Daily Page: 2025-12-16

“I think it’s really clear when conducting this type of research that you separate your exploration of phenomenology, that is trying to understand what people are saying about what their experience was, versus validating the ground truth of those experiences. So it’s quite scientifically appropriate to say, “How many people felt like they were at one with the Universe?” But we have to keep in mind, that says absolutely zero in terms of scientific proof that they were in fact one with the Universe; and you could say the same thing about whether they had an experience with God or any other type of supernatural experience.”

“So we just need to be careful to separate those two things. I liken it to the research on relationships, for example. You can look at what personality styles, what behavioral patterns are predictive of a successful marriage, for example. You can study what people say about their relationship and how that relates to whether it’s gonna be successful; yet you’ve never captured love. We’re never gonna do that scientifically, nor will we capture the existence of God or any other similar concept.”

— Matt Johnson, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins.