflavored" as one translation of the Tao Te Ching puts it. All that said, the book itself was nicely written and an easy, pretty light read that gives a nice top-level survey of some ideas and perspectives related to mysticism without being either overly skeptical or enthusuastic.

[Aaron Wenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read on spirituality and mysticism. Though you won't find scholarly deconstructions or inspired musings from an ancient traditions, you do get to an important facet of the mystical experience: the mystics themselves. Until I'd read this book names like Steven Katz and Huston Smith were just vague identities attached to or referenced in literature. Here, we see an important individual element.

The author's own journey is honest and emotional, it frames the book nicely. However, the author's personal beliefs aren't necessary rational. Odds are, any seeker reading this book would find something to nit pick about the author's deductions about phychedelia and the existence of a creative force. What's important, though, is that the author included them.

[Andrew Nolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

At its most interesting it’s a book by a man who became untethered from his perception of the world after taking an experimental hallucinogen in the early 1980s and his periodic 20 year quest to make sense of/ come to terms with his night of cosmic horror.

At its most bland it’s a Basic American Dad talking to a variety of thinkers - from the awful to the ok - on the subject of mysticism.

Embarrassing descriptions of interview subjects and an almost compelling terrible misreading of Gnosticism.

Pick the parts you like and focus on those.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is like an investigative reporter taking a long, detailed look at all the elements of mysticism and things paranormal. Lots of things examined from psychedelic drugs and ESP to chanting, drumming and hyperventilation. Along the way LOTS of “truths” surface.

From the epilogue this touched me: “Does God care? Who knows? But we care. Our solace — and salvation, if we can be saved — will come not from God’s compassion but from our own.”

[Alice Greczyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute favorite of mine! If you like exploring ideas considered spiritual through the lens of science, John Horgan is your author. From psychedelics to near-death experiences to philosophy and cosmology, I was fascinated from beginning to end.

[Ted Ziegenbusch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over Emphasis On Drug Use

Fascinating stories, thoughts and observations. Mysticism takes a detour in this real life drama and analysis of the mind. Not at all what I expected. However, interesting none the less.

[Bob Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected.

Well written with a very balanced position on a topic that usually generates a great deal of emotion on one side or another about the techniques and the human capacity to experience enlightenment .

[Clay Zdobylak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but it didn't live up to what i had hoped it would be, though it's been long enough that i cant remember exactly what that was.

[Patrick Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horgan does an excellent job painting the different world views that embody mysticism and interpretations of mystical experiences.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! John Horgan does not disappoint.

[Oskari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, entertaining and well-researched. I do not subscribe to most of the accounts, but there were some moments of insights of the mystical path.

[Matina Kazameas · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. Not what I was expecting.

[Lachlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought provoking. Much I agree and disagree with. A piece of writing will be forthcoming.