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Interesting points! After a quick scan of the literature I can’t see anything that has investigated the effects of meditation on metaphysical beliefs. It would certainly be valuable to study.

My two cents, however: I’m leaning towards the belief that none of these substances or practices (excluding ketamine) would cause as dramatic a shift in metaphysical worldview as psychedelics do. I like the analogy of likening meditation to getting in a hot air balloon, and psychedelics to strapping yourself to a rocket. Arguably, you may get to the same place, but with psychedelics you’re going to do it a lot faster. But with meditation, you might be able to enjoy the view more!

Piggybacking onto this analogy, I think psychedelics have more of an opportunity to drastically change metaphysical beliefs very quickly, whereas any shifts as a function of meditation will depend on how deep the practice is.

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Evan Lewis-Healey
Evan Lewis-Healey

Written by Evan Lewis-Healey

PhD candidate at Cambridge University. Studying the cognitive neuroscience of altered states of consciousness.

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