Rating System | Links | Key to Abbreviations of Contributors
The web is a helpful resource but quite confusing at first so a bit of guidance never goes astray. That's what a links page does. Below I first explain the rating system used to describe the overall quality of a website. Then come the links themselves. There is no topical organization but the higher ranked sites are listed at the top. Sites as yet unranked might be quite good but they are listed at the bottom anyway. Finally, I explain the cryptic abbreviations following annotations, which refer to the fine people who have contributed web links, annotations, and ratings for sites related to religious experience.
The four-halo rating system is utterly objective, of course, but may need to be explained so that all of the universally applicable judgments expressed by its use are not merely announced (the cosmically important outcome) but also understood (we, too, are slaves to our pedagogically driven, bodhisattva-like compassion). The explanation may be somewhat technical but we ask you to bear with our attempts to break open web-centric phenomenological categories for the wider public.
| Rating | Meaning | Deeper Meaning |
 |
! | Inexpressible;
transcending all categories of moral and aesthetic judgment; a genuinely irrational achievement; apophasis inducing |
 |
Wow! | Sartori is at
hand, so close you can almost taste it; the dew drop is about to slip into the shining sea to become one with all other water droplets |
|
|
Bad! | Ananda down
under—which is the highest web- based quality permitted in Australia for public safety and medical reasons |
|
|
Not bad! | Joy of the
regular sort; no bright lights or angelic visitations but a warm and happy feeling, at least for the most part; could be happier |
|
|
Mmmm... | Quotidian
neutrality; the quintessential opposite of bipolar dynamism; the ordinary, easy-paced day off work with nothing much to do except nap |
|
|
Well... | There is no
there there; there is no soul there either; in fact, there is not even any no-soul there; more meditation is vital, and urgently! |
|
|
! | Inexpressible;
transcending all categories of moral and aesthetic judgment; a genuinely irrational achievement; apophasis inducing |
Halo Rank: 4 | 3.5 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1
 |
|
Art by Unknown; from here. |
Virtual Beit Midrash (Study Hall). It is
impossible to understand the Jewish religious experience without appreciating
the central role that sacred text study plays in the devotional life of the
religious Jew. Before one ascends the mystical ladder to commune with the Divine
or sinks into the depths to call out in fervent prayer to the Lord, the Jewish
religious experience begins with Torah study, most often in the context of study
partners and a learning community. This virtual study hall website will provide
a sense of the depth and breadth of Jewish religious educational interests and
provide a glimpse of the literary learning modality of Jewish spirituality. [BJS]
Why Study Religion
is sponsored and developed by the American Academy of Religion, and was funded
by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Founded in 1909, the Academy is the
world's largest association of academics who research or teach topics related to
religion. The web site is easy to navigate, contains references to dozens of
basic texts and foundational documents. It contains links to several websites
that deal with the study of religion and religious experience. [JC]
Rumi Universe is a clean,
unadulterated site featuring excellent translations of the works of Mualana
Jalalu-‘d-dín Muhammad Rumi, which are excellent primary resources for a
particular kind of mystical religious experience. This is an extremely
comprehensive site including vast content of Rumi as translated by the likes of
E.H. Whinfield and Coleman Barks. This is Rumi plain, without embellishment,
allowing the reader to hear the authentic voice with little editorial content. [JC]
Gender in Medieval Christian
Mysticism is a class taught by Prof. Deeana Klepper at Boston University’s
Religion Department. The beautifully illustrated site provides web resources for
the study of medieval European religion and history, e-texts for selected
medieval mystics, and a valuable bibliography. The course content includes both
genders. [GGL]
Famous
Swedenborgians—William Blake and Henry James Sr. are two of the famous
Swedenborgians listed on this web site. Bill Wilson, the founder of the
Alcoholics Anonymous, is also a famous Swedenborgian, and no Religious
Experience Resources could be complete without a link to his site. The site
provides links to local AA meetings, and the meetings of offshoot groups of AA,
such as “Overeaters” and “Debtors Anonymous.” Alcoholics Anonymous (aka
“The Big Blue Book”) can be ordered from the site. [GGL]
Is Runner’s High a Religious Experience? The author of the site’s article
describes a “runner’s high,” while he ran in his first marathon. A runner’s high
is reminiscent of Maslow’s “peak experiences.” This is an inspiring site. By
clicking on “what the brain looks like during religious experience,” you are led
to the Pew Forum’s bi-annual “Faith Angle Conference” of May 2008. There you can
listen to an audio recording, read articles or navigate transcripts. There are
some interesting theories, and pictures of the brain, presented here. [GGL]
The Pluralism Project was started at
Harvard University in 1991. Its “mission is to help Americans engage with the
realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active
dissemination of resources.” Pluralism is defined at length and most world
religions are listed and described. The Project’s research articles are posted
and selected links for Research Organizations, such as
the
Center for Engaged Religious Pluralism, are provided. [GGL]
The Emory
University William James site is an extensive compilation of resources
related to the works of William James. The site includes full original texts,
essays, reviews, commentaries, bibliographies, and various links to other web
resources. It is helpful for students of religious experience as James is
foundational to the field. [TW]
Psychedelics and Religious
Experience. Alan Watts was a student of comparative religion,
religious psychology and a popularizer of Eastern religious philosophy.
