Scouring Trip Reports on Reddit

To conduct their research, the team examined trip reports shared on Reddit, a platform teeming with diverse topics, including a dedicated subreddit for DMT discussions. Users share detailed accounts of their psychedelic journeys, which provided the researchers with a rich tapestry of experiences.

The subreddit boasted over 3,300 individual trip reports, each chronicling a unique DMT experience. By meticulously analyzing these reports, the researchers identified recurring themes that characterize the DMT experience.

Meeting Entities with DMT

The paper outlined various experiences reported by users during their DMT trips. A striking commonality was the overwhelmingly positive nature of these experiences; over 70% of users described feelings of awe, while around 30% reported mystical experiences, as gauged by the Mystical Experience Questionnaire rooted in cognitive psychology.

Due to DMT's potency, many users found themselves enveloped in vivid hallucinations during the peak of their journey, often referred to as the "DMT-world." This realm was described as filled with intricate fractals, geometric shapes, and vibrant colors. While visual hallucinations predominated, auditory and tactile hallucinations were also frequently reported.

Among the more enigmatic findings, the researchers noted that 45.5% of users encountered what they perceived as autonomous entities during their experiences.

Artwork of a DMT realm entity. “Heyokah The Light Bearer” by Pavel Souviron. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Many users reported interactions with feminine entities, often described as a Goddess or Mother Ayahuasca, suggesting that these encounters took place in a different dimension or reality altogether. Interestingly, Dr. David Lawrence, the study's lead author, remarked on the recurring sense of familiarity reported by users in the DMT realm. Approximately 13% of participants felt a sense of "belonging" in this state, which is remarkable given the bizarre nature of DMT experiences, even among first-time users.

"Hello? Who’s there?"

The prevalence of entity encounters during DMT experiences, paired with the sensation of familiarity, raises profound questions. Are these entities real? Is there an alternate dimension where they reside? Does DMT grant access to knowledge beyond our ordinary consciousness?

While these inquiries might seem beyond the scope of scientific inquiry, they have attracted attention from both philosophers and scientists who offer varying perspectives. For instance, Professor Michael Winkelmann, an expert in psychedelics and shamanism, suggests that these encounters may align with spiritual experiences found in various religious traditions. However, he posits that these encounters are likely reflections of the mind rather than objective realities.

Conversely, the researchers maintain a more agnostic viewpoint regarding their findings. They argue that encounters with entities should not be dismissed as meaningless hallucinations, nor should they be accepted as transcendent truths.

Dr. Lawrence emphasizes the potential for future research, suggesting that DMT could be utilized in controlled environments to elicit these entity encounters. Scanning the brains of participants during these experiences might help identify neural correlates associated with these mysterious phenomena. Furthermore, he notes that certain experiences, such as the acceptance of death reported by 6% of users, may have therapeutic implications.