Actions

Ecstasy: Difference between revisions

An Avatar.Global Resource

← Older edit
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
mNo edit summary
 
(5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
<h1 class="customtitle">{{FULLPAGENAME}}</h1>
<h1 class="customtitle">{{FULLPAGENAME}}</h1>
<blockquote class="definition">
<blockquote class="definition">
'''Ecstasy''' is a syncretic term for [[Ascension]] or [[Union]]. Ecstasy occurs when one makes a connection to the [[Spiritual Ego]], [[God]], or some other exalted location within the [[Fabric of Consciousness]].   
'''Ecstasy''' (from the Greek ''ek-stasis'', "standing outside oneself") is a temporary, profoundly altered state of consciousness in which the ordinary, everyday self is radically transcended or suspended . It is characterized by a '''"different order of experience"'''—a rupture from mundane reality that is often felt to be intensely real, luminous, or meaningful. Ecstasy is an example of the [[Enhanced Positive Affect]] that often attends a powerful [[Connection Experience]].   
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


==Syncretic Terms==
==Concept Map==


[[Ascension]] > {{#ask:[[Is a syncretic term::Ascension]]}}
===Key Terms===


==List of Connection Outcomes==
[[Lightning Path Human Development Framework]] > {{#ask:[[Is a key term::Lightning Path]]|format=ul}}


[[Connection Outcomes]] > {{#ask:[[Is a:: Connection Outcome]]}}
[[LP Connection Framework]] > {{#ask:[[Is a key term::LP Connection Framework]]|format=ul|has sort order}}


[[Connection]] {{#ask:[[Is a key term::Connection]]|format=ul}}
[[Connection Outcome]] > {{#ask:[[Is a::Connection Outcome]]|Limit=1000|format=ul}}
[[Enhanced Positive Affect]] > {{#ask:[[Is key term::Enhanced Positive Affect]]|format=ul}}
===Examples===
[[Enhanced Positive Affect]] > {{#ask:[[Is an::Enhanced Positive Affect]]|format=ul}}
==Notes==
==Notes==
===Max Weber===
[[Max Weber]] named ecstasy as the primordial form of communal; religion. For Weber, ecstasy is the psychological state that proves one possesses '''charisma'''.<ref>Max Weber, ''The Sociology of Religion'', trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993)</ref> Weber notes that the magician, unlike the ordinary layman, is the one who has "taken a lease on" or made "a unique object of his cultivation" the distinctive subjective condition of ecstasy (p. 3). The ability to achieve ecstasy is a sign of supernatural power, and it is the foundational qualification for the professional necromancer, the warrior hero, and eventually the prophet. As Weber states, the purpose of initiation ceremonies is ''"the testing or arousing of the capacity for ecstasy"'' (p. 157).
For Weber, ecstasy is not merely a heightened emotion but a fundamentally different order of experience that ruptures the ordinary, everyday consciousness of the mundane world. He describes it as a state where "certain experiences, of a different order in that they only signify something, also play a role in life",<ref>Max Weber, ''The Sociology of Religion'', trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), 6.</ref> marking a shift from direct empirical reality to a realm of symbolic meaning. Crucially, Weber emphasizes that this state is psycho-physical: it is achieved through the "hysteroid 'deadening' of the bodies" (p. 159) via orgiastic practices like dance, music, sexuality, or intoxication, producing "anesthetic or cataleptic" states and visionary phenomena (p. 157). The ultimate outcome of this psycho-physical rupture is mystical knowledge—not new facts or doctrines, but "the perception of an overall meaning in the world" (pp. 169–170). As Weber notes, this knowledge is "incommunicable" yet recognized as a "practical form of knowledge" that provides a new orientation to the world (p. 170). Beyond mystical knowledge, Weber attributes several other outcomes to ecstasy: it produces charisma and the capacity for "superhuman deeds" (p. 157); it enables self-deification or the "incarnation within man of a supernatural being" (p. 158); and it generates a permanent habitus when rationalized, transforming acute intoxication into a "consciously possessed" state of grace (p. 158). However, Weber is careful to note that acute ecstasy is "transitory" and "apt to leave but few positive traces on everyday behavior" (p. 158), which is why, according to Weber, rationalizing religions (like ethical prophecy and ascetic Protestantism) consistently sought to suppress or sublimate it into more enduring, methodical forms of religious practice.
I would personally disagree here and suggest that religions rationalize, contain, and control these experiences because uncontained they contain revolutionary potential.<ref>Mike Sosteric, “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution,” ''Athens Journal of Social Sciences'' 9, no. 1 (2020): 69–88, doi:10.30958/ajss.9-1-4</ref>
Theologically and psychologically, the ultimate religious goal of ecstasy is to transcend the human condition. Weber describes ecstasy as the mechanism for '''self-deification''': the ''"incarnation within man of a supernatural being, and therefore presently of a god"'' (p. 158). The ecstatic does not merely feel euphoric; they believe they literally become a vessel for the divine, achieving a state of "possession" by a demon or god (p. 157). This is why ecstasy is the central practice of the Indian traditions (like the soma cult and Yoga) aimed at becoming one with the divine.
Weber points out, interestingly, that Roman did not approve of the experience of ecstasy at all. They completely rejected ecstasy, like the dance, as utterly unseemly and unworthy of a nobleman’s sense of honor. This is obvious in the terminology deployed by the Romans to render the Greek word for ecstasy (''ekstasis'') into Latin: '''superstitio'''.<ref>Max Weber, ''The Sociology of Religion'', trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).</ref>


