Drawing on her study of exceptional human experiences (EHEs), White presents the underlying assumptions of an experiential paradigm as applied to (1) the nature of the universe, (2) the nature of humans, (3) the function of humans in the universe, and (4) assumptions about human consciousness. These assumptions are presented alongside Tart's (1975) contrasting paradigms of physicalism and "spiritual psychologies." When viewed in a dynamic relationship with a self that is undergoing spiritual growth, EHEs provide an experiential component to what spiritual psychologies have taught through the ages.