The way of O: phenomenology of psychedelic use and the path to ultimate reality
Psychodynamic Practice June 24, 2024 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/14753634.2024.2371787 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Psychedelic experiences often involve awe, connectedness, and a sense of encountering deeper truth, paralleling Wilfred Bion's concept of 'O'—contact with absolute truth through intuitive awareness beyond cognitive knowing. This paper explores the neurophenomenology of psychedelics, the concept of O, and their clinical relevance to psychodynamic thinking. It draws parallels between insight gained from psychedelics and the transformative process in psychoanalysis or psychodynamic therapy, suggesting both involve surrender and transcendence of ordinary sensory and cognitive interfaces with reality.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Psychedelic experiences and psychodynamic therapy both involve surrender and transcendence of ordinary cognition to access transformative insight, paralleling Bion's concept of O. |
Abstract
There has been a renewed interest in the clinical applications of psychedelics, with increasing use for a variety of psychiatric conditions. Individuals often describe psychedelic sessions as among the most significant experiences in their lives, emphasising the sense of awe, connectedness, and spiritual transformation they undergo. They can also feel they are experiencing truth and becoming aware of reality in deeper ways than ever before. As elusive as it is inescapable, Wilfred Bion’s ‘O’ denotes contact with absolute truth, approachable through an intuitive awareness of reality that goes beyond cognitive strategies seeking to ‘know’. The state of mind cultivated to enter into such realms, to reach O, and indeed to achieve mystical experiences under psychedelics, is one of surrender and transcendence of a cognitively weighted, sensorially bound interfacing with reality. This paper outlines the neurophenomenology of psychedelic use, the concept of O, and their clinical significance vis-à-vis contemporary psychodynamic thinking. As our understanding deepens regarding the changes associated with use of psychedelics, we can draw parallels between acquisition of insight and subsequent reshaping of one’s templates and perspectives taking place through use of these drugs, and the process that occurs over the course of a psychoanalysis or psychodynamic therapy.