Spiritual awakening, specifically kensho, is not just a cognitive shift but an embodied and relational reconfiguration of experience. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 13 participants who had kensho experiences in retreat settings revealed three categories: inner peace, big release, and heightened senses, each with affective, cognitive, and somatic dimensions. A second analysis using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis identified that inner peace arises from a combination of karmic processing, heightened sensory awareness, and inner guidance, while trusting in the unknown involves sensory awareness, inner guidance, and physical sensation. The findings highlight the overlooked roles of simplicity, sensory awareness, and karmic activation in transformation.
Fear experienced during 5-MeO-DMT sessions is therapeutically productive, functioning similarly to exposure therapy, rather than being a negative side effect. Emotional catharsis and somatic release are essential for psychological healing. Key conditions for positive mental health outcomes include trust and letting go, emotional release, healing the inner child, using psychedelics as therapeutic tools, and interpersonal healing in parent-child relationships. Three core themes emerged: fear and letting go, mental health improvements, and healing and love. The findings suggest that 5-MeO-DMT facilitates deep psychological transformation by engaging core affective and relational processes, with intergenerational insight central to therapeutic change.