Context: I am going through grief and therefore exploring the meaning of life and death. I asked ChatGPT some questions, why some people pursue ascetic lives instead of living it up. It mentioned that some ascetics were seeking to “touch the eternal”, so I wanted to explore further, I asked questions:
- I don’t get what “touching the eternal” means
- How does that feel or is this just pure delusional?
It then did some research and gave me this answer:
Mystical Experiences Across Traditions
How It Feels – First-Hand Descriptions: Those who have “touched the eternal” consistently describe an overwhelming sense of unity, peace, and indescribable bliss. Often, people report feeling one with everything, beyond the limits of their individual self or ego (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower) (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Love and joy are intensified to an unimaginable degree, accompanied by a sense of sacredness. Many speak of a timeless, infinite presence: time and space seem to disappear, replaced by an eternal now (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). The experience is frequently described as ineffable – beyond words or logical description (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower). For example, one person who had a near-death mystical experience recalls:
“I was of the light, of everything: immersed in the wholeness of the Universe… I slowly melted into a luminous Presence. I became one with the heart of God – pure, perfect, unconditional light-love… I was One. I had come Home.” (Journey to the Divine: A Near-Death Experience – Braided Way Magazine)
Such firsthand accounts illustrate the profound bliss, unconditional love, and interconnectedness that characterize touching the eternal (9 Signs You’ve Had a Mystical Experience ⋆ LonerWolf). Another classic description comes from Paramahansa Yogananda, who wrote of his first experience of cosmic consciousness: “An oceanic joy broke upon calm endless shores of my soul. The Spirit of God, I realized, is exhaustless Bliss; His body is countless tissues of light.” (Yogananda on Cosmic Consciousness) In these moments, the personal self dissolves and one feels intimately united with a reality that is vast, alive, and holy.
Common Themes Across Different Faiths: Despite arising in diverse religious contexts, mystical experiences show striking commonalities. Across Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam (Sufism), and other paths, mystics report a “unitary consciousness” – a sense of all being one (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). There is often a feeling that all life is interconnected and pervaded by a single divine reality (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Experiencers frequently mention the loss of the ordinary sense of self (ego) and a merging into something larger, which brings profound peace, bliss, and serenity (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). They describe encountering a sacred presence or ultimate truth that feels “more real” than everyday reality (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Common hallmarks noted by researchers include: a cessation of normal time and space (feeling eternal), a deep sense of peace or rapture, an air of mystery or holiness, and the sense that the experience is transient (brief) yet life-changing (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Many also report receiving intuitive insight or “noetic” knowledge – a direct understanding of truth that feels revelatory (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Crucially, ineffability is a universal trait: mystics admit they cannot fully put the encounter into words (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower). As one account puts it, upon returning “the encounter with divine oneness is utterly incomprehensible and beyond the scope of words and reasoned thinking” (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower).
Different Words, One Reality: Each tradition uses its own language for touching the eternal, but they often point to a similar experience. Mystics in the Christian tradition speak of “union with God” or divine union, sometimes called unio mystica (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). Christian contemplatives like St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross describe being filled with God’s love and losing themselves in God. In Buddhism, the experience may be referred to as enlightenment or Nirvana – the mind awakened to the ultimate reality beyond illusion. Zen Buddhists use terms like satori or kensho for sudden glimpses of the enlightened state. Hindu sages talk of samadhi or moksha, the liberation that comes when one realizes the Self (Atman) is one with Brahman, the absolute reality. In Hindu Vedanta, this is the moment the individual soul merges with the universal, often described as realizing one’s True Nature (9 Signs You’ve Had a Mystical Experience ⋆ LonerWolf). Sufi mystics in Islam yearn for fanaa, the annihilation of the self in God, and baqaa, abiding in God – essentially a complete union with the Beloved (God) after the ego “dies.” Different religions thus name the encounter variously as nirvana, moksha, divine union, the Tao, or the numinous (the term “numinous”, coined by Rudolf Otto, denotes an encounter with the holy presence that is awe-inspiring and beyond the ordinary (Religious experience – Wikipedia) (Religious experience – Wikipedia)). Modern spiritual literature might also call it “cosmic consciousness,” “nondual awareness,” or “peak experience.” Despite the different terminology, the core experience is strikingly similar: a merging with an ultimate, infinite reality full of peace and bliss (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower) (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower). As William James observed, people “overcome all the usual barriers between the individual and the Absolute” and become aware of their oneness with it (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). A Christian mystic might interpret this as “union with God,” whereas a Buddhist might call it realizing emptiness or nirvana, but James notes “the same experience can be interpreted non-theistically as in Buddhism… The mystic in any culture usually interprets his experience in terms of the religion in which he has been reared.” (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe) In other words, a Hindu and a Christian may describe it differently, but at heart they may be touching the same eternal truth.
