Virtual reality can induce mystical experiences, new study suggests

Virtual reality headsets might offer a reliable way to induce profound feelings of unity and awe typically associated with deep spiritual practices or psychedelics. A recent experiment found that viewing both fantastical imagery and realistic meditation exercises through virtual reality led many people to report complete mystical experiences, whereas viewing the exact same exercises on a standard computer screen did not. The findings were published in the journal Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Psychologists define a mystical experience as a profound mental event characterized by a sense of deep connection with the universe, an altered perception of time and space, and intense positive emotions. Early psychological theorists proposed that these experiences are defined by their ineffability, meaning they defy expression in standard language. Later researchers emphasized a sense of nonduality, a state where the ordinary sense of oneself as an independently conscious being dissolves. In this state, personal boundaries blur and the individual feels a sense of oneness with all of existence.

While these profound states can occur spontaneously in daily life, researchers have historically struggled to trigger them reliably in laboratory settings using psychological methods alone. Only a small fraction of people typically achieve a complete mystical state through standard meditation, fasting, or hypnosis. Modern studies have heavily relied on psychedelic substances to reliably evoke these states. Finding non-pharmacological methods to trigger self-transcendent experiences remains an ongoing challenge for scientists studying human consciousness.

In recent years, scientists have found that immersive virtual reality can sometimes trigger these profound states at higher rates than traditional psychological methods. Western University psychologists Rebekka Miller, Tallulah Nyland, and Paul Frewen wanted to know what specific types of digital environments are best suited to create these feelings. They aimed to test whether virtual reality required highly imaginative, fantastical elements to trigger mystical states, or if simply practicing a standard breathing meditation in a realistic virtual nature setting would work just as well.

The research team also wanted to move beyond relying solely on subjective surveys. Previous studies on virtual reality and mysticism only asked participants how they felt after the simulation ended. To gain a deeper understanding of how the body reacts to these immersive environments, the investigators decided to measure the physical brain and body changes that happen during these digital encounters. This physiological data could help cross-validate the self-reported emotional outcomes.

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The researchers recruited 80 young adults and divided them into two groups. Both groups viewed their respective experiences using a program called Nature Treks: Together, which simulates interactive, three-dimensional natural environments like islands and underwater landscapes. Within this digital world, users appear as bodiless spirits wearing tribal masks and gloves, floating through the space. The software allows users to relax and explore lush vegetation, fossilized rocks, and ocean life.

One group listened to a guided imagery script describing a fantastical encounter. During the first five minutes, this script guided users through normal daytime activities like walking down a path. In the second half, the narration shifted to nighttime and introduced surreal elements, such as watching animal spirits emerge from a campfire and viewing a black hole in the sky. The other group listened to a standard breath-focused guided meditation, which replaced the magical elements with a mindfulness practice focusing on internal physical sensations.

To see how the delivery method affected the participants, the researchers had everyone complete their assigned exercise twice in a counterbalanced order. Participants experienced the simulation once while wearing a fully immersive virtual reality headset, which allowed them to turn their heads and look around the environment. They also completed the exact same audio script and visual environment while watching it on a standard, flat computer monitor, keeping their eyes open and facing forward.

While the participants underwent the exercises, the researchers recorded their brain waves using wearable sensors placed on the forehead and behind the ears. This electroencephalography equipment measures the electrical activity of the central nervous system. The team also tracked heart rates and heart rate variability using chest straps. After each viewing, the participants answered extensive survey questions about their emotional states, their sense of being present in the digital environment, and the intensity of any mystical feelings.

The researchers found that the viewing format drastically changed how people responded to the exercises. Among the participants who used the virtual reality headset, 28 percent of the guided imagery group and 18 percent of the guided meditation group reported having a complete mystical experience. To meet this threshold, participants had to score at least 60 percent of the maximum possible score on each of four dimensions: feelings of unity, transcendence of time and space, intense positive mood, and ineffability. In contrast, not a single participant achieved a complete mystical experience when viewing the exact same environments on a standard computer monitor.

The virtual reality format also produced much higher ratings for specific positive emotions. Participants reported stronger feelings of awe, serenity, interest, and the perception of beauty while wearing the headsets. They also felt a much stronger sense of being physically and temporally present inside the digital world. Conversely, the standard flat-screen viewing format was associated with higher ratings of boredom and fatigue, indicating that the two-dimensional screen failed to captivate the participants’ attention in the same way.

The physical measurements aligned with the survey responses, showing a physiological shift when participants entered the immersive environment. When participants used the virtual reality headsets, their brain wave activity increased across all measured frequencies, including theta, alpha, beta, and gamma waves. This elevated electrical activity suggests a heightened state of cognitive and emotional engagement. The standard monitor viewing resulted in much lower brain wave amplitudes across the board.

The heart rate data revealed a similar pattern of heightened physiological arousal. During the second half of the virtual reality exercises, participants experienced higher overall heart rates and lower heart rate variability compared to the standard monitor viewing. A decrease in heart rate variability often indicates that the nervous system is highly stimulated or engaged by external events. These physical changes indicate that the immersive digital world provoked a stronger bodily response than the flat screen.

When comparing the fantastical imagery to the realistic meditation, the researchers found remarkably few differences. Participants in virtual reality reported similar levels of mystical feelings and positive emotions regardless of whether they were imagining a magical encounter or simply focusing on their breath. The brain wave and heart rate data during the virtual reality sessions were also nearly identical between the two groups. It appears that the immersive nature of the technology itself drives the profound feelings, rather than the specific presence of magic or fantasy.

One detail to keep in mind is that the meditation group still rated their supposedly realistic virtual environment as highly dreamlike and surreal. Floating as a bodiless spirit in a pristine digital landscape might be so inherently unusual that it blurs the line between fantasy and reality. This overlap could explain why the realistic meditation script produced results so similar to the fantastical imagery script. The basic visual beauty of the digital world might be powerful enough to trigger awe on its own.

The study’s physical measurements also come with technical caveats. Because the virtual reality format allowed participants to move their heads and bodies to look around, this physical movement might have introduced electrical noise into the sensor data. In the standard monitor condition, participants remained seated and were instructed to look directly at the screen. Future studies will need to account for this physical movement to ensure that the brain wave and heart rate differences are entirely due to the psychological experience rather than simple muscle activity.

Finally, having participants complete the identical scripted exercises twice might have diluted the overall intensity of their emotional responses. The extent to which an experience feels miraculous or beyond words typically decreases once a person knows exactly what to expect. Researchers will need to explore how people respond to these environments upon their very first viewing to capture the full potential of digital mysticism. Testing these experiences on diverse populations with different spiritual backgrounds could also reveal how cultural expectations shape these digital encounters.

The study, “Mystical experiences in virtual reality 2: Fantasy versus realism and psychophysiological correlates,” was authored by Rebekka Miller, Tallulah Nyland, and Paul Frewen. The research was supervised by Frewen at Western University.