Dissertation Title:

Dwelling in the In-Between: An Inquiry into the Transformational Effects of Numinous Experiences

Candidate:

Douglas S. Medgyesi

Date, Time & Place:

February 25, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Virtual


Abstract

Numinous experiences (defined in this study as direct, unwilled experiences which evoke a sense of being gripped or seized by a powerful affective state of trembling fascination in relation to a mysterious non-ego ‘other’) are described as having both fragmenting and healing effects. Due to the prevalence of stigma, these encounters are often marginalized and misinterpreted by religious and psychological communities. This study utilized analytical psychology to frame the transformative effects numinous experiences have on individual consciousness. The qualitative methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), supplemented by Alchemical Hermeneutics, was utilized to analyze data gathered through in-depth one-on-one interviews with four participants who self-identified as having a non-drug induced numinous experience. Findings support the theory that numinous experiences can be interpreted as being akin to archaic initiation rites. The eight themes identified in this study are; initiation into the mythological imaginal world, experiences of inflation, increase in humility, experiences of alienation/isolation, finding meaning in darkness, increased flexibility in the Imago Dei, re-imagining hope and possibilities, and increased love and compassion for self and others. Interpretation of the findings provided evidence of numinous experience as an undivided archetypal encounter associated with transformational effects that served as pathways and possibilities toward leading a more feeling-centered relational engagement with the world while integrating more diabolical aspects of self.

Details
  • Program/Track/Year: Clinical Psychology, OP, 2015
  • Chair: Dr. Jennifer Sandoval
  • Reader: Dr. Marybeth Carter
  • External Reader: Dr. Gary Taub
  • Keywords: Numinous, Transformation, Initiation, Mystical Experience, Sacred, Analytic Psychology, C.G. Jung, Henry Corbin, Mircea Eliade