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Vincenzo Montella

Vincenzo Montella (born 18 June 1974) is an Italian football manager and former striker. He is the current head coach of the Turkey national football team.

Montella's nickname during his playing career was "Aeroplanino", in reference to his small stature and trademark goal celebration, in which he spread his arms like wings. A prolific goalscorer,    throughout his playing career Montella played as a forward for Italian clubs Empoli, Genoa, Sampdoria and Roma, and also had a spell on loan in England with Fulham. He is mostly remembered for his performances with Roma (1999–2007), where he won the Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana during the 2000–01 season, also later reaching the 2003 Coppa Italia final with the club. In 2013, Montella was inducted into the AS Roma Hall of Fame. At international level, he made 20 appearances for Italy between 1999 and 2005, scoring three goals; he was notably a member of the Italian team that reached the final of UEFA Euro 2000, and he also represented his country at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Montella began his managerial career as Roma's caretaker manager in 2011, later coaching Catania the following season. In 2012, he moved to Fiorentina, where he spent three seasons, leading the club to three consecutive fourth-place league finishes, the 2014 Coppa Italia final and the UEFA Europa League semi-finals in 2015. After a season-long spell with Sampdoria, he was appointed Milan's manager in 2016, and later that year, he won his first title as a coach with the club, the Supercoppa Italiana. He was sacked by the club in 2017, and was subsequently appointed manager of Spanish side Sevilla. Despite reaching the Copa del Rey final and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in the club's history, he was sacked by Sevilla four months after his appointment, following a run that included nine matches without a victory. He returned to Fiorentina in 2019, with the second spell lasting over eight months. After a period managing Adana Demirspor in the Turkish league, he was appointed as coach of the Turkish national team in September 2023, helping the team to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024.

Early career
Montella began his club career in Serie C1 at Empoli in 1990 before moving to Serie B club Genoa in 1995, where he scored 21 goals in his only season with the club, at the end of which he lifted the Anglo-Italian Cup. He then moved up to Serie A to city rivals Sampdoria, where he remained three years, until 1999. After Sampdoria's relegation, he moved to Roma in a 50 billion lire (about €25.823 million) transfer.

Montella made his Serie A debut on 8 September 1996, against Perugia.

Roma
It was Roma coach Zdeněk Zeman that wanted him to spearhead the Roma attack, but that year Roma also signed a new coach, Fabio Capello, who disliked short forwards. Despite this, during the 1999–2000 season, Montella scored 18 goals, being the top scorer of the giallorossi, playing alongside Marco Delvecchio, in front of advanced playmaker Francesco Totti. The following year, Roma signed the Argentinian forward Gabriel Batistuta from Fiorentina, the tall striker wanted by Capello.

There was a slight controversy between the two forwards concerning the number 9 shirt, the prior number of both players – Batistuta ultimately chose number 18, although Batistuta was often the coach's first choice, while Montella was usually deployed as a substitute. Despite his lack of starts, he was one of the main protagonists of Roma's third Scudetto in 2000–01 and scored many important goals for the club, including the equalising goal in a 2–2 away draw in Serie A against eventual runners-up Juventus on 6 May 2001, and Roma's second goal in the 3–1 title-deciding victory over Parma on 17 June, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

The controversies between Capello and Montella continued in the following years, as Montella was unhappy at his lack of first team opportunities, and in March 2002, Montella made his sadness clear, stating: "I would have better expectations with another coach." Despite his struggle to gain a starting spot, he became a club idol to the supporters, as he had a knack for performing well in the Rome derby against Lazio, scoring a brace in his first derby in 1999, and four goals in a 5–1 win on 10 March 2002; this four-goal haul is still the record of goals scored in a derby match by a single player.

2003 was a difficult year for Montella, as he divorced from his former wife, Rita, and was plagued with many injuries. During the 2003–04 season, he played only twelve games, but still managed a solid scoring record, scoring six goals despite his limited playing time.

During the 2004–05 season, Capello finally left Roma – for Juventus – and, while the giallorossi had a disastrous season, Montella scored 23 goals and earned a new contract lasting until 30 June 2010, also helping Roma to the Coppa Italia final that season. In the 2005–06 season, he was again plagued with injuries. He underwent surgery on both his back and shoulder, limiting him to just twelve games. In January 2007, during the 2006–07 season, he was loaned to Fulham because Francesco Totti was the lone forward in new head coach Luciano Spalletti's 4–2–3–1 formation, while Montella wanted to have more chances to play.

With Roma, Montella played a total of 215 matches over eight years, scoring 94 goals to become the fifth-best topscorer in Roma history. He played his last game for Roma, on 23 December 2006, before leaving on loan to England.

Loan to Fulham
Montella joined Fulham on a six-month loan on 4 January 2007, and was given the number 11 shirt. He scored twice against Leicester City on his home debut, in the FA Cup. He scored again on 27 January in the same competition against Stoke City.

On 13 January 2007, Montella made his Premier League debut, against West Ham United. Against Tottenham Hotspur at Craven Cottage seven days later, he scored his first Premier League goal with a penalty kick. He also scored a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 1–1 draw, which gave Fulham the boost to avoid relegation.

Montella quickly became popular with the Fulham fans, and showed his gratitude for making him feel at home at Craven Cottage. However, he hardly started under manager Chris Coleman, despite several public pleas. After Coleman's sacking, Montella only started twice under his replacement Lawrie Sanchez. Montella hinted that he would like to return to Roma, after the end of the 2006–07 season. The loan was terminated by Sanchez on 8 May 2007, a week before its natural expiration.

Loan to Sampdoria and return
He was loaned to Sampdoria for the 2007–08 season. Bruno Conti brought Montella back to Roma in 2008–09, after Mancini had departed Roma to join Inter Milan. Montella took number 23 when he came back; Mirko Vučinić held on the number 9 shirt which was formerly Montella's, and Montella took the number 23 shirt, formerly of Vučinić.

Montella was only able to make substitute appearances for Roma in the 2008–09 season. He played his last game on 16 May 2009.

On 2 July 2009, Montella announced his retirement from professional football.

International career
Montella received his first international cap for Italy under Dino Zoff in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match against Wales on 5 June 1999, which Italy won 4–0, coming on as a second-half substitute for Christian Vieri; he was part of the final 22-man Italian squad that took part at Euro 2000, where they reached the final. Although Montella did not score during the competition, he recorded an assist in Italy's final group match against Sweden, setting up Alessandro Del Piero's match-winning goal in the 2–1 victory, which allowed Italy to top their group. He would also make one more appearance during the tournament, in the 2–1 final defeat against France, coming on as a late second-half substitute for Roma teammate and goalscorer Marco Delvecchio, with Italy leading 1–0; France equalised in injury time and eventually won the match in extra-time courtesy of a David Trezeguet golden goal. He scored his first goal for Italy in an international friendly match against South Africa in Perugia on 25 April 2001, a 1–0 home win for Italy. On 27 March 2002, he scored a notable double against England in an international friendly match in Leeds, giving Italy a 2–1 away victory after they had been trailing 1–0, with his second, match-winning goal coming form an injury-time penalty.

