Measurement of the impact of orgasmic meditation on mystical experience
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractDuring orgasmic meditation (OM), a partnered practice involving clitoral stroking, participants report moderate to strong mystical experiences as measured by the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30). In a first study, 62% of respondents recalling a single powerful OM reported a "complete mystical experience," with women reporting slightly stronger responses than men. In a second study with experienced practitioners reporting after their next OM, 23% reported a "complete mystical experience." The MEQ total score was more strongly correlated between partners than with the role of stroker or strokee, suggesting that the shared experience, rather than the specific role, drives the mystical quality. Whether brain activity during OM resembles that of other mystical experiences remains unknown.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey |
|---|---|
| Population | Practitioners of orgasmic meditation |
| Intervention | Orgasmic meditation |
| Key finding | Orgasmic meditation produces moderate to strong mystical experiences, with a stronger correlation in MEQ scores between partners than between role and score. |
Abstract
Using a validated and quantitative measure of mystical experience called the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ30), we assessed whether and to what extent participants report mystical experiences during orgasmic meditation (OM), and to what extent that experience is correlated between the partners. In the first half of this study, we asked participants to complete the MEQ30 with a single powerful OM in mind. Respondents reported a moderate to strong mystical experience, with 62% of respondents reporting a “complete mystical experience,” with women having a slightly stronger response than men. In the second study, we asked experienced practitioners to complete the MEQ30 after their next OM. These respondents reported a moderate mystical experience, with 23% reporting a “complete mystical experience”. Intriguingly, we found strong relationships between MEQ total score and role (i.e., stroker or strokee), awg = .46, but a significantly stronger relationship between partners and MEQ total score, awg = .71, zdiff = 2.10, p = .04. Whether the brains of people who OM show similar activity changes to those having other mystical experiences awaits future study.