---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have attended a number of psychological…"
description: "\"“I have attended a number of psychological conferences dealing with this whole problem of the difference between the mystical experience and the psycho..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/joseph-campbell-300_mystical-experience_i-have-attended-a-number-of-psychologica_2394126.png"
---

#  I have attended a number of psychological conferences…

![“I have attended a number of psychological conferences dealing with this whole problem of the difference between the mystical experience and the psychological crack-up. The difference is that the one who cracks up is drowning in the water in which the mystic swims.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/joseph-campbell-300_mystical-experience_i-have-attended-a-number-of-psychologica_2394126.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/joseph-campbell-300_mystical-experience_i-have-attended-a-number-of-psychologica_2394126.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad1/joseph-campbell-300_mystical-experience_i-have-attended-a-number-of-psychologica_2394126.png)

> ““I have attended a number of psychological conferences dealing with this whole problem of the difference between the mystical experience and the psychological crack-up. The difference is that the one who cracks up is drowning in the water in which the mystic swims.””

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker contrasts mystical experiences, which are immersive and purposeful, with psychological breakdowns, which are chaotic and destructive.

**In simple terms:** Mysticism is a deep dive; mental breakdown is drowning.

Key Takeaway

Seek meaning, avoid mental collapse.

Themes

spirituality mental health contrast

Mood

thoughtful cautious

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

- therapy
- religious practice
- creative work
- stress management

Key Concepts

psychology philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you differentiate a healthy spiritual quest from a breakdown?
- What safeguards help maintain mental health?

A Different Perspective

Mystical experiences can also be destabilizing.

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## Related quotes

> [The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-psychotic-drowns-in-the-same-waters-in-which-the-mystic-swims/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The schizophrenic is drowning in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight. Edgar Cayce made the same observation in his readings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-schizophrenic-is-drowning-in-the-same-waters-in-which-the-mystic/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [I firmly believe that all human beings have access to extraordinary energies and powers. Judging from accounts of mystical experience, heightened creativity, or exceptional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/i-firmly-believe-that-all-human-beings-have-access-to-extraordinary/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [The artistic experience, at its highest, was actually a natural analogue of mystical experience. It produced a kind of intuitive of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-artistic-experience-at-its-highest-was-actually-a-natural/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [All mystical experience is coincidence; and vice versa, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/all-mystical-experience-is-coincidence-and-vice-versa-of-course/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [When I was 17, I had an experience that I later learned could be called a 'mystical experience.' It was almost violent. No faces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/when-i-was-17-i-had-an-experience-that-i-later-learned-could-be/)

[Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/)

> [Every one of us is a mystic. We may or may not realize it, we may not even like it. But whether we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-teasdale/every-one-of-us-is-a-mystic-we-may-or-may-not-realize-it-we-may-not/)

[Wayne Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-teasdale/)

> [When sex involves all the senses intensely, it can be like a mystical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/when-sex-involves-all-the-senses-intensely-it-can-be-like-a-mystical/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [Poetic experience is distinct in nature from mystical experience. Because poetry emanates from the free creativity of the spirit,it is from the very start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetic-experience-is-distinct-in-nature-from-mystical-experience/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [So the Buddha is presenting awakening not as a single mystical experience that may come upon us at some meditation, some private moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/so-the-buddha-is-presenting-awakening-not-as-a-single-mystical/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [I don't think the mystical experience can be verbalized. When the ego disappears, so does power over language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-don-t-think-the-mystical-experience-can-be-verbalized-when-the-ego/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [What was considered a peak mystical experience a few years ago is today the basic platform of sanity from which our exploration begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjuna-ardagh/what-was-considered-a-peak-mystical-experience-a-few-years-ago-is/)

[Arjuna Ardagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjuna-ardagh/)

> [For the person who wants to get to the mystical experience directly, Tantric Buddhism is the path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/for-the-person-who-wants-to-get-to-the-mystical-experience-directly/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I became a student of the history of religion. I am fascinated by how religions often center on mystical experience, and in the Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/i-became-a-student-of-the-history-of-religion-i-am-fascinated-by-how/)

[Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/)

> [Videos are tricky because stuff sounds amazing on paper and it seems like it's going to be this mystical experience and you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-bruno/videos-are-tricky-because-stuff-sounds-amazing-on-paper-and-it-seems/)

[Aaron Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-bruno/)

## More by Joseph Campbell

> [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

[Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

## More Mystical Experience quotes

> [Videos are tricky because stuff sounds amazing on paper and it seems like it's going to be this mystical experience and you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-bruno/videos-are-tricky-because-stuff-sounds-amazing-on-paper-and-it-seems/)

[Aaron Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-bruno/)

> [I became a student of the history of religion. I am fascinated by how religions often center on mystical experience, and in the Old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/i-became-a-student-of-the-history-of-religion-i-am-fascinated-by-how/)

[Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/)

> [For the person who wants to get to the mystical experience directly, Tantric Buddhism is the path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/for-the-person-who-wants-to-get-to-the-mystical-experience-directly/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [What was considered a peak mystical experience a few years ago is today the basic platform of sanity from which our exploration begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjuna-ardagh/what-was-considered-a-peak-mystical-experience-a-few-years-ago-is/)

[Arjuna Ardagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjuna-ardagh/)

> [I don't think the mystical experience can be verbalized. When the ego disappears, so does power over language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-don-t-think-the-mystical-experience-can-be-verbalized-when-the-ego/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [So the Buddha is presenting awakening not as a single mystical experience that may come upon us at some meditation, some private moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/so-the-buddha-is-presenting-awakening-not-as-a-single-mystical/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [Poetic experience is distinct in nature from mystical experience. Because poetry emanates from the free creativity of the spirit,it is from the very start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/poetic-experience-is-distinct-in-nature-from-mystical-experience/)

[Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/)

> [When sex involves all the senses intensely, it can be like a mystical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/when-sex-involves-all-the-senses-intensely-it-can-be-like-a-mystical/)

[Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/)

> [Every one of us is a mystic. We may or may not realize it, we may not even like it. But whether we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-teasdale/every-one-of-us-is-a-mystic-we-may-or-may-not-realize-it-we-may-not/)

[Wayne Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-teasdale/)

> [When I was 17, I had an experience that I later learned could be called a 'mystical experience.' It was almost violent. No faces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/when-i-was-17-i-had-an-experience-that-i-later-learned-could-be/)

[Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/)

> [All mystical experience is coincidence; and vice versa, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/all-mystical-experience-is-coincidence-and-vice-versa-of-course/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [The artistic experience, at its highest, was actually a natural analogue of mystical experience. It produced a kind of intuitive of perception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-artistic-experience-at-its-highest-was-actually-a-natural/)

[Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/)

> [I firmly believe that all human beings have access to extraordinary energies and powers. Judging from accounts of mystical experience, heightened creativity, or exceptional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-houston/i-firmly-believe-that-all-human-beings-have-access-to-extraordinary/)

[Jean Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-houston/)

> [“The spiritual life and especially its expression in mystical experience, is not so much a matter of striving for heights of mystical union between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-downey/the-spiritual-life-and-especially-its-expression-in-mystical/)

Michael Downey

> [Not even the visionary or mystical experience ever lasts very long. It is for art to capture that experience, to offer it to, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/not-even-the-visionary-or-mystical-experience-ever-lasts-very-long-it/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

Browse all 31 Mystical Experience quotes

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