Neuroscience of Mystical States and Meditation
Modern science has begun to investigate what happens in the brain during these profound states. Brain imaging studies of deep meditation (and related mystical states) show distinct patterns of neural activity. When a person enters a meditative trance or mystical absorption, the prefrontal cortex (associated with attention and focus) becomes highly active, while the parietal lobes (which help orient us in space and distinguish self from other) show markedly reduced activity ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). In effect, the normal sensory input to the parietal region is “deactivated” during deep meditation ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). This is fascinating, because losing the boundary of the self is exactly what meditators and mystics report subjectively. Neuroscientists propose that quieting the parietal lobe’s activity could create the sense of boundlessness and unity – the brain is no longer drawing a firm line between “self” and “world,” allowing a feeling of oneness with everything around ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). Correspondingly, activity in parts of the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) – a network linked to self-referential thinking and mind-wandering – also decreases significantly during deep meditation and mystical states (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today). The DMN typically acts as a kind of mental filter that maintains our ego identity and keeps our perceptions orderly (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today). Turning down the DMN through practices like meditation appears to unlock a “fuller” mode of consciousness. Studies have found that experienced meditators in a mystical state show brain scans very similar to those of people who took psychedelic substances: both exhibit marked reductions in DMN activity, correlating with an ego-dissolution and feelings of unity (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today). In fact, researchers like Judson Brewer have observed that the brains of Tibetan monks in deep meditation looked like those of volunteers on psilocybin (a hallucinogen), suggesting a common neurological pathway to the mystical experience (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today). The link between psychedelics and mystical experiences is a hot area of research – psilocybin and DMT often trigger classic mystical feelings (unity, transcendence, bliss), and brain imaging during those trips likewise shows dampening of the DMN and altered communication between brain regions. This supports the idea that the brain’s “filter” is loosened, allowing a flood of sensation and a sense of an expanded mind.
Beyond brain activity, scientists have measured neurochemical changes as well. Deep meditation can shift levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, which may contribute to the feelings of bliss and peace. In one review, researchers noted that all the major neurotransmitter systems are affected by intense meditative practices ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). For example, meditation is linked to increases in serotonin (which stabilizes mood and well-being) and endorphins (natural opiates that can cause euphoria), possibly explaining the rapture reported by mystics. Likewise, neuroscientists have observed bursts of high-frequency gamma brainwaves in long-term meditators during moments of deep compassion or unity – indicating a highly organized, coherent brain state. These findings paint a picture that mystical consciousness has distinctive neural correlates: the brain shifts into a unique mode of operation, characterized by intense focus, decreased self-processing, and harmonized, whole-brain signaling. In essence, the brain appears to “tune out” the ordinary self and sensory filters, and tune in a broader network that might underlie the experience of oneness.
Near-Death Experiences: Brain Findings and Interpretations
Brain Activity During NDEs: Near-death experiences (NDEs) – often described as encounters with the eternal or the spiritual realm – also have been studied for their brain dynamics. Even when a person is clinically unconscious, the brain may undergo a final surge of activity. For instance, one study found that at the moment of cardiac arrest, there can be a sudden spike in brain activity, especially in the visual centers (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Researchers at the University of Michigan observed that in animals, as the heart stops, the brain shows a burst of synchronized gamma activity that far exceeds normal waking levels (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). This has led scientists to hypothesize that the classic NDE vision of “a bright white light” might be explained by a dying brain’s last surge: essentially, the visual cortex firing intensely could create the perception of traveling through a tunnel of light (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Additionally, the brain’s temporal-parietal junction (TPJ), which integrates sensory information and helps locate our sense of self in the body, may play a role in out-of-body experiences common to NDEs. Artificially stimulating the TPJ (for example, with electrodes or by certain neurological conditions) can induce an out-of-body experience, where a person feels they have floated outside their physical form (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). This suggests that when the TPJ is disturbed – as it might be during trauma or oxygen deprivation – the brain can no longer construct the usual body-anchored perspective, and one may literally perceive being outside the body. Other physiological explanations for NDE features include oxygen deprivation (which can cause tunneling vision and euphoria), surges of the neurotransmitter glutamate (which might produce hallucinations similar to the drug ketamine), and endorphin release (creating calm and analgesia during extreme stress). In short, from a neuroscience viewpoint, even the most otherworldly aspects of near-death experiences correspond to extreme but natural brain states under crisis.