After appearing for Italy under Giovanni Trapattoni during their 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Montella was chosen as a member of the Italy team that would be competing at the 2002 World Cup, where the Italians were eliminated controversially in the round of 16 to co-hosts South Korea, following a 2–1 defeat in extra time. In his only World Cup appearance, during Italy's final group stage match against Mexico in the 2002 World Cup, he had a goal disallowed. He later set up Del Piero's equaliser in the eventual 1–1 draw, which helped Italy to progress to the second round. He had warmed up and was ready to come off the bench in the round of 16 match, but South Korea's Ahn scored the golden goal moments before he was set to come on. He later also appeared for Italy in three Euro 2004 qualifying matches, but was not called up for the final tournament. He made his final appearance for Italy under Marcello Lippi, in an international friendly match against Russia on 9 February 2005, held in Cagliari, which Italy won 2–0. In total, Montella won twenty caps and scored three goals for Italy.

Style of play
Nicknamed "L'Aeroplanino" ("The Little Airplane"), due to his small stature and trademark goal celebration, in which he spread his arms like wings, Montella was known as a quick, hard-working, intelligent and opportunistic left-footed striker, who was gifted with pace, good technique and a keen eye for goal, and was capable of striking the ball well with either foot; he has also been described as a "fine all round player, with excellent passing and dribbling skills." Although he was primarily played as a centre-forward, a position in which he earned a reputation as a prolific "goal-poacher", his wide range of skills made him a versatile forward, who also capable of playing in a more creative role as a second striker. However, despite his ability and goalscoring record as a footballer, at times he was criticised by his Roma manager Fabio Capello for being a "selfish" player; he was also known to be injury-prone. During the 1999–2000 season former Italy striker Paolo Rossi likened Montella's playing style to his own, commenting "He's the striker who most reminds me of myself,."

Roma
Montella signed a three-year contract with Roma as youth team coach for the Giovanissimi Nazionali (under-15 level).

On 21 February 2011, he was appointed as interim head coach of the first team for the remainder of the season, taking over the role from resigning boss Claudio Ranieri. On 23 February, in his first Serie A match in charge, Roma won away against Bologna, 1–0. On 8 March, in his Champions League managerial debut, Roma lost away to Shakhtar Donetsk, 3–0. Montella completed an eventful season for Roma, leading the Giallorossi to sixth place in the league table, and he was subsequently released, after the new club owners led by American businessman Thomas R. DiBenedetto decided to appoint Luis Enrique as permanent head coach for the 2011–12 season.

Catania
On 9 June 2011, and only a few days after being released by Roma, Montella was announced as new boss of Catania, signing a two-year contract with the Eastern Sicilian club. He led Catania to a mid-table placement, and ahead of Sicilian rivals Palermo for the first time in eight years; by the end of season, he was heavily linked with a comeback at Roma and the vacant job at Fiorentina. Montella left Catania by mutual consent on 4 June 2012, after only one season in charge.

Fiorentina
On 11 June 2012, Fiorentina announced on their official website that Montella signed a two-year deal (later extended until June 2017) with the club. Montella's arrival saw a massive upheaval of the squad, which saw 17 (including Borja Valero and Alberto Aquilani) out of the 26 senior players being new to the club. Fiorentina finished the 2012–13 Serie A in fourth place, missing out on a Champions League spot to Milan on the final day of the season.

In his second season in charge, Montella led Fiorentina to the 2014 Coppa Italia final, but were beaten 3–1 by Napoli, while the team finished the league season in fourth place once again. In his third season, Montella helped Fiorentina reach the semi-final of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, where they were eliminated by defending champions and eventual winners Sevilla. Fiorentina finished the league season in fourth place for the third consecutive season. On 8 June, he was sacked.

Sampdoria
On 15 November 2015, Sampdoria announced that Montella as their new head coach. On 28 June 2016, Montella left the club to join Milan.

Milan
On 28 June 2016, Milan announced Montella as their new head coach, with a contract starting from 1 July. He signed a two-year deal, reportedly worth €2.3 million per year, while Sampdoria were paid €500,000 as a compensation to release him from his contract. On 23 December, Montella led the "Rossoneri" to their first title since 2011, the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Juventus 4–3 in a penalty shootout, after a 1–1 draw following extra time. With a sixth-place finish in the league his first season, Montella led Milan to qualify for the third round of 2017–18 UEFA Europa League qualification phase, marking Milan's return to European competition for the first time since February 2014. On 30 May 2017, he signed a new contract until 2019.

Although much was expected of Milan after a €200m summer transfer campaign financed by the team's new owners, the first half of the 2017–18 season was disappointing for the club; Montella drew criticism in the media for struggling to find a suitable formation for his players and a fixed starting eleven, and only won six out of the first 14 games in the league. Following these poor results at the beginning of the 2017–18 Serie A season, Montella was eventually sacked by Milan on 27 November 2017, following a 0–0 home draw against Torino the day before; Gennaro Gattuso was announced as Montella's replacement.

Sevilla
On 28 December 2017, Spanish club Sevilla announced the appointment of Montella as the replacement of the recently-sacked Eduardo Berizzo, signing a contract which would last until mid-2019.

During his tenure, Montella managed to guide Sevilla to a first-ever Champions League quarter-final, defeating Manchester United 2–1 on aggregate in the round of 16. Sevilla were beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals 2–1 on aggregate. Montella also led Sevilla to the 2018 Copa del Rey final, defeating teams such as Atlético Madrid and Léganes in the process, though they suffered a 5–0 defeat to Barcelona.

Despite being the finalists of the Copa Del Rey, Sevilla struggled with their league form, and on 28 April 2018, Montella was sacked, following a run of nine games without a victory.

Return to Fiorentina
On 10 April 2019, Montella returned to Fiorentina after the resignation of Stefano Pioli. Following a 1–4 away defeat to Roma in Serie A on 20 December 2019, he was dismissed from his managerial post the day after.

Adana Demirspor
On 1 September 2021, Montella signed a two-year contract with Adana Demirspor, starting off on a new experience for himself in Turkey. In his first season, Adana Demirspor finished ninth in the league.

In his second season, Adana Demirspor finished the league in fourth place with a record of 20 wins, nine draws and seven losses in 36 matches, which was their best league position in their history that qualified them to first participation ever in European competitions, namely the Conference League.

On 12 June 2023, Adana Demirspor announced that they had parted ways with Montella by mutual consent at the end of the season.

