Is the human brain the source of mystical experience? You may be surprised to learn scientists have been able to map the part of the brain that becomes active when individuals are in prayer, but that doesn't necessarily mean mysticism is just a hallucination or psychosis. In this episode, we discuss how the brain plays a role in mysticism and how modern psychology's penchant to pathologize mystical experiences as a mental disorder may be too quick to discredit real mysticism.

If you would like to order a copy of Dr. Carlos Eire's new book, "They Flew: A History of the Impossible," you can order a copy HERE (Yale University Press) or HERE (Amazon).

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St. Gemma Galgani (March 12, 1878 -- April 11, 1903) was a “Daughter of the Passion” and lived a short life of intense veneration and imitation of Christ’s passion despite her own physical and emotional pain. She received the gift of the stigmata at the age of 21 and experienced mystical experiences with Christ, the Virgin Mary, and her guardian angel.

If you would like to order a copy of Dr. Carlos Eire's new book, "They Flew: A History of the Impossible," you can order a copy HERE (Yale University Press) or HERE (Amazon).

If you have any questions, you can email us at christianmysticismpodcast@gmail.com. Your question and the answer may appear in a future episode of the podcast.

You can visit our podcast website HERE.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we discuss the intersection between Christian mysticism and the phenomena of demonic possession and exorcism.

If you would like to order a copy of Dr. Carlos Eire's new book, "They Flew: A History of the Impossible," you can order a copy HERE (Yale University Press) or HERE (Amazon).

If you have any questions, you can email us at christianmysticismpodcast@gmail.com. Your question and the answer may appear in a future episode of the podcast.

You can visit our podcast website HERE.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.