===Others===
The elitist Madam Blavatsky: "Real ecstasy was defined by Plotinus as "the liberation of the mind from its finite consciousness, becoming one and identified with the infinite." This is the highest condition, says Prof. Wilder, but not one of permanent duration, and it is reached only by the very very few. It is, indeed, identical with that state which is known in India as Samadhi. The latter is practised by the Yogis, who facilitate it physically by the greatest abstinence in food and drink, and mentally by an incessant endeavour to purify and elevate the mind. Meditation is silent and unuttered prayer, or, as Plato."<ref>Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Theosophy: A Clear Exposition Based on the Wisdom Religion of All Ages. Theosophical University Press, 1889.</ref> Note her emphasis on "purification of the mind" (see [[Flow Purification]]) and also by incessant intent (i.e. prayer).   
The elitist Madam Blavatsky: "Real ecstasy was defined by Plotinus as "the liberation of the mind from its finite consciousness, becoming one and identified with the infinite." This is the highest condition, says Prof. Wilder, but not one of permanent duration, and it is reached only by the very very few. It is, indeed, identical with that state which is known in India as Samadhi. The latter is practised by the Yogis, who facilitate it physically by the greatest abstinence in food and drink, and mentally by an incessant endeavour to purify and elevate the mind. Meditation is silent and unuttered prayer, or, as Plato."<ref>Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Theosophy: A Clear Exposition Based on the Wisdom Religion of All Ages. Theosophical University Press, 1889.</ref> Note her emphasis on "purification of the mind" (see [[Flow Purification]]) and also by incessant intent (i.e. prayer).   


Line 28: Line 49:


[[category:terms]]
[[category:terms]]
[[category:lightningpath]]
[[Is a::Connection Outcome| ]]
[[category:BOLIFE]][[Is a::Connection Outcome| ]]
[[Is an::Enhanced Positive Affect| ]]

Latest revision as of 14:50, 21 October 2026

Ecstasy

Ecstasy (from the Greek ek-stasis, "standing outside oneself") is a temporary, profoundly altered state of consciousness in which the ordinary, everyday self is radically transcended or suspended . It is characterized by a "different order of experience"—a rupture from mundane reality that is often felt to be intensely real, luminous, or meaningful. Ecstasy is an example of the Enhanced Positive Affect that often attends a powerful Connection Experience.

Concept Map

Key Terms

Lightning Path Human Development Framework >

LP Connection Framework >

Connection

Connection Outcome >

Enhanced Positive Affect >

Examples

Enhanced Positive Affect >

Notes

Max Weber

Max Weber named ecstasy as the primordial form of communal; religion. For Weber, ecstasy is the psychological state that proves one possesses charisma.[1] Weber notes that the magician, unlike the ordinary layman, is the one who has "taken a lease on" or made "a unique object of his cultivation" the distinctive subjective condition of ecstasy (p. 3). The ability to achieve ecstasy is a sign of supernatural power, and it is the foundational qualification for the professional necromancer, the warrior hero, and eventually the prophet. As Weber states, the purpose of initiation ceremonies is "the testing or arousing of the capacity for ecstasy" (p. 157).