Turkey
On 21 September 2023, Montella was unveiled as the new manager of the Turkey national football team. On 12 October 2023, Montella managed his first official match in a 0–1 away victory to Croatia. On 15 October 2023, he qualified the national team for UEFA Euro 2024 after a 4–0 win over Latvia. In the opening match of the final tournament, Turkey defeated Georgia 3–1. Turkey lost their second match 3–0 to Portugal, but won their final group match against Czech Republic 2–1, advancing to the second round in second place in their group with six points. In the round of 16, Turkey defeated Austria 2–1 to advance to the quarter-finals of the tournament. Turkey were eliminated from the tournament in the quarter-finals following a 2–1 defeat to Netherlands.

Media
Montella has featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he was on the cover for the Italian edition of FIFA 2000.

Club
Source:

International
International goals
 * Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.

Club

 * Genoa
 * Anglo-Italian Cup: 1995–96

 * Roma
 * Serie A: 2000–01
 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2001

International

 * Italy
 * UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2000

Manager

 * Milan
 * Supercoppa Italiana: 2016

Individual

 * Enzo Bearzot Award: 2013
 * AS Roma Hall of Fame: 2013
 * USSI EuroMed - Sustainability & Excellence Award: 2023

Orders

 * Cavaliere OMRI BAR.svg 5th Class / Knight: Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana: 2000

title: Vincenzo Montella


text:
Talk:Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca

=Comments=

Name
Kuchuk-Kainarji is the corrupted spelling of the Turkish name Küçük Kaynarca (Küçük=little). Check Britannica for confirmation www.britannica.com 68.160.138.191 08:18, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * Thanks. I've moved the page per the Britannica article. — Khoikhoi 22:45, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Orthodox Protectorate
Can somebody provide a cite for the information that this treaty granted the Ottoman Empire rights of protection with Russia? This wasn't mentioned in the reference I used and it seems unusual. The Ottomans lost the war and all of the other terms were in Russia's favor. Why would Russia have turned around and made such a major concession? MK2 05:19, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

---It was an Ottoman concession, not a Russian one. My understanding of the treaty is it gave the Russian tsar the right to lodge complaints raised by Orthodox subjects within the Ottoman Empire, but not actually a protectorate over the Orthodox minority (millet) within the Ottoman Empire. The Russians at times tried to interpret the clause more broadly to give them a protectorate over all the Orthodox subjects within the Ottoman Empire (thus, a significant say in large areas of the Balkans as well as some other areas), but the actually text of the treaty did not give them such a broad power. The dispute over the meaning of this clause was one of the causes of the Crimean War. See Anne Pottinger Saab's (1977) book "The Origins of the Crimean Alliance" for more information on this.

Map
In what sense did the Ottoman Empire reach the Caspian Sea in 1774, covering all of the North and South Caucasus, as we show on this map?

At Russo-Persian War (1722–23) we have the Russia winning much of Dagestan and Azerbaijan from the Persian Empire, and returning those provinces in 1735. At Russo-Persian War (1804–13) we have Russia winning more South Caucasus territory from Persia, Treaty of Gulistan provides a map.

At Erivan Khanate and Nakhichevan Khanate we provide a map c. 1800 showing the eastern border of the Ottoman Empire almost precisely where modern Turkey borders Armenia and Iran today. We say of the former [modern Armenia, approximately] that "Persian rule was interrupted by Ottoman occupations between 1513–14, 1533–34, 1548–49, 1553–55, 1580–1604, 1635–36 and 1722–36." Compare Khanates of the Caucasus to much the same point.

Our coverage of Ottoman-Persian wars in many articles implies that the Ottomans really controlled the Caucasus region only briefly around 1600. --P64 (talk) 20:46, 26 July 2013 (UTC)

 * At Georgia (country), we say that "Eastern Georgia, composed of the regions of Kartli and Kakheti, had been under Persian suzerainty since 1555. With the death of Nader Shah in 1747, both kingdoms broke free of Persian control and were reunified through a personal union under the energetic king Heraclius II in 1762." ... annexed by Russia in 1800/1801.
 * I wonder whether the Ottoman Empire was more than self-understood protector of the Muslims in some sense. --P64 (talk) 20:57, 26 July 2013 (UTC)
 * The map is not rendering correctly. We only see a black map. -Theklan (talk) 14:32, 6 March 2014 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca


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Domlur

Domlur is a small township located in the eastern part of Bangalore city in India. Domlur was included in the erstwhile Bangalore Civil and Military Station under the British Madras Presidency till it was transferred to the Mysore State in 1949.

Domlur is surrounded by offices of multinational software companies and business process outsourcing companies. Domlur hosts the software park Embassy Golf Links (EGL). McAfee, NetApp, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, ANZ, Sasken, Target and Mistral Solutions are the companies located in this area. Domlur is located close to the 'old airport'.

The major military establishments having divisions in Domlur are Indian Air Force, EME Workshop, and ASC (Army Service Corps).

Ancient Tamil inscriptions
The Chokkanathaswamy Temple is a 10th-century Chola temple, located in Domlur. There are a number of Tamil inscriptions in the temple. Domlur is referred to as Tombalur or Desimanikkapattanam in these inscriptions. Chakravarthi Posalaviraramanatha Deva has left inscriptions with directions to temple authorities of his kingdom. Further, some inscriptions record the tributes, taxes and tolls made to the temple by Devaraya II of Vijayanagar Empire, which state the houses, wells, land around Tombalur were offered to the deity Sokkapperumal. Another Tamil inscription dated 1270 talks about 2 door posts being donated by Alagiyar. Yet another inscription in Tamil details Talaikkattu and his wife donating lands from Jalapalli village and Vinnamangalam tank to the deity. A 1290AD inscription talks about donation of ten pens from the revenue of Tommalur by Poysala vira Ramananda.

Transport
Domlur is very well connected to all parts of Bangalore by road. There are three arterial roads in the locality- Old Airport Road, 100 Feet Road and Inner Ring Road- which connect Domlur to the rest of Bangalore city.

Domlur is easily accessible by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses and has a sprawling bus terminus (known as Domlur Traffic Transit & Management Centre [TTMC]). The TTMC is located on the Old Airport Road and has parking facility for cars and two-wheelers. All buses from Kempegowda Bus Station, K. R. Market and Shivajinagar towards HAL, Marathahalli, Varthur and Whitefield as well as buses from Jeevanbhimanagar and Indiranagar towards Koramangala, BTM Layout, Jayanagar and Banashankari pass through Domlur.

The nearest Namma Metro station is at Indiranagar, which is around 2.5 km from Domlur.

Old Airport road flyover
A major landmark in Domlur is the Airport road flyover (also known as Domlur flyover) at the Old Airport Road, 100 Feet Road and Inner Ring Road junction. This flyover was notorious for its delay in construction and the traffic trouble caused by its delay which was due to the mismanagement by the subcontractor UPSBC ( Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation). The construction of the flyover which was started in early 2003 ended in 2007. The flyover, excluding the outer loops, was completed in July 2006 and opened to public on 12 July 2006. Subsequently, the other loops were opened to public in the next eight months.

