Before religions, there is a common ground observed by researchers: a ineffable mystical experience, brief but intense, experienced as a true revelation, accompanied by a feeling of unity and profound peace.
Specifically, people describe: a loss of the sense of time and space, the impression of "touching" an ultimate reality, and very strong emotions: love, wonder, and a sense of the sacred.
Hinduism (moksha, kundalini)
A sensation of energy rising in the body (often along the spine), inner visions (light, symbolic forms), the feeling of being permeated by a living force, a gentle or very intense ecstasy.
A person describes a "serpent of light" rising in their body, a feeling of being enveloped Love and total well-being, loss of the external world, complete inner immersion (Inanna Les Mystères).
"An energy flows freely... radiating throughout the entire being" (Inanna The Mysteries).
Union between self and the divine (Brahman), awakening of a sacred energy (kundalini).
Buddhism (awakening, nirvana)
Sudden cessation of "mental noise," the impression of seeing reality as it is, the disappearance of the "ego." (No more personal center).
Everything becomes simple, clear, silent, no more separation between oneself and the world, sometimes a feeling of emptiness… but peaceful.
A state of “natural, effortless, unadorned” feeling, a sense that “everything is already perfect.”
Direct understanding of impermanence, end of mental suffering. Christianity (union with God).
A very strong sense of divine presence, intense, sometimes overwhelming love, the impression of being “touched” by God.
An experience described as “contact.” or spiritual "touch," a feeling of being in direct contact with God, without intermediary (Awakening and Philosophy).
Ecstasy (immense joy) or, on the contrary, a difficult phase ("dark night") before interpretation: union of the soul with God: profound inner transformation
Islam (Sufism, Fana)
Disappearance of the "I" into something greater, intense love for God, a feeling of being "absorbed".
A state close to spiritual intoxication, the impression that God is more real than the world.
A mixture of fascination and vertigo (attraction + sacred awe) (Wikipedia)
Dissolution of the ego (fana), subsistence in God (baqa).
| Tradition | Main Sensation | Relationship to the “self” | Emotional Tone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | Rising Energy, Visions | Self Merges with the Divine | Ecstasy, warmth, love |
| Buddhism | Total silence, clarity | I disappear | Neutral peace, lucidity |
| Christianity | Divine presence, "contact" | I in relationship with God | Intense love |
| Sufism | Dissolution, intoxication | I disappear into God | Love + vertigo |
Awakening is not always pleasant and can be overwhelming.
Awakening can happen spontaneously, without warning (Echoes of Meulan).
It permanently transforms one’s perception of the world.
"I am no longer separate from anything," "I feel absolute peace," "Something immense is here," “I understand without thinking.”