Religious ecstasy

Religious ecstasy is a type of altered state of consciousness characterized by greatly reduced external awareness and expanded interior mental and spiritual awareness, frequently accompanied by visions and emotional (and sometimes physical) euphoria.

Although the experience is usually brief in time, there are records of such experiences lasting several days or even more, and of recurring experiences of ecstasy during one's lifetime.

A person's sense of time and space disappear during a religious ecstasy forsaking any senses or physical cognizance in its duration. Among venerated Catholic saints who dabble in Christian mysticism, a person's physical stature, human sensory, or perception is completely detached to time and space during an ecstatic experience.

In Islamic Sufism, the experience is referred to as majzoobiyat.

Context

The adjective "religious" means that the experience occurs in connection with religious activities or is interpreted in context of a religion. Marghanita Laski writes in her study "Ecstasy in Religious and Secular Experiences," first published in 1961:

Ecstasy (Avant album)

Ecstasy is the second studio album by Avant. It includes the singles "Makin' Good Love", "Don't Say No, Just Say Yes" and "You Ain't Right". The album is Avant's biggest selling album to date with over 1.7 Million copies in the US and just over five million worldwide. The album was heavily promoted. A few months before the release Avant's son was born.

Track listing

References

Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance

Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance is a collection of three novellas by Irvine Welsh.

Stories

Lorraine Goes To Livingston

After suffering a stroke, Rebecca Navarro, a best-selling romance novelist, discovers the truth about her corrupt, pornography-loving husband. With the help of Lorraine, her sexually confused nurse, she plots her revenge.

Another nurse at the hospital, Glen, has been secretly admiring Lorraine but after a night at a club, decides to pursue her friend Yvonne instead. Meanwhile, Glen has been accepting money from Freddy Royle, a necrophiliac TV personality. The hospital trustees turn a blind eye to Freddy's nefarious pastime but have to do some fast talking when the new coroner begins asking questions.

Fortune's Always Hiding

Samantha Worthington, an angry and bitter 'Tenazedrine' (Thalidomide) victim, enlists a football hooligan, Dave, to help her seek revenge on the last man left alive who pushed the drug who caused her deformed arms, the drug's marketing director.

Charlene (song)

"Charlene" is an R&B–soul song written by American singer-songwriter Anthony Hamilton and songwriter/producer Mark Batson for Hamilton's second studio album, Comin' from Where I'm From (2003). Prior to this album that gave Hamilton his biggest breakthrough in his music career, he was signed to six different record labels, and had unsuccessful experiences. This album included one of his biggest single hits 'Charlene', which played a major role on the albums success. Released as the album's second and final single in May 2004 and produced by Batson, the song was nominated for "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" at the 2005 Grammy Awards, but lost out to Prince's "Call My Name".

"Charlene" was sampled by California rapper Murs on the song "Break Up (The OJ Song)" from his 2008 album Murs for President.

Chart performance

"Charlene" initially debuted at number twenty-one on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles in early March 2004, where it stayed for thirteen weeks. It topped the chart the week of May 1, 2004 (its ninth week on the run). The song managed to jump to the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number seventy-eight the week of June 5, 2004; it spent forty-six weeks on the chart and peaked at number three. On the Billboard Hot 100, it entered at number seventy-two the week of September 4, 2004, starting a twenty-two-week run which led to a number-nineteen peak (after staying for three weeks on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles, where it reached number three). "Charlene" remains as Hamilton's most successful single to date and is often considered his signature song

Charlene (singer)

Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo Oliver (born June 1, 1950, Hollywood, California) is an American R&B singer best known as Charlene. She is known mainly for her 1982 popular song "I've Never Been to Me."

Early recording career

She was born as Charlene Marilynn D'Angelo, which was later shortened to Charlene for her record label. In 1973, Charlene signed with Motown under the name "Charlene Duncan", and released her first (and unsuccessful) single "All That Love Went to Waste" in January 1974. Three years later, she released a second album, It Ain't Easy Comin' Down, on Motown's Prodigal label. The release was credited to Charlene, although an album issued the same month had "Charlene Duncan" printed on the spine (and was, confusingly, titled Charlene). Another 1977 album, Songs of Love, was a repackaging of her song "I've Never Been to Me", which omitted a spoken bridge. She released the single in 1977, but it had little success, reaching #97 on the pop chart.

Success of "I've Never Been to Me"