Spiritual awakening is a term given to describe a subjective experience in which an individual's ego transcends their ordinary, finite sense of self to encompass a wider, infinite sense of truth or reality. These deeply embodied, noetic experiences are often perceived as a direct connection, communion, or nondual merging with an unlimited and universal consciousness, the divine or “God” in perceived oneness (James, 1902/1985; Feuerstein, 1989; McClintock et al., 2016). Experiences of spiritual awakening, whether gradual or sudden, intentionally induced or spontaneous, typically evoke an ineffable sense of deep inner knowing, understanding, “remembering,” or “unveiling” of one's true nature, as well as experiences of peace and equanimity, bliss, ecstasy and aliveness, feelings of awe, sacredness, gratitude and reverence, and of abundant, unconditional love (James, 1902/1985; Stace, 1960; Pahnke and Richards, 1966; Hood, 1975; Lukoff et al., 1995; Griffiths et al., 2006, 2008, 2011; Taylor, 2012; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017). These profound experiences may also trigger a sense of transcendence of time and space, as well as an increase in physical and mental sensitivity to internal and external stimuli, including sensitivity to colour, light, touch, sounds, and smells (Hood, 1975; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017; Woollacott et al., 2020). In some cases, they may be accompanied by strong physical sensations, as appears to be more typical in what are usually referred to as kundalini awakenings, including but not limited to: sensations of heat or energy rising or “shooting up” in the body, typically in and around the spine; bursts of tingling, tickling, prickling in the body, particularly around the crown of the head, brow-point, and heart-space; electric sensations in the extremities of body; perceived light emanating from the body, particularly from the head and heart; orgasmic sensations; disruptions in the digestive system; and spontaneous involuntary movements, including trembling or shaking, asanas (yogic postures) and mudras (hand postures) (Ring and Rosing, 1990; Greyson, 1993; Greenwell, 2002; Taylor, 2013, 2015; Woollacott et al., 2020). Occasionally, these sensory sensitivities may extend to paranormal-like experiences, with people reporting increased synchronicities, visions of an archetypal or symbolic nature, telepathic experiences, feeling spiritual presences, hearing sounds or voices not produced externally, and seeing things that are not materially present (Greyson, 1993, 2000; Thalbourne and Fox, 1999; Sovatsky, 2009; Taylor, 2015; Grof, 2019).

Experiences referred to as kundalini awakenings were first highlighted in the tantric and yogic scriptures of fifth and sixth centuries AD, namely the Yogavasishtha, Yoga Kundalini Upanishad, and Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017). These experiences were considered powerful catalysts to awaken latent potential through the unification of the polarities of the mind (perceived duality), into oneness (perceived nonduality). As seen through the lens of these traditions and the lineages that have followed, kundalini energy lies dormant, coiled at the base of the spine until it is moved, or awakened. As it uncoils, the energy makes its way up the central naadi (subtle energy channels) adjacent to the spine: namely the ida (left channel) and the pingala (right channel), through the shushumna (central channel), piercing each chakra (energy point) as it reaches sahasrara (the crown of the head). The settling of this energy at the crown of the head is said to provoke experiences of spiritual ecstasy, or enlightenment (Taylor, 2013, 2015; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017; Woollacott et al., 2020). Whilst both terms are interchangeable and clearly overlap, kundalini awakenings are typically associated with greater physical and energetic symptoms than general spiritual awakenings (Sanches and Daniels, 2008; De Castro, 2015; Lockley, 2019).

