Isness: Using Multi-Person VR to Design Peak Mystical Type Experiences Comparable to Psychedelics

A virtual reality (VR) experience called 'Isness', designed using concepts from psychedelic research, can induce mystical-type experiences (MTEs) comparable to those from high doses of psilocybin or LSD. In a study of 57 participants, responses to a standard psychedelic experience questionnaire showed MTEs similar to those reported in double-blind clinical trials. The authors suggest that both psychedelic drugs and VR belong to a broader spectrum of psychedelic technologies. Within a supportive setting, VR can create conditions for MTEs that participants find insightful and meaningful.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Studies combining psychotherapy with psychedelic drugs (PsiDs) have demonstrated positive outcomes that are often associated with PsiDs' ability to induce 'mystical-type' experiences (MTEs) - i.e., subjective experiences whose characteristics include a sense of connectedness, transcendence, and ineffability. We suggest that both PsiDs and virtual reality can be situated on a broader spectrum of psychedelic technologies. To test this hypothesis, we used concepts, methods, and analysis strategies from PsiD research to design and evaluate 'Isness', a multi-person VR journey where participants experience the collective emergence, fluctuation, and dissipation of their bodies as energetic essences. A study (N=57) analyzing participant responses to a commonly used PsiD experience questionnaire (MEQ30) indicates that Isness participants had MTEs comparable to those reported in double-blind clinical studies after high doses of psilocybin & LSD. Within a supportive setting and conceptual framework, VR phenomenology can create the conditions for MTEs from which participants derive insight and meaning.