LSD, madness and healing: Mystical experiences as possible link between psychosis model and therapy model.

BACKGROUND: For a century, psychedelics have been investigated as models of psychosis for demonstrating phenomenological similarities with psychotic experiences and as therapeutic models for treating depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. This study sought to explore this paradoxical relationship connecting key parameters of the psychotic experience, psychotherapy, and psychedelic experience. METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 24 healthy volunteers received 50 µg d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or inactive placebo. Psychotic experience was assessed by aberrant salience (Aberrant Salience Inventory, ASI), therapeutic potential by suggestibility (Creative Imagination Scale, CIS) and mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ; Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, MAAS; Experiences Questionnaire, EQ), and psychedelic experience by four questionnaires (Altered State of Consciousness Questionnaire, ASC; Mystical Experiences Questionnaire, MEQ; Challenging Experiences Questionnaire, CEQ; Ego-Dissolution Inventory, EDI). Relationships between LSD-induced effects were examined. RESULTS: LSD induced psychedelic experiences, including alteration of consciousness, mystical experiences, ego-dissolution, and mildly challenging experiences, increased aberrant salience and suggestibility, but not mindfulness. LSD-induced aberrant salience correlated highly with complex imagery, mystical experiences, and ego-dissolution. LSD-induced suggestibility correlated with no other effects. Individual mindfulness changes correlated with aspects of aberrant salience and psychedelic experience. CONCLUSIONS: The LSD state resembles a psychotic experience and offers a tool for healing. The link between psychosis model and therapeutic model seems to lie in mystical experiences. The results point to the importance of meaning attribution for the LSD psychosis model and indicate that psychedelic-assisted therapy might benefit from therapeutic suggestions fostering mystical experiences.

The influence of ceremonial settings on mystical and challenging experiences occasioned by ayahuasca: A survey among ritualistic and religious ayahuasca users.

Recent studies have recognized the importance of non-pharmacological factors such as setting to induce or promote mystical experiences or challenging experiences among ayahuasca users. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the setting in which ayahuasca is consumed and the intensity of mystical and challenging experiences considering three ayahuasca using traditions (União do Vegetal, Santo Daime and neo-shamanic groups). A cross-sectional analysis was performed on survey data collected online from 2,751 participants. The Setting Questionnaire for the Ayahuasca Experience (SQAE) was used to evaluate six dimensions of the setting characteristics. The Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) and the Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) were used to quantify the psychedelic experience. Ratings on every SQAE setting dimension were negatively correlated with ratings of the CEQ (r values between 0.21 and 0.36) for all ayahuasca using traditions. Regression analysis revealed that ratings on four SQAE dimensions (Social, Comfort, Infrastructure and Decoration) explained 41% of the variance in CEQ ratings. Associations between SQAE and MEQ ratings were relatively weak and confined to the dimensions Leadership and Comfort, explaining 14% of the variance in MEQ ratings. Ratings of Social context were higher among members of União do Vegetal compared to Santo Daime and neo-shamanic members. Ratings of Infrastructure, Comfort and Decoration were more consistently correlated with MEQ in the neoshamanic tradition compared to the other traditions. This study shows that the setting is an important moderator of a challenging experience under ayahuasca. Maximizing the quality of the setting in which ayahuasca is taken will reduce the chance of a challenging experience while contributing positively to a mystical experience. The present findings can be considered when designing rituals and the (social) environment of ayahuasca ceremonies, and indicate that the SQAE questionnaire can be employed to monitor the influence of ceremonial settings on the ayahuasca experience.

Ayahuasca and tobacco smoking cessation: results from an online survey in Brazil.

RATIONALE: Smoking-related disease is a major problem globally. Effective smoking cessation treatments are however limited. Increasing evidence suggests that psychedelics have potential as treatments for substance use disorders and may therefore prove an option in aiding smoking cessation. OBJECTIVES: To establish which factors predict smoking cessation in people who reported quitting or reducing smoking following ayahuasca consumption. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional mixed-method study (quantitative and qualitative design) was undertaken using data from an online survey evaluating peoples' experiences before and after drinking ayahuasca. Multivariate logistic regression was performed with smoking condition (cessation or reduction/relapse) as a dependent variable and demographics, smoking, ayahuasca-related variables and the mystical experience (MEQ30) as predicting factors. RESULTS: A total of 441 responses were grouped according to self-reported smoking status: cessation (n = 305) or reduction/relapse (n = 136) smoking. Logistic regression showed that mystical experience (OR: 1.03; 95% CI [1.00-1.05]) and frequency of ayahuasca intake (OR: 2.16[1.00-4.70]) were protective factors, while positive mood (measured by the MEQ30) during the ayahuasca experience was a risk factor (OR: 0.91[0.85-0.97]). Qualitative thematic analysis identified eight themes (e.g. acquired awareness, spiritual experience, increased motivation) related to the ayahuasca experience and the process of smoking cessation/reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that ayahuasca could be used as a potential tool for smoking cessation, and that effects may be mediated by mystical experience. Given the current burden of smoking-related disease and the limited treatment options, studies are needed to investigate the efficacy of psychedelics in smoking cessation.

Baseline Power of Theta Oscillations Predicts Mystical-Type Experiences Induced by DMT in a Natural Setting.

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a classic psychedelic capable of inducing short-lasting but profound changes in consciousness. As with other psychedelics, the experience induced by DMT strongly depends upon contextual factors, yet the neurobiological determinants of this variability remain unknown. The present study investigated changes in neural oscillations elicited by inhaled DMT, and whether baseline electroencephalography (EEG) recordings could predict the subjective effects reported by the participants. Healthy volunteers (N = 35) were measured with EEG before and during the acute effects of DMT consumed in a natural setting. Source-localized neural oscillations were correlated with the results of multiple questionnaires employed to assess the subjective effects of the drug. DMT resulted in a marked reduction of alpha and beta oscillations, and increased posterior spectral power in the delta, theta and gamma bands. The power of fronto-temporal theta oscillations was inversely correlated with scales indexing feelings of unity and transcendence, which are an integral part of the phenomenology of mystical-type experiences. The robustness of these results was supported using a machine learning model for regression trained and tested following a cross-validation procedure. These results are consistent with the observation that the state of mind prior to consuming a psychedelic drug influences the ensuing subjective experience of the user. They also suggest that baseline EEG screenings before administration of a serotonergic psychedelic could be useful to estimate the likelihood of inducing mystical-type experiences, previously linked to sustained positive effects in well-being and improved outcome of therapeutic interventions.

Modulatory effects of ayahuasca on personality structure in a traditional framework.

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant brew containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). It originates from the Amazon basin, where it is used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Ayahuasca tourists are now entering certain communities seeking alternative physical or psychological healing, as well as spiritual growth. RATIONALE: Recent evidence has shown that the similar acting psychedelic compound, psilocybin, facilitated long-term increases in trait openness following a single administration. OBJECTIVES: This paper assesses the impact of ayahuasca on personality in a traditional framework catering for ayahuasca tourists. METHOD: Within a mixed design, we examined the effect of ayahuasca on participants' personality (measured by the NEO Personality Inventory 3 questionnaire) across time (pre- to post-ayahuasca administration, and 6-month follow-up), relative to a comparison group (who did not ingest ayahuasca). RESULTS: The results demonstrated significant increases in agreeableness pre- and post-ayahuasca administration and significant reductions in neuroticism in 24 participants, relative to the comparison group. Both of these changes were sustained at 6-month follow-up, and trait level increases were also observed in openness at this stage. Additionally, greater perceived mystical experience (measured using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire 30) was associated with increased reductions in neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, which indicate a positive mediating effect of ayahuasca on personality, support the growing literature suggesting potential therapeutic avenues for serotonergic psychedelics.

Lacan e a experiência mística à luz da psicanálise / Lacan and the mystical experience in the light of psychoanalysis / Lacan et l'expérience mystique à la lumière de la psychanalyse / Lacan y la experiencia mística a la luz del psicoanálisis

O presente artigo apresenta como Jacques Lacan inaugura uma nova maneira de abordar a experiência mística à luz da psicanálise. Contrapondo-se a tendências no campo da psicologia, da psiquiatria e da psicanálise de patologizar esse fenômeno, reduzindo-o à sintomatologia histérica ou psicótica, o mestre francês aproximou o percurso do analista daquele empreendido pelo místico, traçando uma íntima conexão entre o fim da análise e a conquista de uma abertura para o campo do feminino. Nas trilhas abertas por esse autor, propomos diferenciar as noções de gozo Outro e gozo do Outro, indicando elementos para um diagnóstico diferencial entre experiência mística (marcada pela dessubjetivação) e surto psicótico (marcado pelo aniquilamento subjetivo).

This paper describes in what way Jacques Lacan opens a new path to approach the mystical experience in the light of psychoanalysis. The French master compares the path of the analyst to the one undertaken by the mystic and thus goes against the trends in the fields of psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis that pathologized this phenomenon at that time and reduced it to hysterical or psychotic symptomatology. Lacan also draws an intimate connection between the goal of the analysis and the achievement of an opening to the feminine field. Following the path suggested by this author, we suggest distinguishing the notions of Other jouissance and jouissance of the Other, providing elements for a differential diagnosis between mystical experience (marked by desubjectification) and psychotic outbreak (marked by subjective annihilation).

Cet article présente la façon par laquelle Jacques Lacan inaugure une nouvelle façon d'aborder l'expérience mystique à la lumière de la psychanalyse. Contrairement aux tendances du domaine de la psychologie, de la psychiatrie et de la psychanalyse qui pathologise ce phénomène, le réduisant à une symptomatologie hystérique ou psychotique, le maître français rapproche le parcours de l'analyste à celui du mystique, établissant un lien intime entre le but de l'analyse et la conquête d'une ouverture au champ du féminin. Suivant la ligne établie par cet auteur, nous proposons de différencier les notions de jouissance Autre et jouissance de l'Autre, indiquant des éléments qui permettent d'établir un diagnostic différentiel entre l'expérience mystique (marquée par la désubjectivation) et le déclenchement psychotique (marqué par l'annihilation subjective).

El presente artículo presenta la forma en la que Jacques Lacan inaugura una nueva manera de abordar la experiencia mística a la luz del psicoanálisis. En contraste con las tendencias en el campo de la psicología, de la psiquiatría y del psicoanálisis de patologizar este fenómeno, reduciéndolo a la sintomatología histérica o psicótica, el maestro francés acerca el recorrido del analista a aquel emprendido por el místico, trazando una íntima conexión entre el fin del análisis y la conquista de una apertura hacia el campo de lo femenino. En los caminos abiertos por este autor, proponemos diferenciar las nociones de goce Otro y goce del Otro, enseñando elementos para un diagnóstico diferencial entre experiencia mística (marcada por la desubjetivación) y brote psicótico (marcado por el aniquilamiento subjetivo).

Dieser Artikel beschreibt wie Jacques Lacan einen neuen Ansatz entwickelt, um die mystische Erfahrung im Licht der Psychoanalyse anzugehen. Er verwirft die damals in der Psychologie, Psychiatrie und Psychoanalyse bestehenden Tendenzen, die dieses Phänomen pathologisieren und auf eine hysterische oder psychotische Symptomatologie beschränken und nähert die Vorgehensweise des Analytikers an die des Mystikers an, wobei er eine enge Verbindung zwischen dem Ziel der Analyse und dem Erreichen einer Öffnung des Weiblichen Feldes herstellt. In Übereinstimmung mit der von diesem Autor entwickelten Linie schlagen wir vor, die Begriffe „Anderes Genießen" und „Genießen des Anderen" zu unterscheiden und bieten Elemente an, die zur Erstellung einer Diagnose beitragen, welche zwischen der (von der Entsubjektivierung geprägten) mystischen Erfahrung und dem (von der subjektiven Annihilation geprägten) psychotischen Ausbruch unterscheidet.

Intensity of Mystical Experiences Occasioned by 5-MeO-DMT and Comparison With a Prior Psilocybin Study.

5-MeO-DMT is a psychoactive substance found in high concentrations in the bufotoxin of the Colorado River Toad (Bufo alvarius). Emerging evidence suggests that vaporized 5-MeO-DMT may occasion mystical experiences of comparable intensity to those occasioned by more widely studied psychedelics such as psilocybin, but no empirical study has tested this hypothesis. Data was obtained from 20 individuals (M age = 38.9, ± 10.7; male = 55%, Caucasian = 85%) who were administered 5-MeO-DMT as part of a psychospiritual retreat program in Mexico. All participants received 50 mg of inhaled vaporized toad bufotoxin which contains 5-MeO-DMT and completed the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) approximately 4-6 h after their session. Administration of 5-MeO-DMT occasioned strong mystical experiences (MEQ30 Overall M intensity = 4.17, ± 0.64, range 0-5) and the majority (n = 15, 75%) had "a complete mystical experience" (≥60% on all MEQ30 subscales). Compared to a prior laboratory-based psilocybin study, there were no differences in the intensity of mystical effects between 5-MeO-DMT and a high dose (30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin, but the intensity of mystical effects was significantly higher in the 5-MeO-DMT sample compared to moderate/high dose (20 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin (MEQ30 Total Score: p = 0.02, d = 0.81). Administration of vaporized 5-MeO-DMT reliably occasioned complete mystical experiences in 75% of individuals and was similar in intensity to high dose psilocybin administered in a laboratory setting. The short duration of action may be advantageous for clinical interventions and for studying mystical-type experiences.

Interpretação fenomenológica do poema "noite escura" de João da Cruz / Phenomenological interpretation of the Poema "The Dark Night" of John of the Cross / Interpretación fenomenológica del Poema "Noche Oscura" de Juan de la Cruz

Este artigo tem por escopo expor, analisar e interpretar, a partir do método fenomenológico, a obra Noite escura (Noche oscura), do místico cristão João da Cruz (1542-1591). Busca-se um aprofundamento no texto-base, bem como de comentadores especializados. O horizonte fenomenológico é demarcado pelas anotações heideggerianas sob o título "Os fundamentos filosóficos da mística medieval", datadas de 1918/1919, e publicados no volume 60 da Obra completa pelo título Fenomenologia da vida religiosa. A interpretação aqui realizada permite discernir em que medida o símbolo "noite escura" pode ser comunicado e entendido pelo homem religioso e pelo homem não-religioso, uma vez que Noite escura refere-se a um estado muito particular de experiência mística, o qual conduz à divina união de amor com Deus.

This article aims to expose, analyze and interpret, from the phenomenological method, the work Dark Night (Noche oscura), by the Christian mystic John of the Cross (1542-1591). We look for a deepening in the base text, as well as of specialized commentators. The phenomenological horizon is demarcated by the Heideggerian notes under the title "The Philosophical Foundations of Medieval Mysticism", dated 1918/1919, and published in volume 60 of the Complete Work by the title Phenomenology of religious life. The interpretation here makes it possible to discern to what extent the symbol "dark night" can be communicated and understood by religious man and non-religious man, since Dark Night refers to a very particular state of mystical experience, which leads to the divine union of love with God.

Este artículo tiene por objeto exponer, analizar e interpretar, a partir del método fenomenológico, la obra Noche oscura, del místico cristiano Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591). Se busca una profundización en el texto base, así como de comentaristas especializados. El horizonte fenomenológico es demarcado por las anotaciones heideggerianas bajo el título "Los fundamentos filosóficos de la mística medieval", datados de 1918/1919, y publicados en el volumen 60 de la Obra completa por el título Fenomenología de la vida religiosa. La interpretación aquí realizada permite discernir en qué medida el símbolo "noche oscura" puede ser comunicado y entendido por el hombre religioso y el hombre no religioso, ya que la noche oscura se refiere a un estado muy particular de experiencia mística, a la divina unión de amor con Dios.

Translation and cultural adaptation of the States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SOCQ) and statistical validation of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30) in Brazilian Portuguese

Abstract Background The States of Consciousness Questionnaire (SOCQ) was developed to assess the occurrence features of the change in consciousness induced by psilocybin, and includes the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ), developed to assess the ocurrence of mystical experiences in altered states of consciousness. Objective To translate the SOCQ to Brazilian Portuguese and validate the 30-item MEQ. Methods The SOCQ was translated to Brazilian Portuguese and backtranslated into English. The two English versions were compared and differences corrected, resulting in a Brazilian translation. Using an internet-survey, 1504 Portuguese-speaking subjects answered the translated version of the SOCQ. The 4-factor version of MEQ30 was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. Results A Brazilian Portuguese version of the SOCQ was made available. Goodness-of-fit indexes indicated that data met the factorial structure proposed for the English MEQ30. Factors presented excellent to acceptable reliability according to Cronbach’s alpha: mystical (0.95); positive mood (0.71); transcendence of time/space (0.83); and ineffability (0.81). Discussion The Brazilian Portuguese version of the MEQ30 is validated and it fits in the factorial structure performed on the original English version. The SOCQ is also available to the Brazilian Portuguese speaking population, allowing studies in different languages to be conducted and compared systematically.

Problemas en la clarificación del concepto de conciencia / Problems in the Clarification of the Concept of Consciousness

Esta es una investigación de naturaleza teórica que se propone dar cuenta de las diferentes maneras en las que se ha conceptualizado la conciencia. A lo largo del texto se muestra cómo esta emerge como un tema fundamental en la exploración de la vida mental humana. Se exhiben las distintas aproximaciones a la conciencia desde los modelos fisicalistas y computacionales, y se procede a argumentar en contra de los inconvenientes de concebir la conciencia como una cuestión de atención y vigilia. Finalmente, se plantea la necesidad de recuperar el valor de la experiencia subjetiva, en la medida en que facilita la compresión de problemas como la identidad y los fenómenos místicos que desbordan los límites de una conceptualización atencional de la conciencia.

This is a piece of theoretical research that means to give an account of the different ways in which conscience has been conceptualized. Throughout the text, conscience emerges as a fundamental topic in the exploration of human mental life. Different approaches to conscience from physicalism and computationalism are portrayed; and the conception of conscience as a matter of attention and wakefulness is argued against. Finally, the need to regain the value of our subjective experience, in that it facilitates the understanding of problems of identity and of mystical phenomena that go beyond the limits of what an attentional approach to conscience can grasp.

Enamoramiento, feminidad y experiencia mística: a propósito del Cántico espiritual de San Juan de la Cruz / Falling in love, femininity and mystical experience: about the spiritual song of San Juan de la Cruz

El enamorado sigue siendo visto hoy por el sentido común racional y aún por muchos estudiosos del alma, cándidamente positivistas, con la misma condescendencia burlona que los médicos del siglo XIX miraban a las histéricas. Quizá no sea gratuito que la posición generalizada hacia el enamoramiento se asemeje a la actitud frente a la locura y otros estados anormales del alma que nos confrontan con verdades inquietantes de la condición humana.

The lover continues to be seen today by rational common sense and even by many candidly positivist students of the soul, with the same mocking condescension that nineteenth-century doctors looked at hysterics. It may not be free that the generalized position towards falling in love resembles the attitude towards madness and other abnormal states of the soul that confront us with disturbing truths of the human condition.