Traditional texts from the tantra and yoga lineages, such as the Paratrisika Vivarana and Yoga Kundalini Upanishad, discuss the attainment of spiritual and kundalini awakenings through asana (yogic movements), mudra (hand postures), pranayama (breathwork and breath retention), bandhas (body locks), and the manipulation of the ojas (libido energy) through the act of brahmacarya (celibacy or chastity) (Mallinson, 2011; Sovatsky, 2014; Parker, 2018). While recent studies confirm the power of spiritual contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation, and mindfulness as catalysts for gradual and sudden states of awakening (De Castro, 2015; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017), these may also occur during sex (Wade, 2001, 2004), near-death experiences (Rivas et al., 2016), contact with nature (Terhaar, 2009; Taylor, 2012), as a result of homeostatic imbalance (e.g., from fasting, sleep deprivation, or intense athletic activity) (Parry et al., 2007; Murphy and White, 2011), and through the use of mind-altering substances, particularly of classic psychedelics (Johnson et al., 2019) such as psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (Griffiths et al., 2006, 2008, 2011; MacLean et al., 2011; Lyvers and Meester, 2012), although they appear to most frequently emerge following periods of prolonged psychological turmoil or trauma, including loss, bereavement, and addiction (Miller and C'de Baca, 2001; Taylor, 2012; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017). However, whilst specific conditions, factors and/or triggers may pre-empt these experiences, these may also occur void of any apparent trigger, though this appears to be less frequent (Miller and C'de Baca, 2001; Taylor, 2012; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017). Awakening experiences do not appear, therefore, to be mediated by the subject's spiritual or religious context (Perry, 1974; Lukoff, 1985; Taylor, 2012), as is further illustrated by the responses of 1,509 American participants to a Gallup survey from 2002, to which a staggering 41%—projecting to 80 million American adults—fully identified with the statement “I have had a profound religious experience or awakening that changed the direction of my life,” 25% of whom reported having no religious preference (Gallup, 2003). This response may also suggest that profound mystical experiences such as spiritual and kundalini awakenings might occur more frequently within the general population than generally considered (Lukoff, 1985).

Studies suggest that the peak duration of spiritual and kundalini awakenings is typically short, lasting from several minutes to several hours, with traces lingering for a longer period (Marshall, 2005). However, the very nature of one of its prominent features, the transcendence of time and space, may make it challenging for participants to recall the exact duration of the peak of their experiences. Whether long or short in peak duration, these intense psychological shifts in consciousness often lead to long-lasting and even permanent changes to the subject's sense of self and of the world around them (Neumann and Campbell, 1964; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017), often from an experience of fragmentation of purpose and meaning, to loving engagement with life (Dunnington, 2011). These experiences are therefore considered deeply healing. Some of the cognitive and behavioural shifts linked to these experiences include: increased empathy, compassion, gratitude, openness, trust, altruism, curiosity, awareness, creativity, authenticity, integrity, a sense of higher purpose and meaning in life, a sense of virtuous mission or selfless service towards humanity, a sense of being reborn and liberated from past attitudes and beliefs, a sense of devotion to love-based values, and a rejection of “religiousness” and materialistic lifestyles (Cook, 2004; McClintock et al., 2016; Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017; McGee, 2020). These deep shifts may lead to radical changes in religious and philosophical views, relationships, and career paths (Taylor and Egeto-Szabo, 2017).

Spirituality may act as a buffer against stress and improves coping against the depressive effects of stressful events (Kendler et al., 1997), promoting positivity, equanimity, optimism, peace, and resilience (Grodzicki and Galanter, 2006; Brown et al., 2013). It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that spiritual and kundalini awakenings are associated with a wealth of sustained positive therapeutic outcomes, such as a decreased risk of committing suicide among suicidal individuals following their experience (Horton, 1973). Psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences have been linked to sustained improvements in treatment-resistant depression (Carhart-Harris et al., 2016), and significant reductions in anxiety, hopelessness, and fear of death in patients with life-threatening cancer (Griffiths et al., 2016; Ross et al., 2016). Both psilocybin-occasioned mystical experiences and spiritual or kundalini awakenings attained without the use of drugs have been linked to persisting positive effects in the treatment of treatment-resistant alcohol and tobacco addiction (Green et al., 1998; Galanter et al., 2007; Strobbe et al., 2013; Garcia-Romeu et al., 2014), with several studies indicating a 3 to 4-fold increase in abstinence from addiction following spiritual awakening (Green et al., 1998; Kaskutas et al., 2003; Galanter et al., 2013). The very basis of the Alcoholics Anonymous programme lies in spiritual attainment, or awakening (Khouzam and Kissmeyer, 1997; Galanter, 2008; Strobbe et al., 2013)—even Jung proposed that spiritual awakening may enable healing from addiction (Allamani et al., 2013). Furthermore, these experiences may lead to an increased interest in spiritual based lifestyles associated with improved positive identity, positive coping, problem solving, and integrity (Taylor, 2012, Woollacott et al., 2020), which in turn have been linked to a decrease of psychopathological tendencies (McClintock et al., 2016).

