Meditation Practices Linked to Altered States of Consciousness

IS THAT GOOD OR BAD? –

May 21, 2024 – The popularity of meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and similar practices has surged due to their potential health benefits. However, the experiences and effects of these practices, particularly the altered states of consciousness they can induce, remain underexplored. To achieve this, they developed a detailed questionnaire in collaboration with a team of experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, meditation, and survey design. The survey was designed to capture the diverse range of experiences associated with these practices and their impact on well-being.

he study involved 3,135 adults from the United States and the United Kingdom. Participants were recruited through online platforms, including Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Qualtrics, a commercial survey panel. An additional group was drawn from subscribers to a popular Rationalist blog. This mixed-methods approach ensured a broad and diverse sample, covering various demographic backgrounds.

The questionnaire was crafted to elicit detailed information about participants’ experiences with altered states of consciousness. The researchers included questions about specific phenomena such as derealization (a sense of detachment from one’s environment), unitive experiences (a sense of unity or “oneness”), ecstatic thrills, vivid perceptions, changes in perceived size, sensations of bodily heat or electricity, out-of-body experiences, and the perception of non-physical lights.