The question posed by such a story is whether the esoteric concept of an anima mundi or “world soul” is a measurably real phenomenon. Within psi research this idea was first encountered by noticing that during participation in engaging rituals, whether sports, meditation, or music, people sometimes reported a strange, expansive feeling as though they had merged with the group’s collective mind. Such moments are described as an “energetic shift,” a feeling of “electricity in the air” or “being in the zone.”