Politics
Domlur is part of the Shantinagar legislative assembly constituency led by MLA N. A. Haris (INC). Shantinagar in turn comes under Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency led by MP P. C. Mohan (BJP). During the 2014 general election, P. C. Mohan won from Bangalore Central defeating his nearest rival Rizwan Arshad (INC) by a margin of 1,37,500 votes. N. A. Haris won the 2018 assembly election from Shantinagar by a margin of 18,205 votes defeating his nearest rival K. Vasudevamurthy (BJP).

Civic Administration
Domlur is a ward under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is the administrative body for Bangalore city and comes under the Jayanagar zone of the BBMP. The ward number is 112. The current corporator of Domlur ward is C. R. Lakshminarayan (Gundanna), who is politically an Independent.

Post Office
Domlur post office is located at Domlur 1st Stage on the Service Road running parallel to the Old Airport Road. The pin code for the area is 560071.

title: Domlur


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Lloyd Gough

Lloyd Gough (born Michael Gough; September 21, 1907 – July 23, 1984) was an American theater, film, and television actor.

Life and career
Born Michael Gough in New York City, he was a noted character actor.

Married to actress-turned-activist Karen Morley, both were brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee and when they invoked the Fifth Amendment they were blacklisted, effectively terminating their careers in Hollywood until the late 1960s.

In 1952, he appeared as the main villain in Rancho Notorious, but his name was removed from the credits due to the blacklist.

In 1966, he played Richard Bayler in the Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Scarlet Scandal". Also in 1966, he played open minded fur hunter “Jacob Beamus” in S11E29's “The Treasure of John Walking Fox” on Gunsmoke.

Gough played Daily Sentinel crime reporter Mike Axford in the TV series The Green Hornet in 1966–67. In 1967, he guest-starred on Mannix as Senator Miniver in the episode “Turn Every Stone.”

He would later appear in a film about the Hollywood blacklist period, The Front (1976); his name was accompanied by his blacklist date.

Gough was married to Morley from 1943 until his death in 1984 from an aortic aneurysm at the age of 76. They had one child.

Filmography
His films and shows include:

 * Body and Soul (1947) - Roberts
 * Black Bart (1948) - Sheriff Gordon
 * All My Sons (1948) - Jim Bayliss
 * River Lady (1948) - Mike Riley
 * The Babe Ruth Story (1947) - Gambler Dalton
 * A Southern Yankee (1948) - Capt. Steve Lorford
 * That Wonderful Urge (1948) - Duffy - Chronicle Editor
 * Tulsa (1949) - Bruce Tanner
 * Roseanna McCoy (1949) - Phamer McCoy
 * Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) - Monte Wilson
 * Tension (1950) - Barney Deager
 * Outside the Wall (1950) - Red Chaney
 * Sunset Boulevard (1950) - Morino
 * Storm Warning (1951) - Cliff Rummel
 * Valentino (1951) - Eddie Morgan
 * The Scarf (1951) - Dr. Gordon
 * Rancho Notorious (1952) - Kinch (uncredited)
 * Kentucky Jones (Episode "Wildcat Soup," 1964) - Mr. Baxter
 * The Green Hornet (1966) - Mike Axford
 * Tony Rome (1967) - Jules Langley
 * Madigan (1968) - Earl Griffin
 * The Sweet Ride (1968) - Parker
 * Funny Girl (1968) - Bill Fallon, Lawyer (uncredited)
 * Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969) - Dexter
 * The Great White Hope (1970) - Smitty
 * My Old Man's Place (1971) - Dr. Paul
 * Cannon (TV) Murder by Moonlight (1972)
 * Executive Action (1973) - Charlie McCadden
 * Earthquake (1974) - Cameron
 * The Front (1976) - Herbert Delaney
 * The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977) - Walter Winchell
 * House Calls (1978) - Harry Grady

title: Lloyd Gough


text:
Manicouagan

Manicouagan may refer to:
 * Manicouagan crater, an impact crater in Quebec
 * Manicouagan Reservoir, formed when the Manicouagan impact crater was converted to a reservoir.
 * Manicouagan Regional County Municipality, Quebec
 * Manicouagan River
 * Manicouagan (electoral district)
 * Manicouagan Uapishka Biosphere Reserve

title: Manicouagan


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was KEEP. dbenbenn | talk 20:58, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Lovers' Legends: The Gay Greek Myths
No online source for copyvio, but I highly suspect it. Otherwise Original Research and not encyclopedic (nor potential to be so), perhaps Homoeroticism in Ancient Greek culture may be an article one day as an appropriate title for sniggering about Hercules and his friendly man-cousin Ioalus.--ZayZayEM 08:24, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Delete. This isn't even an article about gay Greek myths; it's an article (or rather, a book report) about a book about gay Greek myths. But by all means someone should start an article on Homoeroticism in Ancient Greek culture or the like. For the time being, anything useful here should be merged into History of homosexuality --Angr 11:01, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep (and cleanup) this article on a book. 3,070 google hits for the title, seems to be a reasonably notable. The author, Andrew Calimach, has a page and this appears to be his breakthrough work. Any merging (which I disagree with) should be done with Andrew Calimach. Kappa 12:00, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I agree with Kappa. Cleanup/keep. Samaritan 13:40, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I hope this isn't sounding prejudiced. But a book about homoeroticism (even in a historical context) is going to have a significant boost to its Google hits for no other reason than its got gay stuff in it. Gay people will push it, Homophobes will denounce it. I say 3,000 is really not enough to count as notability. Has it won prizes? That would up its notability. Otherwise is just promotion of a book.--ZayZayEM 13:47, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * If so many people are alternately pushing or denouncing a book, I daresay it's notable! Samaritan 14:21, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * The point I was making was, it's not the book they are pushing/denouncing--ZayZayEM 09:16, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. It seems to be very notable within certain circles.  Bacchiad 18:02, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Book by notable writer, Andrew Calimach -- and, for that matter, the book which made him notable. Nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in 2002. Article does need some cleanup, but I have to call it a keep. Bearcat 19:16, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. Needs cleanup, but it is encyclopediac. Carrp | Talk 20:16, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep and send to cleanup. It seems controversial/popular enough to merit an article. And for those looking for information about homosexuality in ancient Greece I think pederasty, about the most common form it took, is the most informative. — Ливай | ☺ 20:26, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, article as written is a disaster but it's encyclopedic. Wyss 21:48, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, any book by Calimach is inherently notable. As remarked above, this one is the most so. -- Jmabel | Talk 22:19, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)
 * Comment. This is an article about a book.    So the question is whether the book is notable.   It does not seem to have been on any major bestseller lists when it was published a bit more than two years ago.  Its current Sales Rank on Amazon is 45,000 or so. This means not very high sales, although they might have been higher in the past.   The publisher is Haiduk press, which has published just two items.  (The other one is "Lover's Legends Unbound", a CD collection of stories about male love, edited by Calimach and others.)   We have an article about the author, although Wikipedia being what it is, this doesn't mean he is notable.  The article doesn't mention that he has written anything else, other than the CD collection, which is based on this book. It says that he is an "independent scholar", meaning he does not have an academic appointment.  The book was nominated for the Lambda Prize, which is awarded for gay and lesbian literature, indicating that the book might be notable within the gay and lesbian community, even though it doesn't seem to have achieved any kind of general notability.   I don't know; it looks like we have three articles: one about the author of some underground chapbooks and basically one book (which might be self-published), an article about the book, and an article about a CD collection of readings based on the book.  Sure doesn't have "notability" written all over it. --BM 22:40, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * For me, a commercial and/or critically successful work is actually more notable if it's self-published. For me the book seems adequately notable within its field (and yes I have a low threshold), the CD collection maybe not. Kappa 01:43, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Well, you are right that self-published works (if that is what it was; I am only speculating) are not very often critical successes.  But how do you know this book was a commercial and critical success?  The Amazon sales rank doesn't suggest it was; but perhaps it sold a lot of copies at gay and lesbian book stores.   As for critical success, are you going by the Lambda Prize? That seems to be the only indicator of critical success, and to be honest, I have no idea how prestigious that is. --BM 02:49, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I was mostly judging critical success from the reviews listed at Amazon.com.
 * I might be wrong, I suppose, but considering the massive number of books in print, I think a sales rank of 45,000 at Amazon is actually pretty darned significant for a self-published work of gay scholarship which hasn't exactly received Oprah's Book Club levels of publicity. Bearcat 19:17, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * Keep and cleanup.--Centauri 23:16, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, notable - 3000+ Google hits, cleanup and expand. Megan1967 02:51, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. There are hundreds of more marginal books in Wikipedia (not to mention tv shows) that no one considers eradicating. The place to start on homoeroticism in Ancient Greece is in the existing Culture of Greece of course, which begins "The culture of Greece has evolved over thousands of years..." oi!--Wetman 10:07, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep. The book is well known, being about a well known historical subject. -- Old Right 10:49, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lojinx

