Using chills-inducing music to augment self-transcendence, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight during mindfulness and loving kindness meditation.

A guided loving kindness meditation combined with chills-inducing music enhances mood, self-transcendence, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight more than meditation alone. In a randomized online study with 398 participants, loving kindness meditation increased connectedness to others compared to a mindfulness-based control, while adding chills-inducing music to either meditation boosted self-transcendence, mood, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight. The experience of aesthetic chills during meditation predicted these positive effects. Individual traits like absorption, interoceptive awareness, and vividness of internal imagery also independently contributed to specific outcomes such as ego-dissolution and connectedness. Chills augmentation appears a viable method for deepening contemplative practices.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Non-pharmacologically induced altered states of consciousness that promote mental health and wellbeing are a growing focus of clinical and basic research. Previous work has revealed the mood-augmenting, belief-altering, and self-transcendent effects of aesthetic-chills-inducing audiovisual stimulation. The current study investigated how a guided loving kindness meditation (LKM) combined with uplifting, chills-inducing music (henceforth: chills-augmented) affected participants' mood, self-transcendence (ST), psychological insight, and emotional breakthrough. We conducted a randomized, controlled online study (n = 398) using a 2 × 2 design comparing a validated loving kindness meditation (LKM) to mindfulness-based control (MC), each with chills augmentation (+) and without (-). As hypothesized, LKM, compared to MC, increased connectedness to others, while chills augmentation to either stimulus (LKM+/MC+) enhanced ST, mood, emotional breakthrough, and psychological insight. Mediation analyses confirmed that the occurrence of aesthetic chills during meditation predicted these downstream effects. They also found trait measures that independently (of main effects) contributed to distinct outcomes: absorption predicted feelings of ego-dissolution, connectedness to the world and self, and moral elevation; interoceptive awareness predicted ego-dissolution and connectedness to self; and vividness of internal imagery predicted connectedness to the world and others. Chills augmentation appears a viable method for enhancing the immersiveness, salience, and downstream positive impact of guided contemplative interventions, without interfering with the intended outcome. This work can further our understanding of and access to non-ordinary experiences that beget salutogenic, prosocial outcomes.