In this intriguing web article, Watts explores the so called higher
states of consciousness so often associated with religious experience
brought on by the use of illegal psychedelics. The article also holds
historical interest in that it provides a window into the mindset of the
counterculture of the ‘60s. [BJS]
Neochasid.org is a website
dedicated to the contemporary practice of Chasidic religious
spirituality outside of a normative Orthodox Jewish framework. It
highlights the use of song and melody, story and liturgy, and Jewish
mysticism to create religious experience and divine communion. It raises
the interesting question of whether religious experience requires
connection to community and a structured cultural setting, or can be
accessed through an internet tutorial. [BJS]
MyJewishLearning.com
is an entry level website with credentialed authors that provides an
expansive introduction to Jewish religious beliefs and practices. For
those interested in the Jewish religious experience, this accessible,
encyclopedic website is a great place to begin one’s research. It has
expansive sections on Jewish mysticism, hassidism and prayer. [BJS]
Sefer Devekut: The
Book of Attachment (To G-d) The Prophetic/Meditative Traditions
(Kabbalah) of Bonding With G-d. This website presents a digitized
version of a contemporary work guiding the seeker of Jewish religious
experience toward communion with the divine presence. It is
representative of a traditional genre of Jewish devotional literature
that began in the medieval period and has persisted through the present.
[BJS]
Spirituality and
Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys seeks to cover the
spiritual renaissance scene, highlighting events, new books, reviews,
articles and resources, as well as providing "how to" information. [BJS]
The American Society for Psychical Research is the oldest psychical research
organization in the United States. For more than a century, the ASPR has
supported the scientific investigation of extraordinary or as yet unexplained
phenomena that have been called psychic or paranormal. The ASPR was founded
in 1885 by a distinguished group of scholars who shared the courage and vision
to explore the uncharted realms of human consciousness, among them renowned
Harvard psychologist and Professor of Philosophy, William James. [MS]
Boundary Institute
is a nonprofit scientific research organization
dedicated to the advancement of 21st-Century science, and currently
pursuing two major research themes, one concerning the foundations of physics,
the other the foundations of mathematics and computer science. Many
people have had precognitive dreams and successful intuitive hunches and would
like to know if they have psychic abilities. The institution created some
informal tests for "Psi" functioning based on the same techniques used in more
formal laboratory experiments.
Click here to join the tests. [MS]
Quantum Consciousness
is the personal website of Dr. Stuart Hameroff, a physician and researcher at
the University of Arizona Medical Center.
What's Really on (or in) Our Minds? For nearly a century, science has
avoided the study of human consciousness. Now, the UA philosopher is helping to
reinvigorate this most difficult and profound avenue of inquiry. [MS]
Spirituality and the Brain
is a personal website of Dr. Todd Murphy, a Behavioral Neuroscientist associated
with Dr. Michael Persinger. His main interest is in understanding how the brain
contributes to mystic, religious, and spiritual experiences. He writes, “I want
to use this understanding to find ways to induce them for those who need them.
