A new study will explore how the impact that microdosing psychedelics may have on people’s meditation practice.
This study aims to better understand the effects of regular, sub-hallucinogenic doses of psychedelic substances like psilocybin and LSD on meditation practice.
Named the ‘Microdosing and Meditation Study’, researchers are looking to observe how meditation skills evolve over a three-month period of regular meditation practice and whether microdosing may positively impact these skills.
Recent years have shown that meditation and microdosing psychedelic drugs are becoming increasingly popular. But despite that, very little research has specifically assessed the effects that take place.
The largest macrodosing study to date, Microdose.me, was also conducted by Quantified Citizen (who are collaborators on this new study) and was launched in 2019 – and still has 20,000 active participants to this day.
What does the study involve?
Director of the Beckley Foundation Amanda Feilding and her team are leading the remote observational study in collaboration with Quantified Citizen.
The results of the Microdosing and Meditation Study will help researchers better understand the effects of microdosing, and give more insight into the potential benefits and risks, which in turn, improves overall safety.
People are able to participate in the study whether they use psychedelics or not. Researchers say this will be useful with the self-reflexive process, where people can truly evaluate their experience and whether or not microdosing had any effect.
Involvement in the study includes:
- Completing an intake questionnaire (10 minutes)
- A set of assessments at the beginning of the study, after each month, and at the end of the study (4 times in total, 20 minutes each time)
- A daily questionnaire (5 to 10 minutes each day)
Higher state of awareness
Amanda Fielding commented:
“In my opinion, psychedelics can be used as tools to get into a higher state of awareness, which, rather like a farmer preparing the ground for seeding, can help achieve a more fertile ground for either meditation or creative thinking.”
No research has been conducted so far on the effect of microdosing on meditation practice, and I am very curious to find out if regular meditators do experience measurable benefits from microdosing.” She concluded.