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete. -- AllyUnion (talk) 12:43, 11 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Lojinx
Not notable indie recording label. Only three unknown (to me) bands signed--ZayZayEM 08:26, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Professional enough-looking site, but seems non-notable. 750-ish Google hits, three relatively unknown artists (one, Farrah, also possible VfD?), and from looking at the codes of the CDs, appears there've only been seven CDs released by the label altogether. Just not notable enough yet. Delete. --Lawlore 21:12, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)
 * Keep, article is helpful. Wyss 21:45, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Could you elaborate please? I didn't find anything inherently helpful in "Lojinx is an independent record label, formed in South London in 2003" (text of the article). Could you have meant to reply to the above topic, about Greek homoeroticism, rather than this one? This vote just seemed a bit odd given your other votes. Thanks very much. --Lawlore 22:50, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)
 * For me, when it comes to independent music, the more collaboration, the more encyclopedic. Also, seven releases without major distribution is notable, and is ample evidence of meaningful, original musical activity. Wyss 13:31, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * Delete, article does not establish notability. Megan1967 02:53, 6 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. non-notable. at0 22:43, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete. -- AllyUnion (talk) 05:31, 10 Feb 2005 (UTC)

This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages. Please do not edit this page.

title: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lojinx


text: User talk:209.184.165.20

title: User talk:209.184.165.20


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Religious experience

A religious experience (sometimes known as a spiritual experience, sacred experience, mystical experience) is a subjective experience which is interpreted within a religious framework. The concept originated in the 19th century, as a defense against the growing rationalism of Western society. William James popularised the concept. In some religions, this is said to sometimes result in unverified personal gnosis.

Many religious and mystical traditions see religious experiences (particularly the knowledge which comes with them) as revelations caused by divine agency rather than ordinary natural processes. They are considered real encounters with God or gods, or real contact with higher-order realities of which humans are not ordinarily aware.

Skeptics may hold that religious experience is an evolved feature of the human brain amenable to normal scientific study. The commonalities and differences between religious experiences across different cultures have enabled scholars to categorize them for academic study.

William James
Psychologist and philosopher William James (1842–1910) described four characteristics of mystical experience in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1901/1902). According to James, such an experience is:
 * Transient – the experience is temporary; the individual soon returns to a "normal" frame of mind. Feels outside normal perception of space and time.
 * Ineffable – the experience cannot be adequately put into words.
 * Noetic – the individual feels that he or she has learned something valuable from the experience. Feels to have gained knowledge that is normally hidden from human understanding.
 * Passive – the experience happens to the individual, largely without conscious control. Although there are activities, such as meditation (see below), that can make religious experience more likely, it is not something that can be turned on and off at will.

Rudolf Otto
The German philosopher and theologian Rudolf Otto (1869–1937) argues that there is one common factor to all religious experience, independent of the cultural background. In his book The Idea of the Holy (1923) he identifies this factor as the numinous. The "numinous" experience has two aspects:
 * mysterium tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling;
 * mysterium fascinans, the tendency to attract, fascinate and compel.

The numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, in that the person feels to be in communion with a holy other. Otto sees the numinous as the only possible religious experience. He states: "There is no religion in which it [the numinous] does not live as the real innermost core and without it no religion would be worthy of the name". Otto does not take any other kind of religious experience such as ecstasy and enthusiasm seriously and is of the opinion that they belong to the 'vestibule of religion'.

Norman Habel
Biblical scholar Norman Habel defines religious experiences as the structured way in which a believer enters into a relationship with, or gains an awareness of, the sacred within the context of a particular religious tradition. Religious experiences are by their very nature preternatural; that is, out of the ordinary or beyond the natural order of things. They may be difficult to distinguish observationally from psychopathological states such as psychoses or other forms of altered awareness. Not all preternatural experiences are considered to be religious experiences. Following Habel's definition, psychopathological states or drug-induced states of awareness are not considered to be religious experiences because they are mostly not performed within the context of a particular religious tradition.

Moore and Habel identify two classes of religious experiences: the immediate and the mediated religious experience.
 * Mediated – In the mediated experience, the believer experiences the sacred through mediators such as rituals, special persons, religious groups, totemic objects or the natural world.
 * Immediate – The immediate experience comes to the believer without any intervening agency or mediator. The deity or divine is experienced directly.

Richard Swinburne
In his book Faith and Reason, the philosopher Richard Swinburne formulated five categories into which all religious experiences fall: Swinburne also suggested two principles for the assessment of religious experiences:
 * Public – a believer 'sees God's hand at work', whereas other explanations are possible e.g. looking at a beautiful sunset
 * Public – an unusual event that breaches natural law e.g. walking on water
 * Private – describable using normal language e.g. Jacob's vision of a ladder
 * Private – indescribable using normal language, usually a mystical experience e.g. "white did not cease to be white, nor black cease to be black, but black became white and white became black."
 * Private – a non-specific, general feeling of God working in one's life.
 * Principle of Credulity – with the absence of any reason to disbelieve it, one should accept what appears to be true e.g. if one sees someone walking on water, one should believe that it is occurring.
 * Principle of Testimony – with the absence of any reason to disbelieve them, one should accept that eyewitnesses or believers are telling the truth when they testify about religious experiences.