And to understand the transformations that follow when people have them
unexpectedly. Unlike many of my colleagues, I am not closed to psychic
phenomena, tales of miracles, visitations by angels, and other experiences. I
accept that these are real experiences, even though I may not be able to accept
many of the traditional explanations for them. I hope the articles and
technology on this page are able to contribute to your spiritual process.” [MS]
History of American Religion
is a discussion-based site with articles and reviews for and of
religions. The site has five editors and seventeen editorial board
members who are professionals in religion. This site is beneficial for
study and research regarding religion, including religious experience. [HJW]
BBC's Religion & Ethics
broadcasts are an online radio resource. They are available for
convenient downloading as well as streaming live. Weekly programs and
special features offer an array of religious material eclectic enough
for those merely curious, critical enough for every brand of scholar,
and devout enough for all varieties of devotees. The site includes a
multi-faith calendar, daily worship services, discussion boards,
information on world religions, historical reflections, a broadcast of
one man's unfulfilled desire to believe in God, and much much more! [SLP]
Paths of Dao has
beautiful page layouts, and focuses on eastern religion: Daoism,
Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. Excellent links are offered, comments can be
posted, daily devotionals (“Daily Zen”) can be read, and one can
discover a network of people to interact with. [RLS]
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik on Inter-Religious Dialogue: Forty Years Later.
This website, sponsored by Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish
Learning, presents the proceedings and ongoing online discussion of a 2003
conference on the 40th anniversary of Rabbi Jospeh B. Soloveithcik's theological
essay, "Confrontation." In the essay, Soloveitchik rejects interfaith
theological dialogue based on the fundamental inability of individuals to
converse across faiths. Soloveitchik's analysis of interreligious
incommensurability raises important issues about the difficulties
of articulating religious and spiritual experience, and it adopts a
provocatively strong contextualist position against perennialism.
Soloveitchik's essay was written in part as a response to Vatican II, which was a
bold reformulation of the Catholic Church's position on Judaism, and as part of that
reorientation also called for greater theological dialogue and joint study. In
an atmosphere of cautious distrust, a call for dialogue was taken by some Jews
as a call for prostelyzation of a different form. At the same time,
Soloveitchik's essay is a continuation of other themes he had previously
developed in his celebrated "Lonely Man of Faith" in which he posits the
existential loneliness of faith. [BJS]
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"Aboriginal Love Magic" |
The Rhine Research Center & Institute
for Parapsychology is a group that "aims to improve the human
condition by creating a scientific understanding of those abilities and
sensitivities that appear to transcend the ordinary limits of space and
time and by communicating that understanding in cogent and responsible
ways." The Rhine Research Center is the successor to the (famed?) Duke
University Parapsychology Laboratory. Its appears that this site could
be a goldmine for anyone whose interest is in PSI-EXPERIENCES.
Unfortunately, however, I have not been able to get very far into it
without my browser crashing. Perhaps someone else will have better luck!
[TK]
The Committee for the Scientific
Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) is a group that
"encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science
claims from a responsible, scientific point of view and disseminates
factual information about the results of such inquiries to the
scientific community and the public." Although CSICOP is about the
debunking of paranormal claims, its site includes a lengthy annotated
bibliography of literature pertaining to the paranormal that may be of
some use. (Of course, it is also of use for those of you who, like me,
are skeptically minded, unregenerate neo-Kantians.) [TK]
Labyrinths, Selected Stories & Other Writings of Julius Luis Borges.
Julius Luis Borges was born in Argentina in August 1899. A prolific and
thoughtful writer, Borges struggled with the meaning of religion and existence
through poetry, prose, metaphysics, religion, and philosophy. “Perhaps the most
striking characteristic of his writings is their extreme intellectual reaction
against all the disorder and contingency of immediate reality, their radical
insistence of breaking with the given world and postulating another.” James E.
Irby (translator). This site provides unedited access to magnificent text by
Julius Borges, many of which testify to the vitality of spiritual experience. [JC]
The Council on Spiritual Practices “is a
collaboration among spiritual guides, experts in the behavioral and biomedical
sciences, and scholars of religion, dedicated to making direct experience of the
sacred more available to more people.” This is a well-organized, easily
navigable site. It makes somewhat inflated claims about its own importance and
contributions to understanding religious experience. But it substantially
delivers the goods. Nothing is lost, and much gained by considering the
traditional and more cutting-edge issues concerning religious experience
presented at this site. [JC]
The
Religious Experience of Indigenous People.
