Entheogenic Spirituality: Characteristics of Spiritually Motivated Psychedelics Use

References

• Barrett, F. S., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2015). Validation of the revised mystical experience questionnaire in experimental sessions with psilocybin. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(11), 1182–1190. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881115609019
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bogenschutz, M., Forcehimes, A., Pommy, J., Wilcox, C., Barbosa, P., & Strassman, R. (2015). Psilocybin-assisted treatment for alcohol dependence: A proof-of-concept study. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(3), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114565144
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bouso, J., dos Santos, R., Alcázar-Córcoles, M., & Hallak, J. (2018). Serotonergic psychedelics and personality: A systematic review of contemporary research. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 87(1), 118–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.02.004
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Carbonaro, T., Bradstreet, M., Barrett, F., MacLean, K., Jesse, R., Johnson, M., & Griffiths, R. (2016). Survey study of challenging experiences after ingesting psilocybin mushrooms: Acute and enduring positive and negative consequences. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1268–1278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116662634
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Day, C., Rucker, J., Watts, R., Erritzoe, D. E., Kaelen, M., Giribaldi, B., Bloomfield, M., Pilling, S., Rickard, J. A., Forbes, B., Feilding, A., Taylor, D., Curran, H. V., & Nutt, D. J. (2018). Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: Six-month follow-up. Psychopharmacology, 235(2), 399–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-017-4771-x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carhart-Harris, R. L., Bolstridge, M., Rucker, J., Day, C. M., Erritzoe, D., Kaelen, M., Bloomfield, M., Rickard, J. A., Forbes, B., Feilding, A., Taylor, D., Pilling, S., Curran, V. H., & Nutt, D. J. (2016). Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: An open-label feasibility study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(7), 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30065-7
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Friston, K. J. (2010). The default-mode, ego-functions and free-energy: A neurobiological account of Freudian ideas. Brain, 133(4), 1265–1283. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awq010
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Carhart-Harris, R. L., Mayberg, H. S., Malizia, A. L., & Nutt, D. (2008). Mourning and melancholia revisited: Correspondences between principles of Freudian metapsychology and empirical findings in neuropsychiatry. Annals of General Psychiatry, 7(1), 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-859X-7-9
   PubMedGoogle Scholar
• Carhart-Harris, R. L., & Nutt, D. J. (2010). User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: A web-based questionnaire study. Journal of Substance Abuse, 15(4), 283–300. https://doi.org/10.3109/14659890903271624
   Google Scholar
• Cozad, L. (2018). God on high: Religion, cannabis, and the quest for legitimacy. Lexington Books.
   Google Scholar
• Davis, E. (2020). Gnostic psychedelia. Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies, 5(1), 97–120. https://doi.org/10.1163/2451859X-12340078
   Google Scholar
• Davis, A. K., Barrett, F. S., May, D. G., Cosimano, M. P., Sepeda, N. D., Johnson, M. W., Finan, P. H., & Griffiths, R. R. (2021). Effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy on major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, 78(5), 481–489. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.3285
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• de Rios, D. (1972). Visionary vine: Hallucinogenic healing in the Peruvian Amazon. Chandler Publishing.
   Google Scholar
• de Rios, D. (1990). Hallucinogens: Cross-cultural perspectives. Waveland Press.
   Google Scholar
• Dollar, C. B. (2022). Heads, seekers, psychonauts, and one-timers: Patterns in stories of psychedelic consumption. Journal of Drug Issues, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220426221128191
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ellens, J. H. (Ed.). (2014). Seeking the sacred with psychoactive substances. Praeger.
