Spiritual benefit from cannabis is reported by two-thirds of a large online sample, with only 5.5% finding it a spiritual hindrance. Those who experienced spiritual benefit were distinguished from those who did not primarily by expansiveness motivation, non-theistic daily spiritual experience, meditation frequency, and certain mindfulness facets. The majority (63%) showed no cannabis use disorder; this non-disordered group was older and scored lower on experiential avoidance, psychological distress, and several motives for use. Spiritual motives for cannabis appear widespread among contemporary adults.
During Transcendental Meditation, practitioners show a mix of steady responsiveness and lack of responsiveness to external sounds. This study compared 17 TM meditators with 17 non-meditators on their reactions to repeated 80dB tones, measuring brainwave changes, skin conductance, and heart rate. No meaningful differences appeared between the groups in how quickly they stopped reacting to the tones in terms of brainwaves or skin conductance. Neither group's heart rate response diminished over time. Non-meditators had more variable and accelerating heart reactions. The findings suggest that heart rate patterns may be a useful way to study meditation.