Types of experiences
The unusual experiences described below depict a variety of ways of experiencing things that are out of the ordinary, outside of typical day-to-day life. Some of these experiences are very rare and others are more common but they share the quality that they tend to have a profound impact on us. The challenge is often making sense of and integrating unusual experiences so if you have had one, or many, and are seeking to find out what type of experience it may be then look into the types explored below and see if anything resonates.
Please note: some of the videos on this page contain content that viewers may find distressing.
Please think about the topic the video is about whilst deciding whether to watch it or not and it’s okay to stop at any time if needed.
The overview effect
The overview effect is an experience unique to astronauts who have been to space and looked back at the earth. This fascinating experience can change their perspective entirely.
Video
To learn more about this unusual experience, watch the video below about astronauts seeing Earth for the first time.
Mystical experiences
Mystical experiences can have a profound impact on an individual, changing their outlook entirely and potentially their beliefs about some of the deeper questions in life.
To find out more about the nature of these unusual experiences watch the video below.
Video
To learn more about the nature of mystical experiences watch the video below.
Out of body experiences
Out of body experiences can be very meaningful to those who experience them. They may come about due to a near death experience, traumatic events and through some types of spiritual practices.
Near death experiences are well documented and occur throughout the world, regardless of a persons’ personality and belief systems, for example their culture or religion. A few characteristics of these experiences include having an out of body experience, having ones personality transformed afterwards and losing the fear of death.
Videos
If you want to find out more watch the videos below (remember it’s okay not to watch it or to stop if you find the content challenging or distressing).
Astral projection, originating from esoteric spiritual practices, refers to the phenomenon where an individual’s consciousness separates from their physical body and enters an alternate dimension known as the astral plane. Through specific techniques such as deep meditation, visualisation, or energy work, individuals aim to achieve a state of heightened awareness and control over their consciousness, enabling them to transcend the limitations of the physical body.
Lucid dreaming
Lucid dreaming is a unique phenomenon where an individual is aware that they are dreaming and may interact and change the state of the dream through intention and creative thinking limited only by what the person can imagine. To find out more about this unusual experience watch the video below.
Video: Lucid dreaming: Tim Post at TEDx
While we are mostly unaware of our nightly dreams while we dream, Tim Post has trained countless individuals around the world to attain dream awareness in dreams. Remarkably, ‘lucid’ dreamers can learn to consciously reshape their dreams while dreaming and give rise to profound dream experiences.
Ghosts and apparitions
Ghosts and apparitions are a controversial topic, with some people believing in their existence and others not. Some cultures and subcultures are more open and vocal about their beliefs. Below are two videos, one that shares a skeptics view and another that looks at the wider impact of ghost stories irrespective of their validity.
Video: Coya Paz Brownrigg: The haunting truth of ghost stories
Ghost stories reveal much more than the ghouls and spirits that haunt them. Settle in for a spooky delight as theater educator Coya Paz Brownrigg lays out three types of bone-chilling tales and exhumes the grave truths they hold about longing, meaning and the cultural value of eerie encounters.
Video: A scientific approach to the paranormal, Carrie Poppy
What’s haunting Carrie Poppy? Is it ghosts or something worse? In this talk, the investigative journalist narrates her encounter with a spooky feeling you’ll want to warn your friends about and explains why we need science to deal with paranormal activity.
Psychedelic experiences
The experiences associated with psychedelics, although confined to the duration of the substance within the body, can having a lasting psychological impact. People who have a bad experience may be traumatised by this. People who have profound experiences may change their fundamental beliefs because of this.
There is currently a new wave of research into the benefits of psychedelics in medicine, in particular mental health. Used in a therapeutic manner these drugs can promote significant positive change. Watch the videos below to find out more.
Video: Psychedelics: Exploring the Brain, David Erritzøe
In his talk, David introduces us to psychedelics and his research on how they might be a key to solve the problems with mental illness. David Erritzoe is a medical doctor and clinical psychiatrist.
Video: Expert Answers Psychedelics Questions From Twitter (ft. Michael Pollan)
Michael Pollan, author of ‘This Is Your Mind On Plants,’ answers the internet’s burning questions about psychedelics. How does LSD work? What is ego death? How are psychedelics used for addiction therapy? Why are psychedelics so frowned upon? Michael answers all these questions and much more.
Please note that within the UK psychedelics are illegal; this course does not promote their use.
Synaesthesia
When the senses merge people can have unusual experiences like names as having flavours or speech which looks like a colourful pattern. Although everyone has these types of connections to some extent from what we learn as children, for those with synaesthesia the merging takes on a different kind of sensory experience. The video below looks at this in more detail.
Video: What colour is Tuesday? Exploring synesthesia
How does one experience synesthesia, the neurological trait that combines two or more senses? Synesthetes may taste the number 9 or attach a color to each day of the week. Richard E. Cytowic explains the fascinating world of entangled senses and why we may all have just a touch of synesthesia.
Internal worlds
We all have a sense of our own internal world. From rehearsing a conversation to visualising yourself on a tropical beach. For some people though it can be a permanent rich and vivid world that provides a place to escape to.
This type of world can be set in any time period and can come with its own architecture and societal structures as well as beings that can interact with the person.
This unusual experience appears to be most common in autistic people but anyone can have it. The article below looks at the ways these internal worlds are experienced by autistic minds.
Click the following button to access the article:
Exploring the inner worlds of Autistic MindsThe clinical threshold
This course will go on to look at the different manifestations and issues associated with having unusual experiences as alterations of perceptions, beliefs and ways of being alongside the framework of diagnostic symptomatology.
When does the diagnostic framework become relevant? This may vary depending on whether it is a personal or a clinical relevance. From a personal perspective it can be helpful to think about whether unusual experiences are causing you problems with your relationships, daily living or life goals. From a clinical perspective, which may vary per clinician, it is about whether the symptoms associated with unusual experiences meet specific criteria within the classification system as well as looking at the impact it is having on the person and their life.
It can be challenging to know when a particular experience can or should be pathologized, particularly when it is determined through different models or theories, an example of this is shown in the following video. The video explores the idea of transcendent experiences and where these fit, or don’t fit, when considering their aetiology (reason) in relation to mental health.
Video: The psychology of transcendent experiences
An interview with research scientist David Yaden about transcendent experiences.
Consider more:
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