Psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin and ketamine are returning to clinical research and intervention across several disorders including the treatment of depression. This chapter focusses on psychedelics that specifically target the 5-HT2A receptor such as psilocybin and DMT. These produce plasma-concentration related psychological effects such as hallucinations and out of body experiences,...
Abstract Mystical-like states of consciousness may arise through means such as psychedelic substances, but may also occur unexpectedly during near-death experiences (NDEs). So far, research studies comparing experiences induced by serotonergic psychedelics and NDEs, along with their enduring effects, have employed between-subject designs, limiting direct comparisons. We present results from an...
Psychedelic-assisted therapy studies suggest that the induction of "mystical experiences" combined with psycho-therapy is a possible intervention for psychiatric illness. Advanced meditation may induce powerful experiences comparable to psychedelics. We investigated effects of an intensive meditation practice called Fire Kasina. Six individuals completed a retreat, and participated in an...
This research aims to analyze the perspective of Spiritual Atheism. Philosophically, Spiritual Atheism is grounded in the epistemological framework of empiricism-saintism and the ontological framework of materialism. Its view on spirituality is based on the theory of mind-brain identity and atheistic mystical experiences. The thought framework and arguments of Spiritual Atheism are assessed to...
The definitive overview of this transformative breathwork. In the second edition of this classic text, Stanislav Grof and Christina Grof describe their groundbreaking form of self-exploration and psychotherapy: holotropic breathwork. Holotropic means "moving toward wholeness," from the Greek holos (whole) and trepein (moving in the direction of). The breathwork utilizes the remarkable healing...
Stanislav Grof i jego koncepcje niemal nieznane w Polsce, na świecie cieszą się sporą, choć niejednoznaczną, sławą. Jako jeden z pionierów psychologii prenatalnej, a równocześnie współtwórca psychologii transpersonalnej, lekarz, psychiatra i terapeuta, łączy on w swoich teoriach elementy biograficzne z mistycznymi i transpersonalnymi. Niniejszy artykuł stanowi próbę przybliżenia stworzonej...
Spiritual experiences and the attainment of enlightment had been a favorite subject and spiritual need of humanities since day first. This article examines the experiences and core beliefs of mysticism in semitic religions in narrative and analytical style. Man goes to great lengths to gain power and success in social affairs, but the other side of the picture is that, arrangements for the...
In medieval India, the desire for “the unity of Brahman and Self” was present in the Vedānta tradition of Hinduism. Adi Śaṅkara, the master of Vedānta philosophy, proposed the six-fold sādhana: mind control, sense control, mental tranquility, endurance, potential faith, and concentration. These six-fold practices can help Vedānta followers realize unity with Brahman. In medieval Christianity,...
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Novoselov belongs to the cultural figures of Russia, whose inquisitive mind, towards the end of the 19th century, sought new meanings in personal and social life amidst the historical and cultural modernization of Russia and later affirmed these meanings within Christianity at the beginning of the 20th century. From a young age, Mikhail Novoselov was acquainted with Leo...
Abstract Objective Can machine learning (ML) enable data‐driven discovery of how changes in sentiment correlate with different psychoactive experiences? We investigate by training models directly on text testimonials from a diverse 52‐drug pharmacopeia. Methods Using large language models (i.e. BERT) and 11,816 publicly‐available testimonials, we predicted 28‐dimensions of sentiment across each...