Related terms

 * Ecstasy, trance – In ecstasy the believer is understood to have a soul or spirit which can leave the body. In ecstasy the focus is on the soul leaving the body and to experience transcendental realities. This type of religious experience is characteristic for the shaman.
 * Enthusiasm – In enthusiasm – or possession – God is understood to be outside, other than or beyond the believer. A sacred power, being or will enters the body or mind of an individual and possesses it. A person capable of being possessed is sometimes called a medium. The deity, spirit or power uses such a person to communicate to the immanent world. Lewis argues that ecstasy and possession are basically one and the same experience, ecstasy being merely one form which possession may take. The outward manifestation of the phenomenon is the same in that shamans appear to be possessed by spirits, act as their mediums, and even though they claim to have mastery over them, can lose that mastery.
 * Mystical experience – Mystical experiences are in many ways the opposite of numinous experiences. In the mystical experience, all 'otherness' disappear and the believer becomes one with the transcendent. The believer discovers that he or she is not distinct from the cosmos, the deity or the other reality, but one with it. Zaehner has identified two distinctively different mystical experiences: natural and religious mystical experiences. Natural mystical experiences are, for example, experiences of the 'deeper self' or experiences of oneness with nature. Zaehner argues that the experiences typical of 'natural mysticism' are quite different from the experiences typical of religious mysticism. Natural mystical experiences are not considered to be religious experiences because they are not linked to a particular tradition, but natural mystical experiences are spiritual experiences that can have a profound effect on the individual.
 * Spiritual awakening – A spiritual awakening usually involves a realization or opening to a sacred dimension of reality and may be a religious experience. Often a spiritual awakening has lasting effects upon one's life. It may refer to any of a wide range of experiences including being born again, near-death experiences, Liberation (moksha), and Enlightenment (bodhi).

Origins
The notion of "religious experience" can be traced back to William James, who used the term "religious experience" in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. It is considered to be the classic work in the field, and references to James' ideas are common at professional conferences. James distinguished between institutional religion and personal religion. Institutional religion refers to the religious group or organization, and plays an important part in a society's culture. Personal religion, in which the individual has mystical experience, can be experienced regardless of the culture.

The origins of the use of this term can be dated further back. In the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, several historical figures put forth very influential views that religion and its beliefs can be grounded in experience itself. While Kant held that moral experience justified religious beliefs, John Wesley in addition to stressing individual moral exertion thought that the religious experiences in the Methodist movement (paralleling the Romantic Movement) were foundational to religious commitment as a way of life.

Wayne Proudfoot traces the roots of the notion of "religious experience" to the German theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), who argued that religion is based on a feeling of the infinite. The notion of "religious experience" was used by Schleiermacher and Albert Ritschl to defend religion against the growing scientific and secular critique, and defend the view that human (moral and religious) experience justifies religious beliefs.

The notion of "religious experience" was adopted by many scholars of religion, of which William James was the most influential.

A broad range of western and eastern movements have incorporated and influenced the emergence of the modern notion of "mystical experience", such as the Perennial philosophy, Transcendentalism, Universalism, the Theosophical Society, New Thought, Neo-Vedanta and Buddhist modernism.

Perennial philosophy
According to the Perennial philosophy, the mystical experiences in all religions are essentially the same. It supposes that many, if not all of the world's great religions, have arisen around the teachings of mystics, including Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tze, and Krishna. It also sees most religious traditions describing fundamental mystical experience, at least esoterically. A major proponent in the 20th century was Aldous Huxley, who "was heavily influenced in his description by Vivekananda's neo-Vedanta and the idiosyncratic version of Zen exported to the west by D.T. Suzuki. Both of these thinkers expounded their versions of the perennialist thesis", which they originally received from western thinkers and theologians.

Existentialism
Søren Kierkegaard argued that dying to the world and possessions is a foundational aspect of religious experience in Christianity.

Transcendentalism and Unitarian Universalism
Transcendentalism was an early 19th-century liberal Protestant movement, which was rooted in English and German Romanticism, the Biblical criticism of Herder and Schleiermacher, and the skepticism of Hume. The Transcendentalists emphasised an intuitive, experiential approach of religion. Following Schleiermacher, an individual's intuition of truth was taken as the criterion for truth. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the first translations of Hindu texts appeared, which were also read by the Transcendentalists, and influenced their thinking. They also endorsed universalist and Unitarianist ideas, leading to Unitarian Universalism, the idea that there must be truth in other religions as well, since a loving God would redeem all living beings, not just Christians.

Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society was formed in 1875 by Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge and others to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The Theosophical Society has been highly influential in promoting interest, both in west and east, in a great variety of religious teachings: "No single organization or movement has contributed so many components to the New Age Movement as the Theosophical Society ... It has been the major force in the dissemination of occult literature in the West in the twentieth century."

The Theosophical Society searched for 'secret teachings' in Asian religions. It has been influential on modernist streams in several Asian religions, notably Hindu reform movements, the revival of Theravada Buddhism, and D.T. Suzuki, who popularized the idea of enlightenment as insight into a timeless, transcendent reality. Another example can be seen in Paul Brunton's A Search in Secret India, which introduced Ramana Maharshi to a western audience.

Orientalism and the "pizza effect"
The interplay between western and eastern notions of religion is an important factor in the development of modern mysticism. In the 19th century, when Asian countries were colonialised by western states, a process of cultural mimesis began. In this process, Western ideas about religion, especially the notion of "religious experience" were introduced to Asian countries by missionaries, scholars and the Theosophical Society, and amalgamated in a new understanding of the Indian and Buddhist traditions. This amalgam was exported back to the West as 'authentic Asian traditions', and acquired a great popularity in the west. Due to this western popularity, it also gained authority back in India, Sri Lanka and Japan.

The best-known representatives of this amalgamated tradition are Annie Besant (Theosophical Society), Swami Vivekenanda and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (Neo-Vedanta), Anagarika Dharmapala, a 19th-century Sri Lankan Buddhist activist who founded the Maha Bodhi Society, and D.T. Suzuki, a Japanese scholar and Zen Buddhist. A synonymous term for this broad understanding is nondualism. This mutual influence is also known as the pizza effect.

Criticism
The notion of "experience" has been criticised.

"Religious empiricism" is seen as highly problematic and was – during the period in-between world wars – famously rejected by the theologian Karl Barth. In the 20th century, religious as well as moral experience as justification for religious beliefs still held sway. Some influential modern scholars who held this liberal theological view were Charles Raven and the Oxford physicist/theologian Charles Coulson.

