This paper critiques the use of the term "mysticism" in psychedelic research, arguing its continued use is outdated and misleading. It highlights the confusion stemming from the historical context of "mysticism," particularly through the works of Walter Stace and Walter Pahnke, whose ideas have shaped the psychedelic discourse despite being flawed and largely unexamined. The paper is divided...
This article corrects an idea in psychedelic science and culture that the ancient Eleusynian Mysteries used psychedelics, as claimed by Carl Ruck and co-authors in The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries (1978), revitalized by Brian Muraresku's The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name (2020), and popularized by social media heavyweights such as Joe...
Biomedicine is insufficiently able to address “bad trips” and specifically negative entity encounters that psychedelic users regularly aver. To address the inadequacy of biomedicine to address this question, this essay proposes a turn toward other ontologies better equipped to understand these experiences and support patients. This paper presents a model/framework for contextualizing...
Contemporary research on serotonergic psychedelic compounds has been rife with references to so-called ‘mystical’ subjective effects. Several psychometric assessments have been used to assess such effects, and clinical studies have found quantitative associations between ‘mystical experiences’ and positive mental health outcomes. The nascent study of psychedelic-induced mystical experiences,...