For Weber, ecstasy is not merely a heightened emotion but a fundamentally different order of experience that ruptures the ordinary, everyday consciousness of the mundane world. He describes it as a state where "certain experiences, of a different order in that they only signify something, also play a role in life",[2] marking a shift from direct empirical reality to a realm of symbolic meaning. Crucially, Weber emphasizes that this state is psycho-physical: it is achieved through the "hysteroid 'deadening' of the bodies" (p. 159) via orgiastic practices like dance, music, sexuality, or intoxication, producing "anesthetic or cataleptic" states and visionary phenomena (p. 157). The ultimate outcome of this psycho-physical rupture is mystical knowledge—not new facts or doctrines, but "the perception of an overall meaning in the world" (pp. 169–170). As Weber notes, this knowledge is "incommunicable" yet recognized as a "practical form of knowledge" that provides a new orientation to the world (p. 170). Beyond mystical knowledge, Weber attributes several other outcomes to ecstasy: it produces charisma and the capacity for "superhuman deeds" (p. 157); it enables self-deification or the "incarnation within man of a supernatural being" (p. 158); and it generates a permanent habitus when rationalized, transforming acute intoxication into a "consciously possessed" state of grace (p. 158). However, Weber is careful to note that acute ecstasy is "transitory" and "apt to leave but few positive traces on everyday behavior" (p. 158), which is why, according to Weber, rationalizing religions (like ethical prophecy and ascetic Protestantism) consistently sought to suppress or sublimate it into more enduring, methodical forms of religious practice.

I would personally disagree here and suggest that religions rationalize, contain, and control these experiences because uncontained they contain revolutionary potential.[3]

Theologically and psychologically, the ultimate religious goal of ecstasy is to transcend the human condition. Weber describes ecstasy as the mechanism for self-deification: the "incarnation within man of a supernatural being, and therefore presently of a god" (p. 158). The ecstatic does not merely feel euphoric; they believe they literally become a vessel for the divine, achieving a state of "possession" by a demon or god (p. 157). This is why ecstasy is the central practice of the Indian traditions (like the soma cult and Yoga) aimed at becoming one with the divine.

Weber points out, interestingly, that Roman did not approve of the experience of ecstasy at all. They completely rejected ecstasy, like the dance, as utterly unseemly and unworthy of a nobleman’s sense of honor. This is obvious in the terminology deployed by the Romans to render the Greek word for ecstasy (ekstasis) into Latin: superstitio.[4]

Others

The elitist Madam Blavatsky: "Real ecstasy was defined by Plotinus as "the liberation of the mind from its finite consciousness, becoming one and identified with the infinite." This is the highest condition, says Prof. Wilder, but not one of permanent duration, and it is reached only by the very very few. It is, indeed, identical with that state which is known in India as Samadhi. The latter is practised by the Yogis, who facilitate it physically by the greatest abstinence in food and drink, and mentally by an incessant endeavour to purify and elevate the mind. Meditation is silent and unuttered prayer, or, as Plato."[5] Note her emphasis on "purification of the mind" (see Flow Purification) and also by incessant intent (i.e. prayer).

On individual reports: "Ecstasy. I had certainly experienced being intoxicated under the influence of alcohol and pot and coke and so forth, but this feeling of intoxication was just so much different. It left me feeling so peaceful, and it was very very dramatic.[6]

Alan Watts comments on the association of ecstasy/bliss with Connection Experience.

The central core of the experience seems to be the conviction, or insight, that the immediate now, whatever its nature, is the goal and fulfillment of all living. Surrounding and flowing from this insight is an emotional ecstasy, a sense of intense relief, freedom, and lightness, and often of almost unbearable love for the world...[7]

Citation and Legal

The SpiritWiki is a freely available, open-access Knowledge System devoted to health, healing, and reconnection. You may freely use information in the SpiritWiki; citation and attribution are welcomed, but not required. You can help this knowledge system grow by joining its Patreon.

The SpiritWiki is marked CC0 1.0 Universal and in the public domain, free for everyone on the planet to use. Please support its growth.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion, trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993)
  2. ↑ Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion, trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993), 6.
  3. ↑ Mike Sosteric, “Rethinking the Origins and Purpose of Religion: Jesus, Constantine, and the Containment of Global Revolution,” Athens Journal of Social Sciences 9, no. 1 (2020): 69–88, doi:10.30958/ajss.9-1-4
  4. ↑ Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion, trans. Ephraim Fischoff, intro. Talcott Parsons (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).
  5. ↑ Blavatsky, H. P. The Key to Theosophy: A Clear Exposition Based on the Wisdom Religion of All Ages. Theosophical University Press, 1889.
  6. ↑ William R Miller and anet C’de Baca, Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives (New York: The Guildford Press, 2001).
  7. ↑ Watts, Alan W.. This Is It (p. 18). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.


Retrieved from "https://spiritwiki.lightningpath.org/index.php?title=Ecstasy&oldid=38543"