Professor Kevin Ward provides the course description and syllabus for his
course
covering the topic of religious experience among indigenous populations and the
role of these experiences in shaping their societies. [LAW]
The
infidels.org website is dedicated to promoting a naturalistic worldview. The
religious experience section provides a number of critical essays that
demonstrate a good understanding of a wide variety of philosophical positions
regarding religious experience. [LAW]
Sound and Spirit—the
award-winning National Public Radio Show hosted by Ellen Kushner, produced by
WGBH Radio Boston, and distributed by Public Radio International—is “a weekly
series of hour-long radio programs exploring the human spirit through music and
ideas. Sound & Spirit weaves history, myth, and spiritual traditions
together with music to take listeners on a journey around the world and through
the ages.” Various experts both in practice and in academia on topics ranging
from holidays to ritual practices to recipes to ethics share with Kushner in
thought-provoking, respectful, and often humorous dialogue to present a wide
range of religious and spiritual experience from an increasing number of faith
traditions/no specific tradition. The website contains the broadcast of the
current show, the upcoming shows schedule, archives, playlists (the music alone
is a religious experience), feedback (including testimonies of spiritual
experiences while listening), a way to obtain written transcripts, recipes,
schedules, and how to listen both in the United States and abroad. The show and
the website are ongoing delights for both specialists and generalists. [VG]
The Prayer Shawl Ministry is the
original website of an international phenomenon, now ten years old: the
planning, creation, blessing, and gifting of prayer shawls that become ritual
objects and opportunities for religious experience for both creator and
recipient. Founded in 1998 by Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo as a result of
their work in a program of Applied Feminist Spirituality with Miriam Therese
Winter, the ministry combines knitting/crocheting/quilting/weaving, caritas,
and intentional blessing/prayer into spiritual practice, that in turn
also provides comfort, joy, solace, and/or celebration for those who receive the
results. The website provides instruction suggestions for making the shawls and
for starting a local ministry, ideas for planning and creating (symbolism,
color, pattern, prayers), links to organizations requesting or offering shawls,
and stories/inspirations (often accounts of spiritual experiences involving
either the creation or reception of a shawl). Honoring of female experience and
tradition, and of world religions, this website reflects the progress of a
remarkable grassroots spiritual culture. For those interested in applied
spirituality, fiber arts, and personal religious practice and experience. [VG]
Concord Pastor Blog. A pastor in Concord, Massachusetts communicates with
his parishioners and the world through his blog. He posts his homilies weekly
and welcomes comments. People in need contact him for prayers. He provides links
to the Jesuit magazine, the New American Bible, the Center for Liturgy at Saint
Louis University, The Vatican, a prayer for when your child leaves home, and
many other resources of a religious, political, and humorous nature. You can
also listen to a Benedictine chant and reflect as nature slides sail by on your
screen. [GGL]
Nielson’s
Psychology of Religion Site. A website compiled by Michael Nielson, Ph. D.
with brief essays, mostly written by Nielson, on a range of topics related to
the psychology of religion. The site also includes an extensive list of
resources for further study, information on new religious movements, and news
updates related to the intersection of science and religion. [TW]
The Center for
Cognitive Liberty and Ethics is a “network of scholars elaborating the law,
policy, and ethics of freedom of thought.” Its mission is “to develop social
policies that will preserve and enhance freedom of thought into the 21st
century.” It primarily seeks to do this by supporting the application of
neurotechnological advances in society in a way that is guided by the principles
of “privacy, autonomy, and choice.” They do this through legal advocacy,
analysis, and education relating to the realm of neurotechnology, the cognitive
sciences, and law. [TW]
Buddhist Studies WWW
Virtual Library is a
portal site that tracks leading information facilities in the fields of
Buddhism and Buddhist studies. This site, providing a lot of other
links, is edited by Dr. T. Matthew Ciolek and Prof. Joe Bransford
Wilson.
[KCH]
Religious Worlds
offers information about religious traditions that developed in
the Middle East or West Asia as well as others from South and East Asia.
Besides religious traditions, this site furnishes a lot of links for
academic resources, religion and modernity, religion and cyberspace, and
religious experience.
