A new study found that nearly three-quarters of adults who regularly practice meditation felt that using psychedelics improved the quality.
In the research published in the journal PLoS ONE last month, 863 adults were surveyed who had meditated three or more times per week for the past 12 months. Seventy-three percent of them said that the use psychedelics benefited their meditation.
Researchers discovered that people were more likely than others to describe positive effects when they consumed psychedelics, if, for example, they used psychedelics more often, were more agreeable, or had consumed DMT in the past.
Researchers found that most people who meditated felt that psychedelic drugs had a positive effect on their meditation. They also noted that both meditation, as well as psychedelics, have gained increasing scientific and public attention. Both have the potential to provide “significant therapeutic benefits.”
Some research suggests that meditation may be aided by psychedelics.
This study, for example, cites an experiment conducted in which 39 participants were randomly assigned to receive psilocybin, or a placebo, over the course of a five day mindfulness retreat. Participants who received psilocybin reported greater ego dissolution and positive psychosocial changes afterward.
A qualitative study of written reports from people who had combined meditation and psychedelics found that most participants felt that the simultaneous use enhanced their meditation experience or psychedelic experiences, or both.
The researchers used machine learning to analyze associations between participants’ various traits and their response to the question: “Overall, do you believe that your psychedelic experience(s) have influenced the quality of your regular meditation practice?” The researchers then applied machine learning to identify associations between the participants’ traits and the response they gave to the following question: “Overall do you think that your psychedelic experiences have affected the quality of the regular meditation practice?
The participants could choose between 1 and 7, which corresponded to a strongly negative or positively influencing influence. The responses had a median of 5.49 and a standard deviation 1.24.
The study found that “weakness in psychedelics (frequency of use, lifetime/12 months) is the most common variable associated with the belief that they benefit meditation.” Setting intentions for psychedelic usage was associated with the perception of psychedelics being beneficial to meditation.
“Additionally, we found that two other variables: agreeableness (ΔR2 = .006) and exposure to N,N-DMT (ΔR2 = .005) were associated with the perception that psychedelics were beneficial to meditation practice,” it continues, “albeit more weakly than psychedelic use and setting intention.”
The associations were less significant yet still important. According to the study, factors like exposure to cannabis, higher openness levels to experiences and retreats had small, but statistically significant, positive associations.
It is important to note that the researchers did not inquire whether or not participants had used psychedelics in meditation.
The report states that “by focusing on four variables which were found to be the most significant across all approaches,” “a profile of people who perceive their use of psychedelics to benefit meditation is revealed.” These individuals may be those who see psychedelic use as a practice—one that is done regularly and intentionally. “They may be more agreeable and have been exposed to N,N DMT.
The new paper was authored by a 10-researcher team, including from the University of Wisconsin, University College London, Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospigal, University of California San Francisco and Institut für Psychotherapie Potsdam, in Germany.
According to a study published in 2023, those who performed yoga following marijuana consumption experienced increased mindfulness and mysticism. The findings indicate that environment and behavior play an important part in modifying a person’s experience.
In the conclusion of that article, “the study’s findings generally indicate that how you behave while you are experiencing cannabis effects is important.” The study found that, similar to psychedelics and a’mirroring effect of cannabis on therapeutic effects.
Another study, published last year, found that people who’d used multiple different formulations of psilocybin—including whole mushrooms, mycological extract and a lab-synthesized version—typically preferred whole mushrooms, which they describe as not only more effective but also “more alive and vibrant.”
One study, conducted in 2013, which examined the impact of psilocybin on human consciousness said that this psychedelic had the potential to “trigger significant neurological and psychosocial effects” over the course of time, influencing the evolution of our species.
Meanwhile a recent paper by Johns Hopkins University researchers on the effects of psychedelics found that—contrary to some earlier evidence—a single psilocybin experience isn’t likely to make an atheist believe in God or dispel someone’s sense of free will. However, it may inspire the belief in animals, plants and even things like robots or rocks.
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Carlosemmaskype, Apollo and other photographers provided the images.