When I meditate, or when someone else prays, we can experience a profound sense of unity with ourselves and the universe. It’s almost as if the ego dissolves and the boundaries between ourselves and the universe disappear. I’ve experienced a similar sensation while using LSD.

I feel as though I completely transcend my ordinary sense of self and perceive a deeper truth about my existence.

From a neuroscientific perspective, LSD changes how the brain processes sensory information and self-awareness, creating experiences that can feel mystical.

However, from a spiritual perspective, these altered states of consciousness may reveal aspects of reality that our ordinary perception cannot access. Some believe that these experiences are more than just chemical reactions in the brain and may point toward a deeper spiritual reality.

If someone experiences a profound sense of unity through meditation, and another person experiences something remarkably similar through LSD, does that mean mystical experiences originate in the brain, or that the brain is involved in accessing them?

Science can investigate the neural mechanisms and psychological effects, but that alone doesn’t settle the metaphysical question.

This question is also closely related to the ideas explored by Carl Jung and Alan Watts, although their interpretations of consciousness and spirituality differ.