[KCH]
Portraits of Human Nature: Reconciling Neuroscience and Christian
Anthropology. A summary from a seminar and a joint book project of
1998, this report on the complementary relationship between Christianity
and neuroscience remains as relevant today as it was when first
published. Espousing a monistic, non-reductive, physicalist view of
personhood, the contributors to the report present readers with a brief
description of evolving human identity as defined by way of current
scientific perspectives: genetic, neural and cultural. Their conclusion
is that, as physicalist beings, the idea of a spiritual soul as separate
from the body has to be jettisoned in favor of a soul which is
the whole person rather than a part of the person; and as
a whole person the soul is only realized in relationship to other beings
rather than as an individual, isolated identity. Furthermore, the
conclusion is that this idea of a soul in no way conflicts with the
cornerstones of Christian history, theology, ethics or exegesis. A
great resource for anyone concerned about the current conversation
between Neuroscience and Christianity, for anyone who wants fresh
insight into the critical importance of 'relationships' for interpreting
Christianity, and for anyone who is looking for a brief summary that
could point them towards further, more exhaustive resources.
[SLP]
The Mystica
is “an encyclopedia of the occult, mysticism, magic, paranormal and
more…” boasting over 890 articles. It aims both to objectively describe
and to educate visitors about “past and present ideas, concepts,
beliefs, and practices in the worlds of the occult, mysticism and
paranormal.” It is a well-rounded site boasting various awards.
[RLS]
Crystal Links is
an excellent reference tool for links on Chinese philosophy, culture,
and religious tradition. Highly informative links (including graphics)
include Chinese “Art and Literature”, “Dragons”, “Metta Meditation”,
“Tibet”, and many more. The site gives a good feeling for some
dimensions of religious and experiences in the Chinese cultural context.
[RLS]
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"Nataraj" by Jean Letschert |
The Alister Hardy
Society Religious Experience Research Centre is a group whose
"object is to further the study of religious and spiritual experience
started by Sir Alister Hardy" (who provided us with that exquisite list
of the characteristics of religious experiences). Though there does not
seem to be much of use on the website itself, its "links" page provides
some ostensibly interesting links, particularly to sites pertaining to
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES. The Centre also has a research collection of
first-hand accounts of religious experiences but that is not generally
available from the website. [TK]
Understanding
Religious Experience and Expression.
Dr. Bryan S. Rennie provides the syllabus online for his undergraduate
course at Westminster College. The course is meant to be an introduction to
religious studies generally and takes an historical and phenomenological
approach to religious experience more specifically. [LAW]
Spring Hill Music is a commercial
website devoted to "body, mind and soul music”: music that aids and supports
changes in body/mind/spirit consciousness, and music that is often generated out
of the spiritual practice and/or experience of the artist. The offerings range
through a number of genres and cultures (chant, instrumental, classical, or
Native American, for example), and links to the artists’ biographies or websites
provide more information about their particular practices and/or religious
experiences. The company’s “about us” page also provides interesting insights as
to the relationship between religious experience and practice and
marketing/production values in the broader support and publicizing of religious
experience and practice. Sound clips, reviews (favorable and descriptive), and
quotes are provided for each offering. Spring Hill provides a service for those
looking for often-hard-to-find music to broaden their musical tastes and
awareness or to support their own body/mind/spirit practices, and also presents
further information and personal accounts about the many ways music and
religious experiences are so often intertwined. [VG]
Sounds True is a commercial site whose
descriptive banner statements are “Wisdom for the Inner Life” and “Tools and
Teachings to Spark Your Inner Evolution”. Offering music, spoken-word audio,
audio learning courses, books, interactive learning kits, and instructional DVDs
with high production values and customer service, the company presents from a
wide variety of faith traditions, arts, and humanities on an eclectic range of
subjects, to “strive with every title to preserve the essential ‘living
wisdom’ of the author, artist, or spiritual teacher. … to create
products that not only provide information to a reader or listener, but that
also embody the essential quality of a wisdom transmission between a teacher and
a student.” Links to author and artist profiles and websites provide further
information on personal experiences and practices and how these inform their
creations, and the company’s “about us” page presents their mission statement
and some of the ethical practices to which that statement gives rise. Although
there is a product category of “beginners’ guides”, the breadth and eclecticism
of offerings would seem to make this site more suitable for those who are
looking for particular supports or education for their own religious experience.
Sound clips and excerpts are offered for each item. [VG]
The International
Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion states that its main
objective is to “promote the cognitive science of religion through international
collaboration of all scholars whose research has a bearing on the subject.”
