Below is a list of important books on mystical experience. The list is not comprehensive; rather, it is a good starting point for learning more about mystical experience. We suggest first reading the mystical experience books marked with stars before their titles. Some of the early titles are out of print, but they are available from used book sources such as online book sellers. When reading the books, please keep in mind that no single viewpoint represents the entire field of mystical experience studies. (Please note: IMERE receives no compensation for the purchase of any of the books listed below).

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Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind by Richard Maurice Bucke (1901)
*The Varieties of Religious Experience by William James (1902)
Mysticism: A Study in Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness by Evelyn Underhill (1930)
*Mysticism and Philosophy by W.T. Stace (1960)
The Teachings of the Mystics by W.T. Stace (1960)
Mysticism: A Study and an Anthology by F.C. Happold (1963)
Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis by Steven T. Katz (1978)
Mysticism: A Study of its Nature, Cognitive Value, and Moral Implications by William J. Wainwright (1981)
Mysticism and Religious Traditions by Steven T. Katz (1983)
The Spiritual Nature of Man: Study of Contemporary Religious Experience by Alister Hardy (1983)
Religious Experience by Wayne Proudfoot (1987)
Mysticism, Mind, Consciousness by Robert K. C. Forman (1999)
Dimensions of Mystical Experience: Empirical Studies and Psychological Links by Ralph W. Hood Jr. (2002)
*Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century by Edward Kelly et al. (2006)
Piercing the Veil: Comparing Science and Mysticism as Ways of Knowing Reality by Richard H. Jones (2010)
Beyond Physicalism: Toward Reconciliation of Science and Spirituality by Edward Kelly et. al (2015)
Philosophy of Mysticism: Raids on the Ineffable by Richard H. Jones (2016)
Yoga, Meditation, and Mysticism: Contemplative Universals and Meditative Landmarks by Kenneth Rose (2016)
The Shape of the Soul: What Mystical Experience Tells Us about Ourselves and Reality by Paul Marshall (2019)
Consciousness Unbound: Liberating Mind from the Tyranny of Materialism by Edward Kelly, et al. (2021)
*An Introduction to the Study of Mysticism by Richard H. Jones (2021)
A Scientific Assessment of the Validity of Mystical Experiences: Understanding Altered Psychological and Neurophysiological States by Andrew C. Papanicolaou (2021).

For additional resources on mystical experience, spirituality in general, and consciousness, please visit our Mystical Experience Resources page.