Spirituality and Psychedelic Medicine: Understanding the Experience of Oneness

Beyond Symptom Relief

Ketamine-assisted therapy is widely recognized for reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and trauma-related distress. But a subset of patients report something more — experiences of interconnectedness, emotional clarity, or what many describe simply as oneness.

These non-ordinary states of consciousness aren't required for ketamine to work. But when they occur, they can carry deep psychological and emotional significance — especially when integrated thoughtfully.

What's Happening in the Brain

During everyday life, the Default Mode Network (DMN) drives our constant stream of thoughts — replaying the past, worrying about the future, and maintaining our usual sense of identity. When ketamine is given at therapeutic doses, DMN activity temporarily quiets.

This allows other parts of the brain to communicate more freely. People often describe the shift as:

• Feeling more present and clear
• Having space from old thought patterns
• A sense of connection or wholeness
• Deep calm or relief

Chemically, ketamine increases glutamate and supports neuroplasticity — the brain's ability to change and form new patterns. This is why many patients find it easier to release old emotional habits, self-criticism, and negative beliefs in the days following treatment.

The Spiritual Dimension

Some patients describe their experience as "spiritual" or "bigger than myself." Others describe it as quiet, peace, or relief. The important thing to understand: the medicine doesn't create spirituality. It simply helps the mind step out of its usual noise so natural clarity can show through.

The experience can be meaningful whether or not you identify as religious or spiritual.

A Personal Journey

I grew up in a strict religious environment where spirituality was defined through specific rituals, beliefs, and behaviors. As I entered adulthood and medical training, I moved toward an evidence-based, materialist worldview. Spirituality didn't seem relevant. If something couldn't be measured or replicated, I didn't consider it meaningful.

Then, during a psychedelic medicine experience, the constant narrative of my mind briefly quieted. The sense of separation between "self" and "other" softened — then fell away completely. What remained was consciousness, pure and simple — open and deeply loving.

I had no framework for this at the time. It was only later, through the work of Ram Dass, that I found language that matched what I'd experienced. His descriptions of psychedelics as "showing you the possibility, not the destination" resonated perfectly. The medicine reveals a place of clarity that has always been inside us. After the experience fades, the work is learning to return there intentionally.

Practices That Support the Journey

This curiosity led me into several traditions — not as belief systems, but as tools:

Yoga taught me how body, breath, and attention influence the mind. It regulates vagal tone, increases interoceptive awareness, and has been shown to reduce blood pressure, lower cortisol, and improve autonomic nervous system balance.

Meditation gave me a direct way to observe thoughts rather than react to them. It's associated with decreased limbic reactivity and increased prefrontal regulation.

Mantra repetition steadied my mind when it felt restless. Repeating a phrase intentionally creates a rhythm that draws attention inward, reducing ruminative thought patterns.

Breathwork activates the parasympathetic nervous system, lowering stress signals and allowing emotions to settle.

Journaling helps process experience in a structured way, making insights feel more real and usable.

Each of these offers a way to return to that initial sense of openness — without relying on a medicine session.

Additional Supportive Practices

• Fasting or time-restricted eating — Heightens clarity and reduces inflammatory signaling
• Nature immersion — Reduces cognitive load and encourages perspective
• Gentle movement (tai chi, walking meditation) — Strengthens the body-awareness connection
• Sensory deprivation (float tanks) — Quiets external stimulation, allowing awareness to turn inward
• Chanting or sound-based meditation — Activates the vagus nerve and supports emotional openness
• Cold or heat exposure — Trains the mind to stay present in discomfort, strengthening emotional regulation
• Community sharing or support circles — Being witnessed without judgment helps new perspectives take root

How This Relates to Treatment

When patients describe an experience of oneness or deep presence during ketamine treatment, I understand how meaningful — and disorienting — it can be. Without a framework, the mind may dismiss it as a hallucination or a dream. With the right context, it becomes a doorway into a different relationship with life.

Spiritual frameworks are helpful because they:

• Offer language for experiences that feel beyond ordinary thinking
• Provide grounding so the experience doesn't remain abstract
• Create continuity, allowing insights to be woven into daily life

The point isn't to adopt a belief. It's to recognize that inner peace is available — and there are ways to develop familiarity with it.

The Session Opens a Door

Ketamine temporarily softens the walls of the self. What appears is a sense of connection that has always been present in the background of awareness. The medicine gives a glimpse. Your life practices determine whether you carry that glimpse forward.

If you've had an experience of spaciousness, connection, or presence during treatment, there's value in exploring it. A journal, a simple breath meditation, or five minutes of mantra repetition each morning can be enough to begin.

For more on how to make the most of your sessions, see the integration process.