Rhea White coined the term exceptional human experiences (EHEs) in 1995 to describe peak, mystical, psychic, and flow experiences. She later added death-related and exceptional normal experiences to designate five main classes. Brown (2000) later clarified that exceptional experiences (EEs) become EHEs when the experiencer... The post Exceptional Human Experiences (EHEs) appeared first on Catherine Auman.
Rhea White coined the term exceptional human experiences (EHEs) in 1995 to describe peak, mystical, psychic, and flow experiences. She later added death-related and exceptional normal experiences to designate five main classes. Brown (2000) later clarified that exceptional experiences (EEs) become EHEs when the experiencer has integrated the experience so that it has become a meaningful event that feels purposeful. White posited that EHEs were part of an ongoing process of growth.
Palmer & Hastings (2013) echoed this stance that EHEs have meaning and the potential for transformation in the experiencer’s lives. The exceptional experience might touch the person deeply and move them to a deeper reality. The authors also speculated that EHEs might occur in need-related circumstances, and this was further developed in the concept of PMIR, or the psi-mediated instrumental response model (Rock, 2013).
My working definition of an EHE would be when a person has an experience that cannot be measured (yet) by science, and works to interpret that experience in a way that enhances their life. The experience might happen spontaneously or by cultivation, and it often connects the experiencer with a sense of unity and with a sense of something greater than themselves. This often includes an emotional response of awe, ecstasy, or terror. It may alter the experiencer’s life forever.
Brown (2000) states that all people will have an exceptional experience at least once; whether that becomes an EHE is variable. Some people take EHEs seriously and thus tend to have more of them. In a recent study (Palmer & Braud, 2002), many participants claimed to have had over one hundred such experiences.
EHEs are not recognized by mainstream psychology. If they were, the field of psychology would need to widen its scope to include a worldview that it currently holds as an anathema: a paradigm that includes wonder, spirituality, and experiences that cannot be measured. EHEs are of extreme value because of their potentially transformative nature, and because they can teach us so much about what is not known. Many people have EHEs and are made to feel that they shouldn’t talk about them as they may be signs of mental instability. They are told that to wish to be in touch with the Mystery is pathological. People could learn so much more about themselves and their potential if EHEs were recognized by mainstream psychology.
References
Brown, S. (2000). The exceptional human experience process: A preliminary model with exploratory map. International Journal of Parapsychology 11 (1). 69-111.
Palmer, G., & Braud, W. (2002). Exceptional human experiences, disclosure, and a more inclusive view of physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 34(1), 29-59.
Palmer, G. and Hastings, A. (2013). Exploring the nature of exceptional human experiences: Recognizing, understanding, and appreciating EHEs. In H. Friedman and G. Hartelius (Eds.). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. (pp. 333-351). Wiley Blackwell.
© 2025 Catherine Auman
The post Exceptional Human Experiences (EHEs) appeared first on Catherine Auman.
