Identifying Spiritual Content in First-Person Reports from Ayahuasca Sessions

A reliable scoring system originally designed for dream reports can identify content in ayahuasca session reports. The Casto Spirituality Scoring System successfully identified objects, characters, settings, activities, emotions, and experiences in ayahuasca reports taken from existing literature. The system defines spiritual as a focus on, and reverence, openness, and connectedness to something beyond one's full understanding or individual existence. This finding suggests that systematic content analysis is feasible for ayahuasca reports, addressing a gap in rigorous research on the content of ayahuasca sessions despite its tribal use and sacramental role in three Brazilian churches.

Study at a glance

Abstract

There has been little rigorous research on the content of ayahuasca sessions, despite the tribal use of this herbal concoction and the existence of three Brazilian churches in which ayahuasca is considered a sacrament. The Casto Spirituality Scoring System, a reliable measure designed to identify content in dream reports, was utilized to answer the following question: Is it possible to identify content in ayahuasca reports? This system was found to be feasible in identifying objects, characters, settings, activities, emotions, and experiences in ayahuasca reports taken from pertinent literature. The Casto system defines spiritual as one's focus on, and/or reverence, openness, and connectedness to something of significance believed to be beyond one's full understanding and/or individual existence.