Spiritual dimension and psychedelic experiences: A phenomenological approach

This study investigates to what extent mystical experiences induced by psychedelics reveal the essential structure of the human spiritual dimension. It hypothesizes a common intentional structure between religious and psychedelic mysticism. To test this hypothesis, phenomenological methods are critically reviewed, the noematic contents and noetic acts of consciousness in religious mysticism are analyzed, psilocybin experiences are studied phenomenologically, and their cognitive structures are compared. The findings show that, although these types of experiences do not necessarily constitute representations of an objective reality, they exhibit a recurring structure that allows for the validation of fundamental categories of human spirituality, such as unity, transcendence, ineffability, and passivity. In this sense, the opening of consciousness to the spiritual is configured as a permanently latent possibility, capable of manifesting in experiences that reconfigure the meaning of existence and reveal the spiritual dimension inherent to the human being.