Robert Sharf writes that "experience" is a typical Western term, which has found its way into Asian religiosity via western influences. The notion of "experience" introduces a false notion of duality between "experiencer" and "experienced", whereas the essence of kensho is the realisation of the "non-duality" of observer and observed. "Pure experience" does not exist; all experience is mediated by intellectual and cognitive activity. The specific teachings and practices of a specific tradition may even determine what "experience" someone has, which means that this "experience" is not the proof of the teaching, but a result of the teaching. A pure consciousness without concepts, reached by "cleansing the doors of perception", would be an overwhelming chaos of sensory input without coherence.

The American scholar of religion and philosopher of social science Jason Josephson Storm has also critiqued the definition and category of religious experience, especially when such experiences are used to define religion. He compares the appeal to experience to define religion to failed attempts to defend an essentialist definition of art by appeal to aesthetic experience, and implies that each category lacks a common psychological feature across all such experiences by which they may be defined.

Causes
Traditions offer a wide variety of religious practices to induce religious experiences:
 * Extended exercise, often running in a large communal circle, which is used in various tribal and neo-pagan religions.
 * Prayer
 * Music
 * Dance, such as Sufi whirling
 * Meditation: Meditative practices are used to calm the mind, and attain states of consciousness such as nirvikalpa samadhi. Meditation can be focused on the breath, concepts, mantras, symbols.
 * Questioning or investigating (self)representations/cognitive schemata, such as Self-enquiry, Hua Tou practice, and Douglas Harding's on having no head.
 * Lucid dreaming

Religious experiences may also be caused by the use of entheogens, such as:
 * Ayahuasca (DMT)
 * Salvia divinorum (salvinorin A)
 * Peyote (mescaline)
 * Psilocybin mushrooms (psilocybin)
 * Amanita muscaria (muscimol)
 * Cannabis
 * LSD
 * MDMA
 * Soma
 * Ketamine

Religious experiences may have neurophysiological origins. These are studied in the field of neurotheology, and the cognitive science of religion, and include near-death experiences. Causes may be:
 * Temporal lobe epilepsy, as described in the Geschwind syndrome
 * Stroke
 * Profound depression or schizophrenia

Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, founded by Plotinus and based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists.

Neoplatonism teaches that along the same road by which it descended the soul must retrace its steps back to the supreme Good. It must first of all return to itself. This is accomplished by the practice of virtue, which aims at likeness to God, and leads up to God. By means of ascetic observances the human becomes once more a spiritual and enduring being, free from all sin. But there is still a higher attainment; it is not enough to be sinless, one must become "God" (see henosis). This is reached through contemplation of the primeval Being, the One – in other words, through an ecstatic approach to it.

It is only in a state of perfect passivity and repose that the soul can recognize and touch the primeval Being. Hence the soul must first pass through a spiritual curriculum. Beginning with the contemplation of corporeal things in their multiplicity and harmony, it then retires upon itself and withdraws into the depths of its own being, rising thence to the nous, the world of ideas. But even there it does not find the Highest, the One; it still hears a voice saying, "not we have made ourselves." The last stage is reached when, in the highest tension and concentration, beholding in silence and utter forgetfulness of all things, it is able as it were to lose itself. Then it may see God, the foundation of life, the source of being, the origin of all good, the root of the soul. In that moment it enjoys the highest indescribable bliss; it is as it were swallowed up of divinity, bathed in the light of eternity. Porphyry tells us that on four occasions during the six years of their intercourse Plotinus attained to this ecstatic union with God.

Alcoholics Anonymous Twelfth Step
The twelfth step of the Alcoholics Anonymous program states that "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs". The terms "spiritual experience" and "spiritual awakening" are used many times in The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous which argues that a spiritual experience is needed to bring about recovery from alcoholism.

Christianity
In Evangelical Christianity, becoming "Born Again" is understood to be essential for a Believer to enter Heaven upon death. The effect is life-changing, and can also be called a conversion experience.

Noting that religious experience should not be separated from care for one's neighbour, Pope Francis has observed that "there can be no true religious experience that is deaf to the cry of the world".

Christian mysticism
Christian doctrine generally maintains that God dwells in all Christians and that they can experience God directly through belief in Jesus, Christian mysticism aspires to apprehend spiritual truths inaccessible through intellectual means, typically by emulation of Christ. William Inge divides this scala perfectionis into three stages: the "purgative" or ascetic stage, the "illuminative" or contemplative stage, and the third, "unitive" stage, in which God may be beheld "face to face."

The third stage, usually called contemplation in the Western tradition, refers to the experience of oneself as united with God in some way. The experience of union varies, but it is first and foremost always associated with a reuniting with Divine love. The underlying theme here is that God, the perfect goodness, is known or experienced at least as much by the heart as by the intellect since, in the words of 1 John 4:16: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him." Some approaches to classical mysticism would consider the first two phases as preparatory to the third, explicitly mystical experience; but others state that these three phases overlap and intertwine.

Hesychasm
Based on Christ's injunction in the Gospel of Matthew to "go into your closet to pray", hesychasm in tradition has been the process of retiring inward by ceasing to register the senses, in order to achieve an experiential knowledge of God (see theoria).

The highest goal of the hesychast is the experiential knowledge of God. In the 14th century, the possibility of this experiential knowledge of God was challenged by a Calabrian monk, Barlaam, who, although he was formally a member of the Orthodox Church, had been trained in Western Scholastic theology. Barlaam asserted that our knowledge of God can only be propositional. The practice of the hesychasts was defended by St. Gregory Palamas.

Islam
While all Muslims believe that they are on the pathway to God and will become close to God in Paradise – after death and after the "Final Judgment" – Sufis believe that it is possible to become close to God and to experience this closeness while one is alive.

The tariqa, the 'path' on which the mystics walk, has been defined as 'the path which comes out of the Shariah, for the main road is called shar, the path, tariq.' No mystical experience can be realized if the binding injunctions of the Shariah are not followed faithfully first. The tariqa however, is narrower and more difficult to walk. It leads the adept, called salik (wayfarer), in his suluk (wandering), through different stations (maqam) until he reaches his goal, the perfect tauhid, the existential confession that God is One.

Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism practice is described in the threefold training of discipline (śīla), meditative concentration (samādhi), and transcendent wisdom (prajñā). Zen-Buddhism emphasises the sole practice of meditation, while Vajrayana Buddhism utilizes a wide variety of practices. While the main aim of meditation and prajna is to let go of attachments, it may also result in a comprehension of the Buddha-nature and the inherent lucidness of the mind.

Different varieties of religious experience are described in detail in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra. In its section on the fifty skandha-maras, each of the five skandhas has ten skandha-maras associated with it, and each skandha-mara is described in detail as a deviation from correct samādhi. These skandha-maras are also known as the "fifty skandha demons" in some English-language publications.

It is also believed that supernormal abilities are developed from meditation, which are termed "higher knowledge" (abhijñā), or "spiritual power" (ṛddhi). One early description found in the Samyutta Nikaya, which mentions abilities such as: "... he goes unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain as though through space; he dives in and out of the earth as though it were water; he walks on water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-legged, he travels in space like a bird; with his hands he touches and strokes the moon and sun so powerful and mighty; he exercises mastery with the body as far as the brahmā world."

