Abstract

There is significant interest in how to elicit in laboratory contexts ‘self-transcendent experiences’ (STEs), which diminish egoic identity and increase one’s sense of connectedness. Psychedelics have proven particularly effective in this respect, producing subjective phenomenology which reliably elicits intense STEs. With virtual reality (VR) emerging as a powerful tool for constructing new perceptual environments, Glowacki et al have begun to explore a so-called ‘numadelic’ (spirit-manifesting) design paradigm. Specifically, we recently developed a VR experience called ‘Isness-distributed’ (Isness-D) which harnesses the unique affordances of cloud computing combined with distributed multi-person VR to blur conventional self-other boundaries. Grounded in a matter-energy narrative, Isness-D enables groups of participants distributed across the world to co-habit a shared virtual space and collectively experience their emergence, fluctuation, and dissipation of their bodies as luminous energetic essences. It encourages participants to imagine themselves, others, and the world around them as unfolding interconnected energetic processes which are energetic. It enables moments of ‘energetic coalescence’, a new class of embodied intersubjective experience where bodies can fluidly merge, enabling participants to include multiple others within their self-representation. To evaluate Isness-D, we adopted a citizen science approach, coordinating an international network of Isness-D ‘nodes’. The results were (N = 58) analyzed using 4 different self-report scales previously applied to subjective psychedelic phenomenology (the inclusion of community in self scale, ego-dissolution inventory, communitas scale, and the MEQ30 mystical experience questionnaire). The scores on each of these metrics are comparable to moderate doses of psychedelics. This work represents one of the first attempts to analyze VR experiences using measurement scales typically applied to psychedelics, and suggests that VR designed using a ‘numadelic’ paradigm can be used to elicit intersubjective STEs which simultaneously attenuate egoic identity and facilitate a sense of connectedness.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12637-z for more info.