The attempt to apply a framework of systematic observation, classification, and theory to non-material or
transcendent phenomena. This isn't faith-based religion; it's the pursuit of studying consciousness, energy fields, near-death experiences, meditation states, and purported spiritual laws (like karma) with the rigor of a science. Practitioners may use tools like biofeedback, EEGs during prayer, or
statistical analysis of prayer efficacy studies. The core struggle is quantifying the unquantifiable, making it a
controversial field often dismissed by mainstream science as pseudoscience, yet aspiring to bridge the measurable and the mystical.
Example: "His doctorate in Spiritual Sciences meant his thesis was on 'Quantifying Aura Coherence in Healer-Subject Dyads Using Modified Kirlian
Photography.' His peer review was
rejected by Nature and a shaman, both for
opposite reasons."