The Debate: Brain Phenomenon or Glimpse Beyond? A central question is whether these transcendent experiences are entirely generated by the brain or if they hint at consciousness beyond the brain. Many scientists lean toward physiological explanations, noting that any experience we have must correspond to some brain activity. From this perspective, mystical and near-death experiences are subjective phenomena produced by the brain under certain conditions (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Skeptics point out that people from different cultures describe different figures or religious imagery – Christians may see Jesus or angels, Hindus may see Yamraj or divine beings – suggesting the content is influenced by one’s beliefs and expectations rather than an independent external reality (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Indeed, “while there are common elements, people’s experiences and interpretations…reflect their cultural or religious beliefs” in most cases (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Psychological models argue that these states might be a kind of dream or hallucination, triggered by stress, sensory deprivation, or chemical changes. In clinical terms, intense spiritual visions could be labeled as hallucinations or delusions – one psychiatry text notes that such experiences are often described in pathological terms as “illusions, hallucinations… and delusions” by skeptics (Synchronistic Experience: Enlightenment or Psychosis?). There is even an evolutionary theory that religious or mystical feelings provided some survival advantage or are an accidental byproduct of the way our brains evolved (Religious experience – Wikipedia). By this view, the “eternal” that people feel they touch is really the brain’s own attempt to make sense of unusual internal states, much like a dream might feel real but is generated from within.
However, other scientists and philosophers are not fully satisfied with reducing these experiences to brain chemistry alone. They argue that correlation is not necessarily causation – just because brain activity changes during a mystical state doesn’t prove the brain is creating the state from scratch. For example, neurologist Andrew Newberg suggests that the brain may be a transmitter or filter for spiritual experience; when certain neural circuits quiet down (like the orientation area in the parietal lobe), it allows the mind to perceive a greater reality that is normally filtered out ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). In the case of near-death experiences, some documented cases challenge a purely materialist explanation. There are reports of patients accurately describing events around them while they were clinically dead (with no measurable brain activity) (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). In several cardiac arrest studies, patients who had an NDE could later recount specific details of their resuscitation or hospital events that occurred when their brain was not functioning, and those details were verified by medical staff (Near-death experience – Wikipedia). Such accounts – if reliable – suggest that some aspect of consciousness might operate independently of the body, which implies the “eternal” or soul might be real. (That said, controlled experiments with hidden targets in hospitals have not yet yielded clear evidence that NDE out-of-body vision is consistently accurate (Near-death experience – Wikipedia), so the question remains open.) Additionally, the life-changing impact of these experiences impresses many researchers. People often come back from a mystical or near-death event profoundly changed – losing their fear of death, becoming more altruistic, and convinced of a larger spiritual reality. This is not typical of random hallucinations or delusions, which usually confuse or fragment a person. Instead, these experiences often bring a sense of greater clarity, integration, and meaning in life (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today). The famous psychologist William James noted that mystical insights have a compelling “noetic” quality – a sense of encountering truth – and thus those who have them often become more convinced of reality of the spiritual than of everyday facts (William James on Consciousness and the Four Features of …) (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). From a philosophical standpoint, some have argued that consciousness itself might be more than just an epiphenomenon of brain matter. If so, touching the eternal could mean the mind is interfacing with a fundamental layer of reality that science does not yet fully comprehend.