In some cases, spiritual and kundalini awakenings trigger challenging short or long-term sensory, affective, cognitive, and physical effects (Neumann and Campbell, 1964; Grof and Grof, 2017; Woollacott et al., 2020) such as, but not limited to: panic, disorganised thoughts and behaviours, persistent involuntary movements of the body, uncomfortable sensations of heat and burning in the body, digestive problems, and challenging extrasensory-like experiences (Greyson, 1993; Taylor, 2015; Grof and Grof, 2017; Woollacott et al., 2020)—additionally, these experiences have been linked to a better performance in psi tasks involving precognition (Storm and Goretzki, 2020). Distressing awakening experiences, also known as spiritual emergencies or crises, may arise as a direct consequence of the initial experience, when an individual is left feeling overwhelmed, confused, or challenged by the drastic perceptual shifts that tend to emerge from these experiences, and by their potentially powerful energetic nature. Spiritual emergencies may also occur during the integration period following an awakening experience (Grof and Grof, 2017), as the subject finds themself stripped of all pre-existing beliefs and concepts of life without an appropriate framework through which to interpret their newly-gained insight, and often without an appropriate support system to which they can turn (Lukoff and Everest, 1985). Because of this, it is assumed that spiritual emergencies may more frequently occur in cases of sudden or spontaneous awakening (St Arnaud and Cormier, 2017), and outside of a religious or spiritual context (Taylor, 2013). However blissful initially, the experience of deep psychological change catalysed by spiritual or kundalini awakenings may provoke distress leading to spiritual emergency, which psychiatrists are likely to diagnose as acute psychotic experience indicative of psychopathology (Menezes and Moreira-Almeida, 2010; Grof and Grof, 2017).

Parallels have been drawn between spiritual and kundalini awakenings and psychopathologies such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (Lukoff, 1985; Oxman et al., 1988; Johnson and Friedman, 2008) both by psychiatrists (Menezes and Moreira-Almeida, 2010) and transpersonal psychologists (Lukoff, 1985; Lukoff et al., 1998; Grof and Grof, 2017), though attempts have been made to separate both sets of experiences. Recent studies observing the differences and similarities between spiritual emergency [using the Spiritual Emergency Scale (SES); Goretzki et al., 2009, 2014], and psychosis, have found spiritual emergency to diverge significantly from psychosis in alogia (Bronn and McIlwain, 2015; Storm and Goretzki, 2021), and in depression, anxiety, and stress (Bronn and McIlwain, 2015). Thus, while overlaps are considerable, spiritual and kundalini awakenings (including spiritual emergencies) are generally understood to not be indicative of psychopathology, even if they may be psychologically challenging at times (Goretzki et al., 2009, 2014; Bronn and McIlwain, 2015; St Arnaud and Cormier, 2017). A multicultural approach to understanding spiritual experiences and their effects culminated in addition of the Religious or Spiritual Problem diagnostic category (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, 2013) in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. While spiritual and kundalini awakenings are no longer considered psychopathological by default (Johnson and Friedman, 2008; Menezes and Moreira-Almeida, 2010), the accurate diagnosis of experiences falling under the Religious or Spiritual Problem category remains challenging, partly because still too little is known about spiritual experiences and how these interact, interlink, or overlap with psychopathology, and partly due to a lack of spiritually-informed clinicians who have a bias towards the pathologisation of extreme anomalous experiences (Menezes and Moreira-Almeida, 2010; Parnas and Henriksen, 2016). As a result, the conventional psychiatric model is still overwhelmingly more likely to interpret potentially healing spiritual experiences as nothing more than mere psychopathology (St Arnaud and Cormier, 2017). This lack of understanding on behalf of clinicians remains problematic both for patients undergoing psychotic states with mystical features (which may be indicative of psychopathology), and patients undergoing non-pathological, though potentially distressing, spiritual or kundalini awakenings (which may be indicative of spiritual emergency) (Lukoff, 1985). An inappropriate treatment of either group may result in harm (Johnson and Friedman, 2008; Grof and Grof, 2017), and may trigger negative symptoms in positively perceived awakening experiences, or intensify the negative symptoms of spiritual emergency (Turner et al., 1995; Whitney, 1998). Either circumstance is likely to leave the individual in a state of trauma (Bragdon, 2006).

