Mystical Experiences in Retrospective Reports of First Times Using a Psychedelic in Finland

This study (n=288) validated the Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) in Finnish. The study found mystical experiences to be associated with positive changes in relationship with nature, oneself, and creativity, with more common mystical experiences at higher dosages.

Abstract

“Despite their acutely inebriating and sometimes unpleasant effects, some people report positive changes in life satisfaction, well-being, or mental health after taking psychedelic drugs. One explanation may be the ability of psychedelics to trigger mystical-type experiences. We examined the validity, reliability, and factor structure of a novel Finnish translation of the Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) among 288 people retrospectively reporting on their first time using a psychedelic. We found evidence for internal consistency reliability and preliminary evidence for criterion and discriminant validity of the Finnish MEQ30. A four-factor structure with factors for mystical qualities, positive mood, transcendence, and ineffability had the best, fair to reasonable fit to the data. MEQ30 scores and having a full mystical experience were highly associated with describing the experience as mystical, spiritual, or religious, and as personally significant, and somewhat associated with the experience being sad or difficult. Mystical experiences were especially associated with positive changes in relationships with nature and oneself and in creativity. Mystical experiences were more common with larger doses. Increasing research suggests mystical-type experiences to relate to positive changes after taking psychedelics. The Finnish MEQ30 is able to tap into relevant information about this aspect of people’s psychedelic experiences.“

Authors: Samuli Kangaslampi, Aino Hausen & Tarina Rauteenmaa

Summary

ABSTRACT

Some people report positive changes in life satisfaction, well-being, or mental health after taking psychedelic drugs. The Finnish Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) is able to tap into relevant information about this aspect of people’s psychedelic experiences.

Classic psychedelic drugs cause marked changes in perception, cognition, mood, and experience of self. Despite their acute inebriating effects, evidence suggests psychedelics may have positive long-term effects on well-being, mood, attitude, and behavior, mental health, as well as aesthetic experience and relationship with the environment. Psychedelic drugs have been found to produce long-term positive change in some users. This change is associated with mystical experiences similar to those described to occur spontaneously among religious mystics or meditators.

Depressive symptoms, smoking cessation, alcohol use reduction, openness, and positive changes in attitudes, mood, and behavior were associated with openness. Pahnke (1969) developed the 43-item Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ), which has since been used in a number of studies with psychedelics. MacLean et al. (2012) developed and psychometrically validated a revised 30-item version of the MEQ, the MEQ30. A novel Finnish translation of the MEQ30 was studied among people retrospectively reporting on their first time using a psychedelic. It demonstrates adequate reliability, criterion and discriminant validity, and factor structure correspondence to the English version.

Procedure and Participants

We used a simple online survey tool to collect data from people who had used psychedelics at least once and had a good recollection of their first experience with a psychedelic.

290 participants responded to the survey, of which 288 were considered psychedelic users. Two participants were excluded for being unsure of the substance used. We used a novel Finnish translation of the Revised Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ30) to measure the degree to which first-time users of psychedelics had experienced elements of mystical nature. We divided participants into those who had experienced a full mystical experience and those who had not. We translated the MEQ30 into Finnish in five steps, comparing the back-translation with the original English version and piloting the translation with several outsiders.

The MEQ30 is a questionnaire that asks participants to evaluate their experience with psychedelics on a five-point scale. This scale includes questions about whether their experience was mystical, spiritual, or religious, how personally significant it had been, and whether it had been fun. Participants rated their well-being and life satisfaction on a seven point scale, and their mental health, physical health, creativity, memory and cognitive skills, and relationship with nature and others were also rated.

Statistical analyses

We carried out all data processing and analyses using R 3.2.4 and the lavaan and psych R packages. The scripts are available upon request from the first author. We calculated Cronbach’s alpha, MacDonald’s hierarchical and total omega, and compared the mean answers of those who had experienced a full mystical experience with those who had not, to assess the validity of the translation. We then carried out confirmatory factor analyses to determine the best fit factor structure.

We tested several models of the mystical experience, including the Hood model, the Stace model, and a single-factor model. We used the population-corrected robust CFI, TLI, and RMSEA, as well as the SRMR, to compare the fit of different models. We examined links between mystical experiences and self-evaluated changes in well-being in two ways: first, we compared the answers to the well-being questions of those who had experienced a full mystical experience with those who had not, and second, we estimated a latent variable model.

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics on our participants and the first time they had used a psychedelic. Most participants had used psychedelics several times, most commonly 11 – 50 times, and most had taken a typical dose at their home or a friend’s home.

Participants with full mystical experiences reported larger than typical or very large doses of marijuana than those without a mystical experience.

The suggested subscales of the MEQ30 were good to excellent, with an internal consistency of .95 for Mystical, .80 for Positive, .85 for Transcendence, and .79 for Ineffability. We found that participants who reported having had a full mystical experience reported their experience as having included more mystical or spiritual features, as being more personally significant, as being more difficult, as being more fun, as being more pleasant, as being more sad, as being more easy.

The results of confirmatory factor analysis with the four-factor model indicate that those with full mystical experiences report significantly more positive changes in all areas surveyed, with the largest differences observed for changes in one’s relationship with nature, creativity, and relationship with self.

In the latent variable model, degree of mystical experience was associated with changes in all areas surveyed, with the strongest associations observed for changes in relationship with nature, self, and creativity.

We found that the Finnish translation of the MEQ30 has good internal consistency reliability and preliminary evidence for construct, criterion, and discriminant validity. Further, scores on the MEQ30 correlated strongly with participants’ self-evaluations of their first experiences with psychedelics as including mystical, spiritual, or religious elements and of being personally significant. We examined how mystical experiences related to self-evaluated changes in different areas of well-being in the weeks and months following the participants’ first use of psychedelics. The most intense level mystical-type ego dissolution felt during a psychedelic experience predicted higher nature relatedness. Some studies suggest that ayahuasca and psilocybin improve divergent creative thinking and convergent thinking several days or weeks after ingestion. However, it is not clear what role mystical experiences might play in promoting creativity.

Those with full mystical experiences reported taking larger doses of psychedelics, which agrees with previous studies. However, taking larger doses is also associated with more difficult or challenging experiences, more anxiety, and more acutely impaired cognition. Apart from dosage, clear intentions and baseline levels of trait absorption were found to predict mystical experiences. However, the small, self-selected sample precludes any firm conclusions, and we did not assess expectations, intentions, or personality traits. We focused on first uses of psychedelics to gather a sample with a variety of experiences, but retrospective recall bias is a substantial concern. We did not include a question on the general strength or intensity of the drug experience, and the self-reported changes afterwards using simple, individual Likert-type questions were not validated. Our sample was small for a validation study, and it is likely that respondents’ experiences were overall more positive and/or personally meaningful than typical. Nonetheless, the Finnish version of the MEQ30 appears to be a valid and reliable measure of mystical experiences occasioned by the use of psychedelics.

All authors conceived of and planned the study, translated the measure, and prepared the questionnaire. SK wrote the majority of the manuscript.