Skepticism and Belief: In the end, whether these transcendental states are “real” or a product of the brain is a matter of perspective. Skeptics contend that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence – and so far, every aspect of mystical or near-death experiences can be at least partially modeled with brain processes. They often describe such events as internal constructs: the brain under duress or deep concentration can produce hallucination-like experiences that feel cosmic but remain subjective. To a strict materialist, the “eternal” is a delusion – a kind of complex neurological mirage. On the other hand, mystics and many open-minded researchers counter that the universality and profundity of these experiences hint at a deeper truth. It may be that the brain is tuned to a wider reality, and practices like meditation, or extreme situations like NDEs, allow consciousness to momentarily tune into the cosmos. They argue that dismissing it all as delusion fails to appreciate the consistency of reports across cultures and ages, and the transformative positive effects. As one scholar put it, the mystical experience “is not exclusively personal as the experience has been shared often throughout different epochs and localities” (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe). The debate is ongoing in neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. Some researchers adopt a “neurotheology” approach – investigating how brain states correspond to spiritual states – without denying the spiritual meaning. Others remain fully reductionist. There is growing interest in this intersection: are we just biochemical machines, or are we receivers of a greater consciousness? As of now, science can describe how the brain behaves during “eternal” moments (e.g. which regions light up or go quiet), but it has not settled why such experiences feel so vivid and realer than real, or whether they reveal an independent spiritual reality.
Conclusion
Touching the eternal is a phrase that captures the heart of mystical experience – a direct encounter with a reality perceived as infinite and immortal. Individuals across faiths and cultures have described it in remarkably similar ways: a feeling of union with the divine, a sense of boundless consciousness and love, and an insight into a truth that transcends the ordinary. They use terms like enlightenment, nirvana, divine union, samadhi, fana, or simply grace to label this encounter with the Ultimate. Modern science has illuminated the neural pathways that accompany these states – showing that our brains undergo identifiable changes (in networks like the default mode network, and regions governing our sense of self) when we lose ourselves in the infinite. Many aspects of mystical and near-death experiences can be correlated with brain function, suggesting our physiology creates the canvas for these extraordinary states (Near-death experience – Wikipedia) ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ). Yet, whether the content and meaning of the experiences are entirely brain-generated or reflect a glimpse of a transcendent reality remains a mystery. Skeptics lean toward the former, viewing these episodes as amazing but ultimately natural phenomena – delusions of a dying or meditating brain. Believers and mystics hold that the consistent reports of unity, light, and love point to something genuine beyond the material – perhaps the brain is like a radio, and in those moments we briefly tune into the eternal broadcast of the cosmos.
In providing insights from spirituality, psychology, and neuroscience, it’s clear that touching the eternal sits at the crossroads of subjective human experience and objective scientific inquiry. It invites us to ponder the nature of consciousness itself. Whether one interprets these experiences as the brain’s poetry or the soul’s reality, there is no doubt that they have a profound and often lifelong impact on those who experience them. As research continues – from brain scans of monks to studies of near-death survivors – we deepen our understanding of these states. We may eventually find that the truth lies somewhere in between: the brain enables the experience, but the experience itself might point to dimensions of mind and reality that science is only beginning to explore. As one mystic would say, the finger pointing at the moon is not the moon – and the neurological descriptions may be just the pointing finger. The “eternal” that people feel is a powerful, unifying mystery – one that humanity will likely keep exploring through both meditation mats and MRI machines for years to come.
Sources:
- Testimonies and analyses of mystical experiences (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower) (Journey to the Divine: A Near-Death Experience – Braided Way Magazine) (Yogananda on Cosmic Consciousness)
- Comparative religion perspectives on mystical union (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower) (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe)
- Common features of mysticism (unity, bliss, timelessness, ineffability) (The Universality of the Mystical Experience | We are all Interconnected even with the Universe) (The Mystical Experience: Meeting the Face of God – A Perennial Follower)
- Neuroscience of meditation and mystical states (brain imaging findings) ( Neurobiology of Spirituality – PMC ) (Mystical Experiences: Turning Off What Holds Us Back | Psychology Today)
- Research on near-death experiences (brain activity and veridical reports) (Near-death experience – Wikipedia) (Near-death experience – Wikipedia)
- Psychological and skeptical interpretations of spiritual experiences (Near-death experience – Wikipedia) (Synchronistic Experience: Enlightenment or Psychosis?)
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