Spiritual experiences have been linked to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (Naito and Matsui, 1988; Hansen and Brodtkorb, 2003; Özkara et al., 2004; Giovagnoli et al., 2006; Devinsky and Lai, 2008), with individuals experiencing auras of a spiritual nature, such as autoscopy (the experience of seeing oneself in the form of one's double, or through the lens of an out of body experience) (Devinsky et al., 1989), clairvoyance and telepathy (Özkara et al., 2004), déjà vu (Guedj et al., 2010), visual and auditory hallucinations of a religious or archetypal/symbolic nature, and the repetition of religious phrases (Hansen and Brodtkorb, 2003), during seizures (ictally) (Kanemoto, 1994; Ogata and Miyakawa, 1998), and after seizures (postictally) (Geschwind et al., 1980; Roberts and Guberman, 1989). Some of the common features of spiritual and kundalini awakenings have also been reported by TLE experiencers, including strong sensations of a cosmic, divine, or “God-like” presence or energy, and a sense of being connected with the infinite (oneness) (Zohar and Marshall, 2000; Hyde, 2004; Dolgoff-Kaspar et al., 2011). The partial seizure-like symptoms characteristic of TLE, namely temporal lobe lability (TLL), have therefore been used as a predictor measure for drug and non-drug induced altered states of consciousness (ASCs). Recent studies have indicated the links between TLL and mystical experiences occasioned by drug and non-drug induced ASCs (Luke et al., 2018, 2019). The potential links between TLL and spiritual and kundalini awakenings therefore warrants further exploration.

Personality trait absorption measures the depth to which one's attentional and experiential involvement occurs in relation to internal or external stimuli without effort or control (Tellegen and Atkinson, 1974), and has been used to measure proclivity for ASCs (Hunt, 2000; Luhrmann, 2017; Lifshitz et al., 2019). It has been found to be a good predictor of altered states produced by psychedelic substances (Haijen et al., 2018) such as psilocybin (Studerus et al., 2012; Studerus, 2013), LSD (Carhart-Harris et al., 2015; Terhune et al., 2016), MDMA (Hastings, 2006), ayahuasca (Bresnick and Levin, 2006), and ayahuasca's active ingredient, DMT (Timmermann et al., 2018). It is also a good predictor of mystical and quasi-mystical experiences produced endogenously in contexts such as the anechoic dark room (Luke et al., 2018), the whole-body perceptual deprivation tank (WBPD; Glicksohn and Ben-Soussan, 2020), and during guided “shamanic journey” visualisation (Rock, 2009). Traditionally, the trait has been associated with “fantasy proneness,” hypnotisability, imagery ability, openness to experiences (McCrae and Costa, 1983; Pekala et al., 1985; Roche and McConkey, 1990; Glisky et al., 1991), alterations in body image, time-space perception, and meaning (Pekala et al., 1985; Kumar and Pekala, 1988), higher emotional sensitivity and emotional brain processing (McCrae and Costa, 1983; Benning et al., 2015), stronger empathy (Wickramasekera and Szlyk, 2003; Wickramasekera, 2007), stronger flow states (Marty-Dugas and Smilek, 2019), intellectual curiosity (McCrae and Costa, 1983), more pronounced creativity and engagement in the arts (Wild et al., 1995; Manmiller et al., 2005), positive emotional responses to music (Rhodes et al., 1988), more pronounced experiences of synaesthesia (Rader and Tellegen, 1987; Glicksohn et al., 1999; Chun and Hupé, 2016), and an attachment to nature and other forms of life (Kaplan, 1995; Brown and Katcher, 1997), relative to the general population. The trait of absorption has also been associated with experiences of dissociation (Carleton et al., 2010), hallucinations (Glicksohn and Barrett, 2003; Glicksohn, 2004; Perona-Garcelán et al., 2013, 2016), and paranormal beliefs or experiences (Glicksohn, 1990, 2004; Spanos et al., 1993; Glicksohn and Barrett, 2003; French et al., 2008; Parra, 2008; Zingrone et al., 2009; Luhrmann et al., 2010, 2021; Gray and Gallo, 2016; Parra and Gimenez Amarilla, 2016), such as hearing voices or feeling spiritual presences (Granqvist et al., 2005; Luhrmann et al., 2010, 2021), and feelings of self-transcendence (Cardeña and Terhune, 2014). Absorption is associated with porosity, the degree to which one identifies the outside world and its events as permeable with the inner world (Luhrmann et al., 2021); and transliminality, the subconscious tendency for internal or external material to “cross the threshold of consciousness” (Lange et al., 2000; Houran et al., 2003). Deeper states of absorption can be cultivated through ritual, including communal repetitive behaviours such as chanting or drumming, meditation (Bronkhorst, 2016), prayer (Luhrmann et al., 2010), and the disruption of homeostatic balance, including through the ingestion of certain psychotropic substances (Bronkhorst, 2016).

