The European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism has put together a panel for the next American Academy of Religion meeting (which takes place in Atlanta) on the topic of “Western Esotericism and Cognition”. The details made available in the online program are pasted below:

P20-218
European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism
Theme: Western Esotericism and Cognition
Friday – 3:30 PM-6:30 PM

The purpose of this ESSWE meeting is to explore how modern developments in cognitive studies could be made relevant to the study of Western Esotericism, for instance in view of the role of alterations of consciousness as facilitators of “gnosis,” practices of imaginations/visualization, meditation, and so on.

Leonard George, Capilano University
A Biopsychological Perspective on Theurgical Ecstasy

John MacMurphy, University of Amsterdam
Oneiropoiesis in Ecstatic Kabbalah

Simon Magus, University of Exeter
Austin Osman Spare and the Conquest of the Imaginal

Massimo Introvigne, Center for Studies on New Religions, Turin, Italy
Visualization, Scientology, and the Arts

Egil Asprem, University of California, Santa Barbara
A Theoretical Framework for the Generation of Experiential Knowledge

Adam Klin-Oron, Van Leer Institute
Channeled Consciousness