Barnard received his PhD from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Living Consciousness: The Metaphysical Vision of Henri Bergson (State University of New York Press, 2011) and Exploring Unseen Worlds: William James and the Philosophy of Mysticism (State University of New York Press, 1997); and is coeditor of Crossing Boundaries: Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism (Seven Bridges Press, 2002). He is also the author of numerous journal articles and book chapters that primarily focus on the philosophical and psychological implications of nonordinary states of consciousness. He is currently working on a monograph of the Santo Daime religious tradition.