Oceanic feelings and their relationship to spirituality and personality organization.

Oceanic feelings—experiences of boundlessness, unity, or fragmentation—can foster spiritual experiences but also contribute to psychosis proneness. In a survey of 480 non-clinical adults, positive oceanic feelings were strongly linked to increased connectedness and general religiosity, while negative oceanic feelings showed weak to moderate associations with schizotypy and personality organization. Personality organization fully mediated the relationship between negative oceanic feelings and both schizotypy and general religiosity, and partially mediated the link with connectedness. Positive oceanic feelings enhanced religiosity and connectedness independently of personality organization. Strengthening personality organization may protect against destabilizing effects of negative oceanic experiences, informing psychotherapy and spiritual counseling.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Oceanic feelings, which reflect a sense of boundlessness, unity but also fragmentation can evoke spiritual experiences and possibly lead to psychosis proneness. This study explores oceanic feelings psychometrically, by examining their connections with spirituality, schizotypy, and personality organization. A sample of 480 adult non-clinical participants (66.2% female) completed an online survey, which included the Oceanic Feeling Scale, the MI-RSWB-18, SPQ-B, and the IPO-16. All relationships were evaluated in a path analysis to assess the direct and indirect effects of positive and negative oceanic feelings on schizotypy, connectedness, and general religiosity, with personality organization as a mediator. Positive oceanic feelings were strongly correlated with increased connectedness (r = 0.68) and general religiosity (r = 0.61). We measured weak to moderate associations of negative oceanic feelings with schizotypy (r = 0.41) and personality organization (r = 0.39). Path analysis revealed that personality organization mediated the relationship between negative oceanic feelings and schizotypy (β = 0.11, p < 0.001). Additionally, the relationship between negative oceanic feelings and general religiosity was also fully mediated by personality organization (β = 0.05, p < 0.011). The association between negative oceanic feelings and connectedness was partially mediated by personality organization (β = 0.07, p < 0.001). The findings reveal a dual role of oceanic feelings: positive oceanic feelings enhance general religiosity and connectedness independently of personality organization, while negative oceanic feelings are mediated by personality dysfunction, influencing schizotypy and spirituality. Strengthening personality organization could serve as a protective factor against the destabilizing effects of negative oceanic experiences, offering insights for psychotherapy and spiritual counselling.