> But the subject is esoteric. Peers are in short supply.
Yes, which is why individuals cannot do research alone. We need a well organized effort with proper subject recruitment so that there is a sufficient pool to investigate and all the research precautions are taken.
Modern research does not just happen casually and individually. It is a sophisticated activity with a lot of planning and organization.
The esoteric/mystical stuff always turned out to be little more than woo. So all the more reason to do "research" in a rigorous way. Individual research ends up little more than making up things. It cannot really be called "research" at all.
The "spiritual experience" is in fact rather common. Nothing esoteric about it, only the wacky explanations of it are. There is a lot of mainstream research about it that "individual researchers" just ignore.
Generally a bad idea. Usually leads to quackery, pseudoscience beliefs etc. Individuals are much worse than institutions on matters of research.