Varieties of anomalous experience: Examining the scientific evidence.

This edited volume offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary overview of anomalous experiences—such as synesthesia, hallucinations, lucid dreaming, alien abduction, psi-related phenomena, anomalous healing, past-life experiences, near-death experiences, and mystical states. The chapters examine conceptual and methodological issues, the relationship between anomalous experiences and psychopathology, and the challenges of researching consciousness and extraordinary phenomena. The collection integrates perspectives from psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience, arguing that anomalous experiences are widespread, often meaningful, and not inherently pathological. The editors conclude with an integrative summary that highlights common themes and future research directions.

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Abstract

Contributors Acknowledgments I. Conceptual and Methodological Considerations Introduction: Anomalous Experiences in Perspective, Etzel Cardena, Steven Jay Lynn, and Stanley Krippner Researching States of Consciousness and Anomalous Experiences, Etzel Cardena and Ronald J. Pekala Anomalous Experiences, Peculiarity, and Psychopathology, John G. Kerns, Nicole Karcher, Chitra Raghavan, and Howard Berenbaum II. Anomalous Experiences Synesthesia: A Teeming Multiplicity, Lawrence E. Marks Hallucinatory Experiences, Richard P. Bentall Lucid Dreaming: Paradoxes of Dreaming Consciousness, Stephen LaBerge Anomalous Self and Identity Experiences, Etzel Cardena and Carlos S. Alvarado Alien Abduction Experiences, Stuart Appelle, Steven Jay Lynn, Leonard Newman, and Anne Malaktaris Psi-Related Experiences, Caroline Watt and Ian Tierney Anomalous Healing Experiences, Stanley Krippner and Jeanne Achterberg Past-Life Experiences, Antonia Mills and Jim B. Tucker Near-Death Experiences, Bruce Greyson Mystical Experience, David M. Wulff Anomalous Experiences: An Integrative Summary, Etzel Cardena, Stanley Krippner, and Steven Jay Lynn Index