Psychedelic Medicine
January 12, 2026
Kelsey T. Laird, Prabha Siddarth, Ashley Ramos et al.
Objective: Emerging evidence suggests that mystical experiences mediate the therapeutic effects of psychedelic-assisted therapy. The current study examines associations between mystical experiences and components of “set” (positive mindset, participant intentions, and spirituality) and “setting” (perceived positivity of the dosing environment) in the context of psilocybin-assisted therapy for...
Open Mind
2026
Oakley Charlotte Author, MacKenzie Matthew Advisor, Kasser Jeff Committee Member et al.
There has been a recent resurgence of both cultural and scientific interest in altered states of consciousness. Among the most puzzling and widely reported are mystical experiences—anomalous events where one’s ordinary sense of self is replaced by an overwhelming and transcendent feeling of connectedness or unity. These ‘unitive’ mystical experiences challenge many of our common intuitions...
Journal of Applied Consciousness Studies
2026
G. Raj, Hemant Bhargav
1 citation
Data from previous psychedelic trials suggests that the intensity of mystical experiences positively impacts treatment outcomes. However, not many conceptual frameworks are available to measure how this seems to be the case. According to Yogic and Buddhist philosophies, Kleshas are considered obstacles to self-realization, inner peace, and liberation. Using validated questionnaires, we accessed...
International Journal of Drug Policy
2026
Guy Simon, Nir Tadmor, Demian Halperin
2 citations
Psychedelics induce transformative experiences leading to lasting changes in attitudes and behaviour, with outcomes depending on both pharmacological factors and the context of the experience ('set and setting'), marking a paradigm shift in mental health treatment. As psychedelics transition from traditional contexts to clinical settings, tension emerges between authenticity and...
Philosophical Psychology
2026
Juensung J. Kim, Kadi Tulver, Jaan Aru et al.
1 citation
We argue that the powerful transformative effects of mystical-type experiences can be understood using the same machinery that underlies insight problem solving, and that both mystical experiences and insight are species of a genus of “realization experiences”: experiences wherein some phenomenon or piece of information becomes suddenly experienced as real or true. Specifically, we argue that...
Religions
December 22, 2025
Dana W. Sawyer
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...
Philosophical Psychology
December 16, 2025
Hüseyin Beyköylü, John Vervaeke, Daniel Meling
ABSTRACT Self-transcendent experiences (STEs) represent profound shifts in cognition and consciousness, possessing significant transformative potential. With growing scientific interest in these phenomena, we propose the cognitive continuum as a unifying framework. Grounded in enactive cognitive science and complex dynamic systems perspectives, this approach takes the embodied person, embedded...
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences
December 10, 2025
Daniel Villiger
Abstract Mystical experiences are among the most extraordinary and meaningful experiences one can have. While such experiences have been studied for more than a century, it is still an open question how the brain can produce them. The present paper provides a possible answer by examining mystical experience from the lens of the REBUS hypothesis—a theory that explains the neurocognitive...
Religions
December 4, 2025
Anderson Fabián Santos Meza
In the twenty-first century, academic approaches to mysticism often risk reducing the Mystery to an object of erudition and historical distance, as if mystical experience belonged solely to a pre-modern past. Yet, when one encounters the “natural metaphors” that emerge within mystical writings—images of rivers, gardens, fire, and wind—it becomes almost impossible to silence the invitation to...
Journal of Affective Disorders
November 18, 2025
Randi Brown, Jennifer I. Lissemore, Kenneth Shinozuka et al.
1 citation
Ibogaine is an atypical psychedelic that evokes unique subjective effects, including mystical experiences. Mystical experiences have shown a mediating effect on clinical improvements following treatment with several psychedelic substances; however, the relationship between mystical experiences and clinical outcomes following ibogaine remains unclear. We examined the association between mystical...