Back to results

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Let there be light: developing the mystical luminosity experience construct and scale

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Light of a transcendental or divine nature is widely described in various mystical and religious traditions, and light with mystical qualities is reported in many nonordinary experiences studied today, most notably near-death and mystical experiences. Despite its significance to contemporary experiencers and much of religion and mysticism, empirical investigation of this phenomenon has been scant and scattered, and its quantitative measure has consisted of small numbers of items on a few scales measuring more general constructs. While the concept that this may be a unified phenomenon appearing in different ways and experiential contexts has been discussed in theoretical and philosophical work, no empirical investigation has yet explored it. This study aims to solidify mystical luminosity experience as a psychological construct for scientific study, by synthesizing existing theory and empirical findings into a working theoretical model and developing and validating a scale for its measurement.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Year dc:date.available
2028

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Dinsmore, Jonathan
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Hood, Ralph W., Jr., 1942-
  • Huber, Thomas; Woolacott, Marjorie M.
  • College of Arts and Sciences

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Language dc:language
English, eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier
https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/820
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1966

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Tennessee - Chattanooga
Base URL
scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Dinsmore, Jonathan. Let there be light: developing the mystical luminosity experience construct and scale. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 2028. https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/820