Are we all potentially mystics? What is the relationship between mysticism and schizophrenia? How to interpret the testimony of the great mystics? What did the Buddha, Jesus, Plotinus, Dante, Saint Teresa, William Blake, and Edgar Allan Poe have in common? What is the influx of drugs? How many are the states of consciousness?

Collected into a single volume, here are some of the most important essays ever written on the general subject of higher states of consciousness. Contrasting the opinions of different authors -some as relevant as Bucke, Huxley, Watts, Wilber or Maslow-, this book tries to find the common denominator of a series of experiences that have been called differently: "cosmic consciousness", "peak experience" , "transcendental unconscious".

While some of the authors situate the phenomenon of higher states of consciousness within a mystical-religious context, others opt for a description in psychological terms. The juxtaposition of these various approaches makes for an enormously useful - and exciting to read - dialogue on the timeless theme of transcendental experience.