Hinduism
Building on European philosophers, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan reduced religion "to the core experience of reality in its fundamental unity". According to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, "Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced." This emphasis on experience as validation of a religious worldview is a modern development, which started in the 19th century, and was introduced to Indian thought by western Unitarian missionaries. It has been popularized in Neo-Vedanta (also known as neo-Hinduism), which has dominated the popular understanding of Hinduism since the 19th century. It emphasizes mysticism. Swami Vivekananda presented the teachings of Neo-Vedanta as radical nondualism, unity between all religions and all persons.

Neuroscience
Early studies in the 1950s and 1960s attempted to use EEGs to study brain wave patterns correlated with spiritual states. During the 1980s Dr. Michael Persinger stimulated the temporal lobes of human subjects with a weak magnetic field. His subjects claimed to have a sensation of "an ethereal presence in the room." Some current studies use neuroimaging to localize brain regions active, or differentially active, during religious experiences. These neuroimaging studies have implicated a number of brain regions, including the limbic system, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, superior parietal lobe, and caudate nucleus. Based on the complex nature of religious experience, it is likely that they are mediated by an interaction of neural mechanisms that all add a small piece to the overall experience.

Neuroscience of religion, also known as neurotheology, biotheology or spiritual neuroscience, is the study of correlations of neural phenomena with subjective experiences of spirituality and hypotheses to explain these phenomena. Proponents of neurotheology claim that there is a neurological and evolutionary basis for subjective experiences traditionally categorized as spiritual or religious.

The neuroscience of religion takes neural correlates as the basis of cognitive functions and religious experiences. These religious experiences are thereby emergent properties of neural correlates. This approach does not necessitate exclusion of the Self, but interprets the Self as influenced or otherwise acted upon by underlying neural mechanisms. Proponents argue that religious experience can be evoked through stimulus of specific brain regions and/or can be observed through measuring increase in activity of specific brain regions.

According to the neurotheologist Andrew B. Newberg and two colleagues, neurological processes which are driven by the repetitive, rhythmic stimulation which is typical of human ritual, and which contribute to the delivery of transcendental feelings of connection to a universal unity. They posit, however, that physical stimulation alone is not sufficient to generate transcendental unitive experiences. For this to occur they say there must be a blending of the rhythmic stimulation with ideas. Once this occurs "...ritual turns a meaningful idea into a visceral experience." Moreover, they say that humans are compelled to act out myths by the biological operations of the brain due to what they call the "inbuilt tendency of the brain to turn thoughts into actions."

An alternate approach is influenced by personalism, and exists contra-parallel to the reductionist approach. It focuses on the Self as the object of interest, the same object of interest as in religion. According to Patrick McNamara, a proponent of personalism, the Self is a neural entity that controls rather than consists of the cognitive functions being processed in brain regions.

A biological basis for religious experience may exist. References to the supernatural or mythical beings first appeared approximately 40,000 years ago. A popular theory posits that dopaminergic brain systems are the evolutionary basis for human intellect and more specifically abstract reasoning. The capacity for religious thought arises from the capability to employ abstract reasoning. There is no evidence to support the theory that abstract reasoning, generally or with regard to religious thought, evolved independent of the dopaminergic axis. Religious behavior has been linked to "extrapersonal brain systems that predominate the ventromedial cortex and rely heavily on dopaminergic transmission." A biphasic effect exists with regard to activation of the dopaminergic axis and/or ventromedial cortex. While mild activation can evoke a perceived understanding of the supernatural, extreme activation can lead to delusions characteristic of psychosis. Stress can cause the depletion of 5-hydroxytryptamine, also referred to as serotonin. The ventromedial 5-HT axis is involved in peripersonal activities such as emotional arousal, social skills, and visual feedback. When 5-HT is decreased or depleted, one may become subject to "incorrect attributions of self-initiated or internally generated activity (e.g. hallucinations)."

Psychiatry and neurology
A 2011 paper suggested that psychiatric conditions associated with psychotic spectrum symptoms may be possible explanations for revelatory driven experiences and activities such as those of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Saint Paul.

Temporal lobe epilepsy has become a popular field of study due to its correlation to religious experience. Religious experiences and hyperreligiosity are often used to characterize those with temporal lobe epilepsy. Visionary religious experiences, and momentary lapses of consciousness, may point toward a diagnosis of Geschwind syndrome. More generally, the symptoms are consistent with features of temporal lobe epilepsy, not an uncommon feature in religious icons and mystics. It seems that this phenomenon is not exclusive to TLE, but can manifest in the presence of other epileptic variates as well as mania, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and schizophrenia, conditions characterized by ventromedial dopaminergic dysfunction.

Psychedelic drugs
A number of studies by Roland R. Griffiths and other researchers have concluded that high doses of psilocybin and other classic psychedelics trigger mystical experiences in most research participants. Mystical experiences have been measured by a number of psychometric scales, including the Hood Mysticism Scale, the Spiritual Transcendence Scale, and the Mystical Experience Questionnaire. The revised version of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, for example, asks participants about four dimensions of their experience, namely the "mystical" quality, positive mood such as the experience of amazement, the loss of the usual sense of time and space, and the sense that the experience cannot be adequately conveyed through words. The questions on the "mystical" quality in turn probe multiple aspects: the sense of "pure" being, the sense of unity with one's surroundings, the sense that what one experienced was real, and the sense of sacredness. Some researchers have questioned the interpretation of the results from these studies and whether the framework and terminology of mysticism are appropriate in a scientific context, while other researchers have responded to those criticisms and argued that descriptions of mystical experiences are compatible with a scientific worldview.

Integrating religious experience
Several psychologists have proposed models in which religious experiences are part of a process of transformation of the self.

Carl Jung's work on himself and his patients convinced him that life has a spiritual purpose beyond material goals. One's main task, he believed, is to discover and fulfil deep innate potential, much as the acorn contains the potential to become the oak, or the caterpillar to become the butterfly. Based on his study of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Taoism, and other traditions, Jung perceived that this journey of transformation is at the mystical heart of all religions. It is a journey to meet the self and at the same time to meet the Divine. Unlike Sigmund Freud, Jung thought spiritual experience was essential to well-being.

The notion of the numinous was an important concept in the writings of Carl Jung. Jung regarded numinous experiences as fundamental to an understanding of the individuation process because of their association with experiences of synchronicity in which the presence of archetypes is felt.

McNamara proposes that religious experiences may help in "decentering" the self, and transform it into an integral self which is closer to an ideal self.

Transpersonal psychology is a school of psychology that studies the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology describes transpersonal psychology as "the study of humanity’s highest potential, and with the recognition, understanding, and realization of unitive, spiritual, and transcendent states of consciousness". Issues considered in transpersonal psychology include spiritual self-development, peak experiences, mystical experiences, systemic trance and other metaphysical experiences of living.

Books

title: Religious experience