International Journal for the Psychology of Religion
April 13, 2023
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi, Rita Clara de Oliveira Sales
6 citations
Mystical and ego-dissolution experiences can be elicited by entheogens such as ayahuasca and jurema, both containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) but differing in rituals, symbolism, and origins. In a natural-environment study with 26 participants, ayahuasca sessions produced significantly higher scores for temporal quality, ineffability, and religious quality on the Hood Mysticism Scale compared to jurema sessions, while other facets of ego-dissolution showed no significant differences. Ego-dissolution was positively correlated with temporal and unifying qualities in ayahuasca sessions, and with religious, unifying, and inner subjectivity qualities in jurema sessions. Ethnographic observations and interviews indicate that setting plays a key role in these differences and the meaning of the experience.
International Journal of Latin American Religions
June 9, 2023
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi, José Arturo Costa Escobar et al.
2 citations
Mysticism significantly enhances well-being, with 75% of participants in a study reporting improved life satisfaction after engaging in mystical experiences. In a sample of 500 individuals, psychometric assessments utilized structural equation modeling to confirm the construct validity of these experiences. The interplay between philosophy and social psychology revealed that psychedelics, particularly alkaloids, can facilitate profound insights into the self—bridging the id, ego, and super-ego. This highlights the potential of mystical experiences as therapeutic tools within developmental psychology and theology.
November 24, 2022
Robson Savoldi, Antônio Roazzi
preprint
Mystical experiences and ego-dissolution during ayahuasca rituals predict improvements in self-consciousness. In a cross-sectional study of ayahuasca religious users, higher scores on the Hood Mysticism Scale were positively related to adaptive self-consciousness traits (private self, public self, self-reflection, rumination, reflection) and negatively related to maladaptive traits (social anxiety). The Ego-Dissolution Inventory positively predicted adaptive reflexive self-consciousness. Frequency of ayahuasca use positively predicted public self; longer religious involvement predicted greater insight and lower ego-dissolution. Common dose positively predicted private and reflexive self and negatively predicted social anxiety, but these dose effects were mediated by mystical experience. The ceremonial use of ayahuasca may benefit self-consciousness through mysticism.