The Inward Path: Mysticism and Creativity

摘要

This article explores the relation of mystical experience to creative discovery. The similarities and the differences are described in relation to process-based concepts in microgenetic theory. The differences are attributed to cognitive "depth"; the similarities reflect a common pattern of inward retreat. The withdrawal that is essential to both creative and mystical experience is shown to recapture phases in a common process through which an act of cognition, and its associated feeling, are generated.