Moving Past Mysticism in Psychedelic Science

Introduction

Earlier literature linking psychedelic experiences with mysticism has shaped much contemporary psychedelic research and clinical practice. Sanders and colleagues trace this lineage to W. T. Stace's mid‑20th century concept of a distinctive "mystical consciousness", characterised by features such as unity, timelessness, sacredness, paradoxicality and ineffability. Early researchers operationalised Stace's criteria into psychometric instruments—most notably the Mystical Experience Questionnaire, Hood's Mysticism Scale and certain dimensions of the Altered States of Consciousness Questionnaire—which have shown internal reliability and some predictive validity for therapeutic outcomes. Against this background, the authors identify a worrying gap: persistent reliance on mysticism imports theological or supernatural connotations into scientific discourse, risks creating a ‘‘black box’’ mentality that treats aspects of the psychedelic state as beyond empirical inquiry, and may bias participant responses by priming mystical interpretations. The paper sets out to argue that psychedelic science should replace mysticism as a guiding framework with demystified, secular, empirically grounded models that better link subjective reports to psychobiological mechanisms and avoid problematic public misinterpretation.