Maslow has a short book that you might find interesting: Religions, Values, and Peak-Experiences. It's fairly easy to get hold of.

Eliot sometimes expresses something I "recognise" in a strange kind of way, if that makes sense...

Boy does that make sense! (Don't know if I've ever expressed the sheer delight and affinity I felt when I first saw your Eliot-infused Tolkien-inspired writing.)