   Google Scholar
• Erritzoe, D., Roseman, L., Nour, M. M., MacLean, K., Kaelen, M., Nutt, D. J., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2018). Effects of psilocybin therapy on personality structure. Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica, 138(5), 368–378. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12904
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Forstmann, M., & Sagioglou, C. (2017). Lifetime experience with (classic) psychedelics predicts proenvironmental behavior through an increase in nature relatedness. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 31(8), 975–988. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117714049
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Garcia-Romeu, A., Davis, A., Erowid, F., Erowid, E., Griffiths, R., & Johnson, M. (2019). Cessation and reduction in alcohol consumption and misuse after psychedelic use. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 33(9), 1088–1101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881119845793
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gasser, P., Holstein, D., Michel, Y., Doblin, R., Yazar-Klosinski, B., Passie, T., & Brenneisen, R. (2013). Safety and efficacy of lysergic acid diethylamide-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with life-threatening diseases. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 202(7), 513–520. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000000113
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Goldberg, S. B., Pace, B. T., Nicholas, C. R., Raison, C. L., & Hutson, P. R. (2020). The experimental effects of psilocybin on symptoms of anxiety and depression: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112749
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00046-1
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffiths, R., Hurwitz, E., Davis, A., Johnson, M., Jesse, R., & Frey, R. (2019). Survey of subjective “God encounter experiences”: Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT. Plos One, 14(4), e0214377. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214377
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffiths, R. R., Johnson, M. W., Carducci, M. A., Umbricht, A., Richards, W. A., Richards, B. D., Cosimano, M. P., & Klinedinst, M. A. (2016). Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized double-blind trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1181–1197. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675513
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffiths, R., Johnson, M., Richards, W., Richards, B., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2011). Psilocybin occasioned mystical-type experiences: Immediate and persisting dose-related effects. Psychopharmacology, 218(4), 649–665. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2358-5
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffiths, R., Richards, W., Johnson, M., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2008). Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22(6), 621–632. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881108094300
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Griffiths, R., Richards, W., McCann, U., & Jesse, R. (2006). Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology, 187(3), 268–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-006-0457-5
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Grob, C., Danforth, A., Chopra, G., Hagerty, M., McKay, C., Halberstadt, A., & Greer, G. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68(1), 71–78. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.116
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hamilton, R. J., & Bowers, B. J. (2006). Internet recruitment and e-mail interviews in qualitative studies. Qualitative Health Research, 16(6), 821–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732306287599
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hanegraaff, W. (1996). New Age religion and western culture: Esotericism in the mirror of secular thought. Brill.
   Google Scholar
• Hanegraaff, W. (1999). New Age spiritualities as secular religion: A historian’s perspective. Social Compass, 46(2), 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1177/003776899046002004
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hanegraaff, W. (2014). Entheogenic esotericism. In E. Asprem & K. Granholm (Eds.), Contemporary esotericism (pp. 392–409). Equinox Publishing.
   Google Scholar
• Heelas, P. (1996). The New Age movement: The celebration of the self and the sacralization of modernity. Blackwell.
   Google Scholar
• Heide, F. J., Chang, T., Porter, N., Edelson, E., & Walloch, J. C. (2021). Spiritual benefit from cannabis. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2021.1941443
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hendricks, P. S. (2018). Awe: A putative mechanism underlying the effects of classic psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. International Review of Psychiatry, 30(4), 331–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2018.1474185
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hendricks, P. S., Thorne, C. B., Clark, C. B., Coombs, D. W., & Johnson, M. W. (2015). Classic psychedelic use is associated with reduced psychological distress and suicidality in the United States adult population. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(3), 280–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114565653
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Hultkrantz, Å. (1997). The attraction of peyote. Almqvist & Wiksell.
   Google Scholar
• Johnson, M., Garcia-Romeu, A., Cosimano, M., & Griffiths, R. (2014). Pilot study of the 5-HT2AR agonist psilocybin in the treatment of tobacco addiction. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 28(11), 983–992. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114548296
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2018). Entheogenic spirituality: Exploring spiritually motivated entheogen use among modern westerners. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 12(4), 244–260.
   Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2020a). A dangerous method? Psychedelic therapy at Modum Bad, Norway, 1961–76. History of Psychiatry, 31(2), 217–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957154X19894537
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2020b). Cannabis as entheogen: Survey and interview data on the spiritual use of cannabis. Journal of Cannabis Research, 2(30), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42238-020-00032-2
   Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2021a). Day trip to hell: A mixed methods study of psychedelic “bad trip” experiences. Journal of Psychedelic Studies, 5(2), 114–127. https://doi.org/10.1556/2054.2021.00155
   Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2021b). Entheogenic experience and spirituality. Methods and Theory in the Study of Religion, 33(5), 463–481. https://doi.org/10.1163/15700682-12341512
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2021c). The psychedelic personality: Personality structure and associations in a sample of psychedelics users. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 53(2), 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2020.1842569
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2022a). Entheogenic spirituality ( Doctoral dissertation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology). NTNU Open. https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2979984
   Google Scholar
• Johnstad, P. G. (2022b). Psychedelics use: Experiential characteristics and health ramifications ( Doctoral dissertation, University of Oslo). DUO. https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/96339
   Google Scholar
• Karlsson, A., & Burns, L. (2018). Australian drug trends 2017. Findings from the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) (Australian Drug Trend Series No. 181). National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre.
   Google Scholar
• Labate, B., & Cavnar, C. (Eds.). (2014). Ayahuasca shamanism in the Amazon and beyond. Oxford University Press.
   Google Scholar
• Lyons, T., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2018). Increased nature relatedness and decreased authoritarian political views after psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 811–819. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881117748902
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Lyvers, M., & Meester, M. (2012). Illicit use of LSD or psilocybin, but not MDMA or nonpsychedelic drugs, is associated with mystical experiences in a dose-dependent manner. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(5), 410–417. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2012.736842
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• MacLean, K. A., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2011). Mystical experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin lead to increases in the personality domain of openness. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 25(11), 1453–1461. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881111420188
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Maclean, K. A., Leoutsakos, J. M., Johnson, M. W., & Griffiths, R. R. (2012). Factor analysis of the Mystical Experience Questionnaire: A study of experiences occasioned by the hallucinogen psilocybin. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(4), 721–737. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2012.01685.x
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Majić, T., Schmidt, T. T., & Gallinat, J. (2015). Peak experiences and the afterglow phenomenon: When and how do therapeutic effects of hallucinogens depend on psychedelic experiences? Journal of Psychopharmacology, 29(3), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881114568040
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Maroukis, T. (2012). The peyote road: Religious freedom and the Native American Church. University of Oklahoma Press.
   Google Scholar
• Monteith, A. (2016). “The words of McKenna”: Healing, political critique, and the evolution of psychonaut religion since the 1960s counterculture. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 84(4), 1081–1109. https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfw010
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Naranjo, P. (1979). Hallucinogenic plant use and related indigenous belief system in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 1(2), 121–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-8741(79)90003-5
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nicholson, N., Soane, E., Fenton O’Creevy, M., & Willman, P. (2005). Personality and domain-specific risk taking. Journal of Risk Research, 8(2), 157–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/1366987032000123856
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nour, M. M., Evans, L., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2017). Psychedelics, personality and political perspectives. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 49(3), 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2017.1312643
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Nour, M. M., Evans, L., Nutt, D., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2016). Ego-dissolution and psychedelics: Validation of the Ego-Dissolution Inventory (EDI). Frontiers in human neuroscience, 10, 269. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00269
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Pahnke, W. (1966). Drugs and mysticism. International Journal of Parapsychology, 8(2), 295–320.
