Entheogenic Experience and Spirituality
Johnstad, P. G.
This study analyzed survey data (n=319) of those who indicated they had a spiritual experience (a less intense version of mystical experience). Two different parts of spiritual experience were identified as 1) mythical-type and 2) those concerning insight, positive feelings, improved connections to people and nature.
Abstract
Spiritual experiences with entheogens have usually been studied as a form of mystical experiences. However, entheogen users have also reported less intense experiences that they refer to as spiritual experiences. Using data from the Cannabis and Psychedelics User Survey, this study analyzed the characteristics of such experiences in 319 participants. It found evidence of two types of entheogenic experience that may be called spiritual. The first involved mystical-type characteristics and was predicted in multivariate linear regression models by the spirituality of the participants, operationalized as a spiritual affiliation, motivation, and practice. The second type involved characteristics representing insight, positive feelings, and improved connections to other people and to nature. This type of entheogenic experience was predicted by spiritual motivation, but not by spiritual affiliation or practices. The article discusses the implications of these findings, which may indicate competing conceptualizations of spirituality among the participants in the study.