Aspects of Higher Consciousness: A Psychometric Validation and Analysis of a New Model of Mystical Experience

Abstract

Objective - Transcendent experiences (TE’s) such as mystical experience, near-death experience, Kundalini awakenings, psychic experiences, and out-of-body experiences share common features. However, the relationship between TE's is not well-understood and current theories and psychometric scales do not adequately account for their interrelationships. The Kundalini thesis is an explanatory model positing that TE's are part of a biological process that can result in an experience called higher consciousness. Four hypotheses derived from the Kundalini thesis are psychometrically evaluated.Methods - A survey was created and deployed (𝑛 = 645) containing indicators of commonly reported TE's. Factor analysis was used to explore the relationships between these indicators. The hypothesized experience of higher consciousness is then modeled using confirmatory factor analysis. Predictors of higher consciousness are identified using SEM and regularization. Cross-validation was used to confirm the model's generalizability for future research.Results - Factor analysis showed significant interrelations between TE's, including evidence of a dominant underlying factor. HC-18, a new psychometric scale measuring higher consciousness is validated, showing the experience to be profound and nuanced. Psychological and physical predictors of higher consciousness were identified, including traits of selflessness. Additionally, a new method of increasing the accuracy of out-of-sample SEM predictions, RO-SEM, is presented which has general applicability.Conclusions - The analysis, including the validation of the HC-18 scale, supports the four hypotheses derived from the Kundalini thesis. TE's, often treated as discrete and separate, are presented as part of a broader theoretical framework. The HC-18 scale provides a path forward for further psychometric and biological testing of the Kundalini thesis.