Differential relationship between meditation methods and psychotic-like and mystical experiences.
Timothy Palmer, Kenza Kadri, Eric Fakra, Jacqueline Scholl, Elsa Fouragnan
PLoS One December 5, 2024 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309357 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-registered online survey Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 613 |
| Population | Meditators |
| Topics | Meditation Mystical experience |
| Keywords | Contemplation Contemplative practices Spiritual practice Mental health Psychological effects Mental states Well-being Consciousness Altered states Mental outcomes Investigation Findings Scientific inquiry Empirical data Meditation types Meditation techniques Contemplative styles Practice variations Meditation methods |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key findings | Null-directed meditation techniques were positively correlated with psychotic-like experiences and mystical experiences, while attentional or strongly embodied techniques were negatively correlated with psychotic-like experiences. |
Abstract
Much work has investigated beneficial effects of mindfulness-based meditation methods, but less work has investigated potential risks and differences across meditation methods. We addressed this in a large pre-registered online survey including 613 mediators where we correlated participants' experience with fifty meditation techniques to psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and mystical experiences. We found a positive correlation for both PLEs and mystical experiences with techniques aiming at reducing phenomenological content ('null-directed', NDM) or classified as non-dual or less embodied. In contrast, methods aiming at achieving an enhanced cognitive state (CDM), also described as 'attentional' or strongly embodied, showed negative correlations with PLEs. Interestingly, participants' subjectively perceived that all types of meditation techniques were preventative of PLEs but less so for NDM. Participants differed in their reasons for meditating, broadly grouped into associated with spiritual exploration and associated with health. Participants who meditated for spiritual reasons were more likely to choose NDM techniques and more likely to experience PLEs. In contrast, participants who meditated for health-related reasons were more likely to choose CDM techniques. This study provides important information for meditators about the relationship of different techniques with PLEs and the moderating influences of individual traits.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on mystical experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Of Roots and Fruits: A Comparison of Psychedelic and Nonpsychedelic Mystical Experiences Self-selected participants who reported a religious, spiritual, or mystical experience | 2016 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 739 |
| Illicit Use of LSD or Psilocybin, but not MDMA or Nonpsychedelic Drugs, is Associated with Mystical Experiences in a Dose-Dependent Manner Adults recruited from the MAPS website and newsletter, most reporting use of various... | 2012 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 337 |
| Peak Experiences: Some Empirical Tests Random sample of adults in the San Francisco Bay Area | 1978 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| Peak Experience Tendencies | 1982 | Cross-sectional survey | |
| Rhythmic Chanting and Mystical States across Traditions. Regular chanters across 33 countries | 2021 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 464 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Intense Meditation-Related Experiences (IMREs) and Perceived Impacts on Self and Worldview: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Mindfulness May 19, 2026
- Does Psychological Flexibility Correlate with Mystical Experiences: A Machine Learning Approach Including State of Surrender, Near-Death Experiences, and Psilocybin Consumption. Behavioral Sciences April 30, 2026
- From flow to mystical experiences: Connecting entropy and fluency along the unifying framework of cognitive continuum Philosophical Psychology December 16, 2025
Cites 33
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- The Varieties of Self-Transcendent Experience Review of General Psychology May 1, 2017
- Validation of the revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin Journal of Psychopharmacology October 6, 2015
- The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists PLoS One May 24, 2017
- Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2013
and 28 more in the library