Published, Third-Party Mystical Experience Accounts

Visit the pages below to read over 100 well-documented mystical experience cases from a range of individuals – people from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, times, and places.

We recommend that, as you read the mystical experience of each individual, you try to keep in mind that there is a distinction between a given mystical experience and the interpretation of that experience. In his book, The Teachings of the Mystics, W.T. Stace explained the matter of experience vs. interpretation through a metaphor:

“On a dark night out of doors, one may see something glimmering white. One person may think it a ghost. A second person may take it for a sheet hung out on a clothesline. A third person may suppose that it is a white-painted rock. Here we have a single experience with three different interpretations. The experience is genuine, but the interpretations may be either true or false. If we are to understand anything about mysticism, it is essential that we should make a similar distinction between a mystical experience and the interpretations which may be put upon it either by the mystics themselves or by nonmystics [emphasis ours]. For instance, the same mystical experience may be interpreted by a Christian in terms of Christian beliefs and by a Buddhist in terms of Buddhistic beliefs.”

Remembering the experience/interpretation distinction as you read will help you to notice common characteristics of mystical experiences and better understand the transcendent reality about which mystics write.

Did you have an experience similar to one or more of the accounts described above? Please Share Your Experience Today! It’s safe, secure, and anonymous (if you prefer).

Interested in reading additional Mystical Experience Examples? Please visit our section on Mystical Experience Accounts Submitted to IMERE.org.