Classic Psychedelic Use and Current Meditation Practice

Previous research has suggested potential synergies between classic psychedelics and meditation practice, and has identified acute phenomenological features of psychedelic experiences—commonly labelled "ego dissolution" (reduced self-focus) and psychological insight (realizations about relationships, personality, or behaviour)—as relevant to mental health outcomes. Prior cross-sectional work found that greater ego dissolution during respondents' most intense classic psychedelic experience was associated with having tried meditation, lower perceived barriers to meditation among meditators, and a more frequent meditation practice. That earlier work did not, however, examine psychological insight as a predictor of meditation practice despite prior links between insight and other health behaviours such as diet and exercise. Simonsson and colleagues set out to examine associations between classic psychedelic experiences and current engagement with two common meditation practices: mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness/compassion meditation. Using a large, nationally stratified US sample, the study tested the hypothesis that greater psychological insight during an individual's most insightful classic psychedelic experience would be associated with more frequent current mindfulness and loving-kindness/compassion practice. An exploratory analysis compared the relative strength of psychological insight and ego dissolution as predictors of meditation practice.

This was a retrospective, population-based observational study conducted in October 2021. The investigators recruited 2,822 US adults aged 18 or older via Prolific Academic, using that platform's representativeness function to stratify the sample by sex, age, and ethnicity to reflect the US adult population. Sample size planning with G*Power targeted approximately 2,800 participants to obtain sufficient numbers of lifetime classic psychedelic users; the authors expected about 14% prevalence but ultimately had 613 respondents who reported lifetime classic psychedelic use. Study procedures were approved by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Institutional Review Board and participants received US$2.20 for completing the survey. Respondents reported demographic characteristics (age, gender, educational attainment), lifetime use of cocaine, and alcohol-related risk behaviour measured with the 3-item AUDIT-Concise. Classic psychedelic use was assessed by asking whether participants had ever used any of the following: DMT, ayahuasca, LSD, mescaline, peyote, San Pedro, or psilocybin. Participants endorsing any of these agents were coded as lifetime classic psychedelic users (yes/no). Those reporting lifetime use (n = 613) completed two psychometric measures adapted to refer to their most relevant psychedelic episode: the Psychological Insight Questionnaire (23 items, 6-point scale, averaged to a total score; internal consistency Cronbach's α = 0.98) and the Ego Dissolution Inventory (8 items, 0–100 scale, averaged; Cronbach's α = 0.91). The instruction for the insight measure referred to the most insightful experience, whereas the ego-dissolution measure referred to the most intense experience. Meditation variables were self-reported. All respondents indicated whether they had ever tried meditation; those who had were asked separately about mindfulness meditation (examples provided, e.g., Vipassana, MBSR) and loving-kindness/compassion meditation (examples provided, e.g., Metta, CCT). For each type, participants estimated average days per week over the past 30 days they practised (0–7), with no experience coded as 0. To test associations, the authors fitted linear regression models with lifetime classic psychedelic use (binary), psychological insight (z-scored), and ego dissolution (z-scored) as independent variables and current meditation frequency as dependent variables. All models adjusted for age, gender, educational attainment, lifetime cocaine use, and problematic alcohol use.

The sample comprised 2,822 respondents, of whom 613 reported lifetime classic psychedelic use. Both psychometric scales administered to lifetime users showed excellent internal consistency (Psychological Insight Questionnaire α = 0.98; Ego Dissolution Inventory α = 0.91). In covariate-adjusted linear regression models, lifetime classic psychedelic use was associated with a higher frequency of current mindfulness meditation practice but was not associated with current loving-kindness or compassion meditation practice. Greater psychological insight during respondents' most insightful classic psychedelic experience was associated with a higher frequency of both current mindfulness meditation practice and current loving-kindness/compassion practice. Greater ego dissolution during respondents' most intense classic psychedelic experience was also associated with a higher frequency of both meditation types when modelled separately. Notably, when psychological insight and ego dissolution were entered simultaneously into the same regression model, only greater psychological insight remained significantly associated with higher frequency of both mindfulness and loving-kindness/compassion practice. The authors report these joint-model effects as moderate in size. Analyses were adjusted for the pre-specified covariates; exact regression coefficients, confidence intervals and p-values are reported in the study tables (not reproduced in the extracted text).

The investigators interpret the findings as consistent with the idea that classic psychedelic experiences may positively influence the cultivation and maintenance of regular meditation practice, with psychological insight emerging as a stronger predictor of current practice frequency than ego dissolution. They suggest that if a causal relationship exists, classic psychedelics could increase motivation for meditation and potentially reduce attrition in meditation-based interventions. Conversely, meditation practice might serve as a useful integration strategy following psychedelic experiences; the authors note phenomenological and neurophysiological similarities between mindfulness and loving-kindness/compassion techniques and classic psychedelics (for example, increased present-moment awareness and sense of connection). The paper acknowledges several limitations that constrain interpretation. Because the design is cross-sectional and retrospective, causality cannot be established; it remains possible that enduring meditators experience greater psychological insight during psychedelic episodes, or that unmeasured traits (for example, absorption) explain the associations. The temporal ordering of psychedelic use and meditation practice cannot be inferred from the lifetime-use predictor. Representativeness was limited to stratification on sex, age and ethnicity, so the sample may not reflect the population on other relevant variables (for example, socioeconomic status). Recall bias and the sole use of self-report measures are noted concerns. The authors also point out that they did not assess set and setting variables that influence psychedelic effects, and that the different framing of the two psychometric measures ("most insightful" versus "most intense") may have affected responses. Finally, they recommend future research employ more comprehensive assessments of meditation practice and longitudinal designs to investigate potential causal relationships and mechanisms.