Allowing Similarities: Using Aldous Huxley’s Views on Mystical Experience to Assess the Import of Profound Unitive Experiences Occasioned by Psychedelic Substances

Abstract

For more than four decades, the emphasis in the academic study of world religions has been on differences over similarities, and comparative analyses allowing for commonalities have become increasingly rare. This article argues that similarities nonetheless exist and should be studied. After disclaiming the judgment of other scholars that Aldous Huxley attempted to describe the “core” or “essence” of mystical experience, the article continues with a description of Huxley’s unitive mystical experience as simply a thread running across the traditions, evidenced by the fact that it is often found in both the primary and secondary literature of mysticism. The essay then goes on to cite descriptions of unitive experiences in research studies with psychedelics. Given that these experiences regularly occur with psilocybin and other drugs, as studies show, the article argues that the use of psychedelics is currently providing a rich source of experiential reports from which scholars of mysticism may glean insights. Furthermore, based on the views of Huxley, and supported by the reports of Roland Griffiths, Jussi Jylkka, David Yaden, William Richards, Julie Holland and others, the article speculates about the possible benefits of unitive mystical experiences triggered by psychedelics for both the individual and society.