Their website has a calendar listing many events which relate to the cognitive
science of religion, as well as a helpful links page that directs readers to
academic projects, journals, books, and web resources dealing in cognitive
religious studies. [TW]
The
Ian Ramsey Center was “founded in 1985 for the study of religious beliefs in
relations to the sciences and medicine” at the University of Oxford. The site
includes information on seminars, conferences, and other research opportunities.
Of special interest is the information related to the Cognition, Religion, and
Theology Project, which is funded by a three-year research grant from the John
Templeton Foundation. [TW]
The
Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah site, maintained by Eliezer Segal
(University of Calgary), provides an introductory resource list and
reference for those interested in the academic study of Jewish
mysticism. Its bibliographical listings are helpful, but incomplete and
insufficient. It contains overviews, introductions and pictorials that
may be helpful to those who wish to begin to explore the history, range
and scope of Jewish mystical practice. A visit to the site is
accompanied by cool electronica music which definitely enhances its
“halo” rating. [BJS]
Jewish
Blogging is a well constructed, membership-required, blog site that
allows for discussion among Jewish people of faith. It is full of links
and resources but most importantly allows individuals to express
personal religious experiences and share these experiences and questions
with others who belong to the site. This site is a source for primary
articulation of religious experience. This particular link directs
readers to a blog entry on "Conquering Bad Religious Experiences." [SST]
Dignity USA
is Catholic organization and this is its website. Dignity USA. Dignity
is an association of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender Catholics.
There is a specific site, Breath of the Spirit, within the website for
discussion of spiritual issues and for sharing of experiences. This site
is a primary source for the religious experience of a segment of Roman
Catholics whose voice is not often heard within wider institution. [SST]
Chad Hansen's Chinese
Philosophy Pages
contains segments of an extended interpretive theory of Classical
Chinese philosophy that takes Daoism as the philosophical center and
also contains Chad Hansen's my related writings about Confucianism,
Mohism, and Legalism. Chad Hansen is a personal professor of philosophy
at the University of Hong Kong. [KCH]
The American Religious Experience
contains many reviews and publications on religious experience. However,
they decided to take a break. So, there will be no update for a while.
Although it is unfortunate, they have many sources and links, which can
be very useful. [HJW]
Virtual Religion Index
offers extensive sources for study of religion. Although this site
itself does not contain articles or reviews related to religion, the
site directs visitors to resources covering a variety of religious
traditions. The site also offers regularly updated web links. Some
entries are relevant to religious experience. [HJW]
Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a good research tool for religion,
philosophy, and psychology, especially for research students who would
like to learn definitions, histories, and essential arguments. Some
entries are relevant to religious experience. [HJW]
The European
Society of Neuro Theology (SENT) is founded by Gustavo Rol. This
site is somewhat exotic but SENT effectively introduces the study of
neurology and religious experience by Dr. Andrew Newberg. The site also
offers excerpts from the texts of various religious traditions. [HJW]
This Sufism website
from the University of Georgia provides information about Sufism, which
is Islamic mysticism. The site covers the origins and nature of Sufism,
and the relation of Islam in general to Sufism. The site features a
number of notable Sufi poets, including Rumi, and furnishes links to
Sufi poetry in a number of different languages. It also includes links
to cartoons, Sufi publications, and articles. [NB]
Good Friday Article. This article details the Marsh Chapel
Experiment wherein the possibility of inducing religious experiences
through hallucinogens was explored. It is a fascinating look at the way
drugs can be used in religious and scientific contexts, though as an
article it inspires more questions than it answers. [NB]
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Art by Unknown; from here. |
TotheSource claims to
be “a forum for integrating thinking and action within a Judeo-Christian moral
framework that takes into account our contemporary situation. We report the
insights of cultural experts to the specific issues we face believing these
sources will embolden people to greater faith and involvement.” It includes an
impressive archive of past articles and seems to hang true to its proclaimed
Judeo-Christian orientation while “Challenging Hardcore Secularism with