   Google Scholar
• Partridge, C. (2020). Inner space/outer space: Terence McKenna’s Jungian psychedelic ufology. Nova Religio, 23(3), 31–59. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2020.23.3.31
   Google Scholar
• Peill, J. M., Trinci, K. E., Kettner, H., Mertens, L. J., Roseman, L., Timmermann, C., Rosas, F. E., Lyons, T., & Carhart-Harris, R. L. (2022). Validation of the Psychological Insight Scale: A new scale to assess psychological insight following a psychedelic experience. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 36(1), 31–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/02698811211066709
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Richards, W. A. (2014). Here and now: Discovering the sacred with entheogens. Zygon, 49(3), 652–665. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12108
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Richards, W. A. (2015). Sacred knowledge: Psychedelics and religious experiences. Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/rich17406
   Google Scholar
• Roseman, L., Haijen, E., Idialu-Ikato, K., Kaelen, M., Watts, R., & Carhart-Harris, R. (2019). Emotional breakthrough and psychedelics: Validation of the emotional breakthrough inventory. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 33(9), 1076–1087. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881119855974
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Roseman, L., Nutt, D., & Carhart-Harris, R. (2018). Quality of acute psychedelic experience predicts therapeutic efficacy of psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 8, 974. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2017.00974
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ross, S., Bossis, A., Guss, J., Agin-Liebes, G., Malone, T., Cohen, B., Mennenga, S. E., Belser, A., Kalliontzi, K., Babb, J., Su, Z., Corby, P., & Schmidt, B. L. (2016). Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life-threatening cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(12), 1165–1180. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881116675512
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Rucker, J., Iliff, J., & Nutt, D. (2018). Psychiatry & the psychedelic drugs. Past, present & future. Neuropharmacology, 142, 200–218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.12.040
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Simons, J., Correia, C. J., Carey, K. B., & Borsari, B. E. (1998). Validating a five-factor marijuana motives measure: Relations with use, problems, and alcohol motives. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45(3), 265–273. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.45.3.265
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Simonsson, O., & Goldberg, S. B. (2022). Linkages between psychedelics and meditation in a population-based sample in the United States. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 1–8. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2021.2022816
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Smith, H. (1964/2000). Cleansing the doors of perception: The religious significance of entheogenic plants and chemicals. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
   Google Scholar
• St John, G. (2017). The DMT gland: The pineal, the spirit molecule, and popular culture. International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 7(2), 153–174. https://doi.org/10.1558/ijsnr.v7i2.31949
   Google Scholar
• St John, G. (2018). Gnosis potency: DMT breakthroughs and paragnosis. In B. Labate & C. Cavnar (Eds.), Plant medicines, healing and psychedelic science (pp. 205–222). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76720-8_12
   Google Scholar
• Strassman, R. (2001). DMT: The Spirit Molecule. Park Street Press.
   Google Scholar
• Sutcliffe, S. (2003). Children of the New Age: A history of spiritual practices. Routledge.
   Google Scholar
• Sutcliffe, S., & Gilhus, I. (Eds.). (2013). New Age spirituality: Rethinking religion. Acumen.
   Google Scholar
• Taves, A., & Kinsella, M. (2013). Hiding in plain sight: The organizational forms of ‘unorganized religion. In S. Sutcliffe & I. Gilhus (Eds.), New Age spirituality: Rethinking religion (pp. 84–98). Acumen.
   Google Scholar
• Timmermann, C., Roseman, L., Williams, L., Erritzoe, D., Martial, C., Cassol, H., Laureys, S., Nutt, D., & Carhart-Harris, R. (2018). DMT models the near-death experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01424
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Tworkov, H. (1996). Just say maybe. Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, 6(1). https://tricycle.org/magazine/just-say-maybe/
   Google Scholar
• van Elk, M., Arciniegas Gomez, M. A., van der Zwaag, W., van Schie, H. T., & Sauter, D. (2019). The neural correlates of the awe experience: Reduced default mode network activity during feelings of awe. Human brain mapping, 40(12), 3561–3574. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.24616
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• van Elk, M., Fejer, G., Lempe, P., Prochazckova, L., Kuchar, M., Hajkova, K., & Marschall, J. (2021). Effects of psilocybin microdosing on awe and aesthetic experiences: A preregistered field and lab-based study. Psychopharmacology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05857-0
   PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yaden, D. B., Kaufman, S. B., Hyde, E., Chirico, A., Gaggioli, A., Zhang, J. W., & Keltner, D. (2018). The development of the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S): A multifactorial measure for a complex emotion. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 14(4), 474–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1484940
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Yaden, D., Le Nguyen, K., Kern, M., Belser, A., Eichstaedt, J., Iwry, J., Smith, M. E., Wintering, N. A., Hood, R. W., Jr., & Newberg, A. (2017). Of roots and fruits: A comparison of psychedelic and nonpsychedelic mystical experiences. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 57(4), 338–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167816674625
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar