What do organized religions say about EHEs?
Almost all the founders of the major religions were EHEers. At least one of their major EHEs led to the founding of a specific religion, whether it be Moses and the burning bush, or the illuminations of Jesus, Buddha, and Mohammed. Theologians who develop the dogma of a particular religion generally admit the existence of various EHEs, and even have specific terms for them, such as the siddhis of Hinduism, the barokas of Islam, and the charism of Christianity. However, many of these theologians, Eastern as well as Western, warn that special spiritual experiences and gifts can inhibit spiritual growth if viewed as ends in themselves. Also implied here is the idea that these experiences belong primarily to the life of the spirit, not to the secular world. Here our position differs from the standard, organized religious viewpoint. Our view is that all exceptional and exceptional human experiences are indications that the entire universe is sacred.
