Hypotheses

Summary

Meditation and the consumption of psychedelics may induce different types of psychedelic experiences. Meditation is hypothesized to lead to experiences that are clearer and longer-lasting but less novel and expansive, while psychedelics may produce experiences that are more novel and broad but less clear and shorter in duration. Additionally, spontaneous psychedelic experiences may follow a power-law distribution, with most being mildly psychedelic and only a few being extremely psychedelic.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter uses the explication developed in the previous chapter to help delineate a logical space of hypotheses involving the concept of psychedelic experience. In particular, the chapter suggests that the practice of meditation and the consumption of psychedelics may tend to induce psychedelic experiences that reliably differ from each other with respect to the four dimensions of psychedelic space. As a broad brushstroke, the chapter hypothesises that meditation may tend to induce psychedelic experiences that are high in clarity and duration and low in scope and novelty. In contrast, the consumption of psychedelics may tend to induce experiences that are high in scope and novelty but low in clarity and duration. The chapter also proposes that psychedelic experiences can occur spontaneously and that such experiences may follow a power-law distribution: most spontaneous psychedelic experiences are only mildly psychedelic, but a rare few are extremely psychedelic (such as spontaneous mystical experiences).