Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
May 14, 2014
Asieh Ahani, Helané Wahbeh, Hooman Nezamfar et al.
165 citations
A classifier combining EEG and respiration signals can distinguish between meditation and control conditions with 85% accuracy in older novice meditators after a 6-week mindfulness meditation intervention. Using only EEG signals achieved 78% accuracy. The classifier, based on spectral and phase analysis, may serve as an objective marker for meditation ability and could quantify meditation depth and experience in future research.
Progress in Brain Research
January 1, 2019
Tracy Brandmeyer, Arnaud Delorme, Helané Wahbeh
143 citations
Meditation research has grown substantially over the last 30 years, emerging from contemplative and spiritual traditions. This chapter reviews meditation classifications, which remain varied and subjective, and suggests broader multidimensional models for future improvement. Phenomenological studies, though few, are increasing and link subjective experience to neurophysiology. EEG oscillatory studies are inconclusive due to heterogeneity in meditation styles and practitioners. Neuroimaging reveals common patterns during meditation and in long-term practitioners, reflecting general similarities, but most patterns differ across traditions. Research on attention and emotion regulation mechanisms is discussed. Evidence shows positive benefits for stress reduction, anxiety, depression, and pain in some clinical populations, though methodological and conceptual issues remain.
PLoS One
November 7, 2018
Cassandra Vieten, Helané Wahbeh, B Rael Cahn et al.
124 citations
A survey of 1120 meditators found that most report having had anomalous and extraordinary experiences during meditation, such as mystical, transpersonal, or difficult phenomena. While meditation research has largely focused on clinical effectiveness and neural correlates, these less-studied experiences may be crucial for psychological and spiritual development, act as mediators of meditation's benefits, or be important outcomes themselves. A task force of researchers and teachers developed recommendations to expand research into these areas, which represent largely uncharted scientific terrain suitable for rigorous investigation.
Open Medicine Journal
November 28, 2014
Helané Wahbeh, Matthew N. Svalina, Barry Oken
117 citations
An online survey of 500 English-speaking adults found that participants were more interested in internet (n=356) and individual (n=384) formats of a mindfulness meditation intervention than in a group format (n=245). Internet was the first choice for 43% of participants, individual for 38%, and group for 20%; group was the last choice for 57%. Eleven percent said they would refuse a group format. Age, extraversion, and emotional stability predicted first-choice format. The authors conclude that alternative delivery formats warrant further research and implementation.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2018
Helané Wahbeh, Amira Sagher, Wallis Back et al.
103 citations
Transcendent states achieved through meditative practices have been reported across cultures and history, yet few studies have systematically examined them. This systematic review of 25 studies with 672 participants found that transcendent states during meditation are most consistently associated with slowed breathing, respiratory suspension, reduced muscle activity, increased EEG alpha power and coherence, and functional neural connectivity. Participants described the state as relaxed wakefulness in a phenomenologically different space-time. The review included various traditions: Buddhist, Christian, Mixed, and Vedic (Transcendental Meditation and Yoga). Heterogeneity between studies precluded meta-analysis, so conclusions are qualitative and preliminary.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2022
Helané Wahbeh, Dean Radin, Cedric Cannard et al.
37 citations
Consciousness remains a profound mystery. Mainstream neuroscience assumes it arises solely from brain neurons, but the origin of subjective experience (qualia) is unexplained. David Chalmers called this the 'hard problem.' This review argues the hard problem may stem from flawed materialist assumptions. It examines phenomena suggesting consciousness can extend beyond the brain and body in space and time, called non-local properties. These effects vaguely resemble quantum entanglement, but mechanisms are highly speculative. The authors suggest post-materialistic models may be needed to resolve the conceptual impasse.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2020
Helané Wahbeh, Bethany Butzer
24 citations
Trance channeling, a practice with historical roots across many cultures, is more common than often assumed. An online survey of 83 self-identified trance channelers found that most began channeling in middle age and identified as spiritual but not religious. Participants did not show pathological levels of dissociative or psychotic symptoms, anxiety, or depression. Their personality traits, absorption, and empathy were similar to norms, but they scored as sensory-processing sensitives. They reported strong noetic beliefs, including life after death and telepathy. Most described their channeling as willful and conscious, and reported a positive life impact. Lower psychotic symptoms, older age at onset, and higher sensitivity predicted greater positive impact.
F1000Research
January 1, 2019
Helané Wahbeh, Cedric Cannard, Jennifer Okonsky et al.
21 citations
In a controlled experiment with 13 healthy adult trance channels, voice recordings showed increased arousal and power differences in specific frequency bins when participants read a story in a channeling state compared to a no-channeling state. However, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, galvanic skin response, and respiration measures did not differ significantly between the two states, despite participants reporting distinct subjective experiences. The findings suggest that while voice parameters may reflect the channeling experience, other physiological measures do not capture it. Future research should explore alternative measures such as EEG connectivity, fMRI, and biomarkers.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2017
Helané Wahbeh, Lauri Shainsky, Angela Weaver et al.
