Mystical Experience Under the Magnifying Glass

A Terminological Study of the Psychedelic Science Lexicon

Abstract

In recent decades, psychedelic science has gained attention in media and the public due to breakthrough discoveries regarding the efficacy of psychoactive compounds like magic mushrooms (psilocybin), LSD (lysergic acid), and DMT (endogenous dimethyltryptamine) to treat mental health conditions (Carhart-Harris & Friston, 2019). According to Johnson et al. (2014), in many cases, the high rate of success, more than 70% in the treatment of disorders like major depression, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or tobacco addiction, owes its efficacy to mystical experiences induced by high doses of classic psychedelics. However, the characterization of fundamental traits of mystical experiences needs to be further clarified because most clinical trials make use of psychometric scales that lack a formal definition of concepts like ineffability, paradoxicality, sacredness, noetic quality, universal connectedness, among other terms. Therefore, the following article aims at exploring terminological concepts employed by psychedelic research to refer to psychedelic-induced mystical experiences. Thus, this investigation draws on terminological extraction techniques to illustrate context-based meaning of specialized concepts. Results show a significant qualitative agreement in terminology across multiple contemporary specialize sources in concept relate to phenomenological traits of substance-induced mystical experiences.