Studies investigating the phenomenology of mystical experiences produced by certain drugs such as strong psychedelic compounds psilocybin and DMT, their therapeutic potential, and long-term impacts on well-being (e.g., Carhart-Harris et al., 2012a,b, 2016; Garcia-Romeu et al., 2014; Griffiths et al., 2016; Ross et al., 2016; Noorani et al., 2018), suggest close similarities with spontaneously occurring spiritual and kundalini awakenings, however, little research has been conducted on the latter. Furthermore, comparisons between the phenomenological distributions of various measured drug and non-drug induced ASCs have revealed strong phenomenological similarities between both sets of ASCs, as well as similar predictors of the experiences (Luke et al., 2019), including TLL and trait absorption, suggesting the potential for some of these same measures to be applied to study spiritual and kundalini awakenings.

Psychological research on spiritual and kundalini awakenings is still in its infancy and has tended not to focus on experiences of a sudden, spontaneous nature. Studies investigating the impact of mystical experiences similar to spiritual and kundalini awakenings, on well-being, have recognised the predominantly positive, healing effects of these experiences, but have also acknowledged some of the more challenging aspects brought on both by their disruptive nature and by their typically biased clinical interpretations. The subtle phenomenological differences between spiritual awakenings and kundalini awakenings have seldom been explored, despite a greater number of studies addressing the strong physical nature of kundalini awakenings, compared to spiritual awakenings. The interchangeable use of these terms could be problematic in the interpretation of these experiences and of their outcomes, especially as stronger physical experiences may equate to more challenging outcomes. Neuroscientific and psychological research has explored some of the phenomenological and neurobiological underpinnings of drug and non-drug induced ASCs, and has explored the links between the spiritual characteristics of ASCs and the symptoms of TLE and of trait absorption. However, Spontaneous Spiritual and Kundalini Awakenings (SSA/SKAs) have not yet been mapped within the ASC framework, nor have the typical predictors used to study ASCs (TLL and absorption) been analysed as effective predictors of SSA/SKAs.

This paper will aim to address some of the gaps in the literature by exploring the general characteristics of SSA/SKAs, their implications on well-being, how they compare to other measured ASCs, their relationships with TLL and absorption, and the potential phenomenological differences between them. Given the prominence of anecdotal recounts of physical and energetic experiences preceding challenging kundalini experiences, the authors hypothesise not only that Spontaneous Kundalini Awakenings (SKAs) are more physical than Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings (SSAs), but that they are also more likely to produce negative experiences. Spontaneous Spiritual and Kundalini Awakenings will subsequently be mapped within the ASC framework by comparing their phenomenological distribution against a backdrop of non-drug and drug-induced ASCs. Analysis will then be conducted to test the hypothesis that TLL and trait absorption predict the intensity of the SSA/SKA ASC, following similar protocol for the study of induced ASCs. Further analysis will be conducted to understand how the population distribution of the SSA/SKA sample compares with the distribution of the published “normal” samples for TLL and absorption. The short and long-term well-being impacts of these experiences will be explored.

Of all participants, 60.5% chose to recall their most powerful SSA and 39.5% chose to recall their most powerful SKA. The age of onset for participants' most powerful SSA/SKA ranged from “10 years or less” to 67 years (N = 148, M = 32.78 years, SD = 10.60 years). Of all participants, 21.1% responded that the peak of their experience lasted minutes, 10.5% hours, 7.9% days, 9.2% weeks, 14.5% months, 7.9% years, and 28.9% responded that the peak of their experience was still ongoing.