13 citations
A structured shamanic healing protocol was developed and tested with six veterans (average age 49.3) who had posttraumatic stress disorder. The protocol included components such as power animal retrieval, soul retrieval, and forgiveness practices. The intervention was found feasible and acceptable, with no major adverse events reported. Preliminary data on PTSD symptoms, quality of life, and spiritual wellness were collected, but no efficacy conclusions can be drawn from this small case series. The authors suggest that future research is needed to evaluate whether shamanic healing can be an effective therapy for veterans with PTSD.
Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine
January 1, 2022
Helané Wahbeh, Garret Yount, Cassandra Vieten et al.
9 citations
People who feel more interconnected with others and nature tend to report better well-being, including more positive emotions and compassion, and less pain and sleep disturbance. In a study of adults attending personal development workshops, measures of interconnectedness were positively correlated with well-being and positive affect, and negatively correlated with sleep disturbance and pain. Extended perception tasks showed no link to interconnectedness or well-being. After workshops, participants reported improved well-being, interconnectedness, positive emotion, and compassion, and reduced sleep disturbances, negative emotion, and pain. Workshop formats involving lecture, small groups, pairs, and discussion predicted well-being improvements, as did content including meditation and technology tools. Meditation was the most consistent predictor of positive well-being changes. Conscientiousness was the only individual characteristic that predicted changes, but its effects were mixed.
Frontiers in Psychology
June 15, 2022
Helané Wahbeh, Nina Fry, Paolo Speirn
7 citations
Noetic experiences—inner wisdom or direct knowing beyond ordinary senses—are common worldwide, yet no tool existed to measure them. Through three studies with 521 participants, researchers developed and refined the Noetic Signature Inventory (NSI), a 44-item questionnaire capturing 12 distinct facets of noetic experience: Inner Knowing, Embodied Sensations, Visualizing to Access or Affect, Inner Knowing Through Touch, Healing, Knowing the Future, Physical Sensations from Other People, Knowing Yourself, Knowing Others' Minds, Apparent Communication with Non-physical Beings, Knowing Through Dreams, and Inner Voice. The NSI showed good internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and test-retest reliability, providing a standardized way to study individual differences in noetic experiences.
F1000Research
June 25, 2021
Helané Wahbeh, Nina Fry, Paolo Speirn et al.
2 citations
Noetic experiences—inner wisdom, direct knowing, or intuition—are often kept private due to cultural taboos, despite growing evidence they may be real. An online survey of 521 English-speaking adults worldwide collected demographic data and four open-ended questions about such experiences. Thematic analysis identified five main themes: Ways of Engagement, Ways of Knowing, Types of Information, Ways of Affecting, and Ways of Expressing. Common codes included sharing with others, impacting decision-making, intuition or just knowing, meditation or hypnosis, inner visions, setting intentions, healing others, writing for self, and inner voice. Future research aims to explore these themes and develop standardized evaluation methods to inform curricula and therapies.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
December 18, 2025
Helané Wahbeh, Sitara Taddeo, Beth Glick
1 citation
A structured hypnotic protocol successfully guided a 45-year-old female scientist, familiar with psi phenomena but new to trance channeling, to shift consciousness and allow communication from non-physical beings. Over six sessions in an electromagnetically shielded environment, the participant progressed from deep relaxation to out-of-body experience induction and trance channeling. The participant channeled different non-physical beings, indicating that trance channeling skills may involve both inherent capacity and learned ability. Hypnosis proved effective for guiding out-of-body experiences, which helped loosen ego control and enhance awareness. The findings suggest potential for structured training in trance channeling and highlight the need for further research linking out-of-body experiences to psi abilities, demographic factors, and brain-imaging studies.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2024
Garret Yount, Sitara Taddeo, Tadas Stumbrys et al.
1 citation
Salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a marker of autonomic nervous system activity, was measured in 20 participants with PTSD symptoms who attended a six-day workshop teaching dreamwork and lucidity techniques. Participants collected saliva immediately upon waking and 30 minutes later; healing lucid dreams were those where the dreamer attained lucidity and intended a healing experience. Among four participants with usable samples who experienced healing lucid dreams, statistical tests were not significant due to low power, though nonsignificant positive associations appeared between more healing lucid dreams and increased waking sAA slope. The results did not show a consistent effect, and larger samples with stricter saliva collection controls are needed.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
July 7, 2026
Helané Wahbeh, Beth Glick, Erik Brinsmead et al.
Thematic correspondence between trance-channeled communications attributed to extraterrestrial intelligences and a large archival ufological dataset (UFODex) was examined using semantic similarity analysis. Fifty-two channeled submissions were compared to UFODex across ten matched questions about disclosure, communication, time perception, and technology. Three transformer-based language models (MiniLM, MPNet, QA MPNet) quantified conceptual overlap, yielding average similarity scores from 0.66 to 0.88. Disclosure, psychic abilities, and time perception showed highest alignment. Channeled content emphasized vibrational readiness, ethical co-creation, and consciousness-based contact, while UFODex stressed secrecy, technological engineering, and geopolitical framing. The findings suggest value in semantic analysis for mapping conceptual structures across heterogeneous sources.
OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
January 7, 2026
Oteja Lightheart, Helané Wahbeh
An online webinar series of four weekly one-hour meditation videos for older adults with depressive symptoms showed significant improvements in self-reported depressive symptoms, pain, sleep quality, well-being, and compassion. Of 138 eligible participants, 42 completed the four-week intervention (32.6%). The study highlights promising results but notes challenges in participant retention and motivation, especially for those with depressive symptoms and older populations needing technical support.
Journal of anomalistics
July 24, 2025
James Houran, Debra Katz, J C Williamson et al.
A case study of a woman called Nell, who reported four experiences of being physically transported to other realms, was analyzed using AI-assisted content analysis and expert evaluation. The experiences were compared against explanations including kundalini awakenings, physical mediumship, bilocation, and electromagnetic field (EMF) effects. The findings aligned most strongly with EMF-related activity and, to some extent, bilocation phenomena. Post-hoc accounts from family members in the same area suggested possible environmental influences or behavioral contagion. The authors introduce a continuum model of bilocation integrating psychology, neuroscience, and parapsychology. No evidence was found that Nell physically moved, pointing instead to an interplay of boundary-thinness, altered states, and environmental factors in her anomalous cognitions.
Journal of Psychedelic Studies
April 27, 2023
Riley D. Kirk, Olivia M. Uhley, Paloma Lehfeldt et al.
A survey of 84 English-speaking adults who had used entheogens in a naturalistic therapy or retreat setting in the prior five years found that nearly all (95.5%) believed entheogen research should be conducted, and 86.9% would participate in studies lasting longer than one year. More participants were willing to join remote interviews (73.5%) than in-person surveys (64.7%), and 78% said financial compensation influenced their willingness. The findings suggest that willingness to participate is not a barrier to further entheogen research.
Journal of Anomalous Experience and Cognition
April 3, 2023
Helané Wahbeh, Arnaud Delorme, Dean Radin
A survey of 442 academic professionals found that most believe in some form of afterlife, with confidence in survival and paranormal belief strongly correlated. Women reported higher confidence and belief than men. The most persuasive proposed experiments for testing survival of consciousness were a controlled prospective study of veridical out-of-body perceptions during a near-death experience, a mediumship experiment, and a reincarnation experiment. The least persuasive was survival as computer-based artificial intelligence. The findings suggest that well-designed experiments could influence skeptics' beliefs, though academics hold a wide range of views on the topic.
Explore (New York, N.Y.)
January 1, 2023
Marie-Julia Guittier, Helané Wahbeh, Magali Eykerman et al.
A triple-blind, mixed-methods study tested whether mediums could communicate with a hypothetical prenatal consciousness during pregnancy. Eleven pregnant women participated, with three to eight mediums per woman generating over 1,500 statements. Spontaneously reported information showed 69.40% agreement with parental reports, versus 17.63% for structured questions. Agreement did not vary by number of mediums. Qualitative analysis indicated that some sessions produced verifiable communication, while others did not. The results are preliminary and suggest the possibility of interacting with prenatal consciousness, opening avenues for research into altered states.
International Journal of Yoga Therapy
November 1, 2019
Helané Wahbeh, Nina Fry
A preliminary study followed older adults with depression symptoms for 12 months after an iRest (Integrative Restoration) intervention. Twenty-five participants completed surveys at 6 and 12 months; nine still practiced guided meditations at 12 months. Both the iRest and vacation control groups showed improvements in depression scores from baseline to 12 months. No differences between groups emerged on depression symptoms or most measures, except negative mood and perceived stress improved more in the vacation group. Meditation practice did not predict depression score improvement.
International Journal of Yoga Therapy
November 1, 2019
Helané Wahbeh, Melissa Nelson
A pilot study tested whether an iRest meditation program is feasible and acceptable for older adults with depression symptoms. Thirty generally healthy adults aged 55–90 with depression symptoms were randomly assigned to a 2-day retreat of either iRest meditation training or a vacation, followed by 20 minutes of daily home practice for 6 weeks. The iRest intervention proved feasible and acceptable. Preliminary results at 6 weeks showed improvements in sleep impairment compared to the control group, with promising trends in depression symptoms and pain severity.
Medicines
November 2, 2018
Helané Wahbeh
An internet-based mindfulness meditation program improved depression, perceived stress, insomnia, and pain severity in older adults aged 55–80 compared to a waitlist control group, despite low adherence to daily home practice due to a local traumatic event. Improvements were sustained at a seven-week follow-up. The program offers a low-cost, accessible option for treating depression symptoms in this population.