TERESA OF AVILA

Teresa of Avila: translation

(1515-1582)

Baptized as Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada; also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus. A Spanish Carmelite nun and mystic who experienced * ecstatic, * trance-like states, * out-of-body experiences, "visions, and *verbal auditory hallucinations which she designated as the voice of God. While retrospective diagnosis is always a delicate undertaking, it would seem to be especially so in the case of Teresa. During the 19th century her experiences were attributed mainly to * hysteria, earning her the nickname 'patron saint of hysterics'. However, her experiences have also been likened to certain stages of the LSD experience, and to * ecstatic aurae occurring in the context of temporal lobe epilepsy. The French psychiatrist Pierre Quercy, who devoted a 173-page analysis to Teresa's experiences, contends that she suffered from "oneiroid (i.e. dream-like) hallucinations of unknown cause.

Bache, C.M. (1985). A reappraisal of Teresa of Avila's supposed hysteria.Journal of Religion and Health, 24, 300-315. Quercy, P. (1930).L'hallucination. Tome 1. Philosophes. Mystiques. Paris: Librairie Félix Alcan.

St. Teresa of Avila (1961).The interior castle. Translated by Peers, E.A. New York, NY: Image Books.