Principled Pluralism.” The site layout is not easily navigated and a better
index and guide to the site would make it more user friendly. But it is an
interesting effort. [JC]
Wikipedia's entry on
religious experience offers a reasonably good overview of the topic and
provides many helpful links to further resources. The entry includes
perspectives from theology, religion, philosophy, and science. [LAW]
The Parliament of World Religions
bills itself as “the world's largest global interreligious event.” It is
organized by the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, and meets
every four years, bringing together thousands of people and various notable
spiritual, religious, and political leaders. The Parliament and its
Council were created “to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and
spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding
institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.”; they
are careful to emphasize harmony, not assimilation, unity, or conversion, in
their programming, and seek to provide a forum for the sharing experience,
vision, and ethical practice amongst religions in order to foster cooperation
and mutual support. The website contains planning and invitational process for
the upcoming Parliament and the reports and results of past Parliaments, as well
as hopes for future education courses and toolkits. This website is a good
resource for those interested in the current state of the inter-religious
movement. [VG]
The Spiritual
Competency Resource Center provides information and professional links for
those interested in the intersection of mental disorder and religious
experience. This is a website for mental health professionals which includes a
“chapter” on “Genuine Religious Experiences.” It is a limited resource but does
offer some primary accounts of religious experience. [SST]
Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism is a blog written by a rabbi teaching
Kabbalah and Rabbinic Literature out of the University of North Texas. This site
remains humorous, educational and critical without being irreverent. The
author, runner up for a 2007 National Book Award, provides commentary on
everything from weekly Torah readings to Jewish occult masters to the various
spellings of “Chanukah, Hanuka, Hanukka, Chanuka, Hanukkah”. A picture of
Jewish experience is presented that is relevant and revelatory for both Jewish
and non-Jewish readers alike. Also a great place to find that perfect piece of
trivia for an awkward first date. Or dinner with the in-laws. [SLP]
The Qigong Research
and Practice Center. Kenneth Cohen's website is a good introduction to the
basics of Qigong, a “system of healing and energy medicine from China”.
Considered by some as a spiritual practice, practiced by others as a way to
improve their health, and even used by athletes to take their athletic potential
to even greater heights, Qigong is increasing in popularity across North America
whilst still being restricted – and in some cases illegal – in China. According
to the site, Qigong uses “breathing techniques, gentle movements and meditation
to cleanse, strengthen and circulate the life energy (qi)”. Qigong: A
disciplined routine to incorporate into any religious practice or to simply
study as a spiritual discipline itself. [SLP]
Excerpt from Migraine: Perspectives on a Headache, a NY Times
2007-2008 blog. William James expounded on the possible epileptic originations
of the apostle Paul's Damascus visions; Hildegard of Bingen is often post-humously
described as a migraine sufferer – evidenced by her multiplicity of visions,
illustrations and writings; and “Alice in Wonderland” syndrome has even entered
the medical and psychological lexicon, a term borrowed from Lewis Carroll's book
to describe altered human perceptions (in particular, the feeling of shrinking
or growing!), often the result of a migraine or other neurological condition.
This blog, and this article in particular, offer further first-hand accounts of
the religious, philosophical, existential and, yes, physically-painful
experiences that migraine sufferers live through. It is an insightful
introduction to how a very physical process can dramatically alter a cognitive –
and even spiritual – journey; it is also a testament to the fact that each
journey, though labeled with one name, “migraine”, is, like each spiritual
journey, unique in its history as well as in its eventual manifestation. [SLP]
Sacred Transformations
concerns “personal stories of spiritual emergence, visions, awakenings, and
their effects on people’s lives.” Visitors can share their own personal stories
of spiritual experiences. Those offered differ in length and content, ranging
from near-death experiences to encounters with aliens and angels, but almost all
are interesting to read. [RLS]
Age
of the Sage is committed to “transmitting the wisdoms of the ages”
culminating in “the mystical group” of traditions, consisting of the major
world religions: “Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism”.
