Well-Being

Both meditation and psychedelics improve well-being by revealing the mind. This chapter argues that these practices either directly promote mindfulness or create revelatory experiences that mimic temporary increases in mindfulness. Because these experiences approximate genuine mindfulness, they yield similar benefits for well-being. The explanation uses the concept of psychedelic space to account for effects beyond psychedelic experiences. The chapter also examines how mystical-type experiences relate to well-being, suggesting that revelations about one's self-nature may mediate this relationship.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the thesis that the empirically observed benefits of meditation and psychedelics on well-being can be accounted for in terms of their tendency to reveal the mind. The chapter proposes a more general explanation that goes beyond psychedelic experience by utilising the conceptual framework of psychedelic space (developed in chapter 3). Briefly stated, the explanation is that psychedelics and meditation either promote mindfulness directly or create revelatory experiences that approximate temporary increases in mindfulness. To the extent that these experiences approximate temporary increases in mindfulness, they inherit the benefits to well-being that would otherwise result from genuine increases in mindfulness. Using this explanation, the chapter then considers the relationship between mystical-type experiences and well-being, and explores the possibility that this is mediated by revelations about one's self-nature.