Philip T. Nicholson

Philip T. Nicholson's articles on the neural correlates of meditation and meditation-induced light visions have been published in medical journals (JOURNAL OF NEUROPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, EPILEPSIA, MEDICAL HYPOTHESES, THE JOURNAL OF SUBTLE ENERGIES AND ENERGY MEDICINE) and in academic publications (THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF VEDIC STUDIES; Leete and Firnhaber, SHAMANISM IN THE INTERDISCIPLINARY CONTEXT; Proceedings of the 7th International Conference of the International Society for Shamanistic Research, Changchun, China, 2004 [in press]; Proceedings of the 2006 Harvard-Peking University International Conference on Comparative Mythology, Beijing, China). The research originally published in those sources has been incorporated--in revised form--in a new book, MEDITATION & LIGHT VISIONS: A NEUROLOGICAL ANALYSIS (2010), available at Amazon.com. Sample chapters are available at the author's website, www.philipnicholson.com.

The author's most recent publication is a nonsectarian, research-oriented website that features realistic video animations of the predictable sequence of clear light visions induced by the practice of "empty-mind" prayer or meditation, depictions based on the author's personal experience, accompanied by descriptions of the light visions reported by mystic seers associated with many world religions and shamanic traditions. The URL for this website is www.religiousvisionsoflight.com.

The author's other writing projects encompass a wide range of subjects: an examination of ethical dilemmas facing military psychiatrists in ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY; a high school psychology text, Grace, Nicholson & Lipsett, YOUR SELF: AN INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY; dramatic filmscripts for the "Dilemmas in Legal Ethics" series commissioned by the American Bar Association; a play, "O'Neill's Last Mask," about Eugene O'Neill and the idol of his youth, German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzche, which was presented as a stage reading at the 1st Annual Conference of the International Society for Study of European Ideas in Amsterdam; videoscripts for programs used in the continuing education of physicians (sponsored by The American Cancer Society, The National Heart Lung & Blood Institute, and myriad pharmaceutical companies); and articles on the cumulative psychological impact of living and working in fast-paced, computer-driven environments ("Technostress at the Top: Work, Morale, and Self-Scrutiny," Leaders Magazine).

Mr. Nicholson was commissioned as a captain in the United States Air Force in 1971 and served for three years as a judge advocate and legal representative on the Social Actions Mobile Assistance Team based at USAF headquarters in Washington, D.C.. He holds degrees from Princeton University (B.A. cum laude in Philosophy), from Stanford Law School (J.D., with a concentration in Law & Psychiatry), and from the Harvard School of Public Health (M.S.P.H.).