Responding to the multiple choice question: “Considering your most powerful SSA or SKA, do you think there were any significant factors that led you to have this experience,” 52% reported psychological turmoil/trauma (e.g., stress, depression, loss, bereavement, combat, addiction), 47.4% meditation practice, 31.6% spiritual literature, 21.7% contact with nature, 21.7% past use of psychedelics or entheogens, 18.4% yoga practice, 13.2% near-death experience, 11.8% breathwork (e.g., Wim Hof method, Holotropic Breathwork, pranayama), 11.2% sacred sexual intimacy, 9.9% fasting, 9.2% no discernible trigger that they were aware of, 9.2% physical injury, 8.6% lucid dreaming, 8.6% sleep deprivation, 7.9% athletic activity, and 39.9% “other” factors.

For regularly practised activities before the onset of participants' most powerful SSA/SKA, contact with nature was the most reported activity (68.4%) and Kundalini Yoga was the least reported activity (11.2%). For regularly practised activities after participants' most powerful SSA/SKA, meditation was the most reported activity (79.6%) and “other yoga” was the least reported activity (21.1%) (Table 1). An average increase was observed across all activities post-SSA/SKA, with the exception of the use of psychedelics and entheogens, where a small decrease was observed (Table 1).

Of all participants, 83.6% reported that “practising these activities following the onset of their most powerful SSA/SKA” helped them manage the experience, 6.6% reported that they did not affect the management of their experience, 2.6% reported that they worsened their experience, 6.6% reported that the question did not apply, and 0.7% chose not to disclose their answer.

In addition to the limitations discussed under each section in the above discussion, this study suffers from the following general limitations. First, participants were asked to retrospectively recall their most powerful SSA/SKA, a method which may be vulnerable to error. However, Griffiths et al. (2006), who conducted a study on the reliability of the recall of mystical experiences, suggested that retrospective recall in this context is not as prone to error as in other contexts, which may be explained by the subjective significance of these experiences. Another limitation is that little research had been conducted prior to this study on the experience of spiritual awakenings, and less so on spiritual awakening experiences of a spontaneous nature. Many of our initial assumptions were therefore based on anecdotal considerations. Finally, it is important to consider that Cronbach's alpha scores for 3 of the 11D-ASC subscales were somewhat lower than previously published figures, and internal consistency was therefore not as robust as the authors would have expected. Findings should therefore be interpreted with some caution.

Future studies should be conducted to qualitatively address the phenomenological variances of overall SSA/SKA experiences, their well-being effects and how they compare with psychopathologies capable of producing mystical experiences. In depth comparative tests should also be conducted to understand how SSAs and SKAs correlate with well-being outcomes in both short and long terms. Another important avenue for future research would be to study whether cultural destigmatisation and access to peer support (e.g., spiritual crisis networks) predict better integration of initially challenging SSA/SKA experiences and increase the likelihood of positive outcomes. Finally, a more statistically rigorous comparison between SSA/SKAs and drug-induced ASCs may help us better understand these phenomena, their neurobiological underpinnings, and their potential therapeutic impacts.

In conclusion, the phenomenological differences between SSAs and SKAs were significant in physical but not in negative experiences, and both personality trait absorption and TLL were positively associated with the intensity of SSA/SKAs, indicating them as good predictors of the overall experience. Furthermore, SSA/SKAs were found to be phenomenologically similar in distribution, but considerably greater in magnitude, than all other measured ASCs. While inferential statistics were not possible between the SSA/SKA ASC and the ASCs produced by psilocybin and DMT, visual comparisons revealed striking similarities between SSA/SKA and psilocybin, and SSA/SKA and DMT, which is in line with recent studies that have pointed to the positive association between the mystical experiences produced by these drugs, and their therapeutic effects. Given the overwhelmingly positive reported effects of SSA/SKAs on well-being in our study, and given the existing literature supporting the potential for spiritual experiences to both treat disorders such as addiction, depression and anxiety, and move people towards increased pro-social and pro-environmental behaviours, more attention from the research community is warranted. This study highlights the importance of recognising SSA/SKAs as valuable experiences that, if properly navigated, carry the potential to positively transform peoples' lives.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Dr. Yang Ye, Acting Chair of Ethics—University of Greenwich Departmental Research Ethics Committee. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

JSC designed and conducted the research, recruited the participants, analysed the data, wrote and reviewed the paper. DL designed the research, analysed the data and reviewed the paper. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.