Argument from Religious Experience: some basic def

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Argument from Religious Experience: some basic def.'s & distinctions

According to argument from religious experience, 2nd argument for existence of God that we're examining, fact that some people have "religious experiences" is best explained by assumption that God exists as direct cause of these experiences.

"Religious experience": experience in which 1 seems to be in immediate contact w/ deity or representative of deity

issue isn't whether they occur: are they reality or dreams/hallucinations

2 basic types
a) being absorbed, losing one's sense of separate identity
b) retaining your identity

Common Features
a) they're "perceptual" involving 1 or more "senses"; but they're "non-sensory perception." (Trueblood 133)

b) In keeping w/ above, they're usually private, & last for short time
c) charged w/ emotional content: wonderful or terrifying! They're "personal"; "tremendous, soul- stirring experiences" (135).
d) uncontrollable while they're happening, but steps can be taken to make it more likely they'll occur (ex. fasting, meditation, prayer). earliest record we have of instructions to facilitate religious experiences comes from Hinduism in 7th century BC. 1 famous 16th century medieval visionary: St. Teresa of Avila.
e) 1 feels certain that 1 has actually experienced divine. ("cognitive content) (135).

what hypothesis can be put forward to explain reports of "religious experiences"?