These are mostly caricatured by proof-texts and dogmatic positions taken by the
writers of the site. However, an eclectic array of links is offered and site
contains a wealth of intriguing information. [RLS]
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"Red Radiance" by Laura Leiden; |
The Awakened Heart Project for
Contemplative Judaism aims to advance and assist with the practice of
contemporary Jewish meditation and contemplative prayer. It states: ”The
Awakened Heart Project's approach to Jewish meditation comes out of a desire to
cultivate an awareness of the Divine Presence along with the particular
qualities of wisdom, compassion and kindness from a Jewish perspective.” While
ambitious in its aspirations, the website is at the moment woefully inadequate
with few articles and tutorials. [BJS]
The Experience Project website focus on all kinds of personal experience,
and provides a discussion page for those interested in sharing spiritual or
religious experiences. It provides an opportunity for expression of personal
experience under varied topics. The “I Am on a Spiritual Journey” discussion
page receives moderate activity. It is another primary source for self-defined
religious experience on the web. Participation seems to be from the general
populace. [SST]
The Australasian
Society for Psychical Research & UFORUM site aims to support the
examination, in a scientific spirit, of all anomalous phenomena, and of those
faculties of human kind which appear to be inexplicable on any recognized
hypothesis. [MS]
Religious Tolerance site
operators declare themselves as Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. The
goal of this site is to increase people's understanding and tolerance and
decrease bigotry through informing them about various religions, their range of
beliefs, and their historical development. [KCH]
The Holotropic Breathwork site
explains a purported method of achieving healing and pursuing wisdom
through systematic breathing, music, and other methods that are not
coached by teachers, but facilitated through a method of “doing” that is
“not-doing.” It is intended to bring out an inner healing and wholeness,
instead of seeking outside remedies. [NB]
SpiritualExperiences.com
is a website where people share their religious or spiritual
experiences, offering them up for discussion, advice, or support. The
discussion is mostly inexpert but the site it interesting to explore if
only just for the sheer volume of spiritual anecdotes. There is a Famous
Teachers section (though it appears to be “Coming Soon”). There is also
a movies and music section filled mostly with mainstream movies like
Contact, Passion of the Christ, The Celestine Prophecies, etc., as well
as some that don't seem to have a specific “spiritual” message like
Fight Club and The Shawshank Redemption. Check out the online store with
new age knick knacks. [NB]
Philosophy
online provides a basic understanding of the distinction between subjective
and objective interpretations of religious experience. There are no current
references to further reading or other resources. When updated, this could
become a useful resource. [LAW]
Deiuokara is a website dedicated to
those interested in “Celtic Polytheism” and its existence reflects the wide
contemporary interest in all aspects of Celtic spirituality. The site offers a
glimpse at the nature of this interest and provides opportunities for discussion
of personal experience. This is primarily a site for sharing, not linked with
any ongoing practice center or professional/spiritual organization. [SST]
Philosophy of Religion
offers many arguments for the existence of God, for agnosticism, and for
atheism. This site also includes arguments pertaining to Christian ethics and
brief biographies of historical figures and some modern authors. Look for the
arguments relevant to the study of religious experience. [KCH]
The Universal Life Church is
a site that ordains everyone and anyone that asks – for free – in the
pursuit of reversing a perceived negative view of religion. They then
offer a number of services, such as wedding planning guides and
credential placards, at a cost. The motto that “We are all children of
the same universe” is prominently displayed on the home page above
symbols from the major world religions, such as Judaism and Hinduism, as
well as a pink triangle and the Sanskrit symbol for Om. They have a
quick guide to a number of religious or thought systems including the
ones that might be expected (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism,
Buddhism among others) as well as less well known or unexpected systems
(Bahai, Natural Law, Neopaganism, New Age, Primal Faith, and
Zoroastrianism). [NB]
The Onion. To avoid a near-vacuum under "1 Halo
Sites," which may be due to exceptionally generous reviewers or an
exceptionally fabulous array of sites, consider The Onion. Look for the article on Evolutionists seeing a
vision of Charles Darwin in the stain on a concrete wall, complete with
debunking from religious experts. [SLP]
Serendip Brain and Behavior Site [KYJ]
http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives/042001/042001a.htm [KYJ]
http://www.counterbalance.org/ Go to Subjects > Psychology and Neuroscience [KYJ]
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/persinger.html [KYJ]
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2001/02/01/god_part/ [KYJ]
http://mbb.harvard.edu/ [KYJ]
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Art by Unknown; from here. |
The contributors to these web links are:
[BJS] Benjamin Samuels, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[GGL] Georgia Leiner, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[HJW] Hong Jongwook, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[JC] Jennifer Coleman, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[KCH] Kim ChanHong, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[KYJ] Kim YoungJu, member of the 2002 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[LAW] Lawrence A. Whitney, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[MS] Mark Shan, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[NB] Nathan Bieniek, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[RLS] Roy Smith, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[SLP] Sally Paddock, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[SST] Susan Troy, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[TK] Tim Knepper, teaching assistant for the 2002 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[TW] Todd Willison, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
[VG] Victoria Gaskell, member of the 2008 